Lens for a Canon

gastinator

gastinator

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Hi there

So I am looking for a lens for my older Canon T4i and can't afford too much to spend I think I need an EF lens more than an EFS and something that is like the kit lens but is much sharper, can anyone help?

Cheers
 
Hi and welcome to TP

Perhaps if you said what focal length it is that you seek and whether a zoom or a prime lens is what you want?

Also, what is your maximum budget?

The above will 'inform' any potential replies

PS and what makes you think an EF will be better(?) than an EF-S ?

Edit ~ what lens have got now?
 
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Your camera is the same as the 650D in teh European marcket, so is a crop sensor, so to get a similar focal range (at the wide end), a good option would be the Canon EF-S 18-85mm which was the premium zoom lens for the Crop Sensors - these are quite thin on the ground in the pre-loved market.

If you wanted better quality and could afford to sacrifice the wide end in return for a little more reach then the Canon EF 24-105 L F.4 lens coudl be an option. There is a much older 17-40mm L F4 lens which would also work, but by today's standards the optics on this are compromised, but since you have a crop sensor camera and will only be using teh centre part of the lens, again could be an option.
 
Hi there

I have read that EF is better because they can be used on Full Frame and Crop so if I try to sell on at a later date I will have a bigger audience, as for a prime lens and focal length I am not very well versed with that, I think my maximum would be about £180.00 I know it's a 650D but I bought a T4i from eBay UK and it works fine, I did own a 400D many moons ago and wanted to get back into photography and couldn't afford the latest gizmo

Thank you both above, more help would be wonderful especially to give me a refresher on focal length and prime

:)

I just watched some videos on focal length I get that part now, I think I need a lens that can zoom in and out so it becomes more versatile a fixed prime wouldn't be for me

I also see that EF-S is made for crop sensor so maybe I should be aiming for EF-S because of the crop of 1.6 as if I bought an EF lens I would have to multiply by 1.6
 
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Other lenses to consider are the Sigma 17-70mm, Sigma 17-50mm, Canon 18-135mm. Buy the lens you need not because of the resale value. The market changes all the time but no point having a lens which doesn’t have focal range to capture the images you want.
 
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OK I shall buy the lens I need and not worry about resale, but EF-S would be better as they are for crop sensor cameras, but if I buy an EF lens I would have to multiply the shortest focal length by 1.6 so a 17mm would be a 27mm :oops: :$
 
Back in the day when I used Canon I had a 24-105 L IS on a 40D then a 7D and a 5D and was quite happy with it, I did team it with a Sigma 10-20(?) as I was doing photos for an estate agent but that was really all it got used for. As far as resale value is concerned I am not sure it makes much difference particularly now everything seems to be moving to mirrorless
I can,t recall the kit lens with the 40D (18-55 ?) but I think the 15-85 was a lot better and dearer, MPB have them within your budget.
This might help https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-S-15-85mm-f-3.5-5.6-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx
 
I have a 650D, kept when I gave up Canon, very nice in performance and value for money.

My favourite lens for everyday use is the 18-135 EF-s IS, they have a useful range and are sharp, especially stopped down slightly.
I also have the 28-135 and a 24-105 FF lenses, and don't see any worthwhile difference.

Whatever you get, it is worth making sure it is an IS lens, often results in much better pictures.
 
gastinator said:
but if I buy an EF lens I would have to multiply the shortest focal length by 1.6 so a 17mm would be a 27mm
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Hi there and welcome to TP.

All lenses have the same focal lengths printed on them. So whether it is an EF-S lens or an EF lens, the focal lengths will be what they are. The "circle" at the back of the lens letting the light through will be the same size, it's just that the sensor sitting inside that circle is smaller. The 1.6 multiplication factor is something you need to apply to all lenses you put on that camera whether it's EF or EF-S.

EF-S lenses have this factor built in which is why the EF-S mount has an 18-55 kit lens whereas the EF mounted "kit" lens is 24-70. The 18-55 lens will give you roughly the same field of view on an APSC sensor camera as the 24-70 would on a full frame.

Hope that makes sense!
 
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I used both my 17-40L and 24-105L for many years on my 400D and 40D. Both can be found used quite cheaply these days, I really need to sell mine as I have a Fuji camera these days and leave the 70-200 on my canon.
 
Canon Digital Rebel T4i was a 650D in Canon's European naming convention, and will take either EF or EF-S lenses. The kit lens 18-55 could be improved upon, the only limit is your budget.

Does the current lens fulfill your normal shooting needs, both on the wide angle end and the telephoto end?

With the advent of mirrorless, secondhand prices are going down a bit, but an EF lens will generally have a wider audience come resale, but they are generally slightly more expensive. The Canon L ranges are usually pretty good, but priced at a premium.

I believe the EF-S 15-85 or 17-85mm lenses were fairly well regarded, and would work well on your camera and other crop body cameras.

Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 may be worth considering.
 
Hi guys thank you for all of your kind replies, I think I may go for the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens

What do you guys think, Christopher Frost likes it and has a good review, but what sort of cost should I be looking at? £140 ish maybe...
 
Mr Perceptive said:
There is a much older 17-40mm L F4 lens which would also work, but by today's standards the optics on this are compromised, but since you have a crop sensor camera and will only be using teh centre part of the lens, again could be an option.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. I got that lens for my 60D and it was great. When I got a 6D mk2 - the lens was disappointing, it was really soft on the outer parts of the image.
 
gastinator said:
OK I shall buy the lens I need and not worry about resale, but EF-S would be better as they are for crop sensor cameras, but if I buy an EF lens I would have to multiply the shortest focal length by 1.6 so a 17mm would be a 27mm :oops: :$
Click to expand...

Doesn't matter if it is EF or EF-S, the focal length on either lens mount will require multiplication x 1.6 - EF-S lenses generally go a bit wider to accommodate the crop sensor.
 
OK which one is best as in terms of quality pictures ect the 17-40mm L F4 or the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens, I think the 15-85 as it's newer and has more focal range for me.

It's a minefield :eek:


Thanks for the help it is appreciated, oh and if anyone has a link for the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens

Also do you have an AI image creation board?

:love:
 
17-40 gives slightly lower distortion, hwereas the 15-85 is slightly sharper.

In terms of the build, 15-85 is about 100g heavier and slightly longer at full zoom (it grows in length as you move towards 85mm) whereas the 17-40 is fixed as everything happens internally.

15-85 however does have IS which is a benefit, but the 17-40 has a fixed aperture (f4) whereas the 15-85 gets slower as you move to 85mm.

Pros and Cons to each lens, whatever you do make sure you get the one you think adds more advantages to you and most of all, remember that if you buy used there's a good chance you could get your money back if you feel like you made the wrong choice and want to change your mind!
 
gastinator said:
Thank you for all of the replies I think I will go for this one, what do you guys think?
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Has been a while since I had Canon gear.....so cannot comment about that lens but what struck me was in the first picture the diaphragm appears to be 'closed down '?

IIRC and frankly have not paid much attention to this but AFAIK all electronically controlled aperture (i.e. those without manual aperture setting control ring on the lens) lens in their off state have wide open diaphragms, so the apparently closed down (small) ring of light visible in the picture caught my attention.

Hopefully other members can reflect on this as well?
 
I'd be worried about the comments about the stiff zoom ring, perhaps a sign its been dropped at some point!

Also as said above, the aperture should be open. Only way to get it closed is to set a low aperture, hold the DoF preview button then remove the lens before powering down the camera. Not sure why they would do that!

I think I'd prefer one of the below.

MPB link 1
MPB link 2
 
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The Sigma 17-70mm is better than the kit lens and focuses very close (really close) so it's passable as a macro as well. If you want more range the Canon 18-135mm is a decent budget lens.
 
To throw a spanner in the works.

If you want the ‘best’ standard zoom for canon crop, it’s the 17-55 2.8.

Vastly superior to any of the canon kit zooms, the 17-40 and the Sigma variant.

But you’ll need to increase your budget.

Bluntly the 17-40 is the only L lens I have tried that I couldn’t recommend, the 17-55 has L quality optics, without the build quality.
 
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