which new lens

rando calrissian wrote:

Hi! Thanks for the welcome and sorry for the novel!!

Thanks. The more information, the better!

So my kit is the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM version. It gives me soft, low detail, non-contrasty images and the color rendition is just flat.

You don't happen to have a filter on the lens, do you? That can cause all of the above. Also, add a lens shade (if you don't use one already).

I will take a shot and swap over to the 50 and the colors pop and they just look so crisp! The entire kit lens image is soft, not just in the corners. The images that come off look just like that, images, nothing really pops with them.

Definitely might be something wrong with the lens. The STM kit lenses really aren't too bad.

My 50mm is the EF f/1.8 STM. Not the best glass but its really pushing me for composition and positioning. Also gives me some pretty good images for sure.

I certainly enjoy shooting with my 50 STM too. What a bargain!

I have felt the zooms and they do have some heft; especially compared to the 50!! I was initially looking at getting a 100mm f/2.8 macro (Sigma or Canon) and after playing with some friends zoom gear I figured it would make more sense to get something with some versatility as my shooting stances are super variable. With the 50mm I can only crop out so much and have so much detail, then I worry about pixelation or I have too much background on either side of my subject. When I was shooting the kit 18-55 I found when I was on top of the boulders shooting down on my subjects I was at the 18mm end of it to play with the perspective of the outstretched reaching hand and high up perspective, which is (one reason) why I got the 11-16 f/2.8, its also just a fun lens.

There is the 100mm f/2 prime also (for double the reach). Not very large.  Quite sharp.  Fast focusing.

I took my friends 18-135mm kit zoom out yesterday and I found something out. I can *usually* find another boulder near-ish by to climb onto for a shooting position. This takes me out of the field of spotters so I won't get fallen on, and gets me up so I am not taking butt shots all day.

My 18-135 STM is a very handy walk-about lens. Not the sharpest lens in the bag, but adequate for most subjects. Too slow for your needs tho.

I decided to go with the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 VC against some other posters recommendations, but with my gut from what I learned from my friends 135mm length. I sometimes wanted to get all those expressions of peoples "try hard" face, they usually look pretty silly though.

Definitely see how it works for you. Hopefully no AF issues with the newer bodies.

It is a heavy lens and a lot to shlep through the woods with the rest of my climbing gear (my summertime was spent parking the car at about 13000ft and hiking into a boulder field at 12000ft, climbing and shooting all day, then hiking back out...brutal), but its the lightest of the 70-200mm and I think it is fast enough (I would love to go to a f/2 but unless I wanted to go prime I don't think thats in the cards).

Wish I could do that sort of thing!!!  Now I'm a perpetual flat-lander!  Gotta go shoot some birds.

Thank you for your input, I hope you aren't going to tell me that I done messed up and wasted my Lyft check!

One option would be to take (only) your camera with 70-200, and a smaller pocket-camera for the wider stuff.  That's what I do a lot of the time (with my RX100).  Saves on weight and lens changes.

PS rad DPR handle

It's been good roaming the galaxies far far away with you.  Happy shooting!

R2