What lenses to get for EOS 80D Body?

[xsunnyd]

Hi there! I'm about to purchase my first Canon camera and I'm quite thrilled about it. I would say I'm an "experienced" beginner as I took some photography classes in school but after a few years of thinking about it, I've finally decided to get involved in photography again and try to learn and practice where I can. It's truly a beautiful art form.

I am purchasing an EOS 80D (body only) and would like to invest in a few lenses. I've tried to search the forums, Internet, and Flickr for as much information as I can find but, understandably, there's a lot of variety and combinations suggested. 

Here are my main uses for the foreseeable future:

1) Portraiture. I love taking photos of my family members as they're preparing/posing to go out and candid photos of friends/family at parties. Sometimes it's shoulders and up, sometimes it's from the waist and up, sometimes it's full body shots. I would say most settings have decent to great lighting, but I'd also like to be able to take photos in low lighting if the opportunity were to present itself.

2) Landscape. I live near the country side but a bustling city is a mere train ride away. I really like taking photos of the streets downtown at night or on the mornings its foggy. Of course, full sunlight too.

3) Videos. My family likes to send little video messages for family members' special occasions around the world. Ideally, it's just sitting in front of the camera. Nothing too intense. I might dapple in creating vlogging-type videos next summer for fun.

From what I've gathered so far, going with EF-S lenses is good because it works with what I have instead of trying to figure out if I'd want a full body camera later down the road? Oh, and I'd definitely like to start around mid-grade lenses.

Sorry for the overload of information! I can tell there's a wealth of knowledge and expertise on these boards so I truly appreciate any and all help!

Thank you!

[xsunnyd]

Ah, okay. I'll read up on focal lengths, first and foremost! It seems that will help me understand why there were advised

Thanks!!

[ebiggs1]

I still suggest you get the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens.  Don't buy anything else until you know what you want.

The addition of the 50mil f1.8 is not a bad choice because it is so cheap but it isn't a good FL for a 80D in a prime lens.  It will be challenging to use and will have limited applications.  It is one of the too long for this and too short for that things.  I have one and most folks do but it isn't our first choice to buy lens.  Get the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens.

[Waddizzle]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

I still suggest you get the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens.  Don't buy anything else until you know what you want..

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Ernie gives very good advice.  Do not buy anything until you know what you want.  

[jrhoffman75]

https://improvephotography.com/34730/focal-length/

[Waddizzle]

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@xsunnyd wrote:

. 

Here are my main uses for the foreseeable future:

1) Portraiture. I love taking photos of my family members as they're preparing/posing to go out and candid photos of friends/family at parties. Sometimes it's shoulders and up, sometimes it's from the waist and up, sometimes it's full body shots. I would say most settings have decent to great lighting, but I'd also like to be able to take photos in low lighting if the opportunity were to present itself.

2) Landscape. I live near the country side but a bustling city is a mere train ride away. I really like taking photos of the streets downtown at night or on the mornings its foggy. Of course, full sunlight too.

3) Videos. My family likes to send little video messages for family members' special occasions around the world. Ideally, it's just sitting in front of the camera. Nothing too intense. I might dapple in creating vlogging-type videos next summer for fun.

Thank you!

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Researching lenses is a good idea.  While you are at it research the differences between APS-C sensors and full frame image sensors.  It will help you better understand lenses and field of view.  You will make better lens choices for your needs.

1). An 85mm focal length has long been used for portraits on full frame cameras.  A 50mm focal length on the 80D would be roughly equivalent to an 85mm on a full frame sensor camera.  With the dramatic improvements in the quality of zoom lenses, 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses seem to have becom popular to use.  Canon does not make a lens that would give a comparable field of view on an APS-C body, like the 80D

2). Most any lens can be used for landscape photography.  An 18-55mm zoom lens on an APS-C body gives a field of view that is roughly equivalent to a 24-70mm “standard” zoom on a full frame body.  Canon makes two EF-S lenses that re good for landscape photography, an EF-S 10-18mm and the EF-S 10-22mm.  The former would be good for video.  The latter has a much better build and a wider range of focal lengths.

3). The 80D has Movie Servo AF, which is the ability to autofocus and track subjects while capturing video.  It really only works with select “STM” zoom lenses, such as the EF-S 18-55mm STM kit lens, and the EF-S 10-18mm STM wide angle lens.  There are other lenses with better image quality, but the high resolution image quality is wasted when shooting HD video, which only has 2MP resolution.

My advice is to buy the camera with just the 18-55mm STM kit lens. In many places, the difference in cost between the body only kits and the 18-55mm kits is very small.  The difference is so small that the lens is almost free.  This lens can do all of the tasks you have outlined.  It will give a chance to actually use a lens, and learn about lenses by using one.

The other lens is a great lens for photography.  It is highly recommended by photographers, but not videographers.  Sone high quality lenses for photography do not work out as well for videography because of their aperture noise.  The noise is usually drowned out by the shutter in a DSLR when you take a photo.

I do not know how loud the aperture is in the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 lens.  I would want to find out before I bought one for video use.  Having a wide aperture is not always a requirement for shooting video, except in very low light situations.