Newbie question

[TimSerious]

HI Everyone, I'm a newbie and amateur photographer. Looking for recommendations for the best EOS 60D lens for, landscape, food, and human portraits. I'm currently using the EFS 18-135mm. Is there a better single lens that I could use for these types of photos?

[wq9nsc]

Depending upon how much you feel the need to have the full range of your current lens, the Canon 24-105 F4 might be something to look into.  It is a faster lens with better optical quality but doesn't go as wide or as long as your current lens.

For quality, a two (or more) lens solution is generally better and is the proper choice if you don't need to frequently go from ultra wide to tele on the fly.  The Canon SLR/DSLR line was designed for fast and easy lens change for a number of good reasons and locking yourself into a single lens doesn't allow you to take full advantage of all of the benefits designed into your camera.

A practical approach would be to first decide which end of the current lens range you use the most and/or feel the most need for an increase in quality (i.e. wide aperture, sharpness, etc.) and buy a step up in quality lens that covers that end of the range while also keeping your current lens to cover the entire range.  Then in the future add another higher quality lens to fill in the other end of the range.  This provides a practical way to grow the system without a huge financial outlay at once.  Refurb/return lenses from the Canon outlet store provide a better deal than new and are a safe choice, watch B&H for frequent big discounts on some Canon lenses, and consider buying used although this is riskier.

Rodger

[Waddizzle]

I could easily see at least two lenses, probably three, covering those three tasks. At the least I would want a macro for the food, and a wide angle lens for the landscapes. The macro could serve double duty as a portrait lens.

Your current lens could serve well as a wide angle lens on a tripod. I think a good macro would be the EF-S 60mm Macro, or the EF 100mm Macro.

[Tronhard]

If you want a single lens to cover wide angle to mild telephoto I would suggest the Canon EF-S 15-85mm F3.5-5.6 IS USM lens.  It has a field of view equivalent to that of a 24-135mm lens on a FF body - the will cover most landscape and decent portrait functions and should give you a good general purpose performance.  I have two of them and find them to be excellent - some reviewers have called it the secret L lens because of its quality.  Of course it cannot rate as such as it is not compatible with full frame cameras, nor is it weatherproof.  Like all wide to tele lenses you will have to correct for distortion etc, but that can be done easily in post production.

The glass in this lens is high quality and it is at a reasonable price point because it is specifically designed for APS-C cameras, thus the optics can be made simpler.

This was taken on a Canon EOS 60D with the 15-85mm lens.

[ebiggs1]

I would second this recommendation, Canon EF-S 15-85mm F3.5-5.6 IS USM lens, except it's aperture is way too slow.  I very much would prefer to see you add the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens to your bag. You already have a very slow, variable aperture lens in the, "I'm currently using the EFS 18-135mm." Why would want to add another very slow, variable aperture lens ?

So, "Is there a better single lens that I could use for these types of photos?", yes there is and it is the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens.  WIth its fast and constant aperture at f2.8 it offers a lot you don't currently have.  Keep in mind you can shoot any and all type shots with any lens.  There are just some lenses that do certain jobs better than others.

[Tronhard]

I also agree with Ebiggs.  Really we are offering two different solutions that will both work but which one will work best for you will depend upon what you consider most important and how you will shoot.

WIthout doubt the 17-55 f2.8 is an excellent lens and will give you a Field of View of around around 28-88mm on your camera.  It too is a specialist lens for APS-C bodies.  It has virtually the same FoV as the 18-55 kit lens but is, of course, faster and has better glass.  The 15-85 is certainly slower than the 17-55, but it has a wider range at either end.

So the choice is yours.  I am lucky, I have both and they are both fine lenses.  In part, your decision may be dependent on finance, what, or how you want to shoot.  For ME, I use higher apertures most of the time (f6-11) for landscapes and rarely go down to 2.8, even for portraits -- that may not be your method

[Waddizzle]

The 17-55 and 15-85 are good lenses. But, what about food shots. As a macro, their magnification is roughly 0.2. I like the idea of a macro lens better. The EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM would compliment the existing lens nicely.

[Tronhard]

I did a search on Google for best lenses to photograph food and in about 10 seconds had access to a list of articles from food photography specialists on the gear that they use.  Our OP might find that worth their while.

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[Waddizzle]

My son is an executive chef. He uses a TS-E 45mm f/2.8 tilt-shift lens with an 80D.

[Tronhard]

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@Waddizzle wrote:
My son is an executive chef. He uses a TS-E 45mm f/2.8 tilt-shift lens with an 80D.

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I wasn't questioning your wisedom on this matter, and I don't disagree with you, but if I was going to seek information on specialist subject I would search for practising experts' advice and there is a ton of it out there if one asks the right question.   I would also seek a consensus of such advice from those same experts.