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Archive 2015 · Need some advice on Canon lenses

  
 
graham_martin
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


A colleague of mine is buying a Canon 7D Mark II and is thinking about starting off with the 18-135 and 70-300 lenses. She is asking me for some advice. I am a Nikon shooter and so I don't want to steer her wrong. I see that the 7D is a cropped sensor camera. Is Canon like Nikon in that they make lenses especially for the smaller sensor?

Nikon makes an 18-300 DX lens f/3.5 -5.6 lens for $1K which exactly makes the focal length range of both of the Canon lenses combined. Does Canon make an 18-300?

As you can see, she is looking for wide angle through medium telephoto and she doesn't want to spend much more than what these lenses cost. Are there any other suggestions so far as getting some better/faster glass?

Thank you from the Dark Side.



Jul 21, 2015 at 09:00 PM
Kenneth Farver
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


any of the EF lenses will fit the crop bodies.
The EF-S lenses are the crop lenses for the crop bodies that will not fit the Full Frame bodies.
Hope this helps.
The 17-55mm F2.8 is the most popular lens for the crop bodies. People say it almost rivals the "L" lenses for the Full Frame bodies.
Since I only shoot Full Frame I'm not as familiar with the EF-S lenses. sorry.



Jul 21, 2015 at 09:27 PM
cheem
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


I shot a EF-S 17-55mm F2.8/IS for four years on my 40D and loved it. It has been known to be a dust sucker but mine seemed fine in that regard.

The 18-135 and other EF-S/DX type lenses are generally a trade-off in terms of image quality. Depends on what is important to your friend, versatility or image quality.



Jul 21, 2015 at 09:35 PM
johnctharp
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


The bigger issue is this- why buy a 7D II, which is a professional crop camera, and use consumer zooms?

She'd be better off, generally speaking, going with a lower-end body (a 70D, or even a Rebel T6s/i if sticking with zooms) and spending the difference on glass.



Jul 21, 2015 at 09:44 PM
RustyBug
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


If she is okay with third party ... I used to use a Tamron 17-50 / 2.8 on my Nikon that was quite nice for the price. Sigma's 17-50/2.8 is in that ballpark there as well. Noting that these are crop lenses that won't play with FF. But as a budget conscious solution, My Tammy did very nice for me until I went from the Dark Side over to FF in Canon.

I've never been a fan of the superzooms trying to go from UWA to long tele ... just asking it to do too much, imo. Convenience of a one lens solution ... well, that is worth something to some folks @ horses for courses.



Jul 21, 2015 at 09:49 PM
JohnBrose
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


If she wants quality, she needs good glass. If she has a fixed budget it would be better to get a lesser body and better lenses. The 17-55 is a decent lens and then I'd suggest a 70-200 f4 or a 70-300L depending on money in the budget. don't worry about dust in the lens.


Jul 21, 2015 at 09:54 PM
johnctharp
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


JohnBrose wrote:
If she wants quality, she needs good glass. If she has a fixed budget it would be better to get a lesser body and better lenses. The 17-55 is a decent lens and then I'd suggest a 70-200 f4 or a 70-300L depending on money in the budget. don't worry about dust in the lens.


It's also highly subject dependent as well. Sigma's 17-50/2.8 OS is a smaller, lighter, and cheaper alternative to the Canon version; I'd only be worried about AF performance in extreme conditions. On the longer side, Tamron's 70-200/2.8 VC is an excellent lens for about the price of the 70-200/4L IS, and if reach is preferable over speed, Sigma's 150-600 OS | C is killer.



Jul 21, 2015 at 10:02 PM
big country
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


the 18-135 is a decent walk around lens.


Jul 21, 2015 at 10:20 PM
Shutterbug2006
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


Don't forget to turn her on to FredMiranda.com and get her to sign up here. She will thank you.

Doubtless she could benefit from all the experience and knowledge found in the various sub-boards.




Jul 21, 2015 at 10:40 PM
graham_martin
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


Shutterbug2006 wrote:
Don't forget to turn her on to FredMiranda.com and get her to sign up here. She will thank you.

Doubtless she could benefit from all the experience and knowledge found in the various sub-boards.



Yep, I have already given her the link to this website.



Jul 21, 2015 at 11:08 PM
scalesusa
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


I'd also recommend getting better lenses, even if it means a less expensive camera.

It sounds like she has been to Best Buy, and lenses look pretty much alike to a new buyer, they usually don't even stock the better ones in our local store.

For a new user, I'd stay away from 3rd party lenses. In fact, I'd suggest a 70D for a new user along with a 17-55 lens or a 15-85mm lens.




Jul 22, 2015 at 12:09 AM
kevindar
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


If she has not bought the camera yet:
the primary reason to buy a 7d2 is to shoot fast action, with its higher fps, and more advanced AF. if she is not doing that, stop her right there. She will likely enjoy the 70D better b/c its smaller size, has an articulating touchscreen, and does just about everything a 7d2 does (except fps and slightly less advanced AF). It is also a lot cheaper. Adorama had a deal for the body for 650 after rebate bundled with a printer, included memory card etc.

I think the 18-135 is an excellent lens. I think if she is more of a beginner, I would recommend the 18-135 stm, the 55-250 stm and 50 1.8 stm as a starting kit. People starting out get very frustrated with lens swapping. the 18-135, providing a 28-200 equiv fov, is optically good and provides an excellent walk around range. the 50 1.8 is very small, and can cheaply introduce her to fast aperture lenses for low light and more dof control. the 55-250 is if she wants to have more reach.




Jul 22, 2015 at 01:32 AM
Camperjim
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


Currently Canon offers a lot of choices for APS-C DSLR cameras. The main 3 are the 7DII, 70D, and T6s/i. Prices are roughly $1500, $1000, and $850, respectively. The T6s is very new and the price should drop $100 or $200 soon. The image quality will be very similar for all three with the T6s leading slightly for resolution (24 vs 20 mp). The 7DII has by far the best build, best weather sealing, best autofocus and highest burst rate. It is the choice for the advanced photographer especially interested in wildlife or sports/action photography. The 70D has intermediate build quality and has features that excel for video photography. The T6s is the newest camera with slightly improved image quality. It is missing microadjust and also has less weather proofing, a lower burst rate and lower overall build quality. It does have WIFI.

For lenses, I would disagree, the 17-55 is not the most popular cropped sensor lens. I would not recommend it for a casual photographer - way too expensive, big and heavy. It is a faster lens than the other zoom choices with a better build quality and somewhat better IQ. The 18-135 is offered as a kit lens. This is a decent intermediate quality lens which is relatively small, light and when purchased with as a kit is very low cost, about $350 extra for the kit. The zoom range is much better than for the 17-55. The 15-85 is another good choice for a walk around lens but is not available as a kit lens. The 55-250 is a must have lens. Sometimes this is available as a kit lens and becomes a super bargain. Even at full price it is inexpensive, very small and light weight. The image quality is surprisingly good. The build quality is on the lower end but considering the price that hardly matters as you could replace it several times over for the cost of a big, heavy 70-200IS. A full frame shooter has to lug the 100-400 to have the equivalent reach of this little lens. When doing outdoor photography I almost always carry this lens in pouch on my belt.




Jul 22, 2015 at 07:31 AM
BauerPower
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


Lots of good advice here. I would just like to add that there are two versions of the Canon EF-s 18-135. The one with STM focusing has clearly better optics according to photozone.de. No pun intended. I owned one and it took very nice photos but I did not like that focus changed when you zoomed in or out.


Jul 22, 2015 at 07:50 AM
jcolwell
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


BauerPower wrote:
... two versions of the Canon EF-s 18-135. The one with STM focusing has clearly better optics according to photozone.de...


So does TDP, http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx



Jul 22, 2015 at 08:12 AM
matthewm
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


Unless she really needs the added FPS, weather sealing and AF of the 7DII, I'd recommend, like others here, that she step down (across?) to a 70D. Fantastic camera for the money. Tons of features and killer IQ.

I'm not a huge fan of the 18-XXX lenses as I think you're giving up something to get that much reach in such a small package. But, it looks like B&H has the 70D + 18-135 + 70-300 IS for $1700, which is a pretty stellar deal. The same kit with the 7DII is $2250.

She could do the 70D + 70-300 IS as a bundle and toss in the 15-85, which is a great lens and she'd be at the $2K mark.

Either way, she'd save anywhere from $250-$550 by going the 70D route. That'll buy a few memory cards, a nice tripod and a good bag.



Jul 22, 2015 at 09:24 AM
Ian.Dobinson
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Need some advice on Canon lenses


graham_martin wrote:
A colleague of mine is buying a Canon 7D Mark II and is thinking about starting off with the 18-135 and 70-300 lenses. She is asking me for some advice. I am a Nikon shooter and so I don't want to steer her wrong. I see that the 7D is a cropped sensor camera. Is Canon like Nikon in that they make lenses especially for the smaller sensor?

Nikon makes an 18-300 DX lens f/3.5 -5.6 lens for $1K which exactly makes the focal length range of both of the Canon lenses combined. Does Canon make an 18-300?

As you can see,
...Show more


the longest EFs lens canon make is the 18-200 . its ok but not great . the 18-135 STM is a better lens .
there are other 'super zoom' offerings from the like of Sigma and taproom (the latest Tamron is supposed to be very good) .
but there's no such thing as a free lunch . zooms of that range will always suffer from image quality problems . usually extreme Barrel distortion at the wider angles .
they are also pretty large .

I think the 2 lens option offers a better option .
the 18-135 + 70-300 IS would indeed make a good set . unfortunately the 70-300 from canon isn't a patch on the offering that Nikon does . Personally (having had the canon way back) I would be more inclined to go for the Tamron version whites pretty similar the the Nikon lens .

in fact budget allowing the better 2 lens set would probably be the 15-85 IS (which is one of the best canon EFs lenses) and the tamron 70-300 VC .




Jul 22, 2015 at 11:38 AM





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