Owning good walk around camera lenses means you have less to carry!

Pretty straight forward really, but what is a good lens to have?

If I am just popping out somewhere non-photography related but I want to take my camera "just in case", I normally plonk on a 28-135mm lens. It covers wide-angle to short telephoto meaning that should I come accross something worth snapping, I am ready.

I have gone out with just a wide angle or just a telephoto lens before, and found myself out on a limb without the correct lens.

Other decent walk around lenses include;

• 24-70mm
• 28-80mm
• 28-135mm
• 28-300mm

Although the last 2 are quite heavy on your camera and in your wallet.

Personally, as I own Canon cameras, my favourite walk around lens is the Canon EF 28-135mm IS USM. It has image stabiliser and ultra sonic movement in the focussing. It is fairly robust (once fell out of my pocket onto dirty concrete and survived quite well!), light and easy to use. Quality is best from 35mm through to 100mm but generally produces nice sharp images.

One other nice point about this lens is that is has basic macro facilities, not able to get as close as pure macro lenses, but good enough none the less.

• Does quality matter?
• What lenses do I need? - Wide Angle, Telephoto, Zoom, Standard, Prime
• "Walk around camera lenses" - You are here
• "How many" do I need?
• "How much" will they cost and where can I buy them?
• "Is it safe to buy online?"