Which lenses should I keep?

[goody]

Hello all, let me first say that my knowledge of photography is next to nothing. I have “inherited” some camera equipment and I know that some of the lenses are in essence “duplicates”.  I have the following Canon lenses:

EFS 10-18mm 1:4.5-5.6 IS STM

EF 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 IS USM

EF 70-200mm 1:2.8 L IS USM

EFS 18-135mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS

EFS 19-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS STM

EFS 55-250mm 1:4-5.6 IS II

Two camera bodies 60D and 80D.  I plan on keeping the 80D and giving the 60D to my younger sister.  Which lenses should I keep and which should I give to her that I don’t really need?  Thanks for your time!

[goody]

Make that an 18-55mm

[RobertTheFat]

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@goody wrote:

Hello all, let me first say that my knowledge of photography is next to nothing. I have “inherited” some camera equipment and I know that some of the lenses are in essence “duplicates”.  I have the following Canon lenses:

EFS 10-18mm 1:4.5-5.6 IS STM

EF 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 IS USM

EF 70-200mm 1:2.8 L IS USM

EFS 18-135mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS

EFS 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS STM

EFS 55-250mm 1:4-5.6 IS II

Two camera bodies 60D and 80D.  I plan on keeping the 80D and giving the 60D to my younger sister.  Which lenses should I keep and which should I give to her that I don’t really need?  Thanks for your time!

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Keep the 10-18, the 70-200, the 18-135, and the 55-250; give the rest to your sister. If you're feeling really generous, give her the 55-250 too.

[ebiggs1]

"Keep the 10-18, the 70-200, the 18-135, and the 55-250 ...."  Corrected list !  

Add to your keepers the EFS 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS STM

If you own an ef 70-200mm f2.8L  you will not, never ever, use the latter two.  They do not belong in the same zip code as this lens.

[Waddizzle]

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@goody wrote:

Hello all, let me first say that my knowledge of photography is next to nothing. I have “inherited” some camera equipment and I know that some of the lenses are in essence “duplicates”.  I have the following Canon lenses:

EFS 10-18mm 1:4.5-5.6 IS STM - Keeper

EF 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 IS USM - Duplicated by 70-200 and 55-250 

EF 70-200mm 1:2.8 L IS USM - Keeper

EFS 18-135mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS - Keeper

EFS 19-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS STM - Sister

EFS 55-250mm 1:4-5.6 IS II - Sister

Two camera bodies 60D and 80D.  I plan on keeping the 80D and giving the 60D to my younger sister.  Which lenses should I keep and which should I give to her that I don’t really need?  Thanks for your time!

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You are correct, the focal ranges are duplicated by three lenses: the 55-250, 70-300, and the 70-200.  If all of the lenses had one previous ownder that is probably the order in which they were acquired.  The 70-300 is the sore thumb. It is a better than that older version of the 55-250.  BUT.  It would be useful to you for the 300mm focal length, though.

The 18-55 and 55-250 are a natural pairing.  They used to be packaged together in Canon DSLR camera kits.  Those two lenses, with the 60D, is a complete starter package. A good add to this package would be the least expensive lens that Canon currently sells, the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM

The 18-135 was also packaged in Canon DSLR camera kits.  That focal length is packged in 80D kits today, but with an updated version of the lens.  The 10-18 is a great wide angle.  The 70-200 is a high quality telephoto zoom.  Those three lenses are a great package.

Which leaves the 70-300mm sticking out like a sore thumb, again.  

[TCampbell]

The EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM is, by far, the best lens in the group (it's a fantastic lens).  I have the first and second generation versions of that lens and they get more use than any of my other lenses (even for things like portraits).

The EF-S 10-18 is a great wide-angle lens.

But the "normal" focal length for these cameras is about 27mm... so you've got a good wide angle and an very high end telephoto... but you need something to cover the normal range. 

Between the 18-55mm STM and the 18-135mm (non STM), the STM lens is the better of the two.  So I'd probably use that.

I agree that if you have the 70-200 f/2.8L... you'll never want to use the 55-250 or the 70-300mm.  

[RobertTheFat]

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@TCampbell wrote:

The EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM is, by far, the best lens in the group (it's a fantastic lens).  I have the first and second generation versions of that lens and they get more use than any of my other lenses (even for things like portraits).

The EF-S 10-18 is a great wide-angle lens.

But the "normal" focal length for these cameras is about 27mm... so you've got a good wide angle and an very high end telephoto... but you need something to cover the normal range. 

Between the 18-55mm STM and the 18-135mm (non STM), the STM lens is the better of the two.  So I'd probably use that.

I agree that if you have the 70-200 f/2.8L... you'll never want to use the 55-250 or the 70-300mm.  

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The reason I think I'd favor the 18-135 over the 18-55 (neither of which I've ever used) is that it eliminates the coverage gap between 55 and 70 mm. Until I finally bought a full-frame body (which eliminated the coverage gap for reasons not germane to this discussion), I found the coverage gap very annoying.

[TCampbell]

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@RobertTheFat wrote:

The reason I think I'd favor the 18-135 over the 18-55 (neither of which I've ever used) is that it eliminates the coverage gap between 55 and 70 mm. Until I finally bought a full-frame body (which eliminated the coverage gap for reasons not germane to this discussion), I found the coverage gap very annoying.

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There is the coverage gap.   If this is the original 18-135 (and not the STM or USM version) then the 18-55 is probably better w.r.t. optical performance.  

Since it’s a small gap, so I consider the trade-offs:

• How often would I need that specific range (e.g. suppose I want 60mm... could I just drop down to 55?  Or if I want 65mm ... could I just bump it up to 70?). Do I do any type of photography where the range needs to be extremely specific?
• What other trade-offs are there?  
  
  • If you bump up to 70mm then you can use the 70-200 ... which has an f/2.8 focal ratio.  The 18-135mm has a max aperture of f/5.6 in that range.
  • The original 18-135 (if this isn’t the STM or USM version) starts to suffer some degraded options just as it hits this range (it does best in the 18-55mm range even though it’s an 18-135mm lens) which chromatic aberration in the edges of the frame. 

This is why I sort of favor the 18-55 STM.  The OP’s sister is going to need either the 18-55 or the 18-135 (or obtain another lens that can handle the standard range).

[wq9nsc]

Agree with the others, don't let that 70-200 F2.8 get away.  It is my favorite lens and it doesn't disappoint.

Rodger

[goody]

Thank you everyone for the awesome advice, it was most helpful!