Canon EF 28-105mm lens filters help needed?

Question

I'm planning to get a Canon EF 28-105mm as a walk-around lens for my XTi and was wondering if non-Canon filters are good enough and if you'd advise those. I'd hate to spend too much on filters alone...
I'm looking at these - any points for me?
http://cgi.ebay.com/PRO-FILTER-KIT-FOR-CANON-EF-28-105mm-f-3-5-4-5-II-USM_W0QQitemZ200102648607QQihZ010QQcategoryZ74909QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Actually - would any 58mm filter work on this lens?? What brands are recommended in filters?

are these good?
http://www.amazon.com/Tiffen-58mm-Photo-Essentials-Filter/dp/B00004ZCKZ/ref=pd_bbs_3/104-6425728-1094356?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1179509996&sr=1-3

I read that bad filters will degrade the picture...

I mostly take pictures of my family indoors and outdoors - nothing like landscape or macro photography...
Do you still think I should not get the 28-105 lens?? I am a novice in this and for now while I'm still learning I'd like to buy a good al-purpose lens that is not too expensive :) i do have that 18-55 that came with the camera, but hear that it's almost a worst lens to have. My purpose is to achieve a better quality after all....

Answer 1

The XTi is a good camera but I wouldn't get that lens or either of those filter kits.
The Canon 28-105mm zoom comes in two versions (f/4-5.6 and f/3.5-4.5). Although they are both relatively inexpensive, they are the wrong zoom range for a walk around lens. The XTi has a 1.6 focal length multiplier, so these lenses would have an effective zoom range of 45-168mm... which means that you would not have ANY wide angle coverage.
As for the eBay filters, the UV filter is nice for lens protection; the linear polarizer is all wrong - you want a circular polarizer; and the fluorescent filter is redundant - with digital cameras you can achieve the same result by altering the white balance setting on your camera.
Regarding the Amazon filters, the UV and circular polarizer are okay, but you won't use the polarizer much to begin with, and you don't need the warming filter at all - you can achieve the same result in editing software.
For a walk around lens, consider the 18-55mm kit lens (not a superb lens, but you do get it for a fantastic price when you buy it as part of the kit) or if you really want a great lens, consider the $500 Canon 17-85mm zoom.
Then just buy a UV filter to protect that lens (check for the proper diameter.)
With filters, there is a difference in quality... mostly in the coatings (or lack thereof with cheap filters.) but a $20 filter should do just fine.
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Added:
Optically, the 28-105mm lenses are in the same ball park as the 18-55mm... they just cover a bigger zoom range (3.75x zoom vs. 3x zoom). That's what makes them slightly more expensive. They also cover a *different* zoom range - more tele and less wide angle - and this is a matter of personal preference. In my opinion the 28-105mm lenses are less suitable as walk around lenses, but your shooting style might be different. (Set your current lens to 28mm and see if that would suffice for indoor family shots.) At any rate, if you're dissatisfied with the image quality of the 18-55mm, you really do need to jump to the next quality level to see a real difference. These lenses cost +$450.
With filters, cheap varieties usually don't provide coatings. This *can* result in reflections and lens flare that does degrade image quality, but by using your lens hood these effects are minimized. Under normal circumstances, you won't detect loss of image quality. If you want the best, look for B+W or Hoya filters with multiple coatings. These filters can cost over $70 each... this might be justified with a $1000 lens, but otherwise I wouldn't spend that much.

Answer 2

Hoya is a good brand I use it on my lenses. However, DO NOT cheap out on filters, thats what degrades your imagine quality in weird lighting. With my Hoya's there is no difference in imagine quality using UV filters on it all the time.

Answer 3

I would just like to underscore OMG's excellent answer with a couple of reviews for the lens he suggests. One of our devoted Canon users recommended the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM (28-135 equiv.) (April 2007-$515) as a good "walk around" lens at a good price.
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=149&modelid=10511
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-S-17-85mm-f-4-5.6-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

Answer 4

practically any type of filter is perfectly fine. the type of filter that I do use and like is Tiffen filters