Digital Lens

[MarkLG]

Originally Posted by hook

I've decided to purchase a Canon Rebel, 8mb type. I'm having a tough time deciding on which lens to go with. I have narrowed it down to these 3 choices:
1) A Canon 28-200mm lens
2) A Sigma 18-200mm lens or
3) A Canon 18-80mm with a Canon 75-300mm lens (comes as part of a package)

I would prefer to carry only one lens, for obvious motorcycle related reasons. Any experienced input is greatly appreciated. H.

It really depends on what your expectations are regarding picture quality. These long range zooms (18-200) are very convenient, but a bit of a compromise in terms of image quality. If you just want to take some good snapshots, and print them at standard sizes then any of the lenses would be fine, but if you start cropping down images, or printing enlargements, then you'll notice the shortcomings of this type of lens.
You'll probably find that most of your pictures are taken in the 17-70mm range. This will cover your typical scenery shots, snapshots of people and buildings, etc.
I'd suggest getting the best quality 17-70 (or 80) range lens you can afford. If you're buying a kit then you'll find that the 18-55mm supplied is pretty basic - it's worth getting the store to upgrade it to something like the 17-85 USM, if funds allow, or maybe one the better quality Sigmas. You can then supplement it with a budget 55-200 or 75-300 if you feel you really need it.

I only carry a 17-70mm lens on my Nikon D-SLR, and I find that it covers most situations. The only time I'd carry the extra zoom would be for getting close-ups of distant wildlife, or for action shots of other riders.

Make sure you get plenty of practise with the camera before the trip - get to know the controls, and the effect the settings have on the picture output.