Canon 70D lense option

[Dragonfire665]

Hello everyone. I bought my wife a Canon 70D and she has the following lenses. Not the best, but they are doing the job for the moment.

Canon EFS 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS II

Canon EF 50mm 1:1.8 II

Canon Zoom EF-S 55-250mm 1:4-5.6 IS II

We are going to China at the end of June this year and I am looking to buy her a lense as a gift. One that can take close up photos and some what of distance. I dont want to carry this bag all thru China for 3 weeks. So if I can have her just bring the body and 1 lense that will be great. We are visiting many places, like Beijing, Hong Kong, Shaighai and others so there are many landscapes and close up shots that I will like for her to get.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

[TTMartin]

---

@Waddizzle wrote:

---

@TTMartin wrote:

---

@Waddizzle wrote:

I think the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Lens is an excellent choice.  Just be aware that it is a little too long for the built-in flash.  The lens barrel will cast a shadow.  

---

I just tested the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Lens on my 7D Mk II.

Without a lenshood the lens does NOT cast a shadow using the built in flash of my 7D Mk II at any focal length. 

---

Excellent.  I know for certain that lens casts a shadow with the smaller Rebel bodies.  My son complained about it.

---

Your son must have a lenshood on to get a shadow.

I just tested it on my XTi which is one of the smallest Rebel bodies. I believe only the SL1/100D is smaller.

I just tested the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Lens on my Rebel XTi.

Without a lenshood the lens does NOT cast a shadow using the built in flash of my Rebel XTi at any focal length. 

[kvbarkley]

I think distance to subject is what matters here. Did you try the closest focus/flash distance?

[TTMartin]

---

@kvbarkley wrote:

I think distance to subject is what matters here. Did you try the closest focus/flash distance?

---

I checked at under 3'. 

The lenshood did cast a shadow at focal lengths wider than 35mm at that distance.

At the minimum focus distance of 1.3' there was the slightest shadow at 18mm.

It is unlikely that you'll ever run across a shadow from the lens when using the built in flash during normal usage as long as you remove the lenshood. 

[Waddizzle]

My son has a hood.  I'll ask him about it.  I get better indoor photos with a fast lens,, though.

[TCampbell]

Canon does make an 18-200mm lens (these are sometimes referred to as "super zoom" lenses because they have quite a range).  

Here's the link:  https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/products/details/lenses/ef/standard-zoom/ef-s-18-2...

I should caution that it's an older lens ... so optically it doesn't compete as well with some of the newer lenses.  It's sharp near the center, but goes soft around edges and corners and has a bit of chromatic aberration (color fringing / bleeding).

If optical quality is important, you'd do better to bring two lenses (an 18-55mm and the 55-250mm) such as the two you already have (although the new STM and USM versions are much improved optically).

I think Tamron and Sigma make super-zooms as well but as I recall, the Canon super-zoom (even though it's not stellar) outperforms them.  THE primary emphasis on super-zoom lenses is convenience at a reasonable price point -- but that implies sacrificing a bit of quality.  

[King315]

Hi Dragonfire665, I am new to the community and was wondering which lens you decided to go with?

I am planning an Alaskan cruise in June 2018, so I'm in a somewhat similar situation. I have a 70D as well, with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II, EF-S 10-18 f/4.5-5.6 IS STM, EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM, as well as the EF 50 f/1.8. I don't mind carrying the majority of my lenses with me on the trip, since we will be on a ship most of the time. I have been doing research on upgrading the 18-55 that I got with my camera, and am just curious to get some input from experienced folks.

I have been looking at the 17-55 f/2.8, so I could get better performance in lower light conditions. (most cruise ships i have been on have dim lighting everywhere)  I purchased a flash to use, and it helps tremendously; but I would like a nice, fast standard zoom lens to use while outdoors and when I can't necessarily use the flash.  I was also curious about possibly going with an EF lens, in hopes that I could possibly upgrade to a full frame body later. I have seen different comments saying that it is better to stick with the EF-S lenses on a crop sensor body, but is it going to diminish image quality if I use the full frame lenses on my camera? I'm still relatively new to the DSLR world, so please be patient with my ignorance. It is a lot of information to take in! 

Any advice or suggestions are welcome. Thanks

[RobertTheFat]

---

@King315 wrote:

Hi Dragonfire665, I am new to the community and was wondering which lens you decided to go with?

I am planning an Alaskan cruise in June 2018, so I'm in a somewhat similar situation. I have a 70D as well, with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II, EF-S 10-18 f/4.5-5.6 IS STM, EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM, as well as the EF 50 f/1.8. I don't mind carrying the majority of my lenses with me on the trip, since we will be on a ship most of the time. I have been doing research on upgrading the 18-55 that I got with my camera, and am just curious to get some input from experienced folks.

I have been looking at the 17-55 f/2.8, so I could get better performance in lower light conditions. (most cruise ships i have been on have dim lighting everywhere)  I purchased a flash to use, and it helps tremendously; but I would like a nice, fast standard zoom lens to use while outdoors and when I can't necessarily use the flash.  I was also curious about possibly going with an EF lens, in hopes that I could possibly upgrade to a full frame body later. I have seen different comments saying that it is better to stick with the EF-S lenses on a crop sensor body, but is it going to diminish image quality if I use the full frame lenses on my camera? I'm still relatively new to the DSLR world, so please be patient with my ignorance. It is a lot of information to take in! 

Any advice or suggestions are welcome. Thanks

---

The 17-55mm f/2.8 is an excellent lens. It will cast a shadow in the coverage field of your built-in flash; but since you already have an external flash, that's of no concern.

The reason people recommend sticking with EF-S lenses on an APS-C  (i.e., "crop") body is that lenses designed for a full-frame camera tend to be annoyingly long on a crop body. For example, 17-55mm is just right for a walking-around lens on a crop body: fairly wide-angle to mild telephoto. But the corresponding focal range on a FF camera is 24-70mm, so that's what they make in an EF lens. Such a lens will work just fine on your 70D, but will lack some of the WA range of the 17-55. OTOH, it gives you a bit more telephoto reach at the long end, which you might consider to be a benefit.

In any case, you don't lose any image quality by using an EF lens. Canon's EF "L" lenses are as good as anything you can buy.

[TTMartin]

---

@King315 wrote:

Hi Dragonfire665, I am new to the community and was wondering which lens you decided to go with?

I am planning an Alaskan cruise in June 2018, so I'm in a somewhat similar situation. I have a 70D as well, with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II, EF-S 10-18 f/4.5-5.6 IS STM, EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM, as well as the EF 50 f/1.8. I don't mind carrying the majority of my lenses with me on the trip, since we will be on a ship most of the time. I have been doing research on upgrading the 18-55 that I got with my camera, and am just curious to get some input from experienced folks.

I have been looking at the 17-55 f/2.8, so I could get better performance in lower light conditions. (most cruise ships i have been on have dim lighting everywhere)  I purchased a flash to use, and it helps tremendously; but I would like a nice, fast standard zoom lens to use while outdoors and when I can't necessarily use the flash.  I was also curious about possibly going with an EF lens, in hopes that I could possibly upgrade to a full frame body later. I have seen different comments saying that it is better to stick with the EF-S lenses on a crop sensor body, but is it going to diminish image quality if I use the full frame lenses on my camera? I'm still relatively new to the DSLR world, so please be patient with my ignorance. It is a lot of information to take in! 

Any advice or suggestions are welcome. Thanks

---

It isn't as much about diminishing image quality as it is paying for unused image quality you pay a lot for edge to edge sharpness that you never see when used on a crop camera. It's also about size and weight, full frame lenses are larger and heavier than their EF-S counter parts. Even if you think you are going to buy a full frame camera, I still believe you are better off buying lenses for the camera you currently own. I ended up giving my Canon 6D to my daughter as I never used it after getting my 7D Mk II. 

[ebiggs1]

"I still believe you are better off buying lenses for the camera you currently own."

Totally agree.  Use what ya got, not what you might get.

[RobertTheFat]

---

@TTMartin wrote:

---

@King315 wrote:

Hi Dragonfire665, I am new to the community and was wondering which lens you decided to go with?

I am planning an Alaskan cruise in June 2018, so I'm in a somewhat similar situation. I have a 70D as well, with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II, EF-S 10-18 f/4.5-5.6 IS STM, EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM, as well as the EF 50 f/1.8. I don't mind carrying the majority of my lenses with me on the trip, since we will be on a ship most of the time. I have been doing research on upgrading the 18-55 that I got with my camera, and am just curious to get some input from experienced folks.

I have been looking at the 17-55 f/2.8, so I could get better performance in lower light conditions. (most cruise ships i have been on have dim lighting everywhere)  I purchased a flash to use, and it helps tremendously; but I would like a nice, fast standard zoom lens to use while outdoors and when I can't necessarily use the flash.  I was also curious about possibly going with an EF lens, in hopes that I could possibly upgrade to a full frame body later. I have seen different comments saying that it is better to stick with the EF-S lenses on a crop sensor body, but is it going to diminish image quality if I use the full frame lenses on my camera? I'm still relatively new to the DSLR world, so please be patient with my ignorance. It is a lot of information to take in! 

Any advice or suggestions are welcome. Thanks

---

It isn't as much about diminishing image quality as it is paying for unused image quality you pay a lot for edge to edge sharpness that you never see when used on a crop camera. It's also about size and weight, full frame lenses are larger and heavier than their EF-S counter parts. Even if you think you are going to buy a full frame camera, I still believe you are better off buying lenses for the camera you currently own. I ended up giving my Canon 6D to my daughter as I never used it after getting my 7D Mk II. 

---

Tom's points are well taken, but I don't entirely agree with his conclusion (nor with Ernie's endorsement of it). If you're really serious about eventually going FF (as I was when I stopped buying crop lenses), then you can potentially save some money by not buying twice. But the bottom line is that as long as you understand what you're doing and why, either approach makes sense.