I’ve been doing as much research as I could over the last several weeks….and after narrowing it down to a Canon SL1 or T5i for my first DSLR, I’ve decided on the T5i….just because I have a “Vari-Angle” LCD screen on my older Canon Powershot point and shoot camera, and I use it all the time.  

So now I’m trying to find the best deal on the T5i’s….I’m assuming that I should do one of the bundle lens kits instead of just the body…..they are not much more than just the body, and I think the extra lenses will be work the slight increase in cost.  I’m also going to order a “nifty-fifty” 50mm-1.8 lenses for it, and then a good telephoto lens for it, if the bundle lenses don’t get the job done.

What bundle package is the best deal as far as the quality of the lenses that it comes with?  

Any tips or suggestions would be great!

Thanks

The 55-250 STM version is a heckuva lens for it's compactness. The 18-55 STM is okay. Then save your money for a high quality lens that fits the way you shoot. I recommend the Canon refurbished store.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/News/News-Post.aspx?News=14254

Thanks for the info!  How do the EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 lenses compare to the 55-250 STM?

Thanks, I'll have to check out their refurbished store.  Do they carry the same warranty on the refurb stuff?

I think refurb is 1 yr.

The 70-300 is usm is almost as sharp. The lens you mentioned, the 75-300 is not a sharp lens.

18-55 kit lens
55-250 is one of the best bang for the buck Canon lenses. It is awesome.
50mm 1.8

Three lenses above will be sharp and knock your socks off. Stay away from the 75-300mm and 18-135mm. They are not good lenses and soft.

You should look into a Canon t5i refurb on the Canon website. They are great and have a one year warranty.

Not much difference in a t4i and t5i. T3i has an articulating lcd screen too. Very subtle differences in those bodies and you have to really be working at the top of your game to notice the small differences.

There are 3 different 55-250 lens. Get the STM version. It's a lot sharper than the other two.

Great minds......

I actually ordered a Canon refurbished T5i last night with the 18-55 kit lens from Canon. Then I got on amazon and ordered a 55-250 STM lens, and the 50 1.8 "nifty fifty".

On a side note....what do you guys think about Magic Lantern?

I would hold off on using Magic Lantern until your camera skills surpass that of what the camera can do with OEM software.

This is absolutely best bang to start with and figure out where you want to go from there. The 50mm is a great lens for the price. The 55-250 EF-S as well. Some next will go fancy L primes, some L zooms like the 70-200... Some the EF-S 17-55mm depends what you shoot and what you want. Some will want more macro lenses, the 50mm macro and 100mm macro are both good glass for macro use. I highly recommend when you get to that point to do some weekly lens RENTALS, try before you buy. Money well spent IMHO.

Also IMHO the cheap EF 75-300 is a terrible lens, unless you really just want reach at the cost of image quality and sharpness, the EF-S 55-250 is a far better lens in the same price range (mine is not the STM version which is fine with me, STM is almost weird if you're not used to the dead silence, its not like USM at all). As a matter of fact, I have a 75-300 with less than 300 shots on it I got in a combo deal I'd sell for $100.

Yeah, I agree.  It turns that that they really don't have any "Stable" builds for the T5i right now.....lots of people are reporting bugs. I think I'll just get used to the camera first....maybe they will finally come out with a stable build that won't cause issues.

Thanks

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Let me see how well the 55-250 STM does...if I need more zoom, I think your 75-300 would be fun to play with for that price.

Thanks!

I don't think ML has been released for the T5i has it?  Even so, I'm not sure you will want to use it as a beginner.  The last thing you want is to brick your new DSLR.  The features and OS of the Rebel line is good enough for you right now.

By the way, congrats on the purchase.   You chose wisely aver the SL1.   The T5i shoots great video btw.

55-250 is actually 88-400 on an Aps-C camera. You'll be fine.

Multiply all your lens by 1.6.

Well, my T5i came in and a got a few short minutes of daylight yesterday after work to play around with the 50mm 1.8 "nifty fifty" lens. Wow.....really cool lens to mess around with. The autofocus doesn't seem to always get things crystal clear with this lens, but other than that...it's great!  never had a chance to play with the 55-250 yet.

great start! keep on shooting!