topic Re: 80d Lenses? in EF & RF Lenses

80d Lenses?

gorichamdi — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 12:29:33 GMT

I think I’ve decided to finally bite the bullet and purchase the 80d.

How’s the 18-135mm that comes in the bundle? Should I spring for this or go with the 18-55mm and purchase a separate zoom?

Also looking for a good portrait.

I’m upgrading from my beginner (a Nikon), for which I only used the lens it came with, so any advice is much appreciated!

Re: 80d Lenses?

Waddizzle — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 14:05:23 GMT

@gorichamdi wrote:
I think I’ve decided to finally bite the bullet and purchase the 80d.
How’s the 18-135mm that comes in the bundle? Should I spring for this or go with the 18-55mm and purchase a separate zoom?
Also looking for a good portrait.
I’m upgrading from my beginner (a Nikon), for which I only used the lens it came with, so any advice is much appreciated!

Canon sells camera kits, which are a camera body and one or two lenses. Some retailers may throw in a free memory card, or maybe a camera bag as part of a “bundle”. Other retailers like to create camera “bundles” by adding a lot of accessories that are usually of low quality, or totally unnecessary. Avoid these super bundles.

The lenses in the genuine Canon 80D camera kits are pretty sharp. Review the camera bundles at the Canon Online Store to see exactly which lens models are included in genuine Canon kits. I point this out because you used the word “bundle”, which raises a red flag in my book.

I think the 18-135mm USM lens is better made than the 18-55mm STM lens. A lens with a wide aperture is a good lens for portraits. Canon’s 50mm and 85mm primes are inexpensive choices. Wide aperture zoom lenses tend to cost a lot.

Re: 80d Lenses?

ebiggs1 — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 15:33:04 GMT

"I’m upgrading from my beginner (a Nikon), ..."

This suggests to me that you are more than just a beginner and are more interested in the photography hobby? Another person asked a very similar query a little while ago. My advice to him is the the same as it is going to be to you.

You had by your own words said you had a "beginner" camera. Now you want to upgrade to a very fine intermediate camera the EOS 80D. However, you ask which beginner lens should buy? None of course, none! It is time to elevate that part of the combo as well. Buy the 80D body alone and get the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens. Stop! Don't buy anything else until you learn and get up close and personal with you new gear. One reason you asked what lens to buy is at this point is you don't know. Let your knowledge grow as you learn photography. Most of the time I see people jump right off the deep end and buy a couple or three lenses that eventually get replaced by lenses they really want. If you enjoy buying stuff twice I guess that's OK thing to do. But if you want to get what you really want, wait until you know what you really want.

The Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens is a great place to start and every bag has to have a lens like this in it. It is vastly superior to any of the kit 18-55mm's. It is a constant f2.8 aperture none of the others are. It can and will stick with you as far as you go.

Re: 80d Lenses?

Tronhard — Mon, 28 Jan 2019 08:18:31 GMT

I have a couple of EF-S 18-135 STM lenses and they have performed well on the 80d and other crop sensor bodies. You should note that the EF-S lenses are designed for the APS-C sensor bodies like the 80D, and while they are much cheaper it is more a result of the benefits of having the lens closer to the sensor, plus the fact that EF-S are generally not weather sealed - which is not an issue if you take reasonable care of your gear.

But Before advising on a lens selection it would help to know a couple of things:

What is your intent? Do you want to be a serious amateur, just for fun, go pro one day or whatever? The more serious your intentions the greater your investment in a lens.

What kinds of images will you take? Do you want a general-purpose lens like the 18-135, noting that this has a VERY wide range from moderate wide angle to telephoto so it's hard for us to tell from that. What subjects do you want to shoot?

What do you intend to produce? The type of output has a very big bearing on what you will want to invest. The cost of gear for putting on social media, web pages or even on larger screens will be a lot less demanding than if you tntend to create large, high-definition prints.

Budget - you may not want to answer this one directly but it is generally wise to keep to whatever budget you have.

Re: 80d Lenses?

Robodot — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 04:25:08 GMT

Re: 80d Lenses?

Tronhard — Sat, 02 Feb 2019 03:56:49 GMT

@Robodot wrote:
Dont do it dude, buy yourself a Lumix, just sayin.

Why?

Re: 80d Lenses?

Robodot — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 04:25:40 GMT

Re: 80d Lenses?

Waddizzle — Sat, 02 Feb 2019 18:36:57 GMT

Robodot,

You have also stated that the camera/lens combo captured sharp photos in Automatic mode, but not when you switch to Manual mode. Based on that alone, there are not that many logical conclusions that should be reached. Operator error.

Your one shot looks completely unfocused. There is something wrong. But, to cast all blame on the lens is also wrong. As myself and others have noted, your descriptions of your testing methods have shown that they are fundamentally flawed.

If you are not shooting in One Shot AF mode, you should give it a try. Avoid AI Focus mode. AI Servo AF mode requires some practice to figure out, so avoid that AF mode, too. Stick to using just One Shot mode, and only use the center AF point.

I have also noticed that all of your complaints seem directed at just the one lens, the telephoto zoom, which is an older design, circa 2005. Many super telephoto lenses designed when that lens was introduced also produce softer images at maximum focus length.

As you have noted, many others seem to share your complaint. But, many more users do not. Is it possible that you have had a bad copy all of these years? Yes. Is it Canon’s fault that you apparently knew about it, but never had it checked out? No.

Good luck with your Lumix bridge camera. I can appreciate your sentiment that it is smaller and easier to carry around.

Re: 80d Lenses?

ebiggs1 — Sat, 02 Feb 2019 21:15:32 GMT

I keep seeing you mention 'feet'. "From day one the 300mm lens was soft and very difficult to get good photos over 50 feet away ..." I am just curious why you keep mentioning feet. All lenses resolution decrease as the distance increases. A poor lens will get poorer faster. Make sense?

I still can't exclude operator error as the pr part of the problem. There are thousands of 60D users that get wonderful shots with the very same set-up.

Re: 80d Lenses?

Robodot — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 04:26:00 GMT

Re: 80d Lenses?

Robodot — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 04:24:30 GMT

Re: 80d Lenses?

Robodot — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 04:26:38 GMT

Re: 80d Lenses?

Tronhard — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 01:43:59 GMT

The best thing would be to submit a couple of reasonable resolution images as examples of those you consider to have had problems. I would also be interested to know at what apertures you found the lenses to be suspect - I have found the sweet spot for most lenses of this type to be around the f8 area. You mention that you don't like the MkII verison either, what experience have you had using that - i.e. what did you shoot, on what and with what results.

There have been some issues with some runs of earlier versions of the MkI of this lens resulting in the issues you describe. However I have had two copies of the MkI and one of the MkII version and I wrote a thread on their performance under the Lenses section. The reviews I have seen certainly do not claim this has the performance of the L series in this range, but they do not regard it in such low regard as you do. I would encourage you to look at what I wrote before you make such a sweeping and negative statement.

Re: 80d Lenses?

Robodot — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 04:27:03 GMT

Re: 80d Lenses?

Tronhard — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 02:33:10 GMT

I am curious what brought you to the Canon website if you hate Canon so much. You have obviously had a chastening experience with one camera and lens, but it is drawing a long bow to extend that to all lenses of that type and an even longer stretch to extend it to Canon. Given a chance to look at your lens you might have been able to resolve the issue that frustrated you. If you are happy with the Lumix that's great and I am personally glad for you.

The other thing that seems to be a theme is that you don't want to lug around a DSLR and lenses. OK that's absolutely fine, the best camera is the one you are prepared to carry. That said, it is not reasonable to criticise the lens or the camera for that reason: basically you buy what you need and if you chose something that was not to your liking it's a learning experience and you get what you actually want. Bridge cameras perform an excellent service for their specific niche, but they do have very small sensors that will show noise unless they are given lots of light and they are not great for large image production (say above A4 or 8"x10"). You say you don't print so that makes the bridge camera more appealing. Good luck with your camera.

Re: 80d Lenses?

Robodot — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 04:27:23 GMT

Re: 80d Lenses?

Tronhard — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 04:55:13 GMT

Can I just clarify a few points please? I have been trying to go through your posts to get the information.

1. When you are shooting what mode: AE, P, Tv, Av etc. are you in?

2. How many focus points are you using: the whole 16, 1 etc.?

3. When you shoot, do you focus and zoom, or zoom and focus?

4. Have you tried the lens on another camera, and if so what was the result?

5. Have you customized the settings in any way on your camera?

If possible could you provide one image typical of your issues with this unit.

Re: 80d Lenses?

ebiggs1 — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 15:15:11 GMT

"... most bird shots are 100 feet or more."

Really? Not me, most of my bird shots are 20 to 35 feet. Unless it is a very large bird like an eagle or heron.

"...at 50 feet..."

Everything you have said in this thread and other threads leads me to believe it is you that is doing something wrong. I and others have not put our fingers on it yet. We all know the gear is at least satisfactory. Some have shown you that.

Re: 80d Lenses?

Robodot — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 04:27:46 GMT

Re: 80d Lenses?

Tronhard — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 18:34:05 GMT

@Robodot wrote:
I normally always shoot in Manual Mode
I always set the center focus manually

It depends, if the subject is not visible in the view finder due to focus I have to focus first then zoom then refocus.

The only things I change are:
Live View Mode: Quick focus
photo review: off
sleep: 2 min

Thanks for your prompt response to my questions:
This may be purely semantics but can I confirm my understanding that you either actually focus manually rather than using the lens' autofocus features or instead that you use autofocus with one autofocus point?

From your comment about things you change. Do you use Live View mode to set up your shot? If so, are you using a tripod or other device?