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!

[ebiggs1]

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.

[Tronhard]

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.

[Tronhard]

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.

[Tronhard]

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.

[Tronhard]

T

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@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?

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