Canon EOS M: Do these lenses make sense together?

Question

Today I purchased a Canon EOS M to replace my meanwhile almost 10 year old 400d. I was under the impression that I was just buying the kit with the EF lens adapter, so I also bought two lenses. It turns out the EF-M 22mm lens was in the box as well, so I now have the following lenses:

• Canon EF-M 22m f/2
• Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6
• Canon EF 40mm f/2.8

Do these lenses make sense together? Consider that the 10-18 and 40mm lenses will be used together with the adapter, I don't know if that means anything in terms of conversion?

I'm thinking the 22 or 10-18 is probably redundant but I am a total noob.

Thanks.

Update: my reasoning behind the lens choices

I chose the 10-18mm because I wanted something with a wider angle. I mainly photograph when I travel so I want wider city shots, etc.

I chose the 40mm because I thought it would make a good day-to-day lens. I value the sharpness and light of fixed length lenses over zoom capability, also the photos just look nicer when they're not zoomed imo.

I also have a 50mm f/1.8 from before which I guess is a more tradional portrait lens. Don't use it too often though because the lens itself itself kinda sucks, though the photos are nice (at least if you don't compare them to a 50mm f/1.4).

Like I said, I didn't reckon with the 22mm in the first place.

I purposely didn't choose any tradional zoom lens because I don't really like them.

Answer 1

I'll leave aside the issue of the adaptor and just focus on the focal lengths. In short, this is a fine set for a lot of photography. The Canon M cameras feature an APS-C sized sensor.

That means the 10-18mm is an ultrawide-to-wide zoom; if wide angle is your thing, this is pretty essential. (On the other hand, if that's not your thing, this lens might not be interesting at all.)

The 22mm, on the other hand, gives the same field of view as a traditional 35mm lens on 35mm film — a favorite for street photography, and probably the second-most-common standard prime after the "nifty 50" — the so-called "normal" focal length, or around 30mm on your system. Perhaps most importantly, note that your zoom is limited to a max aperture of f/5.6 at the 18mm end, while this lens is f/2. That's three stops faster — 8× the light, and really a huge difference. So even though 18 and 22 seem close, the 22 fits a situation the 10-18 can't cover.

The 40mm is a little narrower than that "normal" standard, but can still basically work as such. It's a very versatile focal length, which can be used for portraits or out-and-about photography and just about everything else. However, in this particular case, this lens' main selling point is compactness, something that you're giving up with an adapter.

You're also completely lacking anything longer than that, which may fit your style but can be quite limiting. It'd be nice to have something in the range of 50mm to 85mm for portraits. And if you're wanting to bring further-away subjects closer, a longer zoom would be nice.

Answer 2

Yes, that set of lenses makes sense together, and I'd recommend keeping the 22mm. You already know that the 10-18 is a good ultrawide lens, and the 40/2.8 STM can do the same only-slightly-tele duty it would have on your dSLR.

But the EF-M 22mm f/2 will offer you two things neither of those other lenses can: f/2 max. aperture, and compactness. Despite the 40/2.8 STM also being a pancake lens, once you add the adapter tube length to it, it's no longer as compact as it would be on a dSLR. And you probably got the EOS-M because of its diminutive size. With the 22 mounted on the M, you can easily slip it into a jacket pocket. More convenience means that you're more liable to have the camera with you when you want to take the shot, and the 35mm equiv. field of view makes it a great all-rounder compromise lens--fast, sharp, tiny, wide enough for landscapes, long enough for portraits, and focuses close enough for near-macro. This is the main reason that a lot of the large-sensored fixed-lens cameras (like the Fuji X100 series, or the Sony RX1) sport a 35/2 equivalent prime.