Which lens setup is better for general photography on a Canon EOS 650D: 50mm f/1.8 or 18-55mm kit zoom?
Asked 4/9/2013
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2 answers
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I’m buying a Canon EOS 650D and can currently afford one of these starting setups:
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II now, with an 18-135mm lens later
- Canon EF-S 18-55mm IS II kit lens now, with a 55-250mm lens later
Which option is better for general-purpose photography such as family, travel, and everyday use?
I’m also confused about focal length on the 650D’s APS-C sensor. Are these lenses’ stated focal lengths the true focal lengths, with the field of view becoming narrower because of the crop factor, or do they effectively become different focal lengths compared with full frame?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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The focal length is the actual focal length. So 18mm on that body will be sort of like 27mm on a full frame.
The answer is very personal, and without knowing you, or what types of photography you'll do, very hard to answer.
Personally I don't like the 18-55 + 55-250 combination
- 18-55 is pretty handy, but having to swap lenses to go beyond 55 is a pain
- both those lenses are slow, so not great in low light
I like the 50mm f/1.8 and 18-135 better
- 50 1.8 for low light, or better DOF control and bokeh for portraits
- 18-135 good travel or walk about lens, don't need to change lenses
- you'll be missing out on the 135-250 range that the other combination would give you. For me that's only 10% of the shots I take. So depends on how badly you need the 200mm range.
The above is based on focal length and max aperture - I don't know the quality of these lenses - I'll let other speak to that aspect.
Originally by user4191. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4191
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The stated focal lengths are the real focal lengths. On the EOS 650D’s APS-C sensor, the field of view is narrower by Canon’s 1.6× crop factor, so a 50mm lens gives a full-frame equivalent field of view of about 80mm, and 18-55mm frames roughly like 29-88mm.
For general-purpose photography, the 18-55mm is the more useful starting lens because it covers wide to short telephoto, which suits family, travel, and everyday shooting better than a single 50mm prime. A 50mm f/1.8 on APS-C is closer to a portrait lens than an all-purpose indoor lens.
That said, the 50mm f/1.8 does have clear advantages: better low-light performance, shallower depth of field, and stronger background blur for portraits. Its drawbacks are a tighter field of view and relatively slow autofocus.
Several answers favored the 18-135mm as the most convenient all-around lens, since it reduces lens changes and is a strong walk-around option. If your priority is portraits and low light, the 50mm makes sense. If your priority is general photography, start with the 18-55mm—or ideally an 18-135mm if you can stretch to it.
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