what lens for the SL1?

So last month I picked up a sl1 for the gf. Reluctant to buy the lens kit. I bought body only.
I had a 40mm and 50mm mk1 that I never use.

It Was her bday present since she's been wanting to shoot slr and have been playing with one of my 5dmk2 bodies.

Well the bug definitely bit hard. She's been constantly shooting and has been on Lightroom more than me the past month. Not that any of her stuff is amazing. But she's taken interest and has been reading a lot etc. mostly trial and error.

She has been using some of my other lenses as well. 24-70L 135L 70-200L 35L 17-40.
To my surprise. It proves the valid point of glass is the most important piece to upgrade. The pics are sharp and the Colors stand out.

Now for Christmas she asked me what I wanted. I said whatever. Then I figured she was waiting for me to ask her the same question. She said one of my L lenses. Whhat.

She really digs the 24-70 and the 17-40.
IMO the 24-70 is a bit long on a crop but the colors and detail are great. It's also way too heavy and big for such a small camera.
The 17-40 has good color and sharpness. Great size proportion to the body. But I can see her complaining about it being slower.

She doesn't want the pancake or the 50.
My budget is kind if tied up until I sell my 70-200 mk1 since I just ordered the mk2.

What are you guys pairing the SL1 with?
I'm thinking the tamrom 17-40 2.8? I might just bite the bullet and buy a second 17-40. Although I would love a reason to buy a 24-70ii or a zeiss 21mm.

I just picked up Bryan petersons photo book for her. Will pick up a lens as well for Xmas.

Hopefully Santa will be nice to me and pick up another 5dm3 or a ring light.

I'm very impressed by the SL1. Shoots 3200 ISO pretty clean!

The 18-55 STM lens and the 55-250 STM lenses are actually very nice lenses for the SL1, especially given its great video and live view focusing with STM lenses.

Personally, I'd go with either the 17-55 f/2.8 Canon, or if you want to save a few bucks, the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8. Or, if you're prepared for a bit of possible mucking about with lens calibration, the newish 18-35 f/1.8 from Sigma.

Down_Shift wrote in post #16511960
So last month I picked up a sl1 for the gf. Reluctant to buy the lens kit. I bought body only.
I had a 40mm and 50mm mk1 that I never use.

It Was her bday present since she's been wanting to shoot slr and have been playing with one of my 5dmk2 bodies.

Well the bug definitely bit hard. She's been constantly shooting and has been on Lightroom more than me the past month. Not that any of her stuff is amazing. But she's taken interest and has been reading a lot etc. mostly trial and error.

She has been using some of my other lenses as well. 24-70L 135L 70-200L 35L 17-40.
To my surprise. It proves the valid point of glass is the most important piece to upgrade. The pics are sharp and the Colors stand out.

Now for Christmas she asked me what I wanted. I said whatever. Then I figured she was waiting for me to ask her the same question. She said one of my L lenses. Whhat.

She really digs the 24-70 and the 17-40.
IMO the 24-70 is a bit long on a crop but the colors and detail are great. It's also way too heavy and big for such a small camera.
The 17-40 has good color and sharpness. Great size proportion to the body. But I can see her complaining about it being slower.

She doesn't want the pancake or the 50.
My budget is kind if tied up until I sell my 70-200 mk1 since I just ordered the mk2.

What are you guys pairing the SL1 with?
I'm thinking the tamrom 17-40 2.8? I might just bite the bullet and buy a second 17-40. Although I would love a reason to buy a 24-70ii or a zeiss 21mm.

I just picked up Bryan petersons photo book for her. Will pick up a lens as well for Xmas.

Hopefully Santa will be nice to me and pick up another 5dm3 or a ring light.

I'm very impressed by the SL1. Shoots 3200 ISO pretty clean!

I really believe that the 40mm pancake would be great on that, for a walk around prime. Maybe you should give her that along with whatever other lens you decide.

You infected her with the "L" disease. It is now time to pay for the cure.

Craign wrote in post #16512042
You infected her with the "L" disease. It is now time to pay for the cure.

And therein lies the problem. Had it not been for that I'd suggest the 18-135 STM. Not cheap at $550 new but deals used can be had.

I have tried various L lenses on the SL-1 but I found that even the relatively light 24-105 does not balance well on the SL-1 and rather defeats the purpose of that camera.

FWIW, the 18-135 STM produces excellent images unless faster glass is needed. But, again, the 17-55 would be a bit heavy also.

Maybe the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #16512000
The 18-55 STM lens and the 55-250 STM lenses are actually very nice lenses for the SL1, especially given its great video and live view focusing with STM lenses.

Truth. She's not a fan of live view. Told me the purpose if having an slr was a view finder I was like whoa. The touch screen is pretty amazing though. She prefers to do video on her iphone5s.

speedync wrote in post #16512010
Personally, I'd go with either the 17-55 f/2.8 Canon, or if you want to save a few bucks, the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8. Or, if you're prepared for a bit of possible mucking about with lens calibration, the newish 18-35 f/1.8 from Sigma.

Had A 17-55. It will be the same issue with the heavier L lenses.
Googling the 18-35 1.8

WhidbeyHiker wrote in post #16512018
I really believe that the 40mm pancake would be great on that, for a walk around prime. Maybe you should give her that along with whatever other lens you decide.

The 40mm IMO is the perfect lens for this camera but she just doesn't like the color

Craign wrote in post #16512042
You infected her with the "L" disease. It is now time to pay for the cure.

Give her my 24-70 and get a 24-70 m2.

Eastport wrote in post #16512117
And therein lies the problem. Had it not been for that I'd suggest the 18-135 STM. Not cheap at $550 new but deals used can be had.

I have tried various L lenses on the SL-1 but I found that even the relatively light 24-105 does not balance well on the SL-1 and rather defeats the purpose of that camera.

FWIW, the 18-135 STM produces excellent images unless faster glass is needed. But, again, the 17-55 would be a bit heavy also.

Maybe the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8.

Tamrom is a great lens. Completely forgot about that lens.

Down_Shift wrote in post #16515402
Had A 17-55. It will be the same issue with the heavier L lenses.
Googling the 18-35 1.8

The 40mm IMO is the perfect lens for this camera but she just doesn't like the color

Then I'm not sure if there is anything out there to satisfy your criteria. I'm a wee bit confused as to why you think the 17-55 f/2.8 is too heavy, given that it is a whole 145 grams heavier than the 17-40 f/4 which you are considering. The Sigma 18-35 is heavier again. At 809 grams. So probably no dice. When I had my T2i/550D I paired it up with a 24mm f/2.8 IS & the 40mm pancake, but even then would have liked something a bit wider. Which is why I hung on to the 15-85. Fantastic focal length range, sharp, and accurate fast focusing.

I too would say the 17-55 or the sigma 18-35. They may be a little heavy for the SL1, but if her passion for photography continues to grow, she's going to eventually want to get a bigger/newer camera anyways and those may still work perfectly well on it. (If she stays crop that is)