Buying myself a camera, would like some advice from you guys!

[iArson]

 So as we get older we become our own Santa's! I wanted to splurge and get myself a good camera. I had used my friends Nikon at an eSports even in October and have wanted one since. In an ideal world, I want to buy something thats going to last me. Price isn't necessarily an issue, so I was thinking the 80D. Is this a good starting point? Should I be buying it with the 18-135mm lens or the 18-55mm lens? Should I invest any other lenses to start out with as well? I was looking at a lens kit that came with the 10-18mm and the 50mm. Thank you kindly for the help in advance!

[Waddizzle]

The EOS 80D is more than a good entry level camera.  It is outfitted with many professional grade features, only lacking the highly advanced Auto Focus systems and weather resistant bodies that Canon's professional grade cameras have. 

Whether or not it is best for your purposes is another matter.  The 80D is a well rounded camera, meaning it performs many tasks demanded of cameras quite well.  It's strong suit is that it is what I think of as a "family camera", meaning it will excel at shooting stills at family events, both indoor and outdoors. 

An external flash is highly recommended for indoor use, although not necessarily required.  None of the built-in flashes can reach much more than 10 feet, and the professional cameras lack a built-in flash entirely.  The 80D is also good at capturing video, and is one of the few Canon DSLRs that can Auto Focus while recording video.

As for lenses, Canon lenses come in two basic mounting styles, distinguished by the starting letters of their model numbers.  The "EF" lenses tend to be bigger and heavier.  All of Canon's professional grade "L Series" of lenses are EF mount lenses.  Canon also makes "EF-S" lenses that are smaller and lighter, and tend to be les costly than EF lenses. 

The EF-S lenses are designed to work exclusively with Canon's entry level cameras, which have smaller image sensors [ APS-C Sensor ] than Canon's professional grade cameras.  The 80D can use either EF or EF-S lenses because of it uses an APS-C sensor.

Another difference between lenses is the type of Auto Focus drive mechanism used to focus the lenses.  You would want to stick with Canon lenses with model numbers that end with either "STM", which is typically found on budget EF-S lenses, or lenses with model numbers that end with :USM, which is more typicaly found on EF lenses.

As far as what range of focal lengths are best, you cannont go wrong with pairing the 80D with a zoom lens that has a "standard" range, such as one of the EF-S 18-135mm lenses.  My personal preference is to stick with the EF series of lenses, because they can be used on professional grade cameras.  The EF-S lenses do not mount onto "full frame" professional grade, camera bodies.

There is a lot more that can be said, but I think if you better defined what type of uses you expect for the camera, you could get more refined advice on a camera body.  I have been tempted to recommend the EOS 7D Mark II, which is a stellar camera for action photograpy, but not as great for shooting video.  If shooting stills is more your style, then the EOS 6D is good choice because of its' full frame image sensor, and excellent low light performance.  If you want both action performance and low light performance, then look at the EOS 5D Mark III, or even the just released 5D Mark IV.

[newsense52]

Reviews from magazines give you an idea what you are looking for, see also online for extra infos.

As I heard from owners of camera, Leica camera owners are satisfied.

My choice is Sony Alpha R 7 ll with Rokinon wide angle lens e mount, 24.3 MP, less than 2K.

[ebiggs1]

"Leica camera owners are satisfied."

OK, I'll bite, was there a point to that?  Canon owners are satisfied, also!

"My choice is Sony Alpha R 7 ll with Rokinon wide angle lens..."

This a Canon forum, maybe you need to look for a Sony forum? 

[ebiggs1]

Now for the correct answer.

Any current Canon camera body is going to be fantastic.  As they get more expensive you get a few more features and a more robust build.  Check the specs and if the 80D meets most of them, it will serve you well for a long, long time.  If you have the coin to drop, my opinion is in one of the xD series models.  I.E. the 7D Mk II or 5D Mk IV and lesser 6D.  These are truly at the top of the heap.  They are build tough and a good attempt at weather sealing.  Something the lesser models will lack.

So that settled, what is the correct answer?  It is the lenses you choose.  Not the camera body that makes the picture.

If the camera choice is the 80D or 7D Mk II, the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens is the lens you want with it.

If the camera choice is the 5D Mk IV or its lesser cousin the 6D, you preferably want the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens.  This is a top choice and has a price tag to match it.  But be content that no camera/lens combo made will better it. None!

Rest assured that even the Rebel T6i and its kit lens will make beautiful photographs. And, it will do so at a fraction of the cost.

So, now where are you?  The choice is yours but do spend more time picking a lens than the camera.

[Waddizzle]

"Should I be buying it with the 18-135mm lens or the 18-55mm lens? Should I invest any other lenses to start out with as well? I was looking at a lens kit that came with the 10-18mm and the 50mm. Thank you kindly for the help in advance!"

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The EF-S 18-135mm IS STM [or the newer USM version] is an excellent walk around lens.  It is very good outdoors on sunny days throughout its' entire zoom range.  When used indoors, I would stick to the 18mm end of the zoom range because the aperture is widest at the short end.  The 18-135mm is also a bit too long for the internal flash to clear, and so it casts a shadow.  An external flash is a must if you need to use a flash with this lens.  Due to its' range of focal lengths, the 18-135mm falls into a category of lenses known as "standard zoom", because it covers the standard focal lengths.

The EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens has the same range of maximum aperture settings across its' zoom range as the 18-135mm lenses.  You will get a maximum of f/3.5 at 18mm and f/5.6 at 55mm [f/5.6 at 135mm on the 18-135].  This lens features "STM" technology in its' focusing motors, which means smooth, accurate, and quiet auto focusing.  The image quality is quite good, and similar to the 18-135mm lenses.

The EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6mm IS STM lens is the lower priced lens out of two EF-S ultra wide angle lenses from Canon.  The other EF-S wide angle is much larger, and sells at double the list price, the EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens.  Both lenses are a good item to have in your lens kit.  I happen to prefer the 10-22mm for several reasons related to how it is built: internal zooming; internal focusing; wider zoom range; and a wider aperture.  The internal zooming and focusing means that it will not change size when you change the focus or zoom settings.  The 10-18mm lens is still a good lens to use, though.

The EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens that comes paired with the 10-18mm in a kit has been an excellent buy in recent weeks, because the sale price of the kit is almost equal to the price of the 10-18mm alone.  Be aware that the 50mm has a focal length that is widely considered ideal for portraits, but perhaps a bit long for use as a walk around lens.  The fast aperture will come in useful in low light situations, and will expose you to creative use of Depth-Of-Field. 

However, I think that being a prime lens, the 50mm will make you stop and think about composing your shots a bit more before you take them.  It is all too easy to twist the zoom ring, and click the shutter, without putting much thought into the shot.  I think prime lenses are excellent teaching tools, and the cost of the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM is more than worth the lessons that it can potentially teach you, and the good habits that it can instill. For example, go out one day and take pictures of only red things using just the 50mm lens, or just one focal length on a standard zoom lens.

Finally, I suggest that you buy a camera bag large enough to hold your camera and all of your lenses, plus still have some room left over for at least 2-3 more lenses.  Your camera kit will grow over time, as you add lenses, or even a flash.  Once you find a good bag, then leave that big one at home, and buy another lighter, smaller bag to use as your carry around bag as you travel on a day trip somewhere. 

Let this second bag be just large enough for the camera with an attached lens, and room for another lens and/or a flash.  My big camera kit bag is a backpack, and my favorite walk around bag is a messenger style bag, which I can reach inside of without having to take it off my shoulder.

[TCampbell]

You mention that price isn't necessarily an issue.

The 80D is the top of the line "enthusiast" grade camera.  But depending on what you really want to do, there are other choices.  It's a very good general purpose camera.

There are some bodies that are higher performing cameras depending on your areas of interest.  E.g. you mentioned sports... the 7D II is a bit more technical but it is a higher performance body for "action" photography (it can certainly be used for general photography, but it has a better focusing system and faster bursting speed.)

There are other bodies which are 'full frame' and have better ISO performance for photography in low light.  There are other bodies with very high resolution (resolutions so high that they aren't practical for images meant to be displayed on a computer monitor but are nice if you plan to print and print big).

So while the 80D is a great general purpose enthusiast grade camera, there may be other camera model choices that are better suited to a specific type of photography -- if there's a type of photography you think you are particularly interested in.

[Tronhard]

Personally when someone asks what camera they should buy I respond with a bunch of questions that, in answering, will guide us to offer you the best advice.

1.  What kind of photographs do you want to take?  For example: family photos, spots events, wildlife, scenic, close-up photos of very small objects, video..?

2. Do you see yourself carrying a camera regularly or just for specific events/activities?

3.  What are your prepared to carry?  Do you want something that is small, light and easy to put in your clothing or a bag you usually carry, or you are prepared to carry a special camera bag the size of a loaf of bread that may weight a couple of pounds?

4. What kind of output do you intend to produce?  Do you want really big prints the size of poster, smaller prints, say letter size or smaller, or do you intend to put your photos on electronic media, such a facebook or a photo website?

5. What are you prepared to spend?  Yes, I know you said money is not an issue, but you can spend from a few hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars. AND...

6. How confident are you that photography is an  activity you will continue with in the future?