topic Re: Questions regarding super zoom lenses in EF & RF Lenses

Questions regarding super zoom lenses

albalynga48 — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 11:23:33 GMT

I've got a canon 2000d that I use to shoot landscape photography. It came with the 18-55mm kit lens with no image stabilization. I got a 10-18mm wide angle lens and so now I was looking for something at the telephoto range, and then eventually upgrading the main kit to one with image stabilization.

So when I started searching for the telephoto lens I was looking at the 75-300mm but someone told me it wasn't a very good lens and that the 55-250mm was the better choice. But then I noticed they make an 18-135mm and I thought then I could upgrade my kit lens to one with image stabilization and have more zoom. And then I found they make ones even longer than that, 18-200mm and 18-250mm.

Are these lenses any good? Is there any advantage of having the 55-250mm and 18-55mm as two separate lenses? Does the image quality suffer from having such a range of focal distances? If so would that pretty much mean 18-55mm > 18-135mm > 18-200mm > 18-250mm as far as picture quality?

Re: Questions regarding super zoom lenses

Waddizzle — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 13:19:16 GMT

I do not recommend any of the super zooms. Stick to zoom lens that have a focal ratio of 4:1, or less, meaning the ratio of the longest focal length to the shortest.

I think the EF-S 55-250mm STM lens is a good suggestion. Be sure to get the "STM" version of the lens. The non-STM versions are models that are older than dirt. Great lenses 20 years ago with 4MP cameras, but not so great with today's 24MP camera bodies.

I liked the EF-S 18-135mm before I gave it my son along with a 7D Mark II. It is a great lens, but one that most users eventually wind up replacing. Notice that it breaks the zoom ratio rule of thumb. My biggest complaint about the lens is that it is so long that it renders the onboard flash useless. It is so long that it blocks the flash, and casts a shadow into the scene.

I recommend the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens as a replacement for your 18-55mm.

Re: Questions regarding super zoom lenses

ebiggs1 — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 14:24:01 GMT

All the lenses you mentioned are in the same class. They all will produce the same quality of pictures. I, too, am not a fan of the extremely long zoom ratios, I E 18-200mm or even longer. They will be at the bottom of the IQ sacle of the lenses you are considering.

Even higher quality, $2000 dollar, super zooms like the Sigma 60-600mm f4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Zoom suffers serious CA at the short end. The main reason you buy a DSLR is for the ability to change lenses for the job at hand. The balance is a difficult to use prime VS a 10:1 zoom. You need to find that happy medium. The answer to that question is you and what you expect. Some people are happy with the so-so quality and results from these types of lenses, some are not. This makes the 18-55mm and 55-250mm a logical choice.

Remember it is the lens that makes the photo not the camera!

Re: Questions regarding super zoom lenses

ebiggs1 — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 14:25:49 GMT

"I got a 10-18mm wide angle lens ..."

It seems like you have a pattern going doesn't it? 10-18mm, 18-55mm and 55-250mm, pretty much says it all.