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Can you recommend Canon's best lenses?
- Thread starter MrSkelter
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- nikon d800
NancyP
Veteran Member
Well, nothing is comparable to Coastal Optics 60mm for full-spectrum work (UV, IR included) except for some adapted process lenses. Nikon lenses will work with Canon bodies in manual mode, given the correct high quality adapter (if it is a Nikon G lens, you must use a Nikon G adapter). I am trying the PB4 bellows and enlarging lenses on a Canon body for studio macro with swing/shift capacity.
Most Nikon lenses have a Canon equivalent, and vice versa.
Nikon has the 14-24mm, Canon has yet to come out with this focal range in a full frame L zoom. Some Canon users have used the Nikon lens on their Canon.
Macro mavens love the fieldworthy 1x-5x Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 (nominal), and the matching Canon macro twin flash. In particular, insect photographers, who need to be mobile, love this setup for handheld macro. This is far easier to use in the field than a handheld bellows setup, the only other commercial option for significantly greater than life size photography. There is no equivalent to the MPE, though I imagine that one could cobble together a suitable macro lens or long-focus microscope lens to a focusing helicoid on a lens flange.
It is hardly worth mentioning to someone who buys a Coastal Optics lens, but Canon also has the best budget bird photography lens, the Canon 400mm f/5.6L. Sharp sharp sharp, fast autofocus, very light (1.25 kg), no image stabilization (old design), and $1,300.00 new, $1,100.00 used, with plenty of good used lenses available. I love this lens, it is so easy to handhold and pan at any angle, even for a weakling - great bird-in-flight lens, great long-hike lens. Sure, I would like an extra 200mm, image stabilization, and an extra f stop, but that would cost me $12,000.00 more and add another 2.75 kg.
In general, the Canon Big White pro-level lenses (300mm and 400mm f/2.8, 500 and 600mm f/4, 800mm f/5.6) have superb optics and autofocus speed, and have been favored by action and bird/wildlife photographers. Recently Nikon has refreshed its supertelephoto lineup, but I believe that the prices are even higher than equivalent Canon offerings.
Canon also has an astrophotography APS-C camera. Many people will get cheap Rebels and send them for the pertinent filter swap (to allow more far red/ near IR in order to get more sensitivity to hydrogen nebula emissions).
Most Nikon lenses have a Canon equivalent, and vice versa.
Nikon has the 14-24mm, Canon has yet to come out with this focal range in a full frame L zoom. Some Canon users have used the Nikon lens on their Canon.
Macro mavens love the fieldworthy 1x-5x Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 (nominal), and the matching Canon macro twin flash. In particular, insect photographers, who need to be mobile, love this setup for handheld macro. This is far easier to use in the field than a handheld bellows setup, the only other commercial option for significantly greater than life size photography. There is no equivalent to the MPE, though I imagine that one could cobble together a suitable macro lens or long-focus microscope lens to a focusing helicoid on a lens flange.
It is hardly worth mentioning to someone who buys a Coastal Optics lens, but Canon also has the best budget bird photography lens, the Canon 400mm f/5.6L. Sharp sharp sharp, fast autofocus, very light (1.25 kg), no image stabilization (old design), and $1,300.00 new, $1,100.00 used, with plenty of good used lenses available. I love this lens, it is so easy to handhold and pan at any angle, even for a weakling - great bird-in-flight lens, great long-hike lens. Sure, I would like an extra 200mm, image stabilization, and an extra f stop, but that would cost me $12,000.00 more and add another 2.75 kg.
In general, the Canon Big White pro-level lenses (300mm and 400mm f/2.8, 500 and 600mm f/4, 800mm f/5.6) have superb optics and autofocus speed, and have been favored by action and bird/wildlife photographers. Recently Nikon has refreshed its supertelephoto lineup, but I believe that the prices are even higher than equivalent Canon offerings.
Canon also has an astrophotography APS-C camera. Many people will get cheap Rebels and send them for the pertinent filter swap (to allow more far red/ near IR in order to get more sensitivity to hydrogen nebula emissions).
NancyP
Veteran Member
Actually, that is the beauty of rental. You set up challenging real-life situations, and test the lens' behavior. You also get to try its ergonomics.
Someday when I decide to buy a Canon Big White for deluxe bird photography, I am going to rent the 500mm f/4 and then the 600mm f/4 and see which I prefer. If the 600mm is too heavy for ME to handhold, well, the 500mm is the one to get.
Someday when I decide to buy a Canon Big White for deluxe bird photography, I am going to rent the 500mm f/4 and then the 600mm f/4 and see which I prefer. If the 600mm is too heavy for ME to handhold, well, the 500mm is the one to get.
NancyP
Veteran Member
Identify your subject and style of photography, and then plan the camera and lens accordingly.
I am enjoying shooting landscapes and flowers/foliage with my Sigma DP3 Merrill and DP2 Merrill fixed lens cameras (75mm and 45mm equivalents). The results with the Foveon sensor are just plain different from Bayer CFA sensor results. It is not just resolution at issue, color rendering can be exceedingly subtle on the Foveon sensors.
My Canon 60D is the birding and macro camera, my Canon 6D is the everything-else and low-light camera.
Cameras and lenses are tools. Use the tools appropriate to the task. For all I know, the most appropriate tool for your task could be a studio view camera with digital medium format back, or the rather specialized Hartblei camera.
I know I have a bit of the collector's urge, but mostly due to the fact that I want to try out many techniques. I am itching to try out a view camera to see how camera movements work and find out whether I really need said movements to obtain certain landscape and architecture photos. I am also itching to rent tilt/shift (perspective control) lenses to try out movements.
I am enjoying shooting landscapes and flowers/foliage with my Sigma DP3 Merrill and DP2 Merrill fixed lens cameras (75mm and 45mm equivalents). The results with the Foveon sensor are just plain different from Bayer CFA sensor results. It is not just resolution at issue, color rendering can be exceedingly subtle on the Foveon sensors.
My Canon 60D is the birding and macro camera, my Canon 6D is the everything-else and low-light camera.
Cameras and lenses are tools. Use the tools appropriate to the task. For all I know, the most appropriate tool for your task could be a studio view camera with digital medium format back, or the rather specialized Hartblei camera.
I know I have a bit of the collector's urge, but mostly due to the fact that I want to try out many techniques. I am itching to try out a view camera to see how camera movements work and find out whether I really need said movements to obtain certain landscape and architecture photos. I am also itching to rent tilt/shift (perspective control) lenses to try out movements.
NancyP
Veteran Member
Re: 200mm. The "Wide Angle Survey for Planets" (WASP) project uses about a dozen Canon 200mm f/1.8 lenses mounted on Canon cameras, mounted on a large platform such that the fields of view overlap some, with the large platform mounted on a ginormous observatory fork mount. Large sectors of space are imaged in repeated cycles and the image sets are compared in an attempt to ID planets occluding their stars. 20+ planets confirmed so far.
NancyP
Veteran Member
try the Lenstip website, each lens review has a coma test illustrated. Surprising finding: Cheapo fast Samyang lenses beat the pants off equally fast Canon L lenses for coma wide open, making the Samyangs favorites among wide-field astrophotography specialists.
Also, I imagine that Lloyd Chambers' behind-paywall reviews would cover coma.
Also, I imagine that Lloyd Chambers' behind-paywall reviews would cover coma.
You have photos on the cover of GQ and Esquire and you are asking here about lenses?
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alexisgreat
Veteran Member
You'd think they'd rather use a telescope for that- I hunt for planets also and the last thing I would use is a camera lens, I use a mono CCD coupled to a telescope.
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jayrandomer
Senior Member
Unexpresivecanvas
Senior Member
This guy, the type of questions he asks, the argumentative style, the quick move between I don't know anything and I know everything, reminds me of such a NeilJones poster, who was trolling the Nikon forum a few years ago. NeilJones character had the best cameras and lenses, money was not the issue, he was an amazing photographer, he lived in a ?beverly Hills like-mansion, he was a DJ making thousands of dollars and at the same time taking pics (really bad ones)} of which he was very proud of.
Posters, be aware....
The three lenses I mentioned create a nice set with matching rendering and the optical quality is better than anything I have used or seen from Nikon or Canon. The 55 and 135 are better corrected for CA than similar Leica lenses.
At low ISO, yes.
kixigvaq
Senior Member
You'll probably get a shrug. Pros don't sit around worrying about whether their lenses are sharp. If that was a big issue everybody would be using Leicas.
One Canon or Nikon was better the pros would all be using the better one.
Do you actually shoot photos?
One Canon or Nikon was better the pros would all be using the better one.
Do you actually shoot photos?
NancyP
Veteran Member
http://www.superwasp.org/ for the project,
http://www.superwasp.org/technical.htm for the specifications. Modified CCDs are used as detectors, and ample Peltier cooling is provided.
All I can think is that the 200mm f/1.8 optics are superb, and the aperture is a nice wide 11.1 cm. I doubt that there would be anything else "off the shelf" with wide angle and big aperture. Chasing down the rare lenses was likely a cheaper option than starting from scratch to make custom refractors.
http://www.superwasp.org/technical.htm for the specifications. Modified CCDs are used as detectors, and ample Peltier cooling is provided.
All I can think is that the 200mm f/1.8 optics are superb, and the aperture is a nice wide 11.1 cm. I doubt that there would be anything else "off the shelf" with wide angle and big aperture. Chasing down the rare lenses was likely a cheaper option than starting from scratch to make custom refractors.
I do. MF for portraits and pleasure. Film for fun. Leica for discretion and art. Compacts for carry. APS-C for the bag. DSLR for speed.
I have that stuff.
Thanks.
Samyang lose out on MF and consistency. Coma is most important to me at 50mm as that's where I shoot at night. Nikon has the 58mm 1.4 which is built to kill coma. I know Canon emphasize speed at 50mm. I wonder how they fair...
Paying for Lloyd Chambers? Not tempted...
Maybe, but manual. I'm not at all convinced Zeiss have anything close to the Leica APO 50mm. It's unreal.
You'd be surprised. The S looks good up to 3200 (pushed). No problem at all. The sensors aren't the issue. The lenses will last for ever. They're close to perfect given current technology. Bigger circle than Otus and smaller in some cases too.
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