Recommendations for Canon Lens Aside from Kit Lens

[ezgod87]

Hi, I have just ordered a used canon 7D, which comes with the 18-55mm kit lens. I was looking to buy a second lens for more versatility, and so far have been looking at the 55-250mm lens. When using this camera, it will be primarily for architectural photography, however I was also looking for a lens that would allow me to use this camera for more general use cases like landscapes or travel. I appreciate that this is quite vague, I just wanted to check whether these two lenses would be suitable for the range of scenarios I'm looking at.

Just to add, I have a budget up to roughly £150, which is why I was looking at the 55-250mm lens as well

Thanks

[jrhoffman75]

Welcome.

If you get the STM version of the 55-250 you will have a good lens. Those two lenses will give you a good range of focal lengths.

[ebiggs1]

The two lenses are designed to work together. That's why one stops a 55mm and the other starts at 55mm. Coverage from 18mm to 250mm makes a pretty nice bag. There is another lens the EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM Lens to extend coverage even further.

[rs-eos]

£150 (approx USD 180) will be a bit short to purchase a new EF-S 55-250mm STM lens.  So you'd probably need to look at refurbished or used units.  If doing so, be sure to purchase only from authorized Canon resellers.  Bonus points if the lens would also come with a warranty.

[amfoto1]

I agree that the EF-S 55-250mm IS STM lens would be a good addition... It's a decent, but affordable option. You should be able to find used copies close to your budget. (Does MPB.com have a website in your part of the world? In the US they have a bunch of those lenses available.)

I do want to ask, though, what you mean by architectural photography? If you will be shooting exteriors and have plenty of room to back up, the EF-S 18-55mm that came with the camera should suffice. The 55-250mm would be useful for details that are otherwise hard to get close to. However, if you will be shooting interiors and in tighter conditions, a wider lens might be more useful to you... in that case you may want to look for an EF-S 10-18mm IS STM.

Personally I lean toward a wide angle lens for landscape photography too. Not to say that a telephoto like the 55-250mm can't also be used for landscape shots... It can. It's just that telephotos for landscapes are a bit less common and a somewhat different approach. You might want to look at some YouTube videos about lenses by landscape photographers, to get a better feel for this.You'll see a variety being used, but will probably find some a bias toward shorter focal lengths.

If you do watch some YouTube videos, be prepared to "convert" focal lengths, depending upon the type of camera the photographer is using. For example, they are using a full frame camera, you need to divide focal lengths by 1.6 to get equivalents to what you'll need for an APS-C camera like the 7D.

Travel photography can mean a lot of things... so any and all focal length can be useful. The main thing for travel in most peoples' thinking is a reasonably compact, portable kit that won't weight them down. All three of these lenses meet that description: 10-18mm, 18-55mm and 55-250mm.

Maybe you already know, but some other things (besides a few memory cards and extra batteries) you might want to consider...

• Lens hoods for all your lenses. Shading the lens often makes for better image quality. The hood also helps protect the lens from bumps (while in use... use the lens cap while storing it). There are specific hoods for each lens, so be careful to purchase the correct one for the best effectiveness and fit. Most Canon hoods reverse on the lens for easy storage.
• Circular polarizing filter(s) are quite useful for landscape and architectural photography. They reduce reflections, enhance foliage, deepen the blue of the sky and make clouds "pop". I would mainty recommend them for wide angle to normal lenses... not so much for telephotos.
• Image editing software, if you don't already have it. I'd recommend Adobe Photoshop Elements for still photos (Adobe Premier Elements is for video). This is relatively easy to learn and has a lot of support including how-to books, online tutoring, plug-ins and more.
• An image backup strategy... At least one external hard drive or an online cloud storage (or both). One thing that's guaranteed is that sooner or later computer drives fail and it's really painful when you lose years worth of irreplaceable images.

***********

Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7DII (x2), 7D(x2), EOS M5, some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR

[DonnyQ]

The 24mm f2.8 is within that price range and a good, wide angle lens to fit buildings and large landscapes fully into a frame.

[ebiggs1]

"Coverage from 18mm to 250mm makes a pretty nice bag."

It would be duplicated coverage if the OP opted for those two suggested lenses and is budget minded. The 24mm f2.8 and the mentioned  55-250mm would not make a good bag, IMHO.