Lens recommendation for Travel, portraits, and nature?

[yegget]

I took a break from photography, but am jumping back into it. I have a canon R8 along with the kit lens and 50mm 1.8. The 50mm is what I usually stick to, but was recently struggling a bit to get pictures at a night time light show while walking around. Im looking for a wider lens atm and also any recommendations to keep in mind for the future that would fit the kind of photography I like to do. My budget is preferred to stay under 1k, but am willing to spend more if I feel it's worth doing so.

[jrhoffman75]

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@yegget wrote:

I took a break from photography, but am jumping back into it. I have a canon R8 along with the kit lens and 50mm 1.8. The 50mm is what I usually stick to, but was recently struggling a bit to get pictures at a night time light show while walking around. Im looking for a wider lens atm and also any recommendations to keep in mind for the future that would fit the kind of photography I like to do. My budget is preferred to stay under 1k, but am willing to spend more if I feel it's worth doing so.

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The 24-105mm lens is a good addition and covers the genres you mentioned, as long as nature isn't distant wildlife.

If you want wider coverage and better low light capability Canon has a 16mm f/2.8 lens.

[p4pictures]

Assuming the kit lens you have with the EOS R8 is the RF 24-50mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM, then the wider options are the RF 16mm F2.8 STM which has a much faster aperture for low light, plus gives a much wider angle of view than your kit lens. Currently well under budget at $249

https://www.usa.canon.com/shop/p/rf16mm-f2-8-stm?color=Black&type=New 

If you are looking for a lens that has a wider angle of view than the 50mm F1.8 STM, but keeps the fast aperture you might also want to consider the RF 24mm F1.8 Macro IS STM which is $549 currently. You know what 24mm will get in the frame from your kit lens, this will be the same, but with a much faster aperture which is better for night time. 

RF16mm F2.8 STM 

[ebiggs1]

"...struggling a bit to get pictures at a night time light show while walking around."

What exact problems? A 50mm prime is a difficult FL to deal with as a GP lens. For FF cameras the 35mm is much better and can be just as fast.