marco_de_biasi Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 <p>Hi there,</p><p>after having spent some time with old, manual lenses, I'm thinking to keep them for video shooting and buy a good zoom lens for my Canon 7D.<br /> The budget is limited and I've no experience whatsoever with modern, automatic zoom lenses.<br /> Said that, this is what I thought could be a starting point, but then I'd love to hear your advices:<br /> Sigma 18-250mm f3.5-6.3 DC MACRO OS HSM - http://derpy.me/laKzN<br /> Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 II DC OS HSM - http://waa.ai/c5n<br /> Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Standard Zoom Lens - http://waa.ai/c5G<br /> Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM - http://waa.ai/cnE<br /> Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM UD Standard Zoom Lens - http://waa.ai/cn4</p><p>Besides the 18mm, the only one that goes a bit further is the 15-85, there are two things I'm considering about that lens though: the budget is not exactly what I had in mind and it's *only* 85 whereas the others go to 135 or 250.</p><p>The main application for this lens would be street photography, i.e. from people to buildings.</p><p>Thanks for any help.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed_avis2 Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 <p>There is the kit lens which I think is an 18-55 IS. It can be found cheaply as people sell it to upgrade to one of those you list above. I believe that while the early models of the kit lens weren't great, the newest one is not bad.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin carron Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 <p>I can't sensibly comment on your lens selection as I have never tried any of them. Others may have personal experience of using these lenses. So just to give some general advice :<br /> Usually for a given price point zoom lens designs tend to trade off optical quality against zoom range. So, as a rough guide, one might expect a 18-250 range zoom lens to have a lower optical quality to a 15-85 lens at the same price.<br /> If you compare third party lenses with Canon lenses of the same sort of specification what you typically find is that the third party lenses are usually quite a bit cheaper but only marginally less good performers. So - good if one is on a tight budget.<br /> I suggest, if you have not already done so, you might look at review websites to get an overall feel for the optical quality of these lenses :<br /> http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/<br /> these are user reviews so I disregard the best and worst reviews and look at the majority verdict. I find the overall score is usually a good rule of thumb and in practice, with a good number of reviewers, gives a fair idea of the quality of a lens.<br /> http://www.photozone.de/<br /> very consistent testing by knowledgable reviewers. Sometimes the lens one is interested in hasn't been reviewed which is a pain.<br> And there are many reviews on this website (usually by Bob Atkins). Here is one:<br> http://www.photo.net/reviews/sigma-18-250-os-review</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DickArnold Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 <p>I have the 18-135 STM Canon lens. Read the review in Photozone. They think the lens is pretty good. I use it on the 7D and although I have better lenses I use this lens a lot for its versatility. It is better than the earlier Canon 18-135. I paid about 450 USD for mine. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_pierlot Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 <p>I use the EF-S 15-85 on my 7D and the results are outstanding. It's at least as good as my EF 24-105 L was on my 5DII. I picked up mine used in mint condition for $500.</p> <p>For street photography, you won't really need to go longer than 85mm, especially on an APS-C body, but the extra 3mm on the wide end will come in handy.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie_robertson2 Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 <blockquote> <p>I use the EF-S 15-85 on my 7D and the results are outstanding. It's at least as good as my EF 24-105 L was on my 5DII.</p> </blockquote> <p>If that's true it must be one hell of a lens to be able to get 5DII image quality out of a 7D.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marco_de_biasi Posted June 10, 2013 Author Share Posted June 10, 2013 <p>Thank you all for your replies.<br> About the 18-135 it seems the STM version should be better than the Standar IS, is that true?<br> The 15-85 seems very interesting, especially because I was considering the extre 3mm as Mark said. It's just a bit over budget, but I can probably find a good used.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 <p>Of your list, for me the standout in terms of the intersection of utility and quality is the 15-85mm - I have the earlier version of this, and it is still my most frequently used lens on my APS-C bodies. The new one is supposed to be even better.<br> There is nothing wrong with the "kit" 18-55mm as a general shooter, especially when combined with the also better-than-its price-would-suggest EF-S 55-250mm IS.</p> <p>Because the front elements of the kit lenses rotate in focus, they are a little hard to use with some filters, but that can be overcome.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DickArnold Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 <p>The STM version of the 18-135 is better than the non-stm earlier version according to Photozone and other reviews I have read. With decent light I get surprisingly sharp pictures with it. The STM motor was put in it for quiet video. Focusing is virtually silent.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_pierlot Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 <blockquote> <p>If that's true it must be one hell of a lens to be able to get 5DII image quality out of a 7D.</p> </blockquote> <p>Sorry, I should have added the phrase "relative to the body."</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie_robertson2 Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 <blockquote> <p>Sorry, I should have added the phrase "relative to the body."</p> </blockquote> <p>LOL, please excuse my sarcasm ;-)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yog_sothoth Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 <p>The 15-85 is not as sharp as a Tamron 17-50 2.8 non VC, but the 15-85 beats it for utility and the USM. The 15-85 is very sharp for a wide ranging zoom.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_pierlot Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 <p>I had a copy of the Tamron 17-50/2.8 non-VC, and found it to be very soft on my 7D. I think its autofocus was off, but AF microadjustment doesn't work well for zooms, so I got rid of it.</p> <p>On the other hand, the AF of my 15-85 is spot on, and the lens is sharp even wide open.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DickArnold Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 <p>I have a Tamron 17-50 2.8 non VC and it is sharper than my 24-105. I use it on a 7D. It's a keeper in my opinion.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_j2 Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 <p>Another vote for consideration of the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8!<br> Like Dick above, mine is also the non VC version which is claimed to possibly be sharper than one with VC. Mine compares very closely in sharpness with my EF 50 f/1.4 in some situations.<br> Happy shopping!<br> Jim j.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tudor_apmadoc Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 <p>The only thing I would suggest is to avoid the cropped sensor only lenses (the Canon -S series for example). Lenses can have a life of 12-15+ years while the bodies are updated every 3 years. </p> <p>The reality is that full frame sensors are on a path to be more of a standard on more and lower costs bodies.</p> <p>If you buy a cropped sensor lens today, then 2 years from now you purchase a full frame sensor body, you end up with a lens that you can't use.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_pierlot Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 <blockquote> <p>If you buy a cropped sensor lens today, then 2 years from now you purchase a full frame sensor body, you end up with a lens that you can't use.</p> </blockquote> <p>I use the EF-S 15-85 (over the 24-70) on my 7D because it gives me a wider angle of view at the short end and more reach at the long end. There are no normal zooms that go as wide. (I have a dual-format kit, so I do use the 24-70, but that's another story).</p> <p>I don't think it's prudent to purchase a lens that you might need years from now when there is another lens that will do a better job for you now.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffOwen Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 <p>For a versatile zoom lens I have been using a Tamron 18-270mm f3.5 -6.3. It has VC (vibration control) and is fairly compact. The quality is not bad for it's zoom range and the price is good too.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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