topic Re: Which lenses should I keep? in EF & RF Lenses

Which lenses should I keep?

goody — Sun, 18 Feb 2018 03:06:00 GMT

Hello all, let me first say that my knowledge of photography is next to nothing. I have “inherited” some camera equipment and I know that some of the lenses are in essence “duplicates”. I have the following Canon lenses:

EFS 10-18mm 1:4.5-5.6 IS STM

EF 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 IS USM

EF 70-200mm 1:2.8 L IS USM

EFS 18-135mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS

EFS 19-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS STM

EFS 55-250mm 1:4-5.6 IS II

Two camera bodies 60D and 80D. I plan on keeping the 80D and giving the 60D to my younger sister. Which lenses should I keep and which should I give to her that I don’t really need? Thanks for your time!

Re: Which lenses should I keep?

goody — Sun, 18 Feb 2018 03:21:31 GMT

Make that an 18-55mm

Re: Which lenses should I keep?

RobertTheFat — Sun, 18 Feb 2018 03:37:37 GMT

@goody wrote:
Hello all, let me first say that my knowledge of photography is next to nothing. I have “inherited” some camera equipment and I know that some of the lenses are in essence “duplicates”. I have the following Canon lenses:
EFS 10-18mm 1:4.5-5.6 IS STM
EF 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 IS USM
EF 70-200mm 1:2.8 L IS USM
EFS 18-135mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS
EFS 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS STM
EFS 55-250mm 1:4-5.6 IS II

Two camera bodies 60D and 80D. I plan on keeping the 80D and giving the 60D to my younger sister. Which lenses should I keep and which should I give to her that I don’t really need? Thanks for your time!

Keep the 10-18, the 70-200, the 18-135, and the 55-250; give the rest to your sister. If you're feeling really generous, give her the 55-250 too.

Re: Which lenses should I keep?

ebiggs1 — Sun, 18 Feb 2018 14:20:37 GMT

"Keep the 10-18, the 70-200, ~~the 18-135, and the 55-250~~ ...." Corrected list !

Add to your keepers the EFS 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS STM

If you own an ef 70-200mm f2.8L you will not, never ever, use the latter two. They do not belong in the same zip code as this lens.

Re: Which lenses should I keep?

Waddizzle — Sun, 18 Feb 2018 16:40:09 GMT

@goody wrote:
Hello all, let me first say that my knowledge of photography is next to nothing. I have “inherited” some camera equipment and I know that some of the lenses are in essence “duplicates”. I have the following Canon lenses:

EFS 10-18mm 1:4.5-5.6 IS STM - Keeper
EF 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 IS USM - Duplicated by 70-200 and 55-250
EF 70-200mm 1:2.8 L IS USM - Keeper
EFS 18-135mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS - Keeper
EFS 19-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS STM - Sister
EFS 55-250mm 1:4-5.6 IS II - Sister

Two camera bodies 60D and 80D. I plan on keeping the 80D and giving the 60D to my younger sister. Which lenses should I keep and which should I give to her that I don’t really need? Thanks for your time!

You are correct, the focal ranges are duplicated by three lenses: the 55-250, 70-300, and the 70-200. If all of the lenses had one previous ownder that is probably the order in which they were acquired. The 70-300 is the sore thumb. It is a better than that older version of the 55-250. BUT. It would be useful to you for the 300mm focal length, though.

The 18-55 and 55-250 are a natural pairing. They used to be packaged together in Canon DSLR camera kits. Those two lenses, with the 60D, is a complete starter package. A good add to this package would be the least expensive lens that Canon currently sells, the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM

The 18-135 was also packaged in Canon DSLR camera kits. That focal length is packged in 80D kits today, but with an updated version of the lens. The 10-18 is a great wide angle. The 70-200 is a high quality telephoto zoom. Those three lenses are a great package.

Which leaves the 70-300mm sticking out like a sore thumb, again.

Re: Which lenses should I keep?

TCampbell — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 05:12:01 GMT

The EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM is, by far, the best lens in the group (it's a fantastic lens). I have the first and second generation versions of that lens and they get more use than any of my other lenses (even for things like portraits).

The EF-S 10-18 is a great wide-angle lens.

But the "normal" focal length for these cameras is about 27mm... so you've got a good wide angle and an very high end telephoto... but you need something to cover the normal range.

Between the 18-55mm STM and the 18-135mm (non STM), the STM lens is the better of the two. So I'd probably use that.

I agree that if you have the 70-200 f/2.8L... you'll never want to use the 55-250 or the 70-300mm.

Re: Which lenses should I keep?

RobertTheFat — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 13:45:25 GMT

@TCampbell wrote:
The EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM is, by far, the best lens in the group (it's a fantastic lens). I have the first and second generation versions of that lens and they get more use than any of my other lenses (even for things like portraits).

The EF-S 10-18 is a great wide-angle lens.

But the "normal" focal length for these cameras is about 27mm... so you've got a good wide angle and an very high end telephoto... but you need something to cover the normal range.

Between the 18-55mm STM and the 18-135mm (non STM), the STM lens is the better of the two. So I'd probably use that.

I agree that if you have the 70-200 f/2.8L... you'll never want to use the 55-250 or the 70-300mm.

The reason I think I'd favor the 18-135 over the 18-55 (neither of which I've ever used) is that it eliminates the coverage gap between 55 and 70 mm. Until I finally bought a full-frame body (which eliminated the coverage gap for reasons not germane to this discussion), I found the coverage gap very annoying.

Re: Which lenses should I keep?

TCampbell — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 15:44:56 GMT

@RobertTheFat wrote:

The reason I think I'd favor the 18-135 over the 18-55 (neither of which I've ever used) is that it eliminates the coverage gap between 55 and 70 mm. Until I finally bought a full-frame body (which eliminated the coverage gap for reasons not germane to this discussion), I found the coverage gap very annoying.

There is the coverage gap. If this is the original 18-135 (and not the STM or USM version) then the 18-55 is probably better w.r.t. optical performance.

Since it’s a small gap, so I consider the trade-offs:

How often would I need that specific range (e.g. suppose I want 60mm... could I just drop down to 55? Or if I want 65mm ... could I just bump it up to 70?). Do I do any type of photography where the range needs to be extremely specific?
What other trade-offs are there?
- If you bump up to 70mm then you can use the 70-200 ... which has an f/2.8 focal ratio. The 18-135mm has a max aperture of f/5.6 in that range.
- The original 18-135 (if this isn’t the STM or USM version) starts to suffer some degraded options just as it hits this range (it does best in the 18-55mm range even though it’s an 18-135mm lens) which chromatic aberration in the edges of the frame.

This is why I sort of favor the 18-55 STM. The OP’s sister is going to need either the 18-55 or the 18-135 (or obtain another lens that can handle the standard range).

Re: Which lenses should I keep?

wq9nsc — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 19:13:21 GMT

Agree with the others, don't let that 70-200 F2.8 get away. It is my favorite lens and it doesn't disappoint.

Rodger

Re: Which lenses should I keep?

goody — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 19:23:30 GMT

Thank you everyone for the awesome advice, it was most helpful!