Which Lens

Justin1971

Justin1971

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Justin
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Apologies if this has been asked before but....

I'm looking to get a new lens for my Canon 600D (which will soon be upgraded to a 5dmkiii or a 6d) and am in a bit of a dilema. Max budget is £600 and am currently looking at two:

Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 EX DG IF HSM (around maximum budget of £600)
or
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM (around £460)

Main reason for buying is I'm getting into wedding photography (first one in September) so was thinking the Canon purely for the larger range and thus less lens changes but I do like the idea of the Sigma f2.8 but not so keen on the lack of IS.

Has anybody used these and can reccomend which is best for my requirements.

Just for info I will probably get an EF 70-200 towards the back end of this year (hopefully the f2.8 IS version)
 
Leave the sigma well alone. Get ether canon 24-105 F/4 or a canon 24-70 F/4 IS or the Tamron 24-70 F/2.8 VC (IS)
 
As above, the previous version of the Sigma (Macro non-HSM version) actually got better reviews than the HSM version if I remember correctly. The 24-105mm is a nice lens particularly if you're likely to go full frame sometime soon and it'll leave you more cash to put towards your body upgrade.
 
I've got the 24-105 on a 40d and am chuffed to bits with it, its my most used lens. Although sometimes I find its not wide enough when doing indoor stuff, this won't be so much of an issue on full frame.
 
Thanks for the replies, seems 24-105 L is the way forward then (and saves me around £150 lol).

As mentioned, I will benefit more when I go full frame, but for now It'll suit my 600D just fine (the 600D will be my backup camera when I go full frame).
 
I've just sold my Sigma 24-70 f2.8 HSM as I want to go for the Canon 24-70 f2.8L II. However, the Sigma is a very good lens and is comparable to the 24-105 in IQ (I've got one of those as well) and the AF speed is excellent. I used the Sigma for a wedding last year and the extra stop over the 24-105 was a godsend. The church was very dull and I still had my 5D3 up to around ISO3200-5000 just to get a decent shutter speed of around 1/80-1/125sec. I will say though, the lens is much better on my 5D3 than it is on my 70D which is one of the reasons I decided to make the jump to the Canon MkII. Most of the reviews I read, and after testing both the HSM and non HSM version personally, found the HSM version to be sharper, faster to AF and accurate. I also tested the two Sigma's against the Canon 24-70 f2.8L MkI and found the Sigma HSM to be very close in IQ and AF speed and accuracy to the Canon but it was around £300 cheaper than the Canon and I didn't have enough money at the time.

The 24-105 f4L IS is a good all rounder. It gives very good IQ on both crop and full frame and is a great focal length for both. I'd say it's better overall than the Sigma apart from the fact it can't go to f2.8. It's a great performer outdoors in good light and also great indoors with a speedlite. I took the 24-105 to an allday gig in London last year and the lighting at the venue was almost non existant. I aasked and was allowed to use flash and got some great photos from the day. Three out of five of the bands have since been in touch and asked if they could use my shots for promo work and one of the bands has asked if I could do some studio work this year for an album cover so the lens can't be that bad. For me a 24-105 f2.8 IS would be the perfect lens but sadly it's not to be.

Either lens would suit you well, I sold my Sigma yesterday for £355 so you can definitely get it within your budget, also you can get the 24-105 from around £450 second hand so you should have no problems getting either. You really need to consider the FL and the extra stop if you're getting into shooting weddings though.
 
I agree that the f2.8 would be better for dark churches / night shots etc but I do have a 50mm f1.8 prime if that situation occurs situation and will be better on FF as it's currently at 80 on my crop body (just means I'd have to use my legs more lol)

I do have a 430EXII speedlight which will eventually be upgraded to the 600EX RT (again, the 430 will be for backup)

The place this wedding is in is a light airy room and they only want a half day shoot so shouldn't need f2.8 really. This time next year I will be investing in a EF70-200 f2.8 L IS II USM (pricey but in my opinion worth the investment) so this will help a lot for low light images.

I still think I'll opt for the Canon for now but thanks anyway.
 
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ok, as modchild has mentioned above, he says I can get a Canon 24-105 for £450 second hand.
However, there are a lot on ebay (from shops with high positive feedback) selling them for around the £460-£480 price brand new!
I always like to buy new rather than s/h where I can but don't want to end up with a crappy fake (I know there was a big surge of these in recent years)

Would you say these are mostly legit or would you stay clear? Is there anything I should be asking the sellers to check their authenticity?

Thanks,
Justin
 
Hi Justin, I've not looked for a long while at the price of the 24-105 and I'm quite surprised at how low they've dropped. Try and avoid the lenses from Hong Kong or China etc as chances are there'll be some customs charges / import duty to pay upon delivery. If you can find one that's sent from the UK like this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Canon-EF-...=UK_Lenses_Filters_Lenses&hash=item19d779825b you should be fine. They have a lot of positive feedback for large value photographic items so chances are they're legit.

The only other thing to think about is the warranty, chances are the ones on ebay are 'grey imports' and you might end up with some problems getting any warranty work done by Canon and you never know how long ebay sellers are around these days. I've had my 24-105 for over 2 years though and never had any problems with it whatsoever, it's up to you if you want to take the risk but if I was in your position I'd be a bit wary. I bought a lens recently from ebay and it arrived damaged and it took me a long time to get a replacement but everything came good in the end.
 
Funny you should mention that seller - that's the one I'm watching at the moment - 100% positive feedback on stuff like 5dmkiii & 6d kit lens packages so hopefully should be a good buy.

Is it really as good as the reviews (the lens). I will be purchasing next month (around 19th Feb) and am quite excited about it (even though it will only be on my crop 600D for now).
 
It is a damn good lens and well worth that price. I've just ordered a Canon 24-70 f2.8L II this morning and managed to get it without having to sell my 24-105 (I was going to sell the 24-105 and Sigma 24-70 f2.8 to get it) as it's such a good lens. On both my 70D and 5D3 it gives me excellent IQ and I'm going to try the 24-105 on my Eos M when I get the chance. If it's as good on the M as it is on the DSLR's then I might just leave the lens in the M's bag for a while and get some more use out of it.
 
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