Total Noob Lens Question: EF lens recos for Alaska cruise

[GRAYWOLF69]

I have used various P&C digital cameras, but I have minimal experience with a DSLR. I am going on a cruise to Alaska in a few months.
I am looking to rent a Rebel T7i. I am wanting to try to get some shots of wildlife and other interesting sights from the ship. Basically looking for how to pick the right telephoto lens. I do not understand how the numbers translate into anything meaningful.

*I did try to search, but only got a post about matching lens and camera, not about decoding lens labels.

[stevet1]

GRAYWOLFF69,

If you are going to rent the T7i, you may as well rent the lens as well.

I'd say anything in the 400-500-600 range would probably work. If you're going to be on a ship, you're probably going to be photographing things that will be far away from you. A 100-400 or 100-500 would let you photograph things close-up as well.

Just be aware that these are big, heavy lenses.

A smaller lens like a 55-250 will be a lot easier to carry around, but you won't get as much reach as the others.

Steve Thomas

[ebiggs1]

First I am surprised you can even rent a Rebel T7i. I would very much prefer you buy a good used one. They are around $400 bucks used and you can sell it on after your trip if you don't want to keep it. I think  if you do end up using a T7i, I think you will be disappointed if you don't have a 600mm lens. That leaves two choices really either the Sigma or Tamron.

You may want to rent the lens but again I would prefer to buy one and sell it afterwards. Consider all rent fees and shipping is lost. So even if you lose money on buying and selling it will most likely be less than the rent.

So my recommendation is to get this gear right now and practice with it. Using a big tele super zoom is not something you want to learn on the job. Do it at your leisure and that's the best reason for not renting. The Rebel T7i comes with a nice general purpose lens ef-s17-55mm. The addition of either the Sigma 150-600mm C lens or the Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens should do the job.

Practice, practice and practice. Use raw format and get a good photo editor and you will get great photos to remember your trip.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

Any investment should be in mirrorless, not DSLR.  You have zero invested in this technology now and mirrorless is the future.   I was in Alaska for 2 weeks the summer before last.  You could get by nicely with two lenses on a budget.  

You will definitely need 2 lenses for the trip.  A zoom is good, but you are going to need a lens with a shorter focal length when you step off the boat.  Maybe you could consider stepping up?  Let's talk about your budget.  What is that?  What's the goal here?  A one time rental for your trip or owning something?    

Entry level cameras are a lot less expensive than you might think. You just missed one of the biggest sales of the year.  Not to worry though, because Christmas is coming and you aren't leaving for a few months. 

If you don't want to buy or own, renting gear is fine, but don't rent a DSLR.  Rent an R series body.  There's no reason not to. Here's an example.  The R50

Want to step up.  R6 mkII, R5 even the R5 mkII can be rented.  

How about a lens or two

Want to keep costs down further.  Buy a camera and rent some dream lenses that will make your trip special.  

The sales will be coming again which means you have options.  Ebiggs1's advice about buying gear now and practicing is a good one.  Then rent some exceptional lenses for the trip.  Just something to consider.  There are several ways you can approach this.  

[GRAYWOLF69]

Thank you for all of the responses.

Yes, the plan is to rent body & lens(es)...renting as a test run for the idea of buying (if it goes well, start looking to buy one)
I am good with my P&C cameras for close shots, My main " focus" of this adventure was around possibly getting some good distance shots. I get really good shots with my P&C, but when I crop to zoom in on the subject it loses clarity.
As a purchase, I would definitely want a short/med range lens, as well as telephoto.
The rental of the T7i and lens and insurance looks like it will be about $300 for 2 weeks. (little easier to swallow than $1000+ on an uncertain purchase).

My looking at DSLR is mostly due to my ignorance. I am old enough that I started taking pictures on a 110 (while they were still in production)! The top of the line cameras were SLR. I have been using digital since they have been available and DSLR was top of the line (as far as I know)...I just assumed that was the route to go...Now that you have mentioned it, SLR/DSLR is only really useful for when you are using the viewfinder, right...not really for using the screen? If that is what you are saying, I guess I don't really need the SLR function...I just really want the swappable lens function. What are the pros/cons?

Is the mirror the only difference between the T7 & R50? is the R $50 worth an extra $150?

I had not considered, buying the body and renting the lens....more to consider.  

[stevet1]

GRAYWOLF69,

You asked,

"Is the mirror the only difference between the T7 & R50? is the R $50 worth an extra $150?"

For me personally, I would say the answer is yes for this reason and it lies in the pictures you provided:

The T7 has a Digic 4 + Processor. The R50 has a Digic X Processor. That's a six step jump in processing power and speed.

Steve Thomas

PREVIEW

[Ron888]

"SLR/DSLR is only really useful for when you are using the viewfinder, right...not really for using the screen?"
While they are built differently,both the Rebel T7 and R50 can be used with live view on the rear screen or through their viewfinders.
As for the pros and cons of DSLR i best leave that to others! I havent owned a DSLR for some years.

By the way,the Rebel T7 you just mentioned is very different from the Rebel T7i from your first comment.The T7i is similar in spec to an R100 ,with the R50 another step up from that.
The T7 is a base model which is well below the T7i (half the frames/sec for example)

FWIW, if i had to choose for you i'd suggest the R50. You get more advanced features than DSLR,access to both RF *and* EF lenses (you cant do that with the DSLR),and it has decent enthusiast specs.It has better tracking focus than the R100 and much higher frame rates.It will cope decently with moving subjects (sports,pets,kids) where the R100 would struggle.
All the best! I don't much envy the job in front of you. It will take some time to understand all your options😲

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

Is the mirror the only difference?  Not even close.

😂. Here's a side by side. 

https://cameradecision.com/compare/Canon-EOS-R50-vs-Canon-EOS-Rebel-T7i

If you have questions, just ask. We're all happy to help.  

[Ron888]

I just noticed the tele lens query from your original post.Maybe it will help to use an online angle of view calculator?
Try this out-
https://www.pointsinfocus.com/tools/depth-of-field-and-equivalent-lens-calculator/#{%22c%22:[{%22f%2...}

In the first box choose Canon APS-C
Then fill the focal length and distance boxes. It will show you what angle of view the lens has -both vertical and horizontal.
It can also work the other way.Enter the lens size then hit one of the buttons lower down(face head and shoulders etc) and it will show what distance you need
Does that help?

[GRAYWOLF69]

For anyone still watching this thread...Ready for the plot twist?

To keep this brief, it might seem a bit disjointed...
I am in possession of my mother's old DSLR. I had not looked at it in a few years and remembered it being an old nonfunctional Nikon.

After the discussion here, I decided to find it to check out the lenses to see if they would work with either of the potential rentals.

Finding the camera I, realize it is a Canon 20D, but still thinking it is nonfunctional. I start researching the lenses,  however you all probably already know that the lenses are EF, not RF.

Both batteries are dead and no charger. Thanks to Amazon I get a CF card reader and batteries and charger for a few bucks.

It has an 8MB CF card in it. and is flashing "CF Full" on the top screen. I am able to view the pictures (of my now grown) daughter as a young child, as well as a couple of pictures of my late mother. I get the pictures downloaded and use the camera to format the card..."CF Full", still!

I find a 4GB (type II) card in my stash and pop that in the camera and find a small treasure trove of more pictures of my kids from when they were young, as well as more pictures of my mother...but still getting CF Full..

Card reader only worked for Type I, so I could not access the card to pull the pictures. Went by a camera shop today to have them take look...Dude pops in a 1GB card and it works perfectly!

That said (so much for keeping it short)...I have a functioning 20D with a pair of Tamron lenses (28-80 & 75-300)!

Is this 75-300 going to have adequate reach, or do I need to get my hands on something like 100-400 or 100-600, etc?

Bad new is, the 75-300 was stored in the camera bag without lens caps. There is dust on the lens (end that attaches to the camera). Camera guy said to use a q-tip to clean it, but in the excitement of finding out I have a working camera, I forgot to ask if I should use some kind of cleaner, or just the dry Q-tip?

also, the rubber around the mode knob (portrait/scenery/action) is leaving a black goo on my fingers when I touch it. Is there a way to clean it, or replace the rubber?