huh huh

I have been following UH for 1-2 years now. It has been a great resource and I have really learned a lot. (That being said, due to my limited knowledge I sometimes feel that I walked into the middle of a French movie and start looking at feet for the subtitles). I am familiar with photography having owned an EOS Elan IIe. Wanting to move into the 21st century, I'm looking at pulling the trigger on a T7i. I still have a Canon EF 70-210 3.5 to 4.5. I know that as it's a full frame lens it will equivalent to a 105-315 on the T7i. I know that it will work on my new camera but I'm still thinking of getting a kit that also has Canon's EF-S 55-250 IS STM. Does this make any sense or should I skip the 55-250? (I also have a Sigma 28-80 3.5 to 5.6 but when I attempt to manually focus, it sounds like someone trying to go from 2nd to 3rd without using the clutch.)

Second, many of the kits from A,B and C also contain other equipment, bag, filters, tripod, etc. Now I know that that these are probably not the best quality, but my thinking is I will need most of this stuff anyway and this is a painless way to get everything all at once. I figure once I get deeper in the weeds I can figure out my needs and replace what's needed. So my question is does it make sense to get one of these all in one kits? Your opinions would be appreciated.

big-guy Loc: Peterborough Ontario Canada

Regarding the Sigma, are you trying to manual focus while the auto focus is turned on? Try turning the auto focus off and then do a manual focus.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

What type of shooting do you anticipate doing? That will determine your future lens choice and whether any of the available bundles are worthwhile. As far as the accessory bundles go, many/most contain low cost, low quality accessories that may be neither useful of of a quality to match your camera. Memory cards would be useful as long as they're adequate with respect to speed, and a case/bag might be worthwhile if large enough. I think I'd avoid cheap tripods (which are essentially useless) and cheap filters. Get back to us on the type of shooting you intend, and we can give you some suggestions on good and cost effective lenses.

SS319

I used my T6i for 2 years with the 18-55 lens - I started with a 28-80 but it really wasn't wide enough for what I shoot. the 18-55 is a great walk around lens. Personally, I would not buy into the full kit with the bag and lens cleaner, etc. You will buy a bag that fits you and your style, and it probably won't look like the kit bag. Filter quality is all over the map so the filters you get with a kit may or may not be worth a cup of tea - same for the minimalist tripod. Easy way to start is with the camera and the 18-55 and use your long lens. buy more later. Plus, you establish the pattern of buying new Photographic equipment every 4-6 months - forever.

J2e Loc: Canandaigua, NY

I purchased a T3i with the 18-55 kit lens and a Canon 55-250. In advance of a trip to Europe I purchased the Canon 18-135 STM primarily to minimize lens change on the move. The build quality of the kit lens is chintzy and the 3:1 zoom range is limiting and inconvenient. The kit lens has not been used since.
My advice is to skip the 18-55 and upgrade at the time of camera purchase for better build quality and greater zoom range.
A 50mm f/1.8 prime was a great addition for me also.
In advance of a trip to France and Ireland last month I picked up a 12-28mm f/4 Tokina and I love it.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Not to kit and not to dslr. That's what I'd do.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Since you're moving into the 21st century, I would recommend the body and 55-250mm lens as a kit. The price for the two will be better than the price individually, and both will be brand new. The new lens will cover a larger range than the 70-210mm you have now. I wouldn't bother with kits that add filters and small tripods, but see what the kit offers and compare prices with non-extras kits.

revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson

My experience: If you can get a deal with the 18-135 lens go for it.

Plieku69 Loc: The Gopher State, south end

In my not so humble opinion skip the kit lens, it really is not that good unless you are strictly a snap shot shooter. I bought the one you are looking at before I found the wisdom of UHH. Now it's in the drawer collecting dust replaced by better lenses.

If you wish to take pictures you are proud of and can show to others with pride, the kit lens of all sizes from Canon will be a disappointment.

Ken

marki3rd Loc: Columbus, Indiana

In spite of the negative comments about "Kit" lenses you will get here from people that routinely try to talk you into lenses that cost as much as your camera, the current "STM" lenses offered with Canon Cameras are well worth considering. The 18-55mm IS STM is a terrific lens as is the 55-250mm IS STM. I suggest you google these lenses and see what people who actually know what they are talking about have to say.

The 55-250mm IS STM lens you mention is highly regarded and while it duplicates some of the range of your current zoom, it is a world better in every respect. It is sharper, has Image Stabilization, manual focus over ride, focuses almost instantly and very quietly.

The 18-55mm IS STM is a great lens. Read what Ken Rockwell has to say about it.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/lenses/18-55mm-f4-56-stm.htm

To summarize; The current Canon Kit STM Lenses are so supperior to what you have you would be foolish to disregard them IMHO.

J2e Loc: Canandaigua, NY

Amen.
👍

davyboy Loc: Anoka Mn.

Do not let these people blow smoke up your butt about kit lens!!! They are very very nice they will serve you well for a long time

huh huh

Thanks for all of the help. You have given me a lot to think about. Sometimes I feel like the line from the old Devo song, "Freedom of choice is what we have, freedom of choice is what we want. Obviously I'm going to have to spend more time on the interweb.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

Let me add my humble opinion.

I would find switching lenses a nuisance. I was quite happy with a 18-135mm lens until I encountered the situation which, for me, occurs often, where I wanted an 18mm and over 200mm at the same event. I now use a Sigma 18-300mm "zoom" much of the time. However, the 18-135 should cover most of your needs. Be advised there are 3 different types of focusing systems. Both of the newer ones (STM, USM) are OK.

Also note, many "kit" lens packages offer the longer zoom (70-200) WITHOUT image stabilization.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Regarding the 55-250mm lens... I looked up Canon EF 70-210mm f/3.5-4.5 and it appears to be a lens from 1990 with USM focus drive (good), but without Image Stabilization (bad). I have no idea it's image quality. But the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM has pretty good IQ and is considerably closer focusing (able to do .29X magnification, compared to .17X mag with your lens). The STM focus drive is smoother and quieter than USM, but might not be quite as fast. With telephoto lenses such as this I.S. can be very helpful, especially when using the lens on an APS-C crop camera such as the T7i. Yes, either lens will act as a 1.6X more powerful telephoto on T7i, than they would on your old film (i.e, "full frame") camera. Of course, the EF-S lens won't fit onto your old film camera. The T7i, on the other hand, can use both EF and EF-S lenses equally well.

I've been using Canon I.S. lenses for over fifteen years and am a big fan, especially with telephotos... So, yes, I'd recommend getting the kit that includes it, so long as the price is favorable ("kit" bundles usually are a good deal.... but you can check the difference the lens adds against buying it separately, to be sure).

Another lens that's sometimes bundled with Canon cameras is the EF 75-300mm "III" (non-USM, non-IS). I do not recommend it. It's Canon's least expensive telephoto zoom and also one of their worst. The 55-250mm is a much better lens in many ways. It's usually a little, but not a lot more expensive than the 75-300mm... but well worth it!

The camera will most likely come with an EF-S 18-55mm IS STM, too... which is a decent little lens that nicely complements the 55-250mm. Neither of those lenses includes a lens hood. I'd recommend buying the matching hood for both of them. Canon's OEM hoods probably cost around $25 apiece... But there often are also cheaper "clones", such as Vello ($12-$15 apiece) that likely do the job just as well.

You likely won't need that old Sigma 28-80mm... which is probably a good thing. Even if it worked well on your old camera, there often are compatibility issues with old third party lenses on newer cameras. Sigma has probably had more of those issues than any other manufacturer. I have an old 28-70mm Sigma that worked fine on Elan 7E, EOS-3 film cameras and 10D DSLR... but causes 30D and later model DSLRs to lock up with error codes. Thankfully, I bought it used and didn't pay very much... it's not fixable.

It sounds as if you've seen some bundles that include a whole lot more stuff. BE VERY CAREFUL. There are a lot of bait-and-switch shysters on the Internet! I recommend sticking with the reliable vendors... such as Adorama, B&H Photo, Amazon Direct, and a few others. The long-established stores are far less risky than many of the fly-by-night outfits on the Internet. Whoever you decide, ask here or check them out thoroughly in other ways, before giving them your credit card number!

The manufacturer assembled kits are great. And the reliable stores put together bunbles of reasonably good items, too. But the Internet shysters but a bunch of worthless junk in their kits... sometimes even swap out quality items that were originally provided by the manufacturer for cheaper junk.

Have fun shopping!