New 6D user : 24-205mm f/4 kit or 24-70 f/4 + 70/200 f/4, or what else ?

frenchtraveller wrote:

ppires85 wrote:

1. Oh read Rockwell with as much grains of salt as you can.

2. 24-70 F4 is not that better compared to 24-105. You can think of 24-105+70-200 F4. 70-200 will cover the focal length where 24-105 has its weakest spots. And I think you would still have room for a cheap fast lens like the 50mm 1.8.

Thanks,
The 24-70 is about 50% more expensive than the 24-105 (well not a 24-105 sold separately, but the difference between 6D body & 6D kit, which would be my actual cost for a 24-105). That's not prohibitive if it's much better.

If you don't shoot far away subjects, what would you typically use the 70-200 for and would you carry both usually ?
I'm definitely keeping the 50mm 1.8, any other must-have primes ? I've read good things about a 85mm Canon one I think (can't remember the aperture), isn't that already covered by the 24-105 mm though ?

I would carry both without a problem. I got my hands on an F4 IS, but for my use I really need more speed. So I'm looking after a 2.8 non-IS L. And IMHO, 70-200 F4 L IS is a better lens at it's focal length compared to 24-105mm. The kit lens is very reasonable at wide focal lengths to normal (24-70). So they make a good combo.

50mm 1.8 and 85mm 1.8 are two different lenses that I'd rather think about them sepparately when building a lens environment for me to work. I think nothing replaces zooms and nothing replaces primes right now (as much as people talk the heaven out of 24-70 2.8 II L). They serve for different purposes. If you do architecture, I'd aim for 24mm 2.8 IS for example, at the affordable price range. It has less distortion and fringing. A simplier formula mostly make for better lenses. At an affordable range, if my thing is portraiture or I have any subject that I'd want to compress space and isolate, 85mm 1.8 is really a good and cheap call.

If you still think about normal focal length, I'd be thinking more about 40mm 2.8 STM or a normal wide like 35mm f2 IS. The 50mm 1.8 is a good champ, but soon to be retired. Compared to those two new guys on the team, the nifty-fifty eats some dust behind. We are really likely to see the 50mm 1.8 being substituted next year.

I like the consumer primes to substitute some zooms because of discretion, but they REALLY sacrifice flexibility. If I were to work with photography professionally, I would never give up covering my most used focal lengths with at least one zoom.