70D lens help

AndrewSt

AndrewSt

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I currently an shooting with a Canon 70D and 18-135 STM. I take quite a few landscapes at the lower end of the range but find it useful to have a little length for travel and general photography. I also want to get into some more portraits shots and have some friends wedding coming up where I would like to have a good go at. Recently have tried a few indoor shot and its not great in poor light.

Trying to decide which lenses to go for and if to follow the prime or zoom route. I do not plan on buying a second body for a good while so perhaps the zooms make most sense and the budget is not unlimited.

A good zoom kit for the 70D?
10-22 for landscapes
17-55 for most of the time and indoors
70-200L F4 IS for longer shoots and a little telephoto, although the 70-300L gets good reviews, not much different in size and the length might be useful?

Is the above a good plan or am I missing something? I can't buy them all at once so need to prioritise which I buy first.

If I went down the prime route I still think a 10-22 for landscapes would be a good idea along with a 35mm 50mm and 85mm, and again i think the longer zooms 70-200 or 70-300 make sense with the primes.

Any thoughts from others shooting on a canon crop sensor?
 
For shooting wedding stuff on a crop sensor (portraits) I'd look at either the 50mm or the 85mm 1.8, if you want to get an idea of how close you'd need to be to use either of those primes you can always set your current zoom lens to those lengths and have a play. :) Although the 17-55mm 2.8 is a great lens you can't beat primes for sharpness or low light work, if you need/prefer the versatility of a zoom it's still a nice option though if you can afford it.

Another thought is to look at using an external flash for the wedding photos, I used a standard kit lens 18-55mm IS with a 430 EX II flash for my friend's wedding and got some great results with that combo, learn to flash bounce from different surfaces and you can make flash shots look quite 'natural' and avoid the flattening effect that you often get with flash photography.

In terms of telephoto lenses it really depends what you're shooting. If you're birding then a long prime or a XX-400mm zoom is often a good choice, if you're shooting sports/cars then a shorter prime on a crop body is fine.
 
AndrewSt said:
Trying to decide which lenses to go for and if to follow the prime or zoom route. I do not plan on buying a second body for a good while so perhaps the zooms make most sense and the budget is not unlimited.

A good zoom kit for the 70D?
10-22 for landscapes
17-55 for most of the time and indoors
70-200L F4 IS for longer shoots and a little telephoto, although the 70-300L gets good reviews, not much different in size and the length might be useful?

Is the above a good plan or am I missing something? I can't buy them all at once so need to prioritise which I buy first.?
Click to expand...

Yes I think the above lenses are a good range to be thinking about. It's all too easy to want this lens, that lens etc and before you know it, you've a few lenses, covering the virtually the same focal range, with no real advantage over 1 another...

I've the Sigma UWA 10-20mm and it's a great lens - if you look at the flickr account below, these were taken with it...
 
If going for a prime, I would suggest a 30mm instead of 50mm. I shot my sister-in-law's wedding last August (first time ever!) and did the whole day with my 450D, Sigma 30mm f1.4, Sigma 17-70 and 430EX flash. Had many favourable comments about the shots.
 
My latest lens for my 70d is the Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 and I definitely love that lens :D

70-200mm F4L is very nice - very sharp
 
Also looking at a 15-85. Would this be a decent upgrade on the 18-135STM combining it with a longer zoom such as a 70-200L or 70-300L
 
From shots I've seen I wouldn't personally see the 15-85 as an upgrade. You get a bit more at the wide end so I can imagine the range being a tiny bit more useful as a walkabout lens but you also lose a bit of range so I guess it depends on the user.

I started with the 18-135mm on my 650d and the first lenses I bought were the 40mm STM because it was cheap and the 100mm F2.8L macro because I wanted a macro lens.

If you want to do a lot of landscapes and scenery etc then I would recommend the 10-22mm. Very handy for getting close to things or showing as much as you can.

Knowing what I know now I think if I had to replace the 18-135mm kit lens with another general purpose lens, I'd choose the 18-55mm F2.8 because it's sharp and has a wider aperture. Either that or my previous suggestion of the Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 which is even faster :) then you can use whichever 70-200mm lens you can afford and maybe fill the gap between 35mm and 70mm with a 50mm lens if you feel the need to.
 
I have been looking at the 55-250STM, can be had for £200 if buying grey. I could change my 18-135 for this and either the 18-35 sigma or 17-55 Canon. This would provide a good quality and faster lens for landscapes, indoors and walkabout shooting with the 55-250 serving for longer focal length and some basic wildlife shooting.

I am going on safari shortly and will be hiring a second body and lens. Probably a 100-400L. With the 55-250 I can cover the close things and the 100-400L the further away.

Ideally I would like the 18-35 sigma, 50mm prime, 85mm Prime and a 70-300L but can't afford it at the moment.
 
AndrewSt said:
A good zoom kit for the 70D?
10-22 for landscapes
17-55 for most of the time and indoors
70-200L F4 IS for longer shoots and a little telephoto, although the 70-300L gets good reviews, not much different in size and the length might be useful?
...
If I went down the prime route I still think a 10-22 for landscapes would be a good idea along with a 35mm 50mm and 85mm, and again i think the longer zooms 70-200 or 70-300 make sense with the primes.
Click to expand...

Are you going to the wedding to be the photographer, or are you going as a guest?
As a guest, I found that the 28-135 was good. As a guest, you are primarily there to relax. The quality of the photos from that lens is not great without good light, and knowing how to use the lens well.
BUT, it is onobtrusive, and might allow you to get shots that the real photographer may not see.

Otherwise, the list above is good. The 70-300 is not the best quality lens when compared with the 70-200L IS f/2.8 (I don't know the f/4) or the 100-400L. The 70-200L is MASSIVE though, but with an extender it is as good as the 70-300 (non-L).
The 70-300 is a 'small' lens in comparison, I have this lens, and it was good, until I got the 100-400 L. I occasionally use the 70-300 though, when I don't want the conspicuousness of the 100-400L.
The 10-22L is good for landscapes, and the odd indoor group shot. Do you really need a faster lens for landscapes? Often you want ND filters to make the lens slower.
 
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Not going as THE photographer, guest with a keen interest more like.

Thanks for the suggestions.
 
I currently own all 3 lenses in your wish list which I use on crop sensor bodies (previously a 7D and currently a 650D) That line up is pretty much perfect tbh. The 10-22 is the best WA for landscapes or if space is tight. The 70-200 f4 IS is not at all heavy and very sharp and the 17-55 f2.8 is my most used lens and the results are super crisp, contrasty and sharp (if it was EF only it would be L glass).

Coincidentally I recently bought the 18-135 STFM as a general daytime walkabout one lens solution for weight and portability and it fills the role perfectly.

If budget is tight don't dismiss the Canon 55-250 you mentioned as well. There is no better Bang for your buck by any camera manufacturer, period. A brilliant 88-400 zoom (35mm equivalent) with built in IS, surprisingly good optics and made by the Camera maker for a little over £100 ! its just a no brainer if you cannot afford the 70-200 L.
 
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