Diff/choice between 18-55 or 35-80mm canon lenses

[Kaptainpig]

Dear Forum Gurus,

I am currently pretty new to digital photography, so excuse the newb question....

I have a choice between obtaining one of two kit lenses, these being the,

1) Canon EFS 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 or,
2) Canon EF 35-80mm 1:4-5.6...both kit lenses.

I just wondered what the differences would be in which lens gives the greater angle of shot for let say landscapes, although I realize option 1 has greater f.stop variability, and which one would be for "general family" photographs...I also realize the invalidity of this question as different lenses do different jobs and people have different preferences....

Hope you can part with some advice......

KP

[OsmosisStudios]

The 18-55 gives you a better working range on a crop-sensor body. It's equivalent to a 28-85.

The 35-80 is almost a portrait-length lens on a crop-sensor, covering an equivalent 50-130. You get NO wide angle with this option.

[AndyNJ]

I think the 18-55 would give you much more versatility if you're just going to have a single lens.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by Kaptainpig

1) Canon EFS 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 or,
2) Canon EF 35-80mm 1:4-5.6...both kit lenses.

I just wondered what the differences would be in which lens gives the greater angle of shot for let say landscapes, although I realize option 1 has greater f.stop variability, and which one would be for "general family" photographs...

The shorter the focal length number, the wider the angle of view (i.e., the more you can zoom out, and the more of the scene will be in the frame). So, the 18-55 is going to be better for the landscapes. Here's a focal length demonstrator on the Canon website to help you get a feel (I do suspect, though, that that demo was done on film, so don't take the numbers as gospel for what you'd see on a digital crop-body).

Canon USA Consumer Products - EF Lenses 101 - Focal Length Comparison

Secondly, you're kind of making a slight error, on the "f-stop variability" thing, though your reasoning is correct that the 18-55 is going to give you a bit more latitude. But the thing is the "f/3.5-5.6" of the lens isn't its aperture range. It's the lens's maximum aperture. At the widest end of the range (18mm), the max. aperture is f/3.5, and at the telephoto end, it's f/5.6. So, at the long ends, both lenses are f/5.6. But both of them can be closed all the way down to the minimum aperture setting on your camera, like f/22, and both of those lenses are relatively slow. f/2.8 to f/1.4 lenses are fast, because the max. aperture is so much larger that you can use faster shutter speeds with these settings.

If you really want aperture variability, blowing $100 on an EF 50mm f/1.8 II can do a great deal more than either of those kit lenses.

[ElCapitan]

When I got my first DSLR, I went with the 18-55 on a 1.6x crop sensor. While there were times I wish I had a larger zoom, there were far more times I was extremely satisfied with what I got.

It all depends on what you are shooting, but unless you are shooting wildlife absolutely need a larger zoom, go with the 18-55 for now.

[Kaptainpig]

Dear all, many thanks for the quick and informative info - the 18-55mm it shall be!

KP