cameralLady wrote:
Canon’s EOS 80D is available as: (a) body only, (b) EF-S 18-135 IS USM lens as a kit, (c) as a bundle that includes two lenses; EF-S 18-135 IS USM lens , and EF-S 55-250.
Question 1: Is the EF-S 18-135 IS USM lens in the kit the exact same specification, quality etc as the Canon EFS 18-135 IS USM lens sold separately? (Don’t laugh, some items with the same model number made by the same manufacture have different specifications depending which box store is selling it. This can be verified by looking at the serial number, it might have a letter L, or B in the serial number.)
Question 2: Is it redundant to include a two lens set consisting of an 18-135 and 55-250 lenses in a bundle with the 80D? Is not the 55-135 regions duplication?
Canon’s EOS 80D is available as: (a) body only,... (
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Answer 1: The "kit" lenses bundled with the camera are
exactly the same as lenses sold separately, in all respects. Canon kit lenses often come in "white box", rather than the usual retail box. But other than that, there's no difference at all. (And retailers sometimes separate the bundles and sell the "white box" lenses separately at a little discount.)
Note: there have actually been three different EF-S 18-135mm lenses. The "USM" lens bundled with 80D is the best of the bunch. There also is an "STM" model, about $50 to $100 cheaper, that uses a slower form or autofocus drive. And, there's a micro motor focus drive version (not labelled "USM" or "STM") that's the slowest and noisiest type of autofocus, that's about $100 to $150 cheaper.
Also note: The above applies to Canon-assembled kits. There are also retailer-assembled kits, some of which are fine from reputable dealers... others not so much. Be careful of retailer-assembled bundles from anyone other than the biggest and most long-established retailers. Often retailer-assembled kits have third party (non-Canon) items... even lenses.
Some folks feel the need to have every focal length covered from near to far and worry unnecessarily about any overlap. In truth, it's not necessary to cover them all.... particularly with telephotos... some gaps between lenses usually aren't a problem. At the same time, in a multi-lens kit some overlap often occurs and that's not really a problem, either. There's an argument to be made that a bit of overlap might mean fewer lens changes.
Personally I use a lot of telephotos and have quite a bit of overlap and even duplication (backups for lenses that I use a lot, such as 300mm & 70-200mm). When I'm "traveling light" I'll often carry just 10-22mm, 28-135mm (an older lens), 300mm f4 lens with a 1.4X teleconverter, and a 60mm macro/portrait lens. Yes, there are gaps. So I "zoom with my feet". Other times I take a completely different kit. I often shoot sporting events with 70-200mm on one camera and 100-400mm or 300mm on another camera. During those shoots, I'll usually keep 24-70mm and 10-22mm handy, too, just in case they are needed.
Answer 2: Yes, there is some overlap of focal lengths between the two lenses in that bundle with the EF-S 18-135mm and EF-S 55-250mm. But the latter offers more telephoto reach from 136mm to 250mm. The EF-S 55-250mm is an STM lens (again.... quiet and smooth operation, but about half as fast as USM). Depending upon what you want to shoot, that might be handy to have. Really, only you can say.
Your alternative is to buy a separate telephoto or different midrange zoom, which is usually going to cost more than buying one in a kit/bundle.
Telezooms Canon currently offers:
- EF-S 55-250mm IS STM
- EF 70-200mm f4L USM, 70-200mm f4L IS USM, 70-200mm f2.8L USM, 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM
- EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM, 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM "Mark II" (new), 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 DO ("diffractive optics", extra compact), 70-300mm f4-5.6L IS USM (premium build & image quality)
- EF 75-300mm f4-5.6 "Mark III" ([i]Avoid it[i]! Canon's cheapest & prossibly worst lens. 55-250mm is much better), 75-300mm f4-5.6 USM "Mark III" (marginally better)
- EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L "Mark II" IS USM
- EF 200-400mm f4L IS USM with built in 1.4X teleconverter
Midrange or "walk-around" zooms that Canon currently offers:
- EF-S 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM
- EF 16-35mm f4L IS USM, EF 16-35mm f2.8L USM "Mark III" (Mark II still available, too)
- EF 17-40mm f4L USM
- EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM
- EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS, 18-55mm IS STM, 18-55mm IS "Mark II"
- EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM, EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 USM
- EF 24-70mm f4L IS USM, 24-70mm f2.8L "Mark II" USM
- EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM "Mark II" (Mark I still available, too)
- EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM
There are also some "Super zooms" that try to "do it all" with a very wide range of focal lengths in a single lens:
- EF-S 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 IS
- EF 28-300mm f3.5-5.6L IS USM
Prices on these range from around $200 to close to $11,000 (Not including the 75-300 non-USM, which sometimes sells for under $100).
Note: Only Canon "L-series" lenses come with a matched lens hood. For all other lenses the matching hood is sold separately. It's highly recommended to get the hood for both image quality and physical protection of the lens while shooting. Canon OEM lenses can be a little pricey, but there are third party "clones" of most, often selling for 1/2 or 1/3 the price of the OEM hoods.