Choice of lens...? Canon L

bradkb

bradkb

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Got the bug for an L lens, and not sure which one to go for, my current lenses are - EF 20-35, EF 50 MK1, EF 28-105 and EF 55-200

Bought these mostly second hand just to play with the various focal lenghts, find out my favs, and now find I more or less walk around with either the 20-35 or the 50. I do one day want to move over to full frame, was thinking of a 5D but willing to wait until a "MKII", but have been considering the following -

17-40 L F4
24-70 L F2.8
24-105 L F4 IS

I have liked the fifty for getting out of trouble in poor light, but I do like the scope of the 20-35 and I am pulled towards the 17-40. The appeal of IS and the long scope of the 24-105 is also a puller....

The 24-70 appeals, but not the price..! Was also considering at a later date getting the 70-200, I did hire an IS 2.8 but the thing weighs a ton, so swing towards the F4.

Suggestions? All comments mucho appreciated.
 
Tricky one. The 24-105 is a wonderful lens, but on a crop body is just a little too long. The 17-40 L, I expect, will offer you most bang for your buck (the other two are north of £500 if you're buying new).
 
I must admit that since buying the 24-70mm F2.8L I have put little else on the camera body, it is a (for want of a better word) 'STONKING' lens and is still one of canons best lenses.

Although a lot of arguments between the 24-105L and the 24-70L still circulate, my preference is the 24-70 but its horses for courses I suppose.
 
I bought the 24-105 f/4L as I didn't think I'd need the extra stop since I didn't shoot indoors much... and then the first thing I tried to do is to take photos indoors at 6:30am on Christmas morning and found myself wishing I'd got a 2.8 instead :)

Don't get me wrong, the 24-105 is a fantastic lens and isn't coming off my 40D body until I get trackside in the spring, but if you shoot indoors a lot then I'd go for a 2.8.
 
It really depends on what you shoot. A 17-40 has a similar "standard zoom" range on a crop body to a 24-70 on a full-frame.

I swapped my 24-70 for a 24-105 as I thought it would be more useful for me. A bit more reach was a good thing. When I had a 1.6 crop body, I was never happy with the 24-70 as it was a bit too "long" for what I wanted. If you stick 1.6, I'd think hard about the 17-40. It could well be the best fit.
 
marky_h said:
Tricky one. The 24-105 is a wonderful lens, but on a crop body is just a little too long.
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That's a bit subjective to be honest. I've got the 24-70 and I'd tend to say it's a bit too short on either a 1.3X or 1.6X crop. Depends on what you shoot really.
 
I would go with the 24-70 a really good lens and F2.8 compared with the other 2 which are F4, also the 17-40 maybe a bit short with the 5D. but at the end of the day alot deepends what you are shooting the most
 
I would go for the 24-70. I have the sigma version on a 400D and it is very rare that I find it too long. It's still wide enough to get some good landscape shots but long enough that you won't need to constantly change lenses. :)
 
Drag yourself away from the zooms and treat yourself to a nice secondhand 135 f/2 L.

Bob
 
I heard the 17-40L is very good, but remeber the 24-105 also has IS which can help indoors if the subjects are stationary
 
Thanks guys, these might have to wait a while though, yesterday picked up a bargain (at least I think so) a 70-200 F4L non IS for £200! pretty cuffed. So going to play with that for a while, it was on the shopping list for some time in the future, but could not resist the price.
 
Bought the 25-105 and hated it, very poor response in lower light condition. Traded it up for the 24-70 and the 70-200. The 24-70 is an awesome lens, albeight a bit heavy.

The 17-40 was an impulse buy but that too is a superb lens, if it was a little longer I doubt I would take it off the body [and I would have saved myself the £'s of the 24-70].
 
marky_h said:
It does indeed. The sooner Canon make a 17-105 F/2.8 IS L, the better ;)
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Pah! I'm waiting for the 50-600 f/2.8 IS. And with the change i'll get myself a modified landrover to mount it...:nuts:
 
marky_h said:
That's a steal, if it's in good nick. Where did ya find it?
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Found it from one of the members of the london photography meetup group, excellant nick, hardly used and included a UV and Circ Pol filter. Very happy with it.
 
Well I went for the 24-105L and find it to be a very good lens. However there have been numerous occasions since buying it that I wish it was f2.8. Im in two minds at the moment aso weather I should sell it to get the 24-70 :thinking:
 
I went for 24-70f2.8 and love it to bits... so far ive not missed the IS whereas it appears a lot of people miss having f2.8 with their 24-105... Also for me, it compliments the 70-200f2.8IS and doesnt overlap focal length.
 
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