Looking for some advice before buying.

Hello everyone- first post here. Hope I'm using this right.

I've had experience of photography before, as I own a m4/3 camera and have used DSLRs before (both Canon and Nikon). I want to take my photography to the next level, and after some (a lot!!) of research, I concluded that the feel, image quality and AF performance of the 760D is the right combination for me.

So my situation is this. In Britain the 760D (body only) is £509.

Because I've experienced the limitations of kit lenses, I've made the decision to spend a little extra of my budget on a decent lens. Again, after research (and trying it on the 760D), I believe the Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 fits the bill at an extra £279. I feel this will be a great all rounder for my landscape, close-up and wildlife shots. I know 50mm isn't long enough for most wildlife, but in my area there are some very friendly squirrels/birds! Also, down the line I plan on adding a 55-250mm to my kit.

My question to you guys is this: Do you think the Sigma 17-50 is the best value lens for this Canon body? Do you have any other suggestions? I'm open to considering two cheaper lenses that add up to around the budget of the Sigma's price tag.

It is a lot of money, and although I think I've done as much research as I can before writing this, it'd be great to get any opinions of yours before I take the plunge on Black Friday (hoping there'll be a good deal!).

Thanks!

Dareshooter say's

"To be honest unless you absolutely need the constant 2.8 aperture the Canon 18-55 STM is every bit as good optically and you also have the advantage of STM if you should ever shoot video. The Money you'd save by getting the Canon in a kit would buy you a Canon 55-250 STM right away and you'd then have a huge focal range covered starting out."

+1

If you start out with an 18mm to 250 mm range you will soon find out the type of photography you enjoy the most and in time you can add the premium lenses to your arsenal that suites you.

Happy shooting.

Digirame wrote:

As far as lens choices, you might want to ask the people on the Canon SLR Lens Talk forum about them.

Thanks, I will ask the question on there too.

One of Canon's strong points is the lenses. People like myself also use Sigma or Tamron lenses, but I'm not familiar with the type that you are investigating. The newer Canon kit lenses are good especially if a person stops down them a little. After four years, I'm still using mine probably because I don't pixel peek as much and I rather focus on photography as a whole with subject matter and composition etc. And it's only a hobby for me. You can see my photos on the weekly Show Your Snaps thread to give you an idea. All of them are with the Canon kit lenses or my Tamron 150-600mm lens.

From what I've seen of 100% crops, there are better lenses than the kit lenses that do deliver that extra degree of sharpness that you may want. And there are other advantages as well. But I wanted to let you know that the STM kit lenses that Canon provides with their Canon DSLR cameras do give us good quality, if a person wants to start there.

I see what you mean here. As I've had some experiences on the kit lens, and since the 760D comes as a body only option, I feel it could be a bit of a waste to spend extra money on a kit lens. I could go with the 750D and the kit lens for £519, at the cost of the 760D's extra functionality.

Here's one recent picture I took with my older non-STM kit lens. The newer STM lenses are supposed to be better. When you are beginning with your new camera, do you really need something better than this? If you do...again...check out what information you might get from the Canon SLR Lens Talk forum.

Beautiful shot. I have no doubt that the kit lens is capable of taking great pictures. Thank you for you input, really appreciate it.

55-250 STM is still on sale at the Canon Refurb site...

55-250 STM

mocha123 wrote:

Dareshooter say's

"To be honest unless you absolutely need the constant 2.8 aperture the Canon 18-55 STM is every bit as good optically and you also have the advantage of STM if you should ever shoot video. The Money you'd save by getting the Canon in a kit would buy you a Canon 55-250 STM right away and you'd then have a huge focal range covered starting out."

+1

If you start out with an 18mm to 250 mm range you will soon find out the type of photography you enjoy the most and in time you can add the premium lenses to your arsenal that suites you.

Happy shooting.

Thank you guys for your comments. I guess I'm slightly worried about going down that route because an 18-55mm & 50-250mm new would be £340. I'm not too keen on buying lenses second hand, so with that in mind the only way I would be saving money would be if I bought the 750D which comes with the 18-55mm for £519.

After trying the 760D out, compared to using the 750D, I think I would miss its extra ergonomics and improved AF tracking in live view (correct me if I'm wrong, I read this in a review).

But I really do understand what you mean, and I'm starting to wonder if it is better to go for the £519 750D bundle. If only the 760D came with the kit lens!

brightcolours wrote:

It is a very good lens, and the best f2.8 zoom bargain.

The ability to get more shallow DOF than the f3.5-5.6 kit lens is valuable in my opinion, and I would go for the Sigma over the kitlens for sure. Also, the Sigma has a bit better optics (I saw someone above post it does not). So, sure, go for that Sigma.

A few downsides to the Sigma choice though:

DPP 4 will not offer a lens profile so no deconvolution and lens correction functionality for RAW files with that lens. And with flash photography it may give misfocus when using the flash gun's IR fcous grid pattern.

I agree that the 2.8 would be a nice thing to have, especially since I would like to start setting up my own website and sell prints.

Could you please explain this last paragraph- DPP4? Does this mean I won't be able to adjust settings in Lightroom when processing RAW files?

Hi ispyej,

"Could you please explain this last paragraph- DPP4? Does this mean I won't be able to adjust settings in Lightroom when processing RAW files?"

DPP4 is Canon's own free software that comes with your camera. This only cover's Canon Lenses. If your using Lightroom the len's profile for the Sigma will be available to you through Adobe's own profiles, you will set that in Lightroom's module. Lens Corrections/Profile/Lens Profile/ and tick Enable Profile Corrections.

Thank you mocha123 & brightcolours for clarifying.

I think I'm leaning towards the Sigma over a 18-55mm kit at the moment.

Dareshooter wrote:

Where are you seeing the 750 bundle ? The bundles I'm seeing are with the bog standard 18-55 kit lens which is not the best. However the 18-55 STM lens is a much better lens and is available in a kit with the Canon 100D for £369+ £30 flashback from WEX. You can also get secondhand 55-250 MM STM for £ 129 from MPB photographic.Don't worry about getting used stuff from these guys as the stuff they sell is top notch and come with a 6 month guarantee.

I saw the 750D bundle for £529 (not £519, sorry!) on Jessops. Seems to come with the 18-55 IS STM http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/95325/Show.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA&utm_term=EOS%20750D%20Digital%20SLR%20+%2018-55mm%20IS%20STM%20Lens&gclid=CMCFjd6AuNACFa0K0woduKIExA

Thats fair enough, 6 months is good for used kit.

Just make sure that' wide enough for your needs, check out the 10-18, which you could complement with the 55-250 and a 250D close up lens on that for macro.

Living in that wet place I would also take a look at Pentax alternatives with WR lenses.

photosen wrote:

Just make sure that' wide enough for your needs, check out the 10-18, which you could complement with the 55-250 and a 250D close up lens on that for macro.

Just checked out the 10-18mm, for £165 it looks amazing! Thanks for bringing it to my attention, I thought it was pricier than that.

Living in that wet place I would also take a look at Pentax alternatives with WR lenses.

Hahaha, that wet place. Although I wanted to like Pentax because they give more bang for your buck, they didn't feel right in my hands when I tried them alongside Canon.

Hey guys, just wanted to say that I just picked up a 760D & 55-250mm for £644 including cashback! I am over the moon and will be adding a 10-18mm to my kit soon. Hope to be learning my new camera in the mean time!

Thanks again for your input, really made me think about how much I was actually getting for my money. The sigma's price won't be changing any time soon. That will be a lens I add in the future, should I feel that I need the constant 2.8 aperture.