On 400 USD budget for zoom lenses

[Salah Yousef]

So I am on a 400 USD budget to buy zoom lenses. I'd like to shoot films and music videos. Which lenses do you guys recommend for my Canon 600D or t3i ?

 

[tolusina]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?atclk=Zooms%2FPrimes_Zoom+Lenses&ci=274&N=4288584247+4108103567+3991602361&mnp=&mxp=400

 

[sagittariansrock]

http://www.amazon.com/Tamron-17-50mm-Vibration-Compensation-Digital/dp/B002LVUIXA/ref=pd_cp_p_0

For some reason this costs a lot more at B&H.
Why this?
f/2.8- you want as much light as possible for the smaller sensor.
17-50- this is a nice standard zoom range.
VC- you want vibration compensation when recording video.

Plus, it is a very nice and well-regarded lens all around.

 

[Ruined]

So I am on a 400 USD budget to buy zoom lenses. I'd like to shoot films and music videos. Which lenses do you guys recommend for my Canon 600D or t3i ?

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM (white box) ~$379 - the more expensive kit lens from the EOS 70D, probably the best you are going to do for a zoom at that pricerange - one of the quietest lenses that exists when focusing (great to avoid noise on videos), image stabilization, pretty decent IQ, and wide focal length range (equivalent fov to 28mm-216mm on full frame):
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-18-135mm-3-5-5-6-EF-S-White/dp/B00APQ9PVE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1399244448&sr=8-2&keywords=18-135+stm

Also, if you ever upgrade the body to a 70D with Dual Pixel AutoFocus the lens' stepping motor (STM) will allow for quicker and more accurate autofocus during videos than traditional lenses:
Canon EOS 70D Dual Pixel CMOS AF Video

 

[mrzero]

Actually, if you are strict on the $400, I'd get the new 18-55 STM lens and the 40mm. That way you have the smooth and quiet autofocus of STM, a decent zoom range, and a 2.8 option. Maybe add a Rokinon/Samyang 14mm 2.8 as well. Most likely, you are not going to need the longer end of the 18-135mm, and I've read that the 18-55 STM has better image quality.

 

[brianleighty]

http://www.amazon.com/Tamron-17-50mm-Vibration-Compensation-Digital/dp/B002LVUIXA/ref=pd_cp_p_0

For some reason this costs a lot more at B&H.
Why this?
f/2.8- you want as much light as possible for the smaller sensor.
17-50- this is a nice standard zoom range.
VC- you want vibration compensation when recording video.

Plus, it is a very nice and well-regarded lens all around.

Keep in mind the VC is optically inferior to the non-vc version:
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=400&Camera=474&Sample=0&FLI=2&API=0&LensComp=679&CameraComp=474&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=2&APIComp=0