Can you obtain a decent Canon for £250-£300?

[Gavv8]

To be honest the whole EF/EF-S thing is a bit of a nonsense.  I don't know why you'd EVER buy an EF lens, especially because if you get an EF-S lens with a good aperture it's just as dear as an EF. 

Only lens I regret buying is the 10-22mm EF-S because I can't put it on the 5D2.  That said, I've had a lot of great images from it prior to that.  The 8-15mm wasn't out when I bought it, either.  That's only a couple of hundred quid more, is L-series but is a fish-eye.

SO tempted to make an 8-15mm my next lens.

Bearing this in mind, what lenses would you recommend for a Canon EF mount if you wanted say three lenses to cover most scenarios and on a reasonable budget?

[dTEA]

And have a look at real results. If you intend on post processing images some of the examples in Flickr can be useful. If you check the Exif data it'll tell you what lens, camera, and settings they used and also what processing program.

I rarely shoot in jpeg. Lazy but it helps to tweak on a shot by shot basis. Lens wise have a good look at the groups on Flickr and see what is possible and also check a load of reviews. I still went with my sigma 10-20mm over the Tamron as both had pros n cons but the sigma seemed more friendly to my needs. Been reasonably happy with the results so far.

[T_J_G]

Canon 17-40 F4L £400
Canon 24-70 f2.8l or 24-105 f4L £850/550
Canon 70-200 F4L £400

Going on second hand prices. Is that reasonable enough ?!

[Gavv8]

Yes, thanks! i am bidding on an ef 75-300 USM that is going quite cheap at the moment..any good?

[bobbarley]

I think we're pretty keen on getting the 500D, we're both happy with the price, and quality of the images we've been from it. 

Then something like this as a lens just to get us started, reviews say it's much better than the mk1 version.
http://www.parkcameras.com/18672/Canon-EF-S-18-55mm-f-3-5-5-6-IS-II-.html?referrer=CamPriceBust

[dTEA]

As a walk around lens try the Sigma 17-70mm 2.8. I have found that so much better than the standard 18-55mm Canon.

[bobbarley]

Lot more money too 

[T_J_G]

The 18-55 should get you going for a while, I still have mine and haven't got around to replacing it yet.

[Diamond Hell]

On the lenses front - what are you going to be mostly shooting?

[bobbarley]

To be honest it varies a lot.  I try to shoot a lot of my daughter, which is when my 50mm prime is my main lens.  I really enjoy long exposure night time photography, and landscape photography as well.  Plus like going to car racing days to take photos as well.