New Photographer, need gear advice

Hi,

I'm just getting into photography and is hoping to get some advice from the pros. I'm completely new to the hobby, I've been taking photos on my smartphone for 2 years, while smartphone tech is pretty impressive nowadays, I've decided to step it up and get a real camera.

Just to give an idea of what my goal is...

I do primarily landscape, nature, and outdoor pictures and other non nature related things like buildings, benches, cars, and just interesting man mad things. I never take portraits and don't like taking pictures of humans usually. I don't plan to do any videos at all, just photos.

With that said, I did a lot of research on my own but there are just some questions I couldn't find an easy answer to on google.

I'm looking for a budget value camera. I researched on the cameras and decided mirrorless full frame cameras is the way to go for me and is thinking a Canon EOS RP would probably be best for me or similar cameras in that price range.

As to len/s, I think 16-35mm zoomlens is probably all I need for majority of what I'm trying to take. Maybe get a separate 50mm prime lens later when I have some money on the side.

1.) What is the difference between a 16-35mm lens from different brands? Are they mostly the same? Would a Canon 16-35mm zoom lens produce different photos than say a Sony one?

2.) I also see 17-55mm lens and seem like a good alternative to the above but most says for DSLR cameras. Do mirrorless cameras use different lenses? I would think a 17-50mm would be more expensive than a 16-35mm since it covers more but Canon has a 17-55mm f2.8 lens for about 599.00 only (on sale from 800) and their 16-35mm is about 1k for f4 and 2k for f2.8, why would a 16-35mm cost more than 17-55mm?

3.) Are lens interchangeable between brands? Say I get a Canon camera and I find a good deal on lens from another company, are most lens universal and if not, I assume most camera companies sell adapters? I've seen a few searching around but not sure what they are, are the adapters for changing between brands or for changing between DSLR camera lens?

And then if you guys have any other thing I should be considering when searching for which to buy? Any special camera features that might be really useful that only some cameras have I should take into consideration? What do I usually gain for going for a more expensive camera?

Thanks in advance

You need to look for lenses that work on the Canon RF mirrorless system. Sony and Nikon brand mirrorless lenses (or lenses designed for those systems) cannot be used on a Canon RF camera. You can use lenses designed for DSLRs on a Canon RF camera, and Canon EF lenses apparently work well with an adaptor. The Canon 16-35L is for full frame cameras while the Canon 17-55 EF-S works on Canon crop sensor cameras and will produce a vignetted image through much of its zoom range on a full frame camera like the RP (if it even mounts on the Canon EF / RF adaptor).

As a beginner I would not recommend trying to adapt lenses that may or may not work with your new camera. If you want an RP, then stick with Canon RF lenses or third party lenses (Sigma / Tamron) that are made for the RF system. The Canon RP plus RF 24-105 F4-7.1 sells for $1,300 so that is probably where I would start looking. Not really sure you absolutely need a FF camera, but that is an additional discussion.

Lenses from different manufacturers and different lenses of the same focal length from a single manufacturer can differ in speed (maximum aperture), AF capabilities, optical quality, and IS system.

I agree with Ken, with one exception: the RP should work fine with Canon EF (not EF-S) lenses with the appropriate adapter.

16-35 is a short lens to serve as a walk-around general purpose lens for a full frame camera. To put this in perspective, the focal length on a FF camera that comes closest to mirroring normal unaided eyesight is in the range of 45-50mm.

I agree with Ken also that 24-105 is a very good range for a walk-around lens on a full frame camera. I don't know the specifics of that lens, but another of the Canon 24-105 lenses, the EF L series, is my most often used lens on my FF camera, a 5D IV. I would recommend a lens in that range as a starter lens, and go longer or wider only if experience shows that you need it.

I'm looking for a budget value camera. I researched on the cameras and decided mirrorless full frame cameras is the way to go

"Budget" and "full frame" are pretty much mutually exclusive. Because not only is the camera body going to be more expensive, but the lenses are as well. Almost exponentially so.

Unless you're seriously into low-light photography, an APS-C format camera will serve you better for landscape and general use.

For 99% of subjects, I suspect that even the expert users here would be hard pressed to tell whether a full-frame or APS-C, or even a 4/3rds camera had been used for a particular shot. And for telephoto subjects like wildlife, there are decided advantages to a smaller format.