Looking for feedback on a couple of SLR/lens combos

Hi folks, new member here. Thanks for having me!

I am moving from my Elph SD960is P&S which has served me well for a couple of years to an SLR. Not new to SLRs, had a Minolta Maxxum a couple of decades ago, but certainly new to digital SLRs.

Anyway, primary need is a good telephoto for wildlife and bird shots, and of course having a daily carry around would be great! I've done interminable research over the last couple of weeks and have narrowed it down to what I think my final 2 options. Both give me pretty good glass (not L of course, that's way outside my reach right now) but still have good reviews.

Choice 1:

T4i with 18-135 STM : $1199
Add 70-300 IS USM lens: 478
Grand Total: ~ $1685

Choice 2:

T3i with 18-55 kit lens: $732
Add 70-300 IS USM lens: $478
Minus $250 rebate on Amazon for this pariing
Total: $960
Later sell 18-55 and add 15-85, which sounds like a phenomenal lens from everything I have read here and elsewhere.
Grand Total: Roughly same as Choice 1 ~ $1600

So, the question is which end point is better, Choice 1 - T4i with 18-135 STM and 70-300 or Choice 2 - T3i with 15-85 and 70-300 at roughly the same price total.

Given the same price point, and the fact that the 18-135 STM appears to have optics (based on MTF charts) that are on par or better than the 15-85, it seems to tip the balance in favor of Choice 1.

But the low end of 15 is enticing too for Choice 2 and a direct comparison of the 15-85 to the 18-135 STM on lensrentals.com appear to favor the 15-85 for IQ. In either case, I will add a 50/1.8 later as required.

Need to make the call today, as the $250 discount on the 70-300 expires today.

Ah, decisions, decisions!

Any feedback and advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

I would get the t3i with 17-55 and 55-250

I am a bit worried about the reach of the 250 for birds. That's why I was leaning towards the 70-300 which would give me 480 with the crop factor, not to mention the glowing reviews that seem to suggest it is an "L in disguise." The 15-85 would also give me a decent overlap with the 70-300 and if I add a 50/1.8 later for indoor use, I was thinking I would be set for a while with some quality glass.

I would love to hear why you recommend your choices over the 15-85/70-300 combo.

Out of those, option 2. You don't seem too concerned about video, so since most of the biggest advantages of the t4i are in the video department, I would say the t3i with the 15-85 and 70-300 would be a better choice.

The 70-300 IS, while far from the best, should serve you well for a while, especially at $240 after rebate, and you should be able to sell it for more than you paid for it when you are ready to get something else.

If it was my money in your shoes looking to bird, I would get the t3i with the kit lens for $700, and spend the other $900 on a used 400mm 5.6 L, and get a 70-200mm to fill the gap down the road.

swang9 wrote in post #14781874
I would get the t3i with 17-55 and 55-250

If he wants to focus on birds and wildlife why would he get a $900 wide angle and $150 telephoto?

Scrumhalf wrote in post #14781867
Hi folks, new member here. Thanks for having me!

I am moving from my Elph SD960is P&S which has served me well for a couple of years to an SLR. Not new to SLRs, had a Minolta Maxxum a couple of decades ago, but certainly new to digital SLRs.

Anyway, primary need is a good telephoto for wildlife and bird shots, and of course having a daily carry around would be great! I've done interminable research over the last couple of weeks and have narrowed it down to what I think my final 2 options. Both give me pretty good glass (not L of course, that's way outside my reach right now) but still have good reviews.

Choice 1:

T4i with 18-135 STM : $1199
Add 70-300 IS USM lens: 478
Grand Total: ~ $1685

Choice 2:

T3i with 18-55 kit lens: $732
Add 70-300 IS USM lens: $478
Minus $250 rebate on Amazon for this pariing
Total: $960
Later sell 18-55 and add 15-85, which sounds like a phenomenal lens from everything I have read here and elsewhere.
Grand Total: Roughly same as Choice 1 ~ $1600

So, the question is which end point is better, Choice 1 - T3i with 15-85 and 70-300 or Choice 2 - T4i with 18-135 STM and 70-300 at roughly the same price total.

Given the same price point, and the fact that the 18-135 STM appears to have optics (based on MTF charts) that are on par or better than the 15-85, it seems to tip the balance in favor of Choice 2.

But the low end of 15 is enticing too for Choice 1 and a direct comparison of the 15-85 to the 18-135 STM on lensrentals.com appear to favor the 15-85 for IQ. In either case, I will add a 50/1.8 later as required.

Need to make the call today, as the $250 discount on the 70-300 expires today.

Ah, decisions, decisions!

Any feedback and advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

I would go the following (of your two choices) - T3i with 15-85 and add the 70-300 IS USM.

I posted this way because your choices are messed up in your writing. You might want to edit!?!

jimewall wrote in post #14781919
I would go the following (of your two choices) - T3i with 15-85 and add the 70-300 IS USM.

I posted this way because your choices are messed up in your writing. You might want to edit!?!

Yes, indeed, my choices got switched halfway through my message.. thanks for pointing it out.

And thanks for the advice, everyone!

Thanks to everyone for their advice!

I did go ahead and order the T3i with the stock 18-55mm lens and also added the 70-300 US ISM lens. With the $250 rebate that was avaialble on the 70-300, its price dropped from ~475 to about ~$225, making it a no-brainer I think. I will take some time get used to the camera before going for the 15-85mm.

Thanks to Amazon Prime, camera should arrive in about 2 days. I can't wait!!

Good choice. The 15-85 is indeed a great lens, but I wouldn't rush, since you are new to this equipment. Get some experience with the 18-55 first. You'll gradually figure out which other lenses are most useful to you, given how and what you shoot. E.g., I use the 15-85 as my outdoor walk around lens. It has a great range, it is optically very good (particularly for a lens with such a large zoom ratio), and the extra few millimeters at the wide end compared to most other lenses in this category are actually useful. However, because I am using it mostly as a landscape lens, the slow speed does not matter much to me. If I were using it primarily indoors with flash, I would probably opt for something faster. (For that purpose, I mostly use a Tamron 28-75 f/2.8.) Only experience will tell you what is best for YOU.

Depending on what birds your doing, you'll always be wanting more MM. The t3i gives stellar noise performance up to 1600 and up to 3200 with marginal noise when cropping songbird in dawn or evening.

I have no experience with the 15-85. But I do have both the 18-135 and 70-300 and i can tell you that both are tack sharp. I especialy enjoy the 70-300. It is light and quick.
Mike

70-300

Hi Mike, those pictures look great! How far away from the heron were you when you got the first photo? If you have exif data for your photos, I would love to see the settings.

Thanks!

Sam

congrats on the gear...now start saving...cause it gets expensive to go past 300mm...and you're going to want to soon

Sam
Here ya go. I have really learned to like the 70-300 lens. These pictures were both hand held and still pretty sharp.
Mike

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Software - Digital Photo Professional
DateTime - 2012:04:14 15:27:46
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Maker Note (Vendor): -
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Self timer - Off
Quality - Fine
Flash mode - Not fired
Sequence mode - Single or Timer
Focus mode - AI Servo
Image size - Large
Easy shooting mode - Manual
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ISO Value - Auto
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Focus type - Auto
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The 18-135 is my carry lens when I don't have anything specific planned. It works well indoors and out and covers most normal situations. Here are the specs for the seagull.
Mike

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Model - Canon EOS 7D
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White Balance - Manual
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GPS information: -
GPSVersionID - 2.2.0.0

Maker Note (Vendor): -
Macro mode - Normal
Self timer - Off
Quality - Fine
Flash mode - Not fired
Sequence mode - Single or Timer
Focus mode - AI Servo
Image size - Large
Easy shooting mode - Manual
Digital zoom - None
Contrast - Normal
Saturation - Normal
Sharpness - Low , -32769
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@OP, personally, I think that I would have went the other way. The t4i body is far better given its 9 all cross type AF system- that alone- makes it much better for tracking over the 1 cross type and 8 vertical or horizontal layout of earlier Rebels. Plus you get the benefit of having the newest body- which means the latest improvements in AF systems, engineering, higher ISO, etc . this together would result in essentially what is a mini 60D+ . Why do people turn to more-pro bodies? One of the major advantages of more-pro bodies- is all cross type AF points- useful- in AI Servo- for tracking more accurately. And I haven't even crossed the line into the video enhancements.. If someone gave me a 18-55 IS lens- I'd likely give it away- outright - to someone else- it's so limited in range it's almost pathetic. It's, imo, good for about indoors- with a flash- and that is about it. the 18-135 is a much better one lens walkabout solution- and with a second lens- should have been a decent kit - especially for starting out. And from what I've seen so far, the STM version is an improvement over the original IS version. As far as the differences between a 15-85 and a 18-135 stm- I'd be almost willing to bet that they are pretty close, IQ wise. In real world examples, I would think that there is not that much difference.
If I was going from a 18-55- going to a 15-85- that'd be a no brainer- because there are lots of differences going forward. 18-135 STM to 15-85- I think Canon has narrowed the differences quite a bit. For example, not just IQ, but 18-55- rotating filter assy, limited range, noisy autofocus, limited range, variable aperture, 58mm filter size, - most of which a 15-85 will address. With the 18-135- most of that is already addressed- and the STM has improvements over its older version ..