Dutzie Loc: I'd like to know

You will save a lot of pain and $ if you rent a couple of lenses. Rent two lenses you think will work for you. Get a cheep one and an expensive one. If you can't tell the difference well... Try Canon "l" lenses. More $ but superior..

revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson

Remember, her Canon SL1 EOS 100D has a cropped sensor so the 250 covers the area a 400mm lens would on a full sized sensor so it acts like a 400mm on a full sensor. Likewise the 300mm acts like a 480mm and a 400 like a 640mm.

Doowopa Loc: Connecticut

I have the SL1 with the 18-55 and 55-250 mm Canons.
I also have 50 mm 1.8 and 24 mm 2.8.

If I need something for low light I have the 50 & 24
If sharpness is very important I have the 18-55 or 55-250.

but the Tamron 18- 270 is what lives on my camera most of the time.
I hate carrying to much gear and changing lens every other shot.

tita1948 Loc: North Idaho

Welcome to the UHH. You will find lots of help here from newbies to pros. Read all they say and then sift through the search. There's a lot of info there. Welcome.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Good suggestion. The Tamron 18- 270 runs around $450. Sigma also makes an 18-250 that is currently around $350.00.

Either lens would be a good general lens that will cover most of what the OP wants to shoot.

Birdog9999 Loc: New Jersey

Yes but spending lots of money on a lens that may not meet your needs(since at this time she really doesn't know what she needs) doesn't make sense. Better to spend some time learning before spending it foolishly.

jjbrenner Loc: San Angelo, TX

Agree completely. Have ample lenses for various situations, but my Tamron 18-270 stays on-camera and gets most of the duty. It's been an excellent, versatile tool.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

On page 2 she said she wants to take pictures of birds. Her current lens is an 18-55. That really does not cut it for birds even for a beginner. For certain types of photography there really is a minimum level of equipment. If it was not for her clear statement about birds, I would agree that she should wait. But she wants to shoot birds. That requires a longer lens for reasonably clear pictures.

For tBragg Guy Loc: Fort Bragg Ca

Without going through all of the pages of replies to see if someone mentioned it, I would also suggest that you look into a tutorial on using your camera to get the most out of understanding how to make it do what all the things it can do. Maybe some company like Blue Crane has a video on your particular camera. I know it helped me when I got started with my Canon. I also very much agree with those who suggest trying lenses at a camera store and shooting examples through them on your camera to see the results before you buy. You can also rent a lens to try before you buy too. I always say that the lens takes the picture and your camera stores the data so get the most you can afford.

Photocraig

Welcome Nancy! On the Canon USA site there is a section for lenses that allow the viewer to adjust the focal length (think The bigger number in mm as the further away the subject can be for you to fill the frame).

So, on your camera the 35mm is what you can usually see with your two eyes, and 55mm is a little farther away. Using their tool or a similar one from lens manufacturers Tamron or Sigma, you can decide which focal length(s) you need to get the photos you desire.

Giving some thought to what those actual subjects are will help a Camera Store or a friendly Hog suggest the proper lens to fit your needs. A useful exercise here with the lens you have is to use the "pedestrian zoom" method of walking closer to get the subject to fill the frame. Not going to get you the castle across the Rhine, or the kid on the other side of the soccer field, it will work well for your Saturday Afternoon learning shoots. Closer is better. Every Photographer will tell you this.

Good luck and keep us posted with yur progress and questions.

rocketride Loc: Upstate NY

Or you might want the SL1 combo with the 18-135mm STM lens, depending on how long you need to go.

RRS Loc: Not sure

Welcome to the forum! As to a budget, what we mean is how much do you have/want to spend. How far out are you trying to see and photograph. There are good buys out there as second hand but you would have to know what you are doing or get some help. Look at the lens that "imagemeister" mentioned and look it up on "B&H.com" or just Google it. Do you want to photograph birds, flowers or people. You are wise to ask because it's not good to start this and come up with something that does not work for you.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

With birds you need a 400 to act like a 640 to get a decent shot at 25 feet. 300 is really too short from my experience.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Fully agree, she knows her subject and we need to recommend what we would reasonably use. A 400 or600 large aperture prime to us mere mortals is out of consideration. Again the canon 100-400L II is a good compromise on cost, quality and versatility.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

For very modest sum (about $300 US) the Canon EF-S 55-250 IS STM lens is very capable. Image quality is fine. It will complement the 18-55 you've already got very well. The STM version the latest model with reasonably quiet and good AF performance (STM stands for "Stepper Motor", which is a relatively new type of autofocus drive Canon is putting in some fairly nice, but budget-oriented lenses... another interesting recent release is the EF-S 10-18mm IS STM ultrawide, also about $300 which is far cheaper than most ultrawides from any manufacturer).

If you want to spend more money and get a premium lens, the Canon EF 70-200/4 IS USM is a superb option. I would recommend this f4 version for use on the small and light SL1 (though the lens will still seem comparatively large and heavy). The more expensive EF 70-200/2.8 IS USM II is also a fantastic lens, but a lot larger and likely to feel unbalanced on the small camera. Plus I imagine one of the reasons you bought the SL1 was it's smaller and lighter size, and the f4 version of the lens would fit that game plan better. A 70-200/4 sells for around $1300 and doesn't include the optional tripod mounting ring. That sells separately for roughly $160 (but there are third party clones of the tripod ring... made in China... that cost about 1/3 that amount).

Canon makes four 70-200mm models. Two f2.8 and two f4 that are roughly 2/3 the size and weight of the 2.8 versions. One of each has IS or "Image Stabilization", while the other does not. For most people I highly recommend IS lenses, particularly telephotos and especially when they are being used on a crop sensor camera such as the SL1. IS makes it possible to handhold steady shots with the lens at much slower shutter speeds. I've been using IS lenses (mostly telephotos) for over ten years and swear by them. Yes, IS adds some cost... But to me it's very much worth it on longer focal length lenses.

For about $650, the Canon EF 70-300 IS USM is a very good lens, too. It cannot be fitted with a tripod ring and technically isn't compatible with teleconverters.

More compact is the Canon EF 70-300 DO IS USM, also a fine lens and perhaps due to it's size and weight more in keeping with the SL1... but at about double the price of the non DO lens. It also cannot be fitted with a tripod mounting ring and technically isn't compatible with teleconverters.

While shopping you are bound to come across Canon EF 75-300 lenses for what appear to be bargain prices (often under $200). There is a reason it's cheap. It's one of Canon's worst lenses. I'd recommend avoiding it.

If you need a lot of telephoto reach, then you could use a 1.4X teleconverter with the 70-200/4 (but not the 55-250 or the 70-300s), or instead might want to consider the 100-400L IS USM instead. There is a brand new Mark II model of this lens coming out. The original versions are being sold out (around $1500) and differs in that it uses a rather less common (these days) push/pull zoom mechanism: focus and zooming are done with a single ring. Some people love this design because it's quite fast operating. Other folks hate it because it tends to be less precise, plus some think it makes the lens sort of a "dust pump".

The new Mark II version of the 100-400L lens is a wee bit sharper than the original at the 400mm end of the zoom, gives a little more contrast and color saturation (though both are quite good in all these respects) and it uses a more traditional two ring method of zooming and focusing. It's also has some other enhancements over the original model, but is only just coming available and sells for upwards of $2000.

The 100-400s are both just a little larger and heavier than a 70-200/2.8, but will seem quite large on an SL1. It may feel pretty unbalanced on that camera. And, technically, on your camera neither of the 100-400Ls is compatible with a teleconverter (though they can be fitted with one and are compatible when used on some of the more advanced Canon camera models such as 7D Mark II, 5D Mark III and 1DX).

If you need a whole heck of a lot of telephoto reach, the Tamron 150-600mm VC USD is a very popular choice right now. Though not cheap at about $1100, it's a comparative bargain at roughly half the price of the new 100-400L Mark II. Be prepared, though, it's even bigger than the 100-400s (uses more plastic than the premium quality L-series lenses, though, so isn't much different in weight). Reportedly, the Tammy 150-600mm is very good out to 500mm, then starts to get a little soft through the 600mm focal length. Still, it's certainly usable and even "just" 500mm is a whole heck of a lot of lens on a crop sensor DSLR like the SL1. Technically the 150-600mm isn't compatible with teleconverters on your camera.... but it's such a long focal length I also can't imagine ever needing one. A tripod mounting ring is included with the lens.

There are some other long telephotos from Sigma, Tamron and Tokina... I won't go into them all.

All the Canon L-series lenses and the Tamron include a lens hood. The non-L Canon do not... it's sold separately but I'd always recommend getting one for any lens you use. A lens hood is the best protection you can give a lens while shooting with it, plus it can do no harm, can only enhance your images in the vast majority of situations. Canon OEM hoods tend to cost around $25, but there are cheaper clones available at lower cost that do exactly the same job.