80d Lenses?

[gorichamdi]

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!

[Waddizzle]

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@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!

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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.

[ebiggs1]

"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.

[Tronhard]

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. 

[Tronhard]

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@Robodot wrote:

Dont do it dude, buy yourself a Lumix, just sayin.

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Why?

[Waddizzle]

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.

[ebiggs1]

"... 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.