Hello all,
This is my first time posting in the discussion, but I have enjoyed 365 project for a little while. I'm looking for help deciding which lens to buy. My camera is a canon 7d and I love it.
when I got my camera I decided to do the 7d but because it was more expensive I couldn't afford a lens... well the time has finally come. I've saved my pennies for a great lens. I am just clueless as to which one.
I need to do the 7d justice, as I have only been shooting with a garage sale 70-300 EF and my nifty 50. I have been looking at the L seriers 24-105, but don't know if that's what I need.
Can you give me any advice? Do any of you shoot with the 24-105? 7d shooters what do you use?
I mostly shoot portriats of my kids and up close nature type shots I think. Thanks for all your help! Any advice is much appreciated.
For a walkabout lens, I use the EF-S 15-85mm IS USM kit lens, though I feel bad calling it a kit lens as it's much higher quality than most kit lenses I've experienced. I considered the 24-105, but came to the conclusion that, lovely though it is, 24mm wasn't wide enough on a crop sensor. I think Ken Rockwell's review of it is pretty accurate: http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/lenses/15-85mm.htm
I also use a Tokina 35mm f/2.8 an awful lot. 35mm on a crop is pretty close to a standard 50mm on a full frame & it has a wonderfully close minimum focusing distance. It is noisy & a bit slow, but can do 1:1 macro and is built like a tank.
If you like close up/macro photography then I would second the Canon 100mm macro but recommend the non L series version. Use the money you save for a flash that can be used off camera like the 430ex ii. The 7D can trigger it remotely in ettl mode giving you great flexibility in lighting for both portrait and macro use. There are guides for lighting both on the web, lots of information on building flash modifiers like softboxes/diffusers and bounce panels. If you want to save a few dollars non Canon macro lenses can be nearly as good for a lot less, especially secondhand.
Wow lots of great info here. So it doesn't sound like I necessarily need the 24-105 to get more great shots. I love my 50, but once in a while need to zoom just a tad or go a bit wider, and would love to get closer for f. I will look into maybe the 15-85 and the 100 macro... I could probably get both (used maybe) for the same price as the 24-105. Really appreciate all the info!
@metzgerrn I rented the 24-105 L from borrowlenses.com. I got it for 4 weeks for $111. I love it. Also a good way to test it out prior to making a big purchase.
Have used the 60 efs macro and the 100 L macro and the 100 is much easier to use. Not sure about the non L version. I use the 15-85 EFS lens as a walkabout and am quite happy with it - much better than the 17-85 I had a few years ago. Was very tempted by the 24-105 but didn't want to lose the wide angle. Also use the 70-200 F4 L which is a fantastic lens - lovely for outdoor portraits and wildlife.
am i too late to weigh in with an opinion? Get the 24-105L. Its an awesome lens and works great as an all purpose lens. Its good (not the best) for portraits and also good for travel. Yes, I did also get a 10-22 lens for landscape but its certainly not the lens that stays on my camera the most.
As for the "shifty fifty", I hate mine. Found it totally useless for portraits since its too slow and has a tendancy to focus on the eyebrow or flyaways. Take a look at my project and you'll see images that i shot with my 24-105L with both my 450D and now my 7D. It'll show you a few portraits and a few landscape shots and you can decide what you think
Right now I think its a toss up between the 24-105 and the 15-85. I see online they differ by about 300-400.00 has anyone shot with both? Is it worth the extra money if you have it?
I read them as basically similar but the question is... are you ever going to get a FF camera? If no, then maybe save yourself the cash and go the 15-85. If potentially or yes, then the 24-105L may be better
Get the smallest f stop you can afford. The optics on the L series are the best the Canon makes.
As mentioned in the previous post, each lens has a sweet spot where it is the sharpest. Read some reviews from reputable publications.
I used the 24-105 for a Church function I did portraits at and I would say that the results I got were comparable to my kit Canon EF 28-135mm F3.5-5.6 IS USM that came with my 60D (which is quite a bit less expensive).
Maybe someone can answer my question. The IS Lens is built for the 1.6 sensor like the 60D and the 7D come with. The L Series Lenses are built for Full Frame Sensor cameras. When a lens says that it is 18mm, is it 18mm on a full frame camera and you will just have to adjust to the smaller sensor or are they marked for the sensor that they are made for?
I'm the same as you right now. Need a lens - would love the 70-200.. I have my 50 and 100mm and love them both - but need to branch out a bit! Will be following this discussion. :)
@russianblue I was just checking out your project as you were posting here... You only use the 50 and 100? is your 100 the L series? I love my 50 but really should get a general walkaround... then maybe a great wide angle, but I feel like I need a walk aound more.
@jwlynn64 are you referring to EF-S lenses cos IS stands for image stabilization and has nothing to do with the camera type. EF-S on the other hand are only for cameras like the 7D. The L-series (which are typically EF lenses) works on both.
All lenses are marked for a full frame i believe. so when they say it's 18mm, it means 18mm on a full frame. i just multiply it (x1.6) to get the 7d equivalent.
Hope this helps... anyone feel free to correct me if i'm wrong tho
@jwlynn64 I've been checking out that lens and been itching to get it - so I can tell you what it works out to on a 7d - 112mm - 320mm. Starting to itch again...
@beadedgalaxy Thanks. I like to take my camera hiking in the Wildlife preserve near the town I grew up in. I'm going back for my 30 year High School Reunion (yes, I'm getting old!) and I thought that I would rent it and try and get some good wildlife photos.
I use the following with my 7d: 1) the MOST: 100mm 2.8 macro (w/o IS) 2) Canon 16-35mm 2.8 wide angle [superb] 3) Canon 70 - 200mm 2.8 [also superb] and 4) the Sigma 50 - 500mm telephoto [monster and heavy but am loving it, too]. The 100mm, 70-200mm, 16-35mm are all L series lenses and I wouldn't trade one of them for anything because of the spectacular light they let in. . . I am very spoiled by a wonderful husband and extremely grateful.
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taken with the 100mm
and you can add on extension tubes (relatively cheap) to get even closer.
I also use a Tokina 35mm f/2.8 an awful lot. 35mm on a crop is pretty close to a standard 50mm on a full frame & it has a wonderfully close minimum focusing distance. It is noisy & a bit slow, but can do 1:1 macro and is built like a tank.
As for the "shifty fifty", I hate mine. Found it totally useless for portraits since its too slow and has a tendancy to focus on the eyebrow or flyaways. Take a look at my project and you'll see images that i shot with my 24-105L with both my 450D and now my 7D. It'll show you a few portraits and a few landscape shots and you can decide what you think
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1029&message=40980986
I read them as basically similar but the question is... are you ever going to get a FF camera? If no, then maybe save yourself the cash and go the 15-85. If potentially or yes, then the 24-105L may be better
As mentioned in the previous post, each lens has a sweet spot where it is the sharpest. Read some reviews from reputable publications.
I used the 24-105 for a Church function I did portraits at and I would say that the results I got were comparable to my kit Canon EF 28-135mm F3.5-5.6 IS USM that came with my 60D (which is quite a bit less expensive).
Maybe someone can answer my question. The IS Lens is built for the 1.6 sensor like the 60D and the 7D come with. The L Series Lenses are built for Full Frame Sensor cameras. When a lens says that it is 18mm, is it 18mm on a full frame camera and you will just have to adjust to the smaller sensor or are they marked for the sensor that they are made for?
All lenses are marked for a full frame i believe. so when they say it's 18mm, it means 18mm on a full frame. i just multiply it (x1.6) to get the 7d equivalent.
Hope this helps... anyone feel free to correct me if i'm wrong tho
Thanks for your reply. I'll have to do some more research into the focal length. Maybe the Canon web site explains it.
I'm renting a 70 to 200 f2.8 lens for the weekend. I'll probably just be lazy and ask the shop workers then.