lens choice. oh my.

Hi,

Need to sound something out, as this lens buying is so overwhelming! So I want one or two new lens.

I currently use mainly the 60mm macro, the 50mm 1.8, the 28-105.

I have read way too much information and am getting quite muddled in my head about what I actually need!

I like shooting indoor, casual portraits, low light situations etc. I often find the 50mm is not wide enough, but I love the aperture. The 28-105 is not great for indoors, low light. I also want a walkaround, multi purpose, lens for out and about.

I have narrowed it down to these three :

28 1.8 USM
18-55 2.5-5.6 IS
85mm 1.8

The 85mm seems like such a great lens, and gets so many wonderful reviews, but it doesn't seem to have much practical indoor or up close use. Unless I get the two primes and not worry about a zoom for now, to cover indoor and walkaround bases. I'm pushing to afford those two though.

Any thoughts? Would love to hear.

thanks,
narelle

Your obvious gap is at the wide end, and that leads to a budget question.

The Canon 17-40 is excellent, the 18-55 IS is very good, the Sigma 18-50 and Tamron 17-50 are great... you can buy safely based on price, and get something very good at any amount of money.

Or, in response to your observation about the 50mm lens; there's the 28 f1.8 on your list, or the 35mm f21 is a real bargain.

BAK

Look here, and scroll down
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/

Assuming you're shooting with a crop body like the EOS 50D, I'd recommend the EF 28mm f/1.8 USM. It's a great portrait and general purpose prime for low light situations. It can be a little soft around the edges at f/1.8 but by f/2.8 it's tack sharp In my opinion. At $450 (USD) it's also one of the least expensive fast-wide primes on the market.

Here are a few shots I've taken with this lens.

http://jefflynchdev.wordpress.com/2009/05/14/travel-photography-sideways/

http://jefflynchdev.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/texas-towns-table-for-two/

http://jefflynchdev.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/landscape-photography-afternoon-swim/

--
Jeff Lynch
Serious Amateur Photography
http://jefflynchdev.wordpress.com

this is why I love this forum!

17-40 L series - I hadn't looked at that. Sounds really good too. Hmmm.

thank you for the recommendation, I'm seriously considering it.

think I'm going to go the 28mm and the 85mm. blow the budget. but i hear this is a killer combo.

2 lens versus getting just the 17-40. wise?

i'm a bit of a prime fan it seems.

One of my favorite lenses. Even by f/2.2 it's sharper than wide open and it's just a perfect 45mm equiv on a crop cam. I just got the 85/1.8 to compliment it and yes, it's a great prime lens combo.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/uunnngh/sets/72157608440121699/

I hate to throw glue in the gears, but the sigma 30mm f/1.4 should be considered.

the mention of the 17-40 is interesting, but I don't think we should loose site of what that lens is. it is a wide angle zoom for full frame cameras made lightweight and affordable by limiting it to f/4. It isn't a super-duper standard zoom for a crop body. it might pose as one, but the 17-55 is that lens. The affordable version is the 18-55IS which might be the right lens for the OP.

another consideration, just looking at the lenses already in the lineup might be an ultrawide like the tokina 11-16 or the Canon 10-22.

good luck.

OK, that is interesting. Thank you for your input. If I get the the 18-55 over the 17-40, that is a massive saving.

yey, thank you!

I used to have this lens for my 40d body. it is a good performer, but limited at f/4 and also very big and heavy for the range. I loved mine but sold it for a sigma 18-50 2.8 because of size and weight - it was too much on the shoulders!

The 18-55 IS is well respected as a nice cheap wide angle zoom, but I wanted a faster lens. as previous posters have said, there's a good choice of lenses at a budget in this range.

the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS? I am not sure what camera body you are using, but if you are using a crop camera like the 40D, 50D etc then the 17-55mm is in many people's opinions, quite simply the best lens for crop bodied cameras. It is quite expensive, but rest assured you get what you pay for; an excellent walkaround lens (perhaps a little short if anything and maybe not quite wide enough for those who primarily photograph landscapes). Its 2.8 aperture also means that it does have low-light capabilities and performs very well wide open at f/2.8.

You see many people singing its praises, but its not until you buy it that you understand why it is held in such high regards. It is quite simply a fantastic lens and whilst it isnt a "L lens", its image quality is easily L quality, its build quality is not quite as good as the L lenses, but still pretty sturdy. It is an EF-S lens, which means it can only be used with crop-body cameras, so will not be able to be used on FF cameras, so this may be an issue if you own a FF camera or plan to upgrade to one in the very near future. It is expensive, but is worth every dollar in my opinion. It also has IS which can be very handy when shooting handheld at low shutter speeds (photographing static objects of course - IS does not help with subject motion).

Good luck with your choice.

--
Cheers,
Dale

'I stand to be, and usually am, corrected'

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29394895@N06/

I use the sigma 30mm f/1.4 and canon 85mm f/1.8 combo and it's great. Do note that xxxD bodies may have a problem auto focusing due to a cut down AF sensor compared to the xxD bodies.

I chose the 30mm over the canon 28mm because it is sharper wide open and better contrast, and a little faster.The quality control with the sigma is less than great so you may have trouble getting a good copy.

narelle_s said:

Hi,

Need to sound something out, as this lens buying is so overwhelming!
So I want one or two new lens.

I currently use mainly the 60mm macro, the 50mm 1.8, the 28-105.

I have read way too much information and am getting quite muddled in
my head about what I actually need!

I like shooting indoor, casual portraits, low light situations etc. I
often find the 50mm is not wide enough, but I love the aperture. The
28-105 is not great for indoors, low light. I also want a walkaround,
multi purpose, lens for out and about.

I have narrowed it down to these three :

28 1.8 USM
18-55 2.5-5.6 IS
85mm 1.8

The 85mm seems like such a great lens, and gets so many wonderful
reviews, but it doesn't seem to have much practical indoor or up
close use. Unless I get the two primes and not worry about a zoom for
now, to cover indoor and walkaround bases. I'm pushing to afford
those two though.

Any thoughts? Would love to hear.

thanks,
narelle

Click to expand...

--
Kind regards
Imqqmi



http://www.pbase.com/imqqmi