Canon RF-S 10-18mm

Pros

• I’ll also note that the tiny and cheap RF-S 10-18mm makes a great trio with 100-400 and either midrange zoom, if wide angle is interesting to you down the road.
• You may want to look at the RF 16mm or the RF-S 10-18mm which would give him the flexibility of a zoom.
• The RF-S 10-18mm gets some pretty nice wide shots at 16mm with the R50.
• If you want something wider for landscapes the RF-S 10-18mm is probably the way to go.
• I’d take a look at the RF-S 10-18mm if you’re wanting to ‘zoom out’. It will give you a much wider field of view, which is what I think you’re seeking by ‘stepping way back’.

Cons

• I have the RF-S 10-18mm and while it's good for video I'm not too satisfied with the images it gets even when stopped down to a lower aperture.
• The lenses I keep in the bag with it are, RF-S 10-18mm, RF-S 18-150mm, RF 16MM f/28, RF 28-70mm f/2.8
• Since when is the RF-S 10-18mm a common kit lens? Other than that, if OP already replaced it, I would tinker with it. The lens has short barrels, so I doubt anything is broken, just askew.
• The RF-S 10-18mm is $264 refurbished