[Guest]

Greetings, Photozone!

 

I'm new to the forum and, incidentally, to photography. I had just recently purchased a Canon 650D, which had included the following lenses:

 

- Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
 
I know I'm jumping the gun here, as I have yet to really immerse myself in photography. But I'd like to know anyway. I intend to focus mainly on portraits (since I'd like to help my wife launch a photo blog) and everyday (general) photography. And, since I intend to stick to Canon if I do upgrade bodies, I'd like to know which lens or set of lenses, whether Canon or not (e.g., Sigma, Tamron), I should invest in for each area of interest. Also, from, what I know, the EF-S line is only for cropped bodies. So, I'd appreciate Canon recommendations within the EF-only line. And, of course, I'd also like to get your learned opinion on which third-party lenses match up well with Canon's lenses (some of which are exponentially more expensive than the camera itself!).
 
Simply put, I would very much like to hear your recommendations for lenses I could use now with my 650D and for any higher Canon model.
 
I thank you so very much for your help and patience.
 
All the best!

 

brightcolors pointed out at you can use all lenses (except EOS-M) lenses. Which ones you choose should depend on which focal lengths you need. While in the tele range, all lenses are essentially EF lenses, in the Wide-angle to normal range, you have EF-S lenses (as well as lenses from Sigma, Tamron, Tokina), which are only designed to work on crop bodies, since they have a smaller image circle. The Sigma, Tamron, Tokina have no special EF-S mount, just the normal EF mount even if they are designed only for crop (see all the different acronyms they christen their lenses with on the respective web sites), so you can actually put them on FF bodies, but in many instances (not always) you will have black areas around the edge with no image. EF-s can be modified by removing back parts to fit on FF, not often done.

Coming back to the crop lenses, in the UWA range, there are virtually no EF or third party solutions that give you ultrawide-angle on crop such as 8 or 10mm.    So, you should NOT decide to only buy FF (i.e. EF) lenses, you should decide to buy the lens that fits your purpose. The EF-S 17-55 f2.8 IS  lens is a very highly regarded lens for crop, and has a similar role as 24-70 lenses on FF bodies.  Your EF-S 18-135 doesn't even have a complement in FF. Most of the time it's not warranted to fret about possible, maybe, someday, perhaps moves to FF in the future, get the lenses you need for the job you want to do.

For a photoblog with web resolution, what you have is already "overkill" so to speak, hardly a need to go FF, unless you want specific effects, like very thin DOF, or better high ISO when shooting in dark conditions.   For portraits, you have already a good lens to start with, i.e. the 50mm (80mm equivalent on FF) that allows you to take thin DOF shots (see dofmaster.com). 

And going to FF usually means more expensive and more heavy (compare a 6D with 24-70mm f4 IS to a 650D with 18-55 IS), perhaps not what your wife is looking for. For many reasons, people go actually for smaller cameras (SL1 = 100D), or microfourthirds, or other mirrorless bodies to reduce weight and size. The camera left at home because it bugs you, is no use.  For your wife, even a good fixed-lens camera, or a P&S camera (along the lines of a Sony HX20v, or a Canon 260sx) can generate nice shots in daylight conditions. Most of these P&S have fun features (panorama stitching, built in gps, lots of effects), that often you won't find on serious cameras (dSLRs), certainly not on FF cameras.

 

Ok, back to your initial question, try the lenses you have, they actually should already do what you need for the moment. Afterwards you can try to figure out what may be missing.