What lens set do I need?

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EMA747

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Andy
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I am applying for a Press and Editorial photography degree course (see my other thread) and am thinking what lenses will I need to look at not so much more the course but for the future as my hope is to go pro after the course. Would love to do travel photography in the National Geographic style (well I can always dream :D)
Please note I am NOT thinking of buying loads of things now. I am just trying to get an idea what I will need in the long term and how that works for long term budgeting. ;)

I currently have a 1DmkIII and 7D bodies. The only lenses I have at the moment are 17-40 L and 100-400 L.

What other lenses should I be looking at?

I will get a 50 f/1.8 for sure.
I might think about swapping the 100-400 for a 70-200 f/2.8 IS as I had one before but sold it to get the 100-400. :thinking: I now think the 70-200 would be a better choice for what I would be shooting. Is this a wise move? I currently only really use the 100-400 for aviation which is a hobby and I know there is little money in this area of photography.

What other mid range lenses should I be after?

How about bodies? Should I stay with what I have or would selling the 7D and getting a 5DmkII be any better? That way I would have FF and crop bodies. I would really like to sell both and get a 1DmkIV for it's all round use/quality.

I'm sure I will need some speedlites as well. I don't even own a flash at present. :|
 
I don't know much about the Canon line-up so my comments are based on general experience.

Definitely get a 50mm f/1.8 for the low light stuff.
A flash would also be a solid investment.
I can't see the 100-400 having much use in editorial type work if you're not doing sports but a 70-200mm is often a workhorse.
There's also the 24-70mm range which many seem to hardly remove from their cameras. But it's not cheap so figure out where your priority lies in focal length and satisfy those needs first.

As for FF. It's a tough one with Canon because I know the 7D has the fast af, frame rate and more rugged build quality but the 5DmkII has greater ISO range which could be very beneficial. Doing press you'll need two bodies but you'll have time to step up to that over the next few years.

Definitely don't buy any lenses that limit you to a crop sensor because you're obviously thinking of heading that way.

Don't over spend in one go. Work your way up and build your kit up as you do, but obviously there's a minimum which you need to acquire to get the job done.
 
The 'usual' kit seems to be 16-35/f2.8 and 70-200/f2.8 IS and two 1D (or 1Ds perhaps) bodies - one lens on each body - and a flash. Rather than buying a 5D I guess another 1D body would be a better bet.
 
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Standard press kit is something along the lines of:

2x 1 series bodies
16-35
24-70
70-200
all at f/2.8

add in a couple of 580s and you're good to go.

That's Canon of course, but the Nikon equivalent would be basically the same.

You don't need any of that though. Keep shooting and see what you come up against, and what you need to get the shots you want. Everyone shoots in a different style after all.

I do a small amount of that kind of work, and 99% of the time find my 24-70 and 70-200 are more than enough. I also have a 15mm fisheye and a 50 1.8 in the bag.

The 50mm has hardly come out of the bag in the last year though as I can happily snap away at 6400 ISO with my 1D, and it's not often I need f/1.8 kind of depth of field.
 
Jayst84 said:
Standard press kit is something along the lines of:

2x 1 series bodies
16-35
24-70
70-200
all at f/2.8

add in a couple of 580s and you're good to go.

That's Canon of course, but the Nikon equivalent would be basically the same.

You don't need any of that though. Keep shooting and see what you come up against, and what you need to get the shots you want. Everyone shoots in a different style after all.

I do a small amount of that kind of work, and 99% of the time find my 24-70 and 70-200 are more than enough. I also have a 15mm fisheye and a 50 1.8 in the bag.

The 50mm has hardly come out of the bag in the last year though as I can happily snap away at 6400 ISO with my 1D, and it's not often I need f/1.8 kind of depth of field.
Click to expand...

That's about it to start with.

I have the same 2 Pro bodies + 'Holy Trinity' with the 24-70 and 70-200 being the mainstays (and an older 17-35 taking the place of the 14-24 as I prefer it to the newer lens), plus a 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.4 and a 16mm f/2 Fisheye, all three of which get significantly less use, but are there if I need them.
 
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