General kind of lens question?

[extremenovice]

Hi folks, question for you........

I own a 60d with a 17-85usm, a 55-250 and a nifty fifty lens and love my kit however my mind has been ticking away about the 'L' range of lenses.

If I was to set my camera up of a tripod and take a landscape shot with, say my 17-85 lens on and then remove the lens and take the same shot with an equivalent 'L' glass on.....what difference would I actually see on the shot?

Can anyone offer any examples of the quality difference?

Hope I'm explaining myself ok

Thank you for any replies.

 

[HoppyUK]

Hi folks, question for you........

I own a 60d with a 17-85usm, a 55-250 and a nifty fifty lens and love my kit however my mind has been ticking away about the 'L' range of lenses.

If I was to set my camera up of a tripod and take a landscape shot with, say my 17-85 lens on and then remove the lens and take the same shot with an equivalent 'L' glass on.....what difference would I actually see on the shot?

Can anyone offer any examples of the quality difference?

Hope I'm explaining myself ok

Thank you for any replies.

In that comparison, assuming good light with a medium aperture around f/8 or so, probably very little.

17-85 has plenty of distortion and vignetting though, and is soft around the edges with some CA, especially at lower f/numbers. You can fix a lot of that in post processing very easily (eg DPP, Lightroom).

The difference with L lenses is the specs tend to be higher, particularly a lower f/number where they will continue to perform well, and a substantial part of the cost goes into the build quality and mechanical performance.

 

[extremenovice]

Thank you for your reply, it is appreciated

 

[HoppyUK]

Thank you for your reply, it is appreciated

You're welcome

If you want sharper pictures, then the short-cut to that is a larger sensor, ie full-frame. It collects more light so ISO performance is better and dynamic range extended, with more detail and cleaner colours in the shadows.

Plus it doesn't don't work the lens so hard for a given level of resolution, therefore contrast goes up and images have more pop and sparkle. All L-grade lenses are designed for full-frame.

 

[snigg]

You're welcome

If you want sharper pictures, then the short-cut to that is a larger sensor, ie full-frame. It collects more light so ISO performance is better and dynamic range extended, with more detail and cleaner colours in the shadows.

Plus it doesn't don't work the lens so hard for a given level of resolution, therefore contrast goes up and images have more pop and sparkle. All L-grade lenses are designed for full-frame.

as the OP's questions has been answered can I just ask, what are the downsides of FF camera? is it just cost? sounds as we all should be moving to FF!

 

[HoppyUK]

as the OP's questions has been answered can I just ask, what are the downsides of FF camera? is it just cost? sounds as we all should be moving to FF!

Cost, though generally FF cameras are higher spec. Size and weight, especially long lenses.

TBH, not many people actually need full-frame, including me. Nobody else in my family has noticed the slightest difference (though that's not the point ) and you certainly have to look closely to see the benefit.

You can abuse full frame more - crop harder, get away with little under-exposure mishaps. You also get about one stop less depth of field, with equivalent framing, for bokeh lovers.

But I would say croppers make the better all-round cameras, if any kind of long lens wildlife/sport/action type stuff is involved. Doing that properly on full frame is extremely expensive and those big lenses weigh a ton.

 

[snigg]

Cost, though generally FF cameras are higher spec. Size and weight, especially long lenses.

TBH, not many people actually need full-frame, including me. Nobody else in my family has noticed the slightest difference (though that's not the point ) and you certainly have to look closely to see the benefit.

You can abuse full frame more - crop harder, get away with little under-exposure mishaps. You also get about one stop less depth of field, with equivalent framing, for bokeh lovers.

But I would say croppers make the better all-round cameras, if any kind of long lens wildlife/sport/action type stuff is involved. Doing that properly on full frame is extremely expensive and those big lenses weigh a ton.

Cheers for that