topic Re: Just bought a Canon T7 in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Just bought a Canon T7

snapshots — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 20:02:19 GMT

Hi all,

I just purchased a starter camera. (Canon T7) It has two lenses that came with. The 18mm-55mm which has IS, and a 70mm-300 that does not. I like to take senic landscape photos, nature, and just about anything that catches my eye. What would be the next logical lens for me to buy as an upgrade? I was looking at two lenses. One is the 18mm-135mm the other is the 70mm-300m with IS. Do you think they are decent choices? Is there another lens I should look at? Keep in mind I am on a budget of about $500. Thanks so much for reading.

Earl

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

shadowsports — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 14:55:27 GMT

Greetings,

Me personally.

I would dump the 18~55 and replace it with the 17~55 f2.8 (the latter is regarded as one of the best lenses available for APS-C format from a versatility and image quality standpoint. Canon refurb is $578. If you sell your current 18~55 for ($100) you'll walk away under your price point and come away with a much better lens.

"IS" is probably most useful (effective) when shooting handheld at slow shutter speeds. You may consider allocating some of your budget towards a good tripod if you plan to spend long periods outside in a fixed shooting position.

APS-C (lens) wise if you want a wider field of view, consider the 10~22 (Good for landscapes)

Lets see what other have to say.

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

snapshots — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 15:28:06 GMT

Thanks so much for your reply! What is the best way to go about selling my 18mm-55mm lens? I will begin searching for the lens you mention. I did purchase a Manfrotto tripod a few months ago. Thanks again.

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

kvbarkley — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 15:33:30 GMT

I am pretty sure you got the 75 - 300 , not the 70-300. All the 70-300's have IS.

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

snapshots — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 15:50:23 GMT

Yes you are correct. The lens I have is the 75-300mm that came with the camera.

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

ebiggs1 — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 16:07:41 GMT

"I was looking at two lenses. One is the 18mm-135mm the other is the 70mm-300m with IS. Do you think they are decent choices?"

No, I don't for where you are currently at. I love the idea of the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens. It is one of my most favorite lenses. Although I don't have one I have recommended it to many people and have used theirs and watched them use it. It is a great lens for the T7. No, I need to correct that, it is the best lens for the T7. However, it is beyond your budget by several hundred dollars. Your decision!

I am not a fan of any of the 70-300mm zooms or any lenses with numbers close to 70. Not even the L version. If you want to replace it, check out either of the Tamron or Sigma offerings in the 150-600mm super zooms. Again, however, beyond your budget. There is another way, these super zooms can be had on the used market. Sometimes owners get frustrated by them and they get very little use. That makes a good candidate for a used lens. Be warned they are more challenging since you are dealing with extreme focal length. But that is what the photography hobby is all about, isn't it? At 150mm to 300mm it won't be much different than what you have with your 70-300mm zoom except the IQ will be better and a much better IS system.

So, there you go. The choice is yours.

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

Waddizzle — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 18:02:07 GMT

@snapshots wrote:
Hi all,

I just purchased a starter camera. (Canon T7) It has two lenses that came with. The 18mm-55mm which has IS, and a 70mm-300 that does not. I like to take senic landscape photos, nature, and just about anything that catches my eye. What would be the next logical lens for me to buy as an upgrade? I was looking at two lenses. One is the 18mm-135mm the other is the 70mm-300m with IS. Do you think they are decent choices? Is there another lens I should look at? Keep in mind I am on a budget of about $500. Thanks so much for reading.

Earl

Neither kit lens represents Canon's best efforts. Both designs must be well over a decade by now. I would be inclined to hang onto them for now. You may want to upgrade the camera body some day. They would add value to your T7 if you want to sell it in the future. I had the same two lenses with my T5, and they added a ton of value to my T5 when I sold it.

Are you familiar with how to read Canon lens model numbers? You will not go wrong sticking to Canon lenses whose model numbers end with "STM". There is an EF-S 10-18mm STM lens, which would be great for landscape photos.

Buying one great lens is always less costly than buying two pretty good lenses, because you will probably wind up buying the great lens down the road, anyway. So, looking to buy two lenses on your current budget is probably inadvisable, especially if you are looking for a super telephoto for wildlife photography. You would want a super zoom for wildlife photography, even if you go to a zoo!

But, before you buy new lenses, take the time to learn about photography, so that you can get the most out of your gear. Take a look at the first two posts in this thread. They contain links to two video series aimed at absolute beginners.

https://community.usa.canon.com/t5/General-Camera-Discussion/Canon-YouTube-Video-Series/m-p/269237#M7640

You will want to watch the first series, "EOS 101", more than once.

You will also want to have your camera in front of you sitting on a tripod, too. Someone mentioned investing in a tripod. The keyword here is "investing", not simply buying one. If you do not spend at least $200 for a tripod kit, then you will likely have a weak tripod with a weak tripod head.

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

ebiggs1 — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 21:35:13 GMT

Neither kit lens represents Canon's best efforts. ... I would be inclined to hang onto them for now."

Some good points here. Your current lenses aren't worth much on the used market so you might as well hang onto them. However, ever little bit helps so it is another, it's your decision time again

Another good point I always recommend.

"Buying one great lens is always less costly than buying two pretty good lenses,..."

"You would want a super zoom for wildlife photography, even if you go to a zoo!"

An old sayin', you can never have too much FL and no lens is too fast.

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

ebiggs1 — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 21:37:44 GMT

"Someone mentioned investing in a tripod."

I would put this way down on your list of gear to get. Not that you will never need one you just don't need a tripod yet.

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

kvbarkley — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 21:39:58 GMT

"An old sayin', you can never have too much FL and no lens is too fast."

Which goes along with the other old saying: "Anything more than 500 yards from the car just isn't photogenic" - Edward Weston

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

snapshots — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 23:23:41 GMT

Well...I am so new at this that I don't really know the best way to invest in this hobby, but I already did get a tripod when I bought the camera. It's a manfrotto. About 80 bucks I think. Probably not a real good one

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

snapshots — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 23:24:56 GMT

Thank you so much for the advice. I really appreciate it.

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

Waddizzle — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 23:25:49 GMT

@snapshots wrote:
Well...I am so new at this that I don't really know the best way to invest in this hobby, but I already did get a tripod when I bought the camera. It's a manfrotto. About 80 bucks I think. Probably not a real good one

Manfrotto is a top notch brand. Not all of their tripods are top shelf, though. Hang on to it, just the same.

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

snapshots — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 23:27:49 GMT

I am not familiar with the model numbers for canon lenses but I will get familiar. Thanks for sharing the link to the videos. I will watch them.

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

Waddizzle — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 23:29:04 GMT

@snapshots wrote:
I am not familiar with the model numbers for canon lenses but I will get familiar. Thanks for sharing the link to the videos. I will watch them.

Check out the two video series at the ink i provided.

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

snapshots — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 23:31:41 GMT

Thank you for the advice. I was taking pictures last weekend of some birds and trying to zoom all the way in to 300mm and it seems hard to hold the camera steady enough to get a good shot. I finally got a decent shot but it took about 5 tries.

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

Waddizzle — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 23:36:53 GMT

@snapshots wrote:
Thank you for the advice. I was taking pictures last weekend of some birds and trying to zoom all the way in to 300mm and it seems hard to hold the camera steady enough to get a good shot. I finally got a decent shot but it took about 5 tries.

The best shooting mode to learn the camera is probably P mode. The flash will not automatically pop-up. But, the flash built into the camera is not all that good, anyway. On paper it has a reach of up to 10 feet. In practice, it looks like a flashlight.

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

ebiggs1 — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 08:05:02 GMT

"I finally got a decent shot but it took about 5 tries."

Nobody gets every shot. One out of 5 is actually pretty good.

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

ebiggs1 — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 08:12:08 GMT

"They contain links to two video series aimed at absolute beginners."

I never tell beginners to not watch videos and use Youtube but I find a lot of the time they cause a beginner to over think a simple situation. Like using X mode and fiddling with settings, changing this and that, when P mode would work just fine. I really do like having a beginner tag along with someone that knows photography or take a course where someone is explaining stuff.

Re: Just bought a Canon T7

Waddizzle — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 09:58:48 GMT

@ebiggs1 wrote:
"They contain links to two video series aimed at absolute beginners."

I never tell beginners to not watch videos and use Youtube but I find a lot of the time they cause a beginner to over think a simple situation. Like using X mode and fiddling with settings, changing this and that, when P mode would work just fine. I really do like having a beginner tag along with someone that knows photography or take a course where someone is explaining stuff.

Once again, you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. More false assumtions, on your part.

Maybe you should take the time to watch the videos, just so that you can learn what it is that they contain. The EOS 101 series does not teach you about camera settings. The videos teach ou the basics of photography: i.e. Exposure Triangle, White Balance, RAW files, DoF, etc. They go on to explain how the basic concepts apply to entry level camera settings.