Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8 SP XR ZL Di LD Aspherical (IF) for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

For an affordable price, this lens gives you excellent performance for every purpose.
The aperture can be set to 2.8 and the portraits are amazing!
At the same time the zoom (up to 75 mm) is also much better than the regular lens provided in the basic canon kit.
In summary, this is a very recommended lens for beginners who don't want to spend a ton of money and still get marvelous results in any situation.

I purchased this lens after being greatly disappointed by the Sigma 18-200. I have not been disappointed. The images are sharp and the colors are good. I have taken photos for my business with it and have gotten amazing results. If you are stating out professionally, or are a serious amateur, then this is the lens for you. Fast, good in low lighting and it does not feel cheap!

I purchased this lens to shoot professional bodybuilding show. There are numerous challenges shooting in these low light conditions with the subjects being very dark. The lens didn't focus sharply in these conditions and I returned it. I did shoot some outdoor photo's with the lens and they looked very good. For the money this is a great lens, but if you are going to use it to shoot weddings or other events that may require you to shoot in low light conditions you might want to look else where. For a good alternative check out the Canon 28mm - 135mm IS, even though it is a f/3.5 - 5.6 with the IS you can take great pictures with it in low light conditions and with the extra zoom and the price at about $230 makes it a great deal.

When you get a properly calibrated copy of this lens you will discover that it can be quite sharp at f2.8 from 28mm to 75mm, nearly as sharp as the 50mm f1.8. If you get a soft one, or one that is never exactly in focus, send it back till you get a good one.

I like this focal range for shooting models within talking distance, as any lower and you inviting softness with the wide angle, and making everything seem larger then it is suppoed to be.

On my full frame 5d there is a significant amount of vignetting, but that was rather expected being so much less expensive than the canon 24-70 L. Bought it because i am on a tight budget, and I dont regret it. Even with the vignetting- its still woth saving the 600+ dollar difference.