How are the Canon Primes ?

jope88

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Hey all, I'm interested in learning some more about Canon's prime lenses. At the moment I own a Pentax and I'm familiar with their lenses and lineup, but I'm looking for a better low light setup. I shoot street all day but what I'm most interested in right now is twilight/night shots. I picked Pentax because of their great primes but I'm interested in the ISO that Canon has. I was wondering if there are any Nikon primes (20-50mm) that really shine at their lower fstops.

Both Oly and Pentax have their "ok" lenses and their serious quality workhorse lenses and I'm wondering what Nikon primes make up the latter. I'd appreciate any information :-)!

My smugmug account has a few recent photos that I've taken: http://johnliznyc.smugmug.com/

Cheers

p.s. is there a user website with Canon lenses and reviews? similar to pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/

(posted in the Nikon forum as well)
 
well, then get an used 5D2 with some adapters and use MF Nikkor or even Pk mount lenses.

I sometimes use my Nikkor lenses on my 5D2 and I also use my Contax G lenses on my 5D2 but I can not use any cheap non-Nikon MF primes on my D700.

So, if you want to use MF old lenses , just get a Canon FF.

Oh almost forgot there is a 16-9 adapter that allows you to adapt any Nikkor G on a Canon body.

I use my AFS60f2.8GED on my 5D2 some times.
 
Hey all, I'm interested in learning some more about Canon's prime lenses. At the moment I own a Pentax and I'm familiar with their lenses and lineup, but I'm looking for a better low light setup. I shoot street all day but what I'm most interested in right now is twilight/night shots. I picked Pentax because of their great primes but I'm interested in the ISO that Canon has. I was wondering if there are any Nikon primes (20-50mm) that really shine at their lower fstops.

Both Oly and Pentax have their "ok" lenses and their serious quality workhorse lenses and I'm wondering what Nikon primes make up the latter. I'd appreciate any information :-)!

My smugmug account has a few recent photos that I've taken: http://johnliznyc.smugmug.com/

Cheers
You switch from Canon to Nikon in your post. Am I correct in thinking you mean "Canon" where you typed "Nikon"?

You say you can not afford FF. Then my guess is you can not really afford the L primes like the 24mm f1.4 L USM II either?

With an adapter, you can use Pentax K-mount primes as far as I know... or is K-mount used for a later kind of mount? I think it is about the screw in type of mount.

Then there is the possibility to use Nikon pre-G lenses. So, Ai, Ais, D, and so on. With a Nikon to EOS adapter.

Then there are the Canon primes.

Good, relatively affordable primes:
  • EF 20mm f2.8 USM
  • EF 24mm f2.8
  • EF 28mm f1.8 USM
  • EF 28mm f2.8 USM
  • EF 35mm f2
  • EF 50mm f1.8
  • EF 50mm f1.4 USM
  • Sigma 20mm f1.8 DG
  • Sigma 24mm f1.8 DG Macro
  • Sigma 28mm f1.8 DG Macro
  • Sigma 30mm f1.4 DC
  • Sigma 50mm f1.4 DG
The ones that to me stand out of these are the Canon 24mm f2.8, Canon 28mm 1.8/f2.8, Canon 35mm f2, Canon 50mm f1.4, Sigma 24/28mm f1.8, Sigma 30mm f1.4, Sigma 50mm f1.4.

Then there are the MF lenses for Canon EOS mount:
  • Voigtlander 20mm f3.5
  • Voigtlander 40mm f2
Both are very good for their price, the 40mm is especially good.

Then the more expensive Zeiss lenses:
  • ZE 18mm f3.5
  • ZE 21mm f2.8
  • ZE 28mm f2
  • ZE 35mm f2
  • ZE 50mm f1.4
  • ZE 50mm f2 macro
And then there are the very good Canon L series lenses:
  • EF 24mm f1.4 L USM II
  • EF 35mm f1.4 L USM
  • EF 50mm f1.2 L USM
p.s. is there a user website with Canon lenses and reviews? similar to pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/
(posted in the Nikon forum as well)
 
Here's a good comparison table:
http://www.radiantlite.com/2008/07/canon-versus-nikon-lenses.html

Per the site:
In Conclusion

Overall Canon has better lens collection than Nikon’s in many aspects: built quality, maximum aperture, USM (fast and silent auto focus). Many Nikon lenses do not have AF-S (USM equivalent) yet. That is the reason why professionals might like Canon lenses collection more than Nikon’s.

--
Gary
 
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-Lens-Reviews.aspx
Hey all, I'm interested in learning some more about Canon's prime lenses. At the moment I own a Pentax and I'm familiar with their lenses and lineup, but I'm looking for a better low light setup. I shoot street all day but what I'm most interested in right now is twilight/night shots. I picked Pentax because of their great primes but I'm interested in the ISO that Canon has. I was wondering if there are any Nikon primes (20-50mm) that really shine at their lower fstops.

Both Oly and Pentax have their "ok" lenses and their serious quality workhorse lenses and I'm wondering what Nikon primes make up the latter. I'd appreciate any information :-)!

My smugmug account has a few recent photos that I've taken: http://johnliznyc.smugmug.com/

Cheers

p.s. is there a user website with Canon lenses and reviews? similar to pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/

(posted in the Nikon forum as well)
 
The L primes are highly regarded but do cost a bundle; a non exhaustive list would include the 24mm f1.4, 35mm f1.4, 50mm f1.2...

Some "non L" are also well liked: 35mm f2, 50mm 1.4... Not all have USM (fast and silent autofocusing), may not be super sharp wide open, they're not built like tanks, they may not have such a stunning bokeh... But they're still mighty good.

One thing to watch out for and which explains in part why people will recommend going with a full frame camera is that because of the crop multiplier the wide angle range can be hard to cover cheaply...

Nice pics by the way...
 
yeah right , over all Canon has the edge unless you are into small primes or excepetional wide zooms.

Nikon does not have anything similar to L primes(besides the 24f1.4GED ,which is reported to be better than the Canon 24f1.4L2).

and Canon bodies allow you to use Pentax, Nikon , Oly and Lecia old lenses or almost any MF lenses, Nikons can not do this.
 
yeah right , over all Canon has the edge unless you are into small primes or excepetional wide zooms.

Nikon does not have anything similar to L primes(besides the 24f1.4GED ,which is reported to be better than the Canon 24f1.4L2).
From what I have seen, it is not better. From what I have seen, it is similar and in areas slightly worse. So both are very good.
and Canon bodies allow you to use Pentax, Nikon , Oly and Lecia old lenses or almost any MF lenses, Nikons can not do this.
 
I was wondering why FF cameras would be a better choice. I really appreciate all the information guys :) I'll bookmark this thread for future reference. Both Nikon and Canon forums have been very helpful :D cheers, and good shooting!
 
I'd love to have a FF but I don't have the $ :-(
You want improved low light performance but don't have the money for a full frame. From everything shown, the Pentax K-x is on par with Nikon and Canon's cameras in high ISOs, except when you consider full frame and that's out of the question for you. If you already have Pentax lenses then why would you take the hit and switch brands, especially when Pentax has a good high ISO camera and you don't have the money to really make a difference in high ISOs. Like one other person said, if you don't have the money for a full frame then you won't have the money for the really nice Canon primes.
 
well, you are wrong the real reason why to get a full frame is not noise or high ISO , but more effective DOF control and better color fidelity and wider tonal range at any ISO not only at high ISO.

in fact , full frame has significant IQ advantage even at lower ISO , I even think at base ISO the difference between crops and fullframes in pure IQ is more pronounced.

that said , the high ISO advantage of full frame is actually a myth because full frames always need to be stopped down more (at least 1 full stop more)to get similar DOF to crops of any kind given shutter speed and AV combo.

so, unless you accept a tripod always or shooting mostly wide open there is no full frame noise advantage.

so, if original poster wants a full frame because it is ff or wants to get more advanced DOF control , then the KX wont help anything , plus Pentax does not have any pro level zooms or primes.

these limited lenses are well built lenses but not that sharp nor that fast, none of them has USM(ultra sonice motor)either, so there are many many reasons for him or her to ditch Pentax system for canon or nikon or even for sony or leica.

I'd say stay a way from Pentax , they will go out of business very soon, Hoya is a big company but the 645D thing really you know?

So, get a used 5D2 or 5D , much better choice.

And also importnat to note , in real life , full frame kit is not very expensive because you can use lower lenses to get near best out of it , crops like Kx or K7 requires even high resolutioned lenses to get its full potential out of it, and thus, it is actually quite expensve as a whole kit, may be more expensive than D700 kit or original 5D kit.

The 5D2 or D3X a bit diifferent though since they also require pro level lenses.

Oly those bash full frame or MFD are those never used one.

forgot , if primes are your priority , then there is no better system than Canon or Leica.period.

Nikon is a system for these people who love zooms.
 
so, if original poster wants a full frame because it is ff or wants to get more advanced DOF control , then the KX wont help anything , plus Pentax does not have any pro level zooms or primes.
The Pentax prime lenses are very well regarded and if you read the OP, you'll notice that they really like the lenses line-up.
these limited lenses are well built lenses but not that sharp nor that fast, none of them has USM(ultra sonice motor)either, so there are many many reasons for him or her to ditch Pentax system for canon or nikon or even for sony or leica.
The only reason they wanted to "ditch" Pentax was for better high ISOs, which the K-x does quite well against Canon and Nikon in that regard, until you go with a larger sensor.
I'd say stay a way from Pentax , they will go out of business very soon, Hoya is a big company but the 645D thing really you know?
I thought the same thing until they came out with the K7 and K-x. Especially with the K-x, it's been selling very well online and is almost always in the top 10 of Amazon's best sellers in the US and JP sites. I think they made a big step forward with both of those cameras. Pentax does not have the AF speed of Canon and Nikon but if you go to the Pentax forum they'll say that Canon has a "plastic" look and the colors aren't as good as other manufacturers. I'm not saying I agree, but there's a lot of fanboyism everywhere.

Also, larger sensors are better at high ISOs, there's not much arguing that point. DOF is a separate discussion.
 
as I said many times ,high ISO is not the real reason why you want to a 5d2 or a d700 but their DOF control is the main reason why you want a full frame for serious work.

and most of lenses ,especally old primes work better on FF than crop...........or APS-C.

until you switch to full frame you wont get it.

and cost of a full frame system is not that much more than a k7 based sytem, and pentax has no real fast primes to get even close to the legendary 85f1.2l2 on a full frame.

it is not high ISO but speed and DOF control why full frame is better, and full frame has the best wide angle lenses , the 16-35f4VR , 14-24, 16-35f2.8L2 are much better lenses than any of Pentax wide angle zooms.

I am not saying or even know if op likes pentax sytem but I am talking about the real difference between full frame based system and K7 based system, they are not even comparable, where is f0.7 Pentax prime?

Unless you have a f0.7 lens on your k7 , you wont be able to touch the 85f1.2L on a full frame.

as for the size , well, the k7 is small but not that much lighter than my 5D2 or my d700, my 5d2 weighs 800g and the k7 weighs 675g, is that a huge difference?

the D700 is a bit heavier but with a small Nikon or Voiklander primes , it is actually very small , I mostly use my D700 with a couple of primes (AFS50f1.4G and Voiklander 20f3.5) for all my casual photos....... and it is smaller than Pentax K7 with DA16-50f2.8 lens...............and I know this lens had CA issue and SDM failure issue, I had it before.

dont get me wrong , I had the k7 and liked the body ,ergonomics ,etc but it is simply horrible IQ wise and Pentax has no fast primes , so as much as I wanted to love it I sold it for another D700 , to back my 5D2 up.

any way hope Pentax gets it right but in Japan , most of big sites and papers talking about Hoya is planning to sell Pentax division to JVC or Sharp.

so, it is not safe to go with them , I just hoped OP to make fully informed decsion , that is all.

I have no brand preference , in fact I prefer Pentax to Nikon if they had a full frame with Nikon or Canon sensor since they are my local company and my dad used to work for them as a designer...............but now, they make not so nice cameras in terms of aF, IQ and speed or operation.

I used to be a minolta user so I am very very scared to invest any money on some unknown system or dying sytem and I do not want other people to experience the same horrible losing their mount as I did , I had to switch to Canon because Minolta decided to quit DSLR business in 2006.

Also , you must know that there is no real market for the 645D , every body sane says it is a big mistake, real pro buy Hassy , Phase one , Leaf or Mamia .etc and Pentax said the 645D is for amature landscapers , but I dont think many amature shooters buy it or afford it,or even those who can afford it avoid it , only a very few collector get it and it is even not marketed world wide but only in Japan.

Japan is a tiny country and it is obvious it won't sell well there, the economy is horrible in Japan, most of people here have no money.

So, I think no matter how good Pentax bodies are , Pentax is a brand to avoid , not safe, all know that.
 
Well I am refreshing my Prime lineup right now. I have a 50mm 1.8 which everybody owns but I just got a 28mm 1.8 USM prime for a wider focal range on a crop and plan to get a 85mm 1.8 USM for my long range. Just those three should suit me fine for all my prime and low light needs. Good luck.
--

Darkness is the monster and your shutter is your sword, aperture your shield and iso your armor. Strike fast with your sword and defend well with your shield and hope your armor holds up.
 

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