how far/ what can i see with a 18-55mm lens? compared to 18-135mm

[kj lee]

i am deciding which lens to buy....
18-135 lens will be abit too costly for me, so i am wondering, to what extend could the 18-55 lens reach....
what can i see using both lens..
example please....

i prefer low light cityscape photography...
so, i wonder which lens suits me most....

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by kj lee

i am deciding which lens to buy....
18-135 lens will be abit too costly for me, so i am wondering, to what extend could the 18-55 lens reach....
what can i see using both lens..
example please....

i prefer low light cityscape photography...
so, i wonder which lens suits me most....

I would have to say that the wider end of the lens is probably going to be of more use to you than the telephoto long end. So, at 18mm, either lens will offer that option. Being that the 18-55 is less expensive, I would suggest purchasing that one, and use the extra money applied to the purchase of a tripod. Most people that do landscape and cityscape photography are using wide, or wider angled lenses, and not longer telephotos

[zona5101]

Linked below is a focal length comparison tool.
It may help you get an idea of the field of view your different options represent...

Focal length comparison tool, Tamron USA

[inkista]

I'd probably say the 18-55 if you like doing cityscapes as it looks a little sharper at the wide end, but the 18-135 is generally going to be more useful with the longer reach.

To judge what the reach on the lens is, I'd actually recommend looking at two sites. For general focal-length-feel, there's this:

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

(although, I have a sneaking suspicion it was created with film/full-frame, not crop digital).

And then this review gives a mouseover demonstration of the 18-135's reach.

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens Review

And if you go to the top of the review and click on "ISO 12233 Crops", you'll be able to compare 100% crops of the two lenses directly against each other.