Camera Labs

Hey all, I have a quick question regarding lenses for the t3i.

So I'm working on quite a budget, (which led me to chose the t3i over the 60d) and I'm stuck between lens options. I plan on using it for wildlife/scenes, buildings, and just general usage. These are the three options.

1.) 18-135mm
2.) 18-55mm and 55-250mm
3.) 18-55mm and 75-300mm

Is the 18-135 that much better than the 18-55? Or a better way to ask is the loss of zoom worth the increase in quality (if any?).

Any advice would be fantastic!

In my view the 18-135 is arguably superior to the 18-55 but not decisively so. For shooting wildlife, I would opt for 2. or 3. and get the extra reach.

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Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control

The 55-250 is a better lens than the 75-300. You might want to try the EF 70-300MM F4-5.6 IS USM. It's more money but it's a better lens than the other two.

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Canon T2i(550D) with Canon EF-S 18-55 and CANON EF 70-300 F4-5.6 IS USM
Romans 8:35-39

Hi rleenay,

May I wish you a warm welcome to the CameraLabs forum.

The 18-135mm lens fared pretty badly away from the center of the image in this PhotoZone test at longer focal lengths. Compare with the 55-250mm test here. There doesn't appear to be a test for the 75-300mm lens on that site so I can't comment except to say that it's an older lens I think I'm correct in saying that the current version doesn't support IS which may be an issue. On a budget you might get best value from option 2 but you may want to hunt out some reviews which directly compare the performance of the 55-250mm and the 75-300mm.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Thanks all for the replies/advice!

Another quick question (I know this is a lens thread) but is the 60d worth the extra $200? Just for the extra 1.5fps or extra af settings? I want to do some wildlife photography, but this will be my first dslr, and I don't think it's worth the $200. Is this a reasonable assumption?

A short summary of the advantages of the 60D:

- faster (you already named it)
- better AF (more cross type AF points) - with my 500D, which has the same AF as the 600D / T3i, I can almost forget shooting flying birds for example.
- slightly better viewfinder
- weather sealed card slot and battery door
- bigger grip (feels better in my hands)
- upper screen that's better to see in bright sunlight

So in the end you get more if you pay more - but as the sensor delivers about the same image quality it might be better to save the money for a better lens instead. At least that's what I did - T1i + some very nice lenses.

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Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

First the camera body.
My recommendation is to go to a store and pick up both cameras.
Understand what your hands are telling you how they feel.

An uncomfortable camera will be one you will leave home.
Also, a camera that is too heavy you will leave home.

If your hands tell you a camera is not right for your, listen to them.
It does not matter how good of a camera it is, or what features it has, if you always leave it home.
You can only take pictures if you have your camera with you.

That said, if the T3i and 60D both feel comfortable, and this is your first DSLR, I would then recommend looking at the less expensive one. You might want to even consider a T2i as you will get the same image quality.

Once you get into photography, you will get a desire for more expensive equipment.
If you buy a camera and turn out to not like photography that much, then any extra money would be a waste.
Either way, saving some money on the camera body would not be a bad thing.

As for lenses, I would recommend getting the 18-55mm IS and the 55-250mm IS combo.
While these are not the best lenses in the world, they seem to give great performance for the price you pay for them. These are for learning more about photography and finding out what you want.
They also both have IS on them. What this will do is allow you to take a longer exposure.
Cameras need to be absolutely still in order to take good photos.
Your hands are generally not stable enough at longer focal distances such as 250mm or 300mm.
The exception to this is if you take a photo that is quick enough, the shaking from your hands does not have time to affect it.

If this is a beginning kit to get into photography, then I recommend keeping it to the basics.
Once you have mastered what you got, then and only then, think about expanding to something else.
Any money you save now will also help you later as no matter what you get now, you will be wanting to replace it later.

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Canon Rebel XTi, BG-E3 Grip
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II, 24-105mm f/4L, 50mm f/1.4, 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DO, 85mm f/1.8
Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX Macro
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II
Canon 430EX II
Opteka 13mm, 21mm, and 31mm extension tubes