Dale Rhyne

I recently bought a Canon EOS 80D to replace my Canon EOS Rebel T3. I bought the body only and have been using my kit lenses that came with the T3 on the 80D. They are the EF-S 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 IS II and the EF 75-300mm 4-5.6 III.
I have captured pictures that I like mostly like with the 18mm to 55mm range.
I don't shoot video. I've been looking to upgrade to a Canon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM ($599) or a Canon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM ($399). I have also considered buying a better 18-55mm?
I would like to stay at or below $599. What are your recommendations?

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

I would recommend either of the EF-S 18 - 135 STM or USM. Both are good optically. Consider either refurbished or used ( KEH? ).

I have the STM above on a T3i, and have been very pleased with it. It is my default lens, it is very versatile, although it is only one of six lenses in my standard grab bag.

My 80D arrives tomorrow. Looking forwards to seeing what the 80D does with all my glass, old and new!

Good luck.

Dale Rhyne

Thank you. I am leaning to the 18-135 STM lens. Please let me know if the 80D is worth the upgrade and why. Thanks again.

djtravels Loc: Georgia boy now

I had your setup a while back, and I thought the 75-300mm lens was a piece of junk. I went for a Tamron 18-200mm and kept it on all the time. If you can get over the Canon name there are some very good lenses out there for less money. Look at some Tamron or Sigma lenses before you pull the trigger. Your 80D deserves the best.

Dale Rhyne

Thanks, I am going to look into the Tamron 18-200mm. I wonder how the optics (sharpness) are compared to the Canon 18-135mm STM?

mrpentaxk5ii

I guess you could say every one's idea of an upgrade is diffrent, going from a 18-55 kit lens to a 18-135 F4.5-5.6 is an upgrade in focal lenght, but it is still a slow kit lens with more reach. If you find yourself shooting with the 18-55 most of the time an upgrade to me would be a Sigma 17-70 F 2.8-4.0 or the 17-50 F 2.8. Both are much faster and both are in your price range, the 17-70 F 2.8-4.0 is both faster, longer and a better built lens than the 18-55. I have the older 17-70 Sigma F2.8-4.5 and I use it for all typs of photography, it's a great lens.....

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Also check the refurbished lenses at Canon
http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/lenses-flashes/refurbished-lenses

Dale Rhyne

Okay, I'll add the Sigma 17-70mm to my list to consider. I appreciate your input.
What I'm looking for is sharper images at that focal length range.
Thanks

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Sigma has it refurbished for $379.00 leaves you enough to buy the HUB that goes with all the newer Sigma lenses.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

If I were you I would choose the 18-135 USM lens over the STM. By all means consider Sigma / Tamron et al, they do make good lenses, but it is worth considering that both cameras and lenses are a distributed computing system. There are times when third party lenses don't play as nicely with a camera as the camera manufacturer's lenses do.

Good luck with your decision making.

As for the 80D, the upgrade to the 80D is definitely worthwhile for me - and it is still in transit!

I'm heavily invested in the Canon system - started in 1976, and the company is still the market leader by far. Sony is making better sensors at this point in time, but far from a better system.

If I had the money to switch to a FF system I'd get a 5D IV, but that would be a multi thousand dollar upgrade including lenses.

The 80D is currently Canon's best all round APS-C camera with significant improvements over previous models in many ways. It's not as robust or sports oriented as the 7D mk II, but a better general use camera.

It is an easy addition to my current setup of lenses etc., adds a lot of functionality, and will work well with my older, adapted manual focus lenses - the 80D AF system is a huge advance.

The price was good, a refurbished body from Canon, a nicely priced Canon battery grip from B&H, and some extra batteries from Amazon.

I'm ready to rumble!

danrob

Another very fine lens is the Tamron 17-50 2.8 lens. I've had mine for years and use it on a Canon 80D. It has served me very well, everywhere from Alaska to Florida, California to Maine and I've made some nice images with it. There are two versions of this lens, a VC version (Tamron's name for image stabilization) and an older, NON-VC lens. The older non-VC version is reputed to be a sharper lens and it's now less expensive and is considered the better lens.

Dale Rhyne

Thank you, I'll look into the Tamron 17-50mm also.

Gifted One Loc: S. E. Idaho

Congratulations to all with new gear and your future purchases. Having gone through a similar experience let me share. I have shot owned most of the Rebels and xxDs. I currently own T2i, 60D and 6D. Glass that I have is the18-55 and 18-135 USM. My ultimate up-grade for the crop was the EFs 15-85. That combined with the EFs 10-22 make a very good kit. The 15-85 I purchased locally for 300 USD. It had minimal use. I see on Canon site time to time Refurbished promotions. Thanks for letting me share my experience.

J. R.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

The EF-S 18-135mm IS USM and 18-135mm IS STM are essentially the same lens.... EXCEPT that the "Nano" USM is 2X to 4X faster focusing, so would be better for any sort of sports/action shooting. Also, if interested in shooting video, there is a Power Zoom module (PZ-E1) available that's exclusively usable with the USM version of the lens.

Either of the 18-135mm would be a very nice improvement on the lenses you have.... faster and quieter focusing (especially the USM), plus you might learn to enjoy the longer focal lengths more once you have IS to help you get sharp, steady shots (which the 75-300mm III, Canon's cheapest tele-zoom, lacks). You'll be able to take much more full advantage of the 80D's more advanced AF system with either lens, but would especially be able to do so with the USM version.

I agree.... check out the Canon USA website for refurbs.... or watch for "white box" specials or lightly used copies of whatever lens you choose... or maybe wait for an instant rebate promotion, if you want brand new. Too bad you didn't get the 18-135mm USM in kit with the 80D... last time I looked the lens & camera in kit cost about $200 less than buying them separately. (Some people buy that way, then sell the kit lens at a bit of a discount... and retailer split up kits are also the source of "white box" specials).

BTW, an 18-135mm lens on an 80D gives you equivalent to the entire range of focal lengths most 35mm DSLR film shooters ever owned in their lifetimes... all in one lens (where they had to buy 3 or more lenses, typically).

Also, a good "budget" alternative is the EF 28-135mmm IS USM lens. It's an older model, but was sold in kit with many cameras over the years and is pretty easily found for around $200, lightly used. It's also a very good performing lens, though it uses the older type of USM that's not so great for videography. And, of course, it's not as wide as the 18-135mm... and you say that's something you use a lot. But the EF-S 10-22mm USM or low cost EF-S 10-18mm IS STM can complement the 28-135mm pretty nicely.

There are some excellent third party lenses. Personally I prefer to stick with Canon lenses on my Canon cameras, as much as I can. But I do use a few third party, too. Investing in quality Canon lenses, you're pretty much guaranteed that they'll work on future camera upgrades you might do. I've got some lenses in my kit that I've used for 15+ years... on film cameras originally, and on four or five generations of DSLRs since. They work fine... no issues what-so-ever. Can't say the same for third party... they can work fine with current and previous models, but may not "play well" with some future camera model.

For example I've got a Sigma 28-75mm that worked fine on film Canon and 10D... but causes any later model DSLR to lock up and throw an error code. It's not worth fixing, if it were even possible to do so. There have been a number of different types of compatibility issues over the years, with third party lenses and new camera models. To be fair, the manufacturers have been pretty good about fixing recent and current models when problems occur, especially the more pricey lenses. And there are third party lenses that fulfill needs... I've used a Tokina ultrawide for years, it's very high quality and cost considerably less thatn the Canon equivalent at the time. I also use a couple Tamron macro lenses, which serve their purposes very well.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4 contemporary ......