Lens advice please

john starkey

john starkey

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Hi all,

having sold my 500mm lens here on talkphtography,i will looking to buy at least one lens for landscape work,i will still be doing nature and macro related work,especially my butterfly stuff,the lenses i already have are 70-200mm f/4 is L,24-105 is L,100 2.8 is L macro,nifty fifty,i also have a 100-400mm lens for sale in the classified section but not bothered if it sells or not as it's a tack sharp lens,all canon lenses.

having never done any landscape work i need some advice what to get,i have looked at several lenses and i have fried my brain trying to decide,money is not a problem

thank you John.
 
There isn't a definitive landscape lens, and because you have a full frame body, there are a few options. Depends where you want the flexibility of a zoom or top optics of a prime. The focal length entirely depends on how you want to interpret the scene. 2 photographers would probably look at a scene differently, 1 would use a wide angle lens the other might move himself closer or further away to obtain the shot. There's no wrong or right lens. Personally having several options would be my way to go. You can already use you 24-105mm, 70-200mm and 100mm macro lens for landscapes. 17-40mm f4 a good lens, the alternative is the 16-35mm f2.8, both have similar IQs. There's the 24mm f1.4 prime, 35mm or 50mm primes, or something different could be a tilt and shift lens.
 
there is a tokina option which is pretty good
a friend uses a tokina 17mm prime MF I think on a FF body.
a lot of wides, including the canon L, have a weird "moustache distortion" profile.
for landscapes it's rarely an issue though
 
canon 20-35 seeing as you've got a full frame, not too expensive either but used only now i think.
 
I use the Canon 24-70 f/2.8 II for a lot of my landscape work. A tad expensive but the picture quality is excellent IMHO
 
Canon 24mm f/1.4 II is a very nice wide angle landscape lens
 
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Use the 24-105 that you already have. Over time you may come to some conclusion about what focal length in or beyond its range that you favour. Otherwise, you're just shopping blindly.
 
droj said:
Use the 24-105 that you already have. Over time you may come to some conclusion about what focal length in or beyond its range that you favour. Otherwise, you're just shopping blindly.
Click to expand...

:agree:


By far the best idea.. if you've never shot landscapes then you're not in a position to decide what lens you're most likely to use. Everyone sees things differently and some might find themselves using UWA focal lengths frequently and others mid/tele focal lengths. Just spend some time out and about with the 24-105 and you might find it covers everything you need

Let your "style" determine your lens choice not a lens determine your style.

Simon
 
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The 24-105 and 70-200 will give you great focal length coverage so stick with those two for now. Also, as landscapes are often taken on a tripod, a slower lens f4.0 and above is not an issue.

If you find that you need the extra width then the best landscape lens for the money IMO is the 17-40L. I find I do the majority of my landscapes with this lens but do occasionally use the other two.

The good thing about the 17-40 is that the filter size is 77mm the same as your 24-105 so no need for more adaptors and extra cost :)
 
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