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Which should I buy lens for 80D

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fly109

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I have an 80D body and I would like to buy a lens for portrait and family photos.

My budget is < 500$.

I intended buying a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens for portraits.

I also need a lens for landscape and video.

Which should I buy?

In my country, most users on 4frum suggested Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 EX DC HSM OS. But I heard that it very bad for videos.

I really like portraits with bokeh, so I need a lens for portrait, canon 50/1.8 about 120$.

Whether I only use 1 lens 50/1.8. Is it ok?

Please give me some advice !!
 
I would say that for landscapes you need something wider than 50. For portraits then maybe a 50 is ok. May be a zoom 17-50 would work for you .
 
Do a search here. The Sigma 17-50 f2.8 has some real issues with AF accuracy and repeatability. When mine was good it was very good, but too often it got it wrong, then it was soft. It also took me 4 copies to get a decent one.

I would recommend something 18-135 or 24-105 (non-L). I do not do video so I can't really comment. I have a 24-105L that I used with my 70D and it was very nice, but possibly outside of your budget range.

Colin
 
fly109 said:
I have an 80D body and I would like to buy a lens for portrait and family photos.

My budget is < 500$.

I intended buying a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens for portraits.

I also need a lens for landscape and video.

Which should I buy?

In my country, most users on 4frum suggested Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 EX DC HSM OS. But I heard that it very bad for videos.

I really like portraits with bokeh, so I need a lens for portrait, canon 50/1.8 about 120$.

Whether I only use 1 lens 50/1.8. Is it ok?

Please give me some advice !!
Click to expand...
If you can stretch your budget a few hundred the 24-70 f4 or 24-105 f4 can be had at the canon refurb store. I don't know much about the slower midrange zoom options.

If you want to shrink your budget a Tamron 28-75 f2.8 is a bit of a bargain at a little over 200 used on fleabay. My son and daughter each have one and I have tested them against the (rented) 24-70 f4 and it's not as good, of course, but held up well considering the price point. Runs around 500 new. Doesn't have IS
 
IMO, it’s an easy decision. If video is important, go with the 18-135 nano. You can probably find a used one within your budget. The 50 f/1.8 will be good for portraits. The 85 f/1.8 might work better for you.

--
I keep some of my favorite pictures here,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/129958940@N03/
 
Last edited:
fly109 said:
I have an 80D body and I would like to buy a lens for portrait and family photos.
Click to expand...
50 STM version is nice. Great bang for the buck.

85 f/1.8 has even better background blur.
fly109 said:
I also need a lens for landscape
Click to expand...
If you like wide, then the 10-18 STM provides great bang for the buck here.
fly109 said:
and video.
Click to expand...
18-135 STM kicks butt for video. May be wide enough for your landscapes?

Happy hunting,

R2
 
Yep. 17-40L is a good lens for the price. I bought mine a few years back, I think I paid around $650 for it. For Canon L glass that's a very good deal.

Cheers
wave01 said:
I would say that for landscapes you need something wider than 50. For portraits then maybe a 50 is ok. May be a zoom 17-50 would work for you .
Click to expand...
 
GreatWhiteWing said:
fly109 said:
I have an 80D body and I would like to buy a lens for portrait and family photos.

My budget is < 500$.

I intended buying a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens for portraits.

I also need a lens for landscape and video.

Which should I buy?

In my country, most users on 4frum suggested Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 EX DC HSM OS. But I heard that it very bad for videos.

I really like portraits with bokeh, so I need a lens for portrait, canon 50/1.8 about 120$.

Whether I only use 1 lens 50/1.8. Is it ok?

Please give me some advice !!
Click to expand...
If you can stretch your budget a few hundred the 24-70 f4 or 24-105 f4 can be had at the canon refurb store. I don't know much about the slower midrange zoom options.

If you want to shrink your budget a Tamron 28-75 f2.8 is a bit of a bargain at a little over 200 used on fleabay. My son and daughter each have one and I have tested them against the (rented) 24-70 f4 and it's not as good, of course, but held up well considering the price point. Runs around 500 new. Doesn't have IS
Click to expand...
On APS-C those lenses will be really challenging for landscape with a FOV equivalent of 38 and 45mm on the wide end.

For a general-purpose lens that can also do video well, I'd suggest the Canon 18-135.

Mark
 
harry cannoli said:
Yep. 17-40L is a good lens for the price. I bought mine a few years back, I think I paid around $650 for it. For Canon L glass that's a very good deal.

Cheers
wave01 said:
I would say that for landscapes you need something wider than 50. For portraits then maybe a 50 is ok. May be a zoom 17-50 would work for you .
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Dear forum members,

I have been reading your forum for a while now and I really like it, together with all the content on your website. Now I decided to ask you a question which has been bothering me for a while :)

I have just started with the DSLR/Video photography with my Canon 80D. For starters I would like to have one all-around lens, like the kit lens Canon 18-55 STM or the Sigma 17-50. I would mainly take pictures of landscapes, travel, people (also portraits)

Alternatively, reading through the reviews, perhaps a second hand Canon 18-135mm STM would make sense as well. Bur it has a smaller aperture.

Canon 18-55 STM seems like a nice everyday lens, with a fast and silent AF, which is also good for video.
The downside is that it has a relatively small aperture.

Sigma 17-50 on the other hand has a better aperture and is sharper, but has a loud AF, the sound of which gets picked by the microphone, the IS does not work as well as STM and, worse of all, seems to have quality controls issues, where some of the products are focussing off on different distances (30 mm or so).

A second hand Canon EF-S 17-55mm is, as I heard also plagued by troubles, because after some time IS stops working.

What is your take on that? Which one would you recommend?

How do you find the following ideas - I know I said only one lens above?

Combo 1: Second hand both Sigma 17-50mm for stills and Canon 18-55mm STM for video

Combo 2: Second hand Canon 18-55mm STM and Canon 50mm STM (because of the aperture)

Thanks a lot and best regards,
Trgovec
 
G said:
fly109 said:
I have an 80D body and I would like to buy a lens for portrait and family photos.

My budget is < 500$.

I intended buying a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens for portraits.

I also need a lens for landscape and video.

Which should I buy?

In my country, most users on 4frum suggested Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 EX DC HSM OS. But I heard that it very bad for videos.

I really like portraits with bokeh, so I need a lens for portrait, canon 50/1.8 about 120$.

Whether I only use 1 lens 50/1.8. Is it ok?

Please give me some advice !!
Click to expand...
If you can stretch your budget a few hundred the 24-70 f4 or 24-105 f4 can be had at the canon refurb store. I don't know much about the slower midrange zoom options.

If you want to shrink your budget a Tamron 28-75 f2.8 is a bit of a bargain at a little over 200 used on fleabay. My son and daughter each have one and I have tested them against the (rented) 24-70 f4 and it's not as good, of course, but held up well considering the price point. Runs around 500 new. Doesn't have IS
Click to expand...
GreatWhiteWing, your suggestion of the Tamron 28-75mm lens is a great suggestion.

For portraits you need more than one single focal length, and you should have a longer focal length than 50mm.

Nothing beats a zoom lens for portraiture in my opinion. Primes can give you a little bit better sharpness but that is at the cost of a great deal of convenience, and it is an extremely rare portrait that needs super sharpness.

I bought a Tamron SP AF 28-75mm F/2.8 XR Di USM when I bought my Canon 7D and I use it for everything from landscapes to portraits. It is a great portrait lens and I have taken tens of thousands of portraits and glamour shots with mine.

This Tamron lens isn't quite as sharp as a prime lens, the Canon 24-70mm lens, or the newer Tamron 24-70mm lens, but I can count individual eyelashes in a waist up portrait. More sharpness than that simply isn't needed.


Cropped from a waist up portrait

To give me a wider focal length for landscapes I picked up a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II for about half if the list price. The owner got it with his camera the week before and decided he needed a lens with a wider focal length range. Lucky me!

fly109y, my advice is that you do what GreatWhiteWing and I are suggesting and buy a clean used Tamron SP AF 28-75mm F/2.8 XR Di USM lens for general photography.

Landscape images require greater sharpness than portraits. If you want wider focal lengths for landscape the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II is a good starter landscape lens but if If you find yourself doing lots of landscapes at wider focal lengths then that is the time to invest in a better quality, and unfortunately higher cost, lens for landscapes.

--
Living and loving it in Pattaya, Thailand. Canon 7D - See the gear list for the rest.
 
Trgovec said:
Dear forum members,

I have been reading your forum for a while now and I really like it, together with all the content on your website. Now I decided to ask you a question which has been bothering me for a while :)

I have just started with the DSLR/Video photography with my Canon 80D. For starters I would like to have one all-around lens, like the kit lens Canon 18-55 STM or the Sigma 17-50. I would mainly take pictures of landscapes, travel, people (also portraits)

Alternatively, reading through the reviews, perhaps a second hand Canon 18-135mm STM would make sense as well. Bur it has a smaller aperture.

Canon 18-55 STM seems like a nice everyday lens, with a fast and silent AF, which is also good for video.
The downside is that it has a relatively small aperture.

Sigma 17-50 on the other hand has a better aperture and is sharper, but has a loud AF, the sound of which gets picked by the microphone, the IS does not work as well as STM and, worse of all, seems to have quality controls issues, where some of the products are focussing off on different distances (30 mm or so).

A second hand Canon EF-S 17-55mm is, as I heard also plagued by troubles, because after some time IS stops working.

What is your take on that? Which one would you recommend?

How do you find the following ideas - I know I said only one lens above?

Combo 1: Second hand both Sigma 17-50mm for stills and Canon 18-55mm STM for video

Combo 2: Second hand Canon 18-55mm STM and Canon 50mm STM (because of the aperture)

Thanks a lot and best regards,
Trgovec
Click to expand...
Welcome!

Not to hijack the OP's thread, but I absolutely love the 18-135 STM for (casual) video. It's nice for travel/walk-around, and OK for landscapes. Good for casual portraits and street photography. But video is its forte.

I do also like the 50 STM for portraits (mainly for casual and candid). The 85 f/1.8 even better (great for formal portraits).

R2
 
R2D2 said:
Trgovec said:
Dear forum members,

I have been reading your forum for a while now and I really like it, together with all the content on your website. Now I decided to ask you a question which has been bothering me for a while :)

I have just started with the DSLR/Video photography with my Canon 80D. For starters I would like to have one all-around lens, like the kit lens Canon 18-55 STM or the Sigma 17-50. I would mainly take pictures of landscapes, travel, people (also portraits)

Alternatively, reading through the reviews, perhaps a second hand Canon 18-135mm STM would make sense as well. Bur it has a smaller aperture.

Canon 18-55 STM seems like a nice everyday lens, with a fast and silent AF, which is also good for video.
The downside is that it has a relatively small aperture.

Sigma 17-50 on the other hand has a better aperture and is sharper, but has a loud AF, the sound of which gets picked by the microphone, the IS does not work as well as STM and, worse of all, seems to have quality controls issues, where some of the products are focussing off on different distances (30 mm or so).

A second hand Canon EF-S 17-55mm is, as I heard also plagued by troubles, because after some time IS stops working.

What is your take on that? Which one would you recommend?

How do you find the following ideas - I know I said only one lens above?

Combo 1: Second hand both Sigma 17-50mm for stills and Canon 18-55mm STM for video

Combo 2: Second hand Canon 18-55mm STM and Canon 50mm STM (because of the aperture)

Thanks a lot and best regards,
Trgovec
Click to expand...
Welcome!

Not to hijack the OP's thread, but I absolutely love the 18-135 STM for (casual) video. It's nice for travel/walk-around, and OK for landscapes. Good for casual portraits and street photography. But video is its forte.

I do also like the 50 STM for portraits (mainly for casual and candid). The 85 f/1.8 even better (great for formal portraits).

R2

--
Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.
http://www.pbase.com/jekyll_and_hyde/galleries
Click to expand...
Thanks R2 for your reply.

Is it true that 18-135 STM is not as sharp as the Sigma 17-50?

Secondly, are you aware of any issues that happen over time with 18-135 STM, which I should keep in mind, when buying this lens?

Thanks again and best regards

Trgovec
 
Trgovec said:
Thanks R2 for your reply.

Is it true that 18-135 STM is not as sharp as the Sigma 17-50?
Click to expand...
The 18-135 STM does trade some sharpness for its versatility (as does its sibling USM version). Whether or not it's sharp enough for your needs depends on a lot of factors (of primary consideration are your output requirements, and how much you like to crop). I find that it has sufficient IQ to serve as an excellent walk-around lens and/or travel lens IME.

It can do portraits of course, but not with the same hair-splitting sharpness of the good primes. It's probably adequate for all but the most demanding output tho. Here's are some samples I shot with the 70D (I was testing at ISO 800, so keep that in mind)...



[IMG width="400px" alt="18-135 STM at 24mm. Click on "original size" "]http://www.pbase.com/jekyll_and_hyde/image/155127008/original.jpg[/IMG]
18-135 STM at 24mm. Click on "original size"

Here's a 100% crop from the same sitting and distance (also at ISO 800)...



[IMG width="400px" alt="100% crop at 24mm. Click on "original size" "]http://www.pbase.com/jekyll_and_hyde/image/155126951/original.jpg[/IMG]
100% crop at 24mm. Click on "original size"

For comparison, here's a 100% crop from the 85 f/1.8 (ISO 800)...



[IMG width="400px" alt="Warning: Clicking on "original size" will induce irreversible G.A.S."]http://www.pbase.com/jekyll_and_hyde/image/159139373/original.jpg[/IMG]
Warning: Clicking on "original size" will induce irreversible G.A.S.

I don't know how the Sigma compares, but you can find some good reviews here .

Before you commit, make sure the Sigma autofocuses correctly with your body (esp in Live View).

And again, I think that the 18-135 STM is unsurpassed as a (casual) video lens.
Trgovec said:
Secondly, are you aware of any issues that happen over time with 18-135 STM, which I should keep in mind, when buying this lens?
Click to expand...
Honestly, I haven't heard of any negative issues (on the Forums) in the 5 years that I've owned the combination. And my own experience has been exemplary. This lens has been a true joy to use. Just keep in mind its limitations.
Trgovec said:
Thanks again and best regards

Trgovec
Click to expand...
Back at ya. Happy shopping!

R2

--
Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.
www.pbase.com

Galleries by Jekyll & Hyde

www.pbase.com
 
fly109 said:
I have an 80D body and I would like to buy a lens for portrait and family photos.

My budget is < 500$.

I intended buying a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens for portraits.

I also need a lens for landscape and video.

Which should I buy?

In my country, most users on 4frum suggested Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 EX DC HSM OS. But I heard that it very bad for videos.

I really like portraits with bokeh, so I need a lens for portrait, canon 50/1.8 about 120$.

Whether I only use 1 lens 50/1.8. Is it ok?

Please give me some advice !!
Click to expand...
if it was me, i'd get a canon 70-200 f4.0 non-IS--unless you can find enough to buy an IS version! you'd be surprised how good this lens is for any situation!
 
1Dx4me said:
fly109 said:
I have an 80D body and I would like to buy a lens for portrait and family photos.

My budget is < 500$.

I intended buying a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens for portraits.

I also need a lens for landscape and video.

Which should I buy?

In my country, most users on 4frum suggested Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 EX DC HSM OS. But I heard that it very bad for videos.

I really like portraits with bokeh, so I need a lens for portrait, canon 50/1.8 about 120$.

Whether I only use 1 lens 50/1.8. Is it ok?

Please give me some advice !!
Click to expand...
if it was me, i'd get a canon 70-200 f4.0 non-IS--unless you can find enough to buy an IS version! you'd be surprised how good this lens is for any situation!
Click to expand...
I think the 70-200 is too long for portraits on a crop sensor, other than maybe headshots.
 
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