Suggestions on 18-55mm lens with Canon Digital Rebel XT/XTi?

Question

Hi,
I have been looking to upgrade to a Digital SLR and looking for a good one. I decided to go for Canon Digital Rebel XT/XTi primarily because of 2 reasons:
1. They are cheaper than Nikon with similar features
2. Have friends who have canon lenses,which I can borrow.

Can you give me suggestions on the lenses. I was told that the Nikon lenses are better than the Canon lenses.

Also that Nikon body is more sturdy than Canon.

Any other reasons to stick (or not) to Canon.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Ok I am a Canon user and I love them, I am not a Nikon person trying to bash Canon OMG and Dr. know that. Nikon DOES without a dought has better lenses than Canon. They are optically superior over Canon in imagine quality, brokeh, contrast, etc. But Canon does strike back with having a tad bit faster autofocus ( I dont know why Nikon only has like 3 lens with their equivalt of the USM on Canon) and a better in camera JPEG converter. So thats a plus if you dont like to edit your pictures later on photoshop or some program like that.

Suggestion on lenses, I would recomond starting off with the 18-55mm just so you can get hte hang of using your camera. Once you get advance and love photograhy, purcahse a L series lens. Depending on what your doing you will have to buy one on your own specific needs. I have 2 one for general walk around lens, replacing the 18-55mm, with the 24-105mm f/4 and one for sports and low light 70-200mm f/2.8. I only do mostly sport shots anyway so I didnt need to go buy the 24-70mm f/2.8 since I rarely ever do a wide angle shot in bball games.

Edit: Where did my top contributor go?!?! =( sorry off topic =X

Answer 2

Canon and Nikon are both very good. It's true that the Canon XTi has very similar specs to the Nikon D80 for less money, but the D80's higher price is justified by a better build quality, a larger viewfinder, a decent size grip for your right hand, a spot meter... stuff that makes it a nicer camera to use.
Your second reason for wanting a Canon makes great sense. I agree with Sam to start with the kit lens and figure out what else to get as you go along.
When you get around to building your own lens collection, Canon and Nikon are evenly matched. They both have roughly 3 lines of lenses: cheap stuff for under $200; mid range lenses for about $500; and professional lenses for +$1000.

Answer 3

I agree on your observations, as I am a Nikon fan, especially if you compare the D80 to the XTi. However, you make a good point about having friends who will loan you lenses. Hopefully, these Canon-using friends can be of some help as you learn how to use your camera, also.

The Canon 18-55 lens - version II - seems to be a decent lens and I wouldn't suggest anything else. You have some to borrow to help you decide what to buy next.

At least the XTi came in second in these tests, but still ahead of all the rest other than the D80:

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3569/10mp-dslr-shootout.html

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/news-electronics-computers/november-2006/shootout-10-megapixel-digital-slr-cameras-11-06/overview/0611_digital-slr-shoot-out.htm

http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Canon-Rebel-XTi-vs-Nikon-D80-vs-Sony-Alpha-A100-Head-to-Head-to-Head-Digital-Camera-Review-.htm
[Note the navigation menu near the top of the review]

Answer 4

Canon Cameras delighting you always,remember of this words that I have written here,once you have used 18-55mm lens ,it was taken landscape,building,huge areas/spaces ,etc,you could buy a wide converter 0.45x,this will given super wide angles like 12 mm of your lens,that's good enough.

Answer 5

Where do these people come from? The EF-S mount was introduced with that camera, as was the EF-S 18-55. YOu can say that they were made for each other.