steelhorzz

Hello, Looking for some input....
First the background.

I'm here in Romania, on vacation, and my Canon EF-S 18-135 lens is going "belly up". (Its over 15 years old.). It's jamming from wide angle to telephoto, and the auto focus isn't working well either.

I'm making do, and I do have my 10-22, and my 70-200L with me.

When I arrive home, I'm going to purchase a new "walk around" lens.

Now here's where I'm looking for input.

My camera is a 7D Mkll.

I'm was thinking of getting another EF-S 18-35, I've done well with it over the years.

Then I was looking at a EF 28-135 as it 72mm vs, 67mm
And it may give me more light in certain situations. And a little more magnification as mine is a crop sensor.

Then I just saw there is a EF-S 18-200mm
And thought it might be a good all around lens as I could do indoor shots with the 18mm wide angle, and it would give me a bit more distance going up to 200mm.

Was just wondering if as they say....
"You can't be all things to all people".
And maybe the quality would be not as well as expected.

So if you have any info on any of these lenses, personal experience, recommendations, horror stories, I'd appreciate hearing.

Thanks for your input!

leftj Loc: Texas

Tamron 18-400mm

AK Grandpa Loc: Anchorage, AK

I have a Tamron 18-270 and a Tamron 18-400 . . . Both are excellent "do anything" and "walk-around" lenses . . .

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Since you already have the long and short ends covered with current glass, I would take a good look at the 24-105L mk2,

SueScott Loc: Hammondsville, Ohio

Here's a "ditto" on the Tamron 18-400. I have one on my D7500 and really like it.

gmbrandon Loc: Tennessee

I just received my new Tamron 18-400 and I really like it.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

The Tamron 18-400 is well regarded. It may be bigger/ heavier than you desire or it may be exactly what you want for general purpose. For the Canon lenses, refer to the The-digital-picture.com for excellent and detailed reviews of candidate lenses. I wouldn't give up 18mm on a cropped body for wide angles which is why I'd avoid the EF 24-xxx lenses for your 7DII. In addition to the Tamron, read the reviews and consider the
EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

If you value image quality over convenience, then a smaller range zoom - like the Sigma 17-70 you should consider. Among the the large range zooms, I like the Sigma 18-300. The Canon 18-135 is a good compromise.

..

tropicdiver Loc: Oklahoma, Texas and currently Florida

You've got the wide and long end covered. I also have both the wide and long ends covered and use a 24~105 for my walk around lens, when I am willing to take off my 16~35 lens.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I also have a 7D MII and a 5D MIII. I did demo the EF-s 18 - 200 last week. It's very good. Another for your consideration may be the 24 - 105 IS II.

Good luck. Enjoy your vacation.
Mark

Gifted One Loc: S. E. Idaho

I have or have used most of the glass talk about. I think that the finest EFs mount is the 15-85.

J. R.

billnourse Loc: Bloomfield, NM

If your current 18-135 has served you well for 15 years, why not just go with the new 18-135 is USM? They are great lenses and the range is near perfect for all around on a crop sensor. The 24-105 that some have suggested would not be wide enough for me on a crop sensor. I haven't shot with any of the super zoom 18-200/300/400, etc lenses, but I would suspect that there would be some loss of image quality somewhere in the range when dealing with that much difference in focal length.

Bill

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

First things first. The EF 28-135 is a decent but very old design and is not terribly sharp on a Canon 7D Mark II. It will not give you any more light regardless of the filter size and of course it doesn't go wide on a crop body like yours. Further, when no longer new, the zoom creep of that lens becomes extreme.

As for the EF-s 18-200, it too is a very old design overdue for a refresh. It uses a slow and noisy micromotor for AF and doesn't support full time manual focus. On the wide end it has a strange type of barrel distortion which is not fully correctable in post processing and will be noticeable when taking shots of building with straight verticals. It also has very high level of chromatic aberration which are correctable for the most part in post processing. Its has a lock to keep it from telescoping at 18mm, but suffers from a lot of lens creep when shooting upwards and downwards. Its fairly sharp in the center and less so on the edges, and has decent contrast. It has limited usefulness in general low light conditions. Unless you plan on using an external flash, rather than your camera's mediocre built in flash, its also not a good lens for indoor shooting.

The latest version of the 18-135 designated as USM, is a far better lens than your original version and is generally a good match for your camera. I personally use the Canon EF-s 15-85 mm lens as a general walk around lens on my Canon 7D Mark II. If wide angle is important to you the 3 extra mm on the wide end is significantly wider than 18mm.

steelhorzz

Question.... is the STM later than the USM?
I was reading its Motor was better suited to video in keeping your subject in focus.

My wide end, 18mm seems to do just well in cathedrals and the small UNESCO churches. I "adjusted" to 28mm on my lens and couldn't get the entire wall, or subject matter I wanted in the shot. (So that probably eliminates the 28-135).
Where I found I was coming up a "bit short" while driving was trying to capture the Storks in their nests at the side of the road, or farmers in the fields plowing.
(Can't just pull over and swap lenses whenever I want.) I drove today with the 70-200 and got those great distance shots, but couldn't get the street scenes like I wanted). Oh well..
If I can determine the latest 18-135 "motor", I'll probably get that.
Thanks for the feedback!!

steelhorzz

I think that would also be my issue. The 24mm just won't capture an inside room on my 7D. But I do like the L lens glass. 😬