Deciding between 80D with EF-S 18-55 & EF-S 55-250 OR 80D with EF-S 18-135

[georgekhan]

I am ready to step into the DSLR world and have pretty much decided on the 80D as my camera of choice. I has seen a bundle that includes the EF-S 18-55mm & EF-S 55-250mm lenses, and a separate slightly more expensive bundle that includes only the EF-S 18-135mm lens. I am after your advice on how to commence this journey into DSLR photography.

[kvbarkley]

As much as I like the 18-135, it is on my camera as I speak, if you have no plans to buy a longer telephoto like the 150-600 zooms from Tamron/Sigma, then you might want the two lens kit to get you a bit more reach.

If you don't need a telephoto, the 18-135 is a great lens with a pretty good reach.

[ebiggs1]

"I am ready to step into the DSLR world and have pretty much decided on the 80D as my camera of choice."

IMHO, the 80D is a better camera and deserves better lenses than the beginner lenses you are looking at.  The 80D is an intermediate or enthusiasts or prosummer camera if you will. I would buy a body only (80D) and buy the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens for it.  My next lens purchase would be the Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 for Canon EF.

The 80D and those two lenses will make the start to a great bag.

[AndyMilnePhotog]

...and buy the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens for it.  My next lens purchase would be the Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 for Canon EF...

...along with the 60mm f/2.8 Macro as the cherry on top of the sundae for close-up goodness & portraits.

[Tronhard]

Realize that lenses often outlast the camera body you start off with, so it is better to spend money on the glass up front - as ebiggs1 said.

When anyone asks me what they should get in terms of camera equipment I always ask them these questions to find out what will best suit your needs.

If you are choosing a lens system for an 80D you must realize the implications of the smaller sensor on what the lens "sees" as opposed to what is written on the lens itself. While a lens does not itself physically alter when put on a crop sensor body or full-frame one, how it behaves does.  I suggest you read: https://www.dpreview.com/articles/2666934640/what-is-equivalence-and-why-should-i-care It will explain why you need to multiply the values written on your lens by 1.6 (the crop factor of your 80D) for the focal lengths and f values as your camera will apply them. How this works in essence is that an apparent wide angle lens of 18mm will, in fact, behave like a 29mm lens - much less wide angle than you might expect. At the other end of the scale a 200mm lens will actually have a Field of View of around 320mm, making things seem a lot closer.

You will get lots of very sincere advice,much of it differing but it will help everyone if you can tell us the following:

1. What is your budget?
That has a profound impact on what we can validly suggest for you. As Ebiggs1 said the body is a higher end unit, so it deserves decent glass, but if you run out of money for that you need to consider whether you should look at a sligtly lower end body, or a second-hand unit to save money for the glass. Remember lenses almost always outlast the camera bodies we buy, so your lens investment will be a longer term one.

2. What will you be photographing?
That will help to define the types of gear required. There is a wide range of uses for cameras and they often call for different gear. Thus someone doing weddings albums will likely have different requirements compared to a wildlife shooter or a videographer. For example:

If you are wanting general purpose photography I would suggest a combination of these:
EF-S 15-85mm USM lens, it has one of the widest angles (it will behave like a 24-135mm lens on your camera, and will be an excellent walk around lens.

If you want more telephoto options there are many and your choice will depend on exactly how much reach you want. Canon make a great EF 70-300 F4.0-5.6 IS II USM that is not a budget breaker and will have an equivalent FoV on your camera of 112-420mm. SO with two lenses you could cover a lot of situations.  However if you hope to shoot birds at a long distance then Sigma 150-500 lens may be better.  So you see it depends on your subject choices...

3. What kind of Output will you be generating?
VERY significantly, the requirements to produce high-quality large-format prints are very different from producing media for the web or for small prints, and then there is videography. If you go for just digital output you don't have to invest as much money as for say, large format prints.

4. How Serious Do You Intend to Get?
Will you be: e.g.casual, student, enthusiast, semi-pro, professional? If they are not serious do you need an expensive system? If you have very serious asperations then consider EF lenses such as the 17-40mm (28-64mm)* and the EF 70-200 (112-320) Mk II lens.  By getting EF lenses you can put them on a full-frame body if you so choose in the future, while the EF-S lenses are designed only to be used on crop sensor bodies such as the 7D, 80D and Rebel bodies.

At the lower end of the scale the lenses I would suggest would be a choice of:

EF-S 18-55 (29-88) IS STM lens + EF-S 55-250 (88-400) IS STM These two lenses are cheap but perform well for their price point and could get you started.

or...

EF-S 18-135mm (29-216mm) IS STM lens  + a suitable telephoto depending on your needs - maybe wait a while?  Just getting the one lens could be a good way to get the feel of DSLR photography and decide later on how to invest in bigger glass.

*I have shown equivalence values in brackets

[ebiggs1]

"...along with the 60mm f/2.8 Macro as the cherry on top of the sundae for close-up goodness & portraits."

I love it. 

[TCampbell]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"...along with the 60mm f/2.8 Macro as the cherry on top of the sundae for close-up goodness & portraits."

I love it. 

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Of all the EF-S lenses I've used, that was was, by far, my favorite.  (Although I never had the 17-55 f/2.8)

[Anthonyhbm]

I agree. Remeber you can always buy lenses refurbished or second hand and save yourself a few dollars. Wider aperatures are important especially if you plan to take indoor photos. Unfortunaeately the 18-55 and 55-250 will quickly frustrate you if you shoot inside. So the EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 is a good all-purpose lens. Its f/2.8 constant aperature will allow you to take photos in vastly more situations because it wide opening allows in up to four times as much light as the lenses you mentioned. Right now you can find a good used one at B&H Photo for $664 (new $829). Happy shooting.

[Waddizzle]

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@georgekhan wrote:

I am ready to step into the DSLR world and have pretty much decided on the 80D as my camera of choice. I has seen a bundle that includes the EF-S 18-55mm & EF-S 55-250mm lenses, and a separate slightly more expensive bundle that includes only the EF-S 18-135mm lens. I am after your advice on how to commence this journey into DSLR photography.

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The two lens camera kit is a pretty good jump start for someone just starting out.  I would highly recommend it, or the single lens kit with the 18-55mm lens.

The 18-135mm lens is a pretty good one, and a good march for an APS-C image sensor body like the 80D.  I just think the zoom ratio, longest to shortest zoom focal length, is a little on the too wide side of the fence.  A zoom ratio of 3 or 4 to 1 usually means a sharper lens at the extremes of the focal length.

Telephoto lenses come in three basic ranges: medium telephoto [70-200mm]; telephoto [100-400mm]; and super telephoto [400mm and up].  Which is best to buy really depends upon what you want to photograph.  Bear in mind that the longer the focal length, the bigger the price tag, and the heavier the lens.

I think the 55-250mm is a good lens to learn how to use a telephoto lens.  The perspective in the viewfinder is a bit like looking at the world through a straw.  Of course, the longer the focal length, the longer the straw will seem.

[TCampbell]

The lenses you're considering are great affordable entry level lenses.  They'll get you the focal length for most general purpose photography.

But there's no "best" lens and which lens to use depends on what you're shooting.

So if, for examle, you're shooting sports/action and you need a fast shutter, it's nice to have a lens that can collect a LOT of light quickly so that the shutter doesn't need to remain open very long... i.e. a zoom lens with an f/2.8 focal ratio like the 70-200mm f/2.8 (but those aren't cheap).

If, for example, you wanted to shoot portraits and you want a sharp subject but a blurred background, then maybe you want a low-focal ratio prime like the 85mm f/1.8 or even 50mm f/1.8 STM.

If, for example, you want to shoot close-up photography, then maybe you want a macro lens like the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM.

The EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 is basically the same focal length range as the 18-55... but the 17-55 can provide the low f/2.8 focal ratio throughout the entire range whereas the 18-55 is a variable focal ratio lens and it's only f/3.5 at wide-open and by the time you get roughly halfway through the zoom range (somewhere around 30-35mm) it'll drop to f/5.6 (the f/2.8 focal ratio collects 4x more light than f/5.6).  So this gives you an advantage in low-light shooting and also decreases the depth of field (although if you want shallow depth of field you're better off getting a lens that can do f/2 or lower such as one of the f/1.8 lenses or even an f/1.4 lens).

These are all things that are beyond the capabilities of the 18-55 & 55-250mm lenses.

The whole point of having a camera that allows you to remove one lens and attach another is that you can select a lens which is more optimal for the type of photography you plan to shoot at that moment.

The kit lenses you mentioned are great "walking around" general purpose photographic lenses at an affordable price.  

I would not worry too much about trying to buy all the right glass on day 1.  As you use the camera you'll start to get a feel for what you'd enjoy shooting and consider that maybe you want to own a lens for that.  

If you only need a lens for some special occasion, you can rent them for a lot less than it costs to buy.