So I am buying a 50D in the next month. I am still not sure about the lense. For a starter lens I thought of the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM or the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. I would prefer the USM one, but is USM really that necessary? Does it make focusing faster really?

My other question :from which European webshop could I get them (also the 50D) the cheapest with warranty of course?

Another question: Do you have any suggestion for other lenses in the same price range?

I want to use my camera for all purpose (I know I will have to buy the x-200-300 mm lenses, but that will come later)

17-85 is not bad for a general porpouse zoom, but not as fast as you will like to. You could con sider a 2.8 alternative (tokina, sigma, tamron). USM is faster for sure and helps. Also IS for a non fast aperture lens is a great add at 85 mm.

Another interesting idea would be to consider the canon 17-40 L, a pro grade lens, very popular. Range il lower but you get a high quality walk around lens compatible with full frames.

No idea about european shops, I know only for Italy but I do not think you can buy from abroad...

I can order I guess, I live in Hungary, so its not far

/e the lenses are atm above my financial limit

This post was edited by ace07 on Sep 21 2010 11:02am

You can also buy used from forums like fredmiranda etc. I usually don't worry about warranty and have personal articles insurance to cover my equipments. ($90 USD a year to cover $11k worth of equipment).

If the budget is slightly higher, i recommend getting a 15-85 IS USM, optics are improved significantly.. IMO, it's just as good as the king of crops- the 17-55/2.8 without the speed.

The 17-40L is fairly limiting on a cropped sensor IMO.

/2cents.

How so? On a cropped sensor wouldn't it be like a 35-70 on a full frame?

26 - 62 more less.

It means that is not that wide and not long enough for a portrait lens. But is the cheapest way for an L series. 15-85 is a good idea too.

This post was edited by bialator on Sep 21 2010 04:07pm

26-62... Close enough

What are you going to be using your camera for?

anything, nature shots + portraits too

and maybe even sport shots

I have used a 17-85 IS USM lens with a 40D for awhile and loved it. It's a great beginner lens and will serve you well
but it's far from a good portrait lens due to the very narrow maximum aperture so you may want to get a 50mm f1.8 II for that
and as for sports... you will need some expensive lenses for that.