Im heading down to New Orleans next month for a big family reunion and a bit of street photography, and I really need to finally nail down a solid daily driver lens for my S5II. Right now Ive just been using the 50mm prime and while its gorgeous, Im tired of missing shots because I cant zoom out in tight spaces or punch in when I need to. Ive been digging through forums and YouTube reviews for the past week. Everyone seems to rave about the Panasonic 24-105mm f4 because of the dual I.S. and macro capabilities, but then I read a bunch of threads saying the Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 Art is way better for low light stuff since its a full stop faster. Im kinda stuck because I do a lot of walking around at night down in the Quarter, so that f2.8 sounds real nice, but losing that extra reach on the telephoto end and the extra weight of the Sigma worries me a bit since my shoulder acts up. My budget is around 1000 to 1200 max. Between those two or maybe something else Im totally missing, what is actually the best all-around workhorse zoom lens to just leave glued to the camera for travel and general family snapshots?
Having shot extensively with the S5II in similar travel scenarios, I strongly recommend looking at the Panasonic Lumix S 28-200mm f4-7.1 MACRO O.I.S. instead of getting bogged down in the 24-70 vs 24-105 debate. Weighing in at just over 400 grams, it completely solves your shoulder fatigue issue while offering incredible reach for family reunions and street work. While you do sacrifice that f2.8 aperture for nighttime wandering in the Quarter, the sensor stabilization on the S5II combined with modern denoising software easily compensates for the slower glass in dim light. It stays glued to my body for casual outings now, and I have zero complaints about the sharpness across the range.