Travel lens for Canon 70D

HighSierra said:

I vote for this: Sigma DC OS 18-250mm Macro HSM.

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I own this lens and considering its range it is an excellent performer.

Canon 24-105 f/4 L - love it. Water sealed which is nice in high humidity climate. Also the 24-70 f/2.8 L gives 1 more stop performance for low light. Both good for all purpose AND a lens which can be used on a full frame body later on.

Zee Char said:

yousaf said:

jp4 said:

What lenses do you have now? And what might your subjects be?

People? Scenery? Wildlife? Architecture?

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18-55mm IS STM.

Airports, Architecture and aircraft at the airports etc

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To compliment that lens you should think about the 55-250 STM.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/56910862

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+1

I would second that. I have very good experience with my (now old) EF-S 55-250 IS (non STM)

Jingjok said:

Canon 24-105 f/4 L - love it. Water sealed which is nice in high humidity climate. Also the 24-70 f/2.8 L gives 1 more stop performance for low light. Both good for all purpose AND a lens which can be used on a full frame body later on.

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For landscape and cityscape shots, I would find the 24 mm definitely not wide enough on a crop camera - unless you also have a ultrawide lens. However, be prepared for very frequent lens changes with a 10-22mm and 24-xx mm combo.

nnowak said:

MikeJ9116 said:

The EF-S 15-85mm is about the perfect all around travel lens for a crop camera, IMO. The zoom range is ideal to cover landscape to mild telephoto lengths. The extra 3mm on the wide end makes a real difference with wide angle shots. Plus, the IQ, focus speed, IS and overall performance of this lens is excellent. It is a sleeper in Canon's lens lineup.

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I think it is a highly overrated lens in the Canon lineup, and I have owned two copies (one good, one bad). Image quality isn't any better than the 18-135mm STM, but the 15-85mm is heavier and a LOT more expensive. The 15-85mm costs the same as the 10-18mm STM + 18-135mm STM. Those two lenses easily outperform the 15-85mm and both take standard 67mm filters instead of the slightly odd 72mm on the 15-85mm. Most annoying of all, the focus and zoom rings are swapped on the 15-85mm.

nnowak said:

As a second choice, the Sigma 18-250mm Macro is a decent performer for a decent price. I have this lens and it delivers very good IQ for a lens with this range. Especially when stopped down a little.

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I have both the 15-85 and the 18-135 STM and prefer the 15-85 - subjectively, I feel it provides better IQ than the 18-135. Having said that, the point on price is a good one as the 18-135 is much less expensive. I do use the 18-135 for video - really quiet!

The 15-85mm is good choice, but be sure to check for centering at all focal lengths. Mine also has a tendency to front focus at 15mm on distant subjects with limited contrast, like trees. Another package would be the 3, stm lenses. You have everything covered from 10mm to 250mm, but really 18mm to about 400mm. Good copies of these lenses can be quite surprising with 13 x 19 prints being excellent.

Greg

yousaf said:

jp4 said:

What lenses do you have now? And what might your subjects be?

People? Scenery? Wildlife? Architecture?

Click to expand...

18-55mm IS STM.

Airports, Architecture and aircraft at the airports etc

Click to expand...

Yousaf, are you going to be photographing the aircraft from near or far?

Well for general use i would have said to go for the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM as that is my go to lens when i can only have one lens with me [on the camera - none extra carrying] and i'm planning to be around architecture and cityscapes as the 15mm wide-angle is so very useful! And the 85mm is great for across-the-street shots.

But you've said "airports" and "aircraft" which makes it trickier. I say this because i was at Haneda airport this year and they have a viewing area at the terminal and you just don't realise the scale of the place and how far away objects are! So in this instance if you can only have one lens with you and you need to also use it for general photography as well as distant aircraft/objects i would say the Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM to be a great choice and it's my other go to lens when i'm certain i'll be shooting more distant objects (like on a train journey across the countryside). I admit it's not the most perfect lens as f/6.3 at the long end is a bit slow and the AF & OS are a bit clunky and not 'L' lens speedy - but it's size, weight, focal range & price make up for that. But if you're going to shot the aircraft buildings too 18mm may not be wide enough so if you can carry an extra lens then coupling the Sigma 18-250mm with the Canon EF-S 10-18mm STM is an excellent idea - and you can photo the 'planes closer up too with it!

The question is: Are you intending to be like the guy on the left or the guy on the right in the photos below?


Taken at Haneda Airport.


What's your weapon of choice?

If you're planing to be like the guy on the right with a general purpose travel lens with a good reach then the Canon 18-200mm, Sigma 18-250mm or 18-300mm, Tamron 16-300mm are good lenses to look at.

If you're primarily hoping to get a lot of close-up aircraft shots from a distance then looking at lenses like the 70-300mm & 100-400 Canons or Sigma's 150-500mm maybe what you want. Then use your 18-55mm, or a 15-85mm for general shots (if you're going to carry around a big zoom lens then u won't really notice your kit lens in your pocket!). Or an ultra-wide 10-18mm, 10-22mm lens for the buildings and skip the mid-zoom.

Whatever you decide to get i hope you enjoy your photography!

--
Hunting the hunters is the best sport.

SnappyChappie said:

yousaf said:

jp4 said:

What lenses do you have now? And what might your subjects be?

People? Scenery? Wildlife? Architecture?

Click to expand...

18-55mm IS STM.

Airports, Architecture and aircraft at the airports etc

Click to expand...

Yousaf, are you going to be photographing the aircraft from near or far?

Well for general use i would have said to go for the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM as that is my go to lens when i can only have one lens with me [on the camera - none extra carrying] and i'm planning to be around architecture and cityscapes as the 15mm wide-angle is so very useful! And the 85mm is great for across-the-street shots.

But you've said "airports" and "aircraft" which makes it trickier. I say this because i was at Haneda airport this year and they have a viewing area at the terminal and you just don't realise the scale of the place and how far away objects are! So in this instance if you can only have one lens with you and you need to also use it for general photography as well as distant aircraft/objects i would say the Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM to be a great choice and it's my other go to lens when i'm certain i'll be shooting more distant objects (like on a train journey across the countryside). I admit it's not the most perfect lens as f/6.3 at the long end is a bit slow and the AF & OS are a bit clunky and not 'L' lens speedy - but it's size, weight, focal range & price make up for that. But if you're going to shot the aircraft buildings too 18mm may not be wide enough so if you can carry an extra lens then coupling the Sigma 18-250mm with the Canon EF-S 10-18mm STM is an excellent idea - and you can photo the 'planes closer up too with it!

The question is: Are you intending to be like the guy on the left or the guy on the right in the photos below?


Taken at Haneda Airport.


What's your weapon of choice?

If you're planing to be like the guy on the right with a general purpose travel lens with a good reach then the Canon 18-200mm, Sigma 18-250mm or 18-300mm, Tamron 16-300mm are good lenses to look at.

If you're primarily hoping to get a lot of close-up aircraft shots from a distance then looking at lenses like the 70-300mm & 100-400 Canons or Sigma's 150-500mm maybe what you want. Then use your 18-55mm, or a 15-85mm for general shots (if you're going to carry around a big zoom lens then u won't really notice your kit lens in your pocket!). Or an ultra-wide 10-18mm, 10-22mm lens for the buildings and skip the mid-zoom.

Whatever you decide to get i hope you enjoy your photography!

--
Hunting the hunters is the best sport.

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This is what I was looking for.



Can you share more photos from this trip ?

plantdoc said:

Another package would be the 3, stm lenses. You have everything covered from 10mm to 250mm, but really 18mm to about 400mm. Good copies of these lenses can be quite surprising with 13 x 19 prints being excellent.

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I don't believe in the whole good/bad copies thing, but I second the suggestion for the STM trio of zooms. They're really my favorite lenses on the 70D.

And I think you meant "16mm"? ;-). It's a 1.6x crop.

Am contemplating getting a refurbished 70d from canon as an update from my older 50d. I do have the 28-135 lens and also have the 18-200 lens. one of those will become the walk around lens.

Canon 10-18mm STM + 18-135mm STM.
Best combo i have for traveling

I carry my Sigma 30mm F1.4 when i can as well

If all lens purchases have been meeting your expectations that's great. However, I have been using photo gear for 45 years, and decentering has been too common for me. I know how to test and with digital and photo shop it's much easier to see problems than in film days. Even fixed lens cameras can have problems. The 100% view is a tough test. MFA also salvaged one lens that I thought was not good in the telephoto range. The optics were acceptable but the focus was off with 3 different cameras.,

Greg