Tamron 28-75 w/ T2i
 

I just purchased a T2i and want to purchase the Tamron 28-75 for it's zoom range. It doesn't have VC, so I'm concerned about shake. I will most likely be on a monopod most of the time, but would like to go handheld at some points as well. Is the shake really bad? Should I go for the Tamron 17-50 with VC instead?

Thanks!

I use the f1.8 50mm (you know, the cheap one) handheld sometimes with my T2i. It is not great unless you going for a sort of shaky look, which can be cool sometimes. With a monopod you should be just fine unless you really want rock-steady shots (but then you would use a tripod!).

Can't speak for that specific lens, but using a canon 50mm hand held I found the footage to be largely unusable. With the 17-50 VC it is possible, especially wide-ish to get reasonably steady shots. I guess it depends what you're using it for.

as long as it's on monopod or tripod, I don't need IS. personal preference, really.
owned Tamron, didn't like the image nor feel of zoom/focus rings.
Sigma 24-70 felt better. If you like IS, consider EF-s 17-55 2.8 with IS.

Thanks for the input!

I went ahead and purchased this lens, and so far so good. When going handheld, the shake is barely noticeable when completely wide, and not acceptable when zoomed in (IMO). I'm really surprised at how great the images look. I don't have the Canon version to compare it to, but I'm definitely satisfied with the image quality. I'll just have to be careful when going handheld, and hopefully be able to purchase the Canon IS version in the future.

Thanks again!