Rebel T7 Additional Telephoto Lens

[Hamop54]

I have the Rebel T7 with an 18-55 mm zoom lense. I want to add the EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM @$234.99. It's not a $1200 lense but it seems like a match for the camera based on the retail price range.

Any thoughts on this?

I got the Rebel as a gift and have been enjoying ever since. 

[kvbarkley]

One HUGE advantage that the 55-250 has over the 75-300 is IS (Image Stabilization). It *greatly* reduces the amount of blur due to camera movement.

[amfoto1]

I agree with Trevor... Get the EF-S 55-250mm IS STM lens and give it a try. (Slight correction: There is no "USM" version of the 55-250mm. Be sure to get the "STM" version. It will give better focus performance. There are two versions that don't have STM or "stepper motor" focus drive. Those other two versions use a slower, noisier "micro motor" focus drive system.)

The 55-250mm offers much better image quality than the EF 75-300mm III USM. Plus the 55-250mm has IS that is particularly helpful with telephoto lenses, which can be more difficult to hold steady. The EF 70-300mm IS USM lenses Trevor suggests are a good alternative. There are four versions of EF 70-300mm... EF 70-300mm IS USM original and the newer "II"... EF 70-300mm "L" IS USM which is more robust, better sealed for dust and weather resistance, off-white color and has option of fitting a tripod mounting ring... and an EF 70-300mm "DO" IS USM that uses "diffractive optics" to be more compact (but not any lighter weight). All these typically cost more than EF-S 55-250mm... even used or refurbished. The "L", in particular, is fairly expensive. Now discontinued for some time, the "DO" used to be the most expensive of the bunch, but used copies sell for quite reasonable prices today. 

An "extension tube" will not do what you want. Extension tubes have no optics in them and are fitted between the lens and the camera to make the lens focus closer, such as for macro shots. While the tube is installed, the lens will not be able to focus to infinity, which is about where you're trying to shoot (1500 feet away) those trains!

Don't confuse extension tubes with "Extenders", which is what Canon and a few others call teleconverters. These do have optics that effectively multiply the focal length of the lens to make a telephoto more powerful (without changing the close focus distance). Common Extenders are 1.4X and 2X.

However, Extenders and teleconverters only work with certain lenses... and neither the EF-S 55-250mm or EF 75-300mm are a good candidate for that. Canon's own EF 1.4X and EF 2X teleconverters won't even physically fit to either of those lenses. They have a protruding front element that needs to fit inside the rear barrel of the lens, and the internal diameter of the 55-250 and 75-300 is not large enough to accommodate the extenders. Some lenses also have rear elements that will interfere with the front element of the teleconverter.

Not to mention, there's always some "loss of light" to teleconverters. Those lenses that are f/5.6 would effectively "become" f/8 lenses if a 1.4X were attached (one stop of light lost).... while if a 2X were attached they would "become" f/11 lenses. In both cases, your T7 will be unable to autofocus. There simply isn't enough light reaching the AF sensors inside the camera for them to work. In order for your camera to autofocus with a 1.4X teleconverter, the lens must have at least an f/4 max aperture. And to be able to autofocus with a 2X, the lens needs to be at least an f/2.8. f/4 lenses are significantly more expensive, while f/2.8 are even pricier. They also are a lot bigger and heavier (more likely to need a sturdy tripod, less likely to be able to use hand held). Finally, there is some loss of image quality whenever more optics are added to lenses. It can be very little, with top quality like Canon's own 1.4X Extender, but increases with stronger 2X teleconverters and can be particularly bad with inexpensive, 3rd party teleconverters.

The EF-S 55-250mm will be great for daytime shots of sporting events or trains. Try it to see if it gets you what you want. Get closer if need be. The 55-250mm will not be all that great for indoor portraits or indoor sports like basketball and offers limited use for outdoor portraits or landscape photography.

In low light (indoor) conditions you need lenses with larger apertures. Zooms with larger apertures are available, but are big, heavy and expensive. And, for that matter, most zooms largest aperture is f/2.8. Another purpose for large apertures is shallow depth of field effects, such as blurring down a background for a portrait shot.

A very affordable lens with a pretty large aperture is Canon's EF 50mm f/1.8 STM. This is more than a full stop larger than f/2.8 and more than two stops (4X) brighter than f/4 (such as the 55-250 has at 55mm). The 50mm f/1.8 is also a compact, lightweight lens. Might even slip into a pocket. Great for portraits and moderately useful for indoor sports (a bit longer focal length such as 85mm or 100mm would be nice, but adds quite a bit of cost).

While a telephoto like the EF-S 55-250mm certainly can be used for landscape photography, that's sort of specialized... Not something most landscape photographers would do a lot. More commonly landscape photographers look for a wide view, which also helps with deep depth of field by making possible sharpness from near to far with smaller apertures like f/8 or f/11 (opposite of the large aperture, shallow depth of field effect so useful for portraits).

Your 18-55mm lens gives you a moderately wide angle of view. Maybe that's enough for you. If so, great. If not, one of the most affordable "ultrawide" lenses is Canon's EF-S 10-18mm IS STM. 10, 11, 12mm etc. make possible dramatically wide shots. This lens is also compact, lightweight and one of the few of this type with image stabilization (very wide lenses are pretty easy to hand hold steady, but IS is a nice addition none-the-less).

Finally, maybe you already know, something that can both enhance your images and help protect your lenses is a lens hood. These are sold separately from all the above lenses, but well worth getting. All the below hoods bayonet fit onto the lens for use and can be reversed on the lens for more compact storage.

Your EF-S 18-55mm IS "II" lens uses Canon EW-60C lens hood. (Note: If you happen to have the EF-S 18-55mm IS "STM" lens, that lens uses EW-63C hood instead. But usually T7 are sold with the 18-55mm II, not with the STM lens.)

The EF-S 55-250mm IS STM lens uses Canon ET-63 lens hood.

The EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens has a deeply recessed front element, so probably doesn't need a lens hood. However, if you prefer, Canon ES-68 lens hood is available to fit that lens. A hood would be recommended if a filter were fitted to the lens.

EF-S 10-18mm IS STM lens uses Canon EW-73C lens hood.

I hope this helps!

***********

Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7DII (x2), 7D(x2) some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & ZENFOLIO 

[kvbarkley]

A nit:

It is generally only the Canon teleconverters that work with certain lenses. My Tamron 1.4 has worked with every lens I throw at it.

(The saying about boats applies to teleconverters: The two happiest days in a photographers life are when he gets his teleconverter and the day he puts it in a drawer and stops using it.)

[Tronhard]

If the OP is interested, there is EF-S 55-250 IS STM available from the Canon Refurbished site, essentially as new, with (as I understand it) a 1-year warranty AT THIS LINK for $239.

[Hamop54]

It does help. Thanks for all the info. I will save it here for use in the not to distant future. 

[Hamop54]

Hello Alan, I like the idea of the smaller compact lense, EF 50mm f/1.8 STM.. The zoom lens I have is always bumping into stuff when moving around with the grandkids. I assume that with this lens you still can select smaller openings like f4 or f11 & 16 if you need to reduce the light?? 

[Tronhard]

Re:  you still can select smaller openings like f4 or f11 & 16 if you need to reduce the light??

Yes, of course.  The EF 50mm lens on a T7 will give a mild telephoto effect, thus much depends on what you are going to photograph.  If you are considering the train, then it is far too short and the 55-250 is much more appropriate.  If you are going to photograph the kids in close proximity, then the 50mm might do, but if you want to capture a wider range that is actually closer to what the human eye perceived, then something around 35mm for your kind of camera is going to arguably work better.

Yes, most lenses have much smaller apertures that will drastically reduce the amount of light coming into the camera, and at the same time making a great depth of field - i.e. more things looking sharp.

[kvbarkley]

Note that the RF super-telephotos economy lenses are fixed at f/11.

[Tronhard]

Yes, but they are an odd case, and I did say most after all. Furthermore, those lenses are for R-series bodies and are not relevant to the T7 that OP has.  I tend to tailor my responses specifically to the situation of the OP, since they are the ones asking for advice and I don't want to confuse the issue for them. 

In this case, given the OP's budget and the purpose intended, I don't think that applies in this case.

[kvbarkley]

I did not mean to imply that your answer was not complete, just that there are some *Canon* lenses in the wild with fixed apertures, and not just some off-brand mirror lenses.