Total beginner here, looking to buy my first camera and looking for a lens that would be able to deal with the widest range of situations (a zoom one) all in one package. I’ve got about 600usd to spend on it and I’m fully aware it’s not much, but I want to get a good start.

I can’t buy used ones where I live (even from online platforms around the world), so it’d have to be new.

At the moment my goal is to take photos of pretty much everything: nature (apart from moving animals), landscapes, streets, portraits, objects (large and small), architecture, and I also plan to film videos quite a bit. Nothing fast moving and no sports though.

I’d love to shoot in close-up macro, too, but I understand it’s not possible within one lens.

What could you recommend?

  • @[email protected]
    1•2 days ago

    Canon has been very strict about their RF mount and has only just opened it up to third parties, and even that is only for their APS-C, named RF-S, cameras like the R50 or R100. Because of this, there aren’t that many lenses available for that camera/mount/format. Even Canon themselves don’t have many lenses for their APS-C cameras as they originally had a different mount for their mirrorless APS-C cameras, and are pretty early in their RF-S story. You can certainly buy full frame RF lenses from Canon but they will be more expensive. Of course, if you decide to purchase a full frame Canon later, after you get more comfortable, these full frame lenses will work just fine and won’t need to be replaced.

    With that said, there aren’t that many options, unfortunately:

    Canon’s own RF-S 18-150mm f3.5-6.3 IS or Canon RF-S 18-45mm f4.5-6.3 IS are your only options, if you want first-party.

    The only third-party zoom option that should work for your needs is the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary (https://www.sigma-global.com/en/lenses/c021_18_50_28/)

    These are the only RF-S options.

    The Canon full frame RF 24-105mm f4-f7.1 IS (or RF 24-105mm f4 L IS or RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS) are also available but price, size and weight might not fit your current needs.

    Again, the RF mount as a whole just doesn’t have that many options, and RF-S is even more limited.

    Edit: removed the bit about Sony. I see now that the R50 is cheaper than anything Sony offers.

    • @[email protected]OP
      1•1 day ago

      So the Sigma lens that is of high image quality but it doesn’t have Image Stabilization. Would that be a concern with R50 without IBIS?

      And is the 18-150mm lens much better than the basic kit 45 one?

  • Look_lurk_like
    1•2 days ago

    You might want to look at the 24-105 variants. That’s probably going to be your best bet.

      • @IMALlama
        2•2 days ago

        Because it’s Canon’s RF mount, I think all lenses in this focal range are first part (ie are from Canon). Your choices are:

        • The Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM. This is a “slow lens” (or won’t be great in low light) and it looks like availability is somewhat limited. It will be your cheapest option at $400 if you can find one
        • The Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM, which retails for $1,300
        • The Canon RF 24-105mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z, which retails for $3,000

        You could look at adopting a lens, but I suspect a lens + adapter will make this tough at under $600 new.

        • @[email protected]OP
          2•1 day ago

          Does Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM have better image quality overall compared to RF-S 18–150mm f/3.5–6.3 IS STM?

          • @IMALlama
            2•20 hours ago

            I am not personally familiar with either lens. I suggest looking at reviews and paying attention to the list of image impacting bullets I put into a different reply. Generally speaking, lenses that have less of a max/min zoom ratio are easier to pull off design wise, but from a “one lens, all day” perspective something like an 18-150 is hard to beat.