help with lens

[panthrcat]

Hello all! I know it's been a long time since I have been around, it's been crazy busy with work, renovations and life. but I thought of you with this dilema I have now,, I have $2000.00 saved now, and am in the market for a new lens,, I want one that'll be great for portraits, low lighting, and birds,, and am leaning towards the Canon 70-200 L f/2.8,, what are your thoughts on that? do you think there is another lens that would be better or as good as this lens? I'm hoping to purchase one this week. any help sure would be appreciated!!

Sue

[panthrcat]

or perhaps this lens,, this might be a better choice

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[finnbay]

I will always recommend the 70-200. It is one of the best all-purpose lenses that there are.

[OutlawTorn]

24-70 will be workable for portraits but a little on the short end, unless its groups youre photographing. To minimize distortion, youll want to stay at least 6-8 ft away from your subject and 70mm, especially on ff, does not allow for very tight portraits at all at this distance. Of course, it will also definitely be too short for birds.

70-200's are good choices especially for portraits and general mid-length photography. However, this will also be too short for birds except in very controlled situations (blind on your deck next to your feeder).

What other lenses do you have? Where do they fall short?

[JayinMN]

The Canon 55-250 IS got a good review by another forum member and you would still have a lot of money left over.

http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubb...or_#Post2264668

[Dbl]

I have $2000.00 saved now, and am in the market for a new lens,, I want one that'll be great for portraits, low lighting, and birdsSue

You are not asking for much are you Sue There is a reason folks carry a bag full of lenses around! There is no one "perfect" lens for all of your stated purposes. The 70-200 is a nice portrait lens, It is my most used for just that reason. A lens that has an aperture of 1.8 or faster is nice for low light and any lens that gets you out past 300mm will be best for wildlife.

As you can see it would be great if you could buy a f1.8 50-400 fast focusing zoom...but you can't. So I would encourage you to take a hard look at what your current priorities are. Once you start to see what you will shoot and how important it is to be able to have a lens that will work for that purpose you can start to narrow things down a bit.

Again no easy answers, it is hard for anyone to tell another you should get "x" lens unless you have a very specific use in mind. That all being said I agree with Ken on the 70-200 being a great all purpose lens that will never hurt being in your bag.

[panthrcat]

I will respond better later on, right now I"m just about to dash out the door, but wanted to address the issue of what I already own,, 100-400L f/4.5, 50mm f/1.4, 28-135mm IS f/3.5 (the last one I want to replace, it's not a real good lens. I am after a fast lens for low light,,

[OutlawTorn]

I will respond better later on, right now I"m just about to dash out the door, but wanted to address the issue of what I already own,, 100-400L f/4.5, 50mm f/1.4, 28-135mm IS f/3.5 (the last one I want to replace, it's not a real good lens. I am after a fast lens for low light,,

Youve really got your bird lens covered with the 100-400 unless you want to shell out the big bucks for a long prime and I think youll be sorely disappointed with f2.8 on the 24-70 or 70-200 if youre expecting low light performance anywhere close to your 50 1.4.

If I were you, I would sell off that 28-135 and pick up a 15-85 if you have a crop body or a 24-105 on full frame. Use whats left to pick up some more primes for your low light/portrait use. The 85 1.8, 100 2.8 macro, or the 135 f2 come to mind first. Of these, the 100 macro jumps to mind first because of its IQ and flexibility. If theres anything left, a 430/580 ex flash is a great idea.

Good luck!

[Steve Foss]

Sue, you are shooting a 1.6 crop sensor if I remember correctly. The 40D? The 50D?

If so, for the $2,000 you've got saved you can have it all.

Sell the 28-135. Buy on the used market (POTN is the best Canon online classifieds):

1. Tamron 17-50 f2.8. Designed specifically for 1.6 crop sensor. Tack sharp, fast focusing, fast aperture. Tamron's best wide angle lens for $, IMO). About $325

2. Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS (Mk 1). About $1,500

3. Canon 1.4 TC Mk2. About $250

As mentioned the 100-400 is your bird and wildlife lens unless you want to shell out money for the 500 f4 or 600 f4, which isn't in the budget, probably. The 100-400 also is an excellent all around zoom for many, many things. I used mine for portraits all the time outdoors. The zoom flexibility is underrated for birds/wildlife, but in some situations is crucial.

The 70-200 needs little said about it. It's been one of Canon's most successful pro lenses for a long time, and for good reason. You will LOVE this lens. Great for action, also a dynamite portrait lens.

The Tammy is a well-kept secret. I shot one on my 1.6 crop sensors and it was excellent. Fast enough for your indoor sports needs.

The TC goes on the 70-200 when you need a little more muscle. You can put it on the 100-400, but IQ suffers too much, IMO, and you're limited to f8 as your widest aperture and with no autofocus unless you're using a "1" series body.

Don't worry about not having the range between 50mm and 70mm covered. It's not a tremendously necessary range for most photographers, and there's never anything wrong with zooming with your feet.

[panthrcat]

oh boy what to do,,, what to do!! thank you all for your advice and opinions,, I have a few things I want to look for in the city tomorrow, I hope I can find the shops quickly as we may be pressed for time. I'm liking the 70-200 but not 100% sold as yet... I'll let you know when I come home tomorrow what I bought, perhaps with some images to share too!!

[panthrcat]

well, I'm back,, here's what I bought,, a Canon EF 24-70 L f/2.8 with a Hoya UV filter.

I haven't had a chance really to play, it's been a long day,, just wanted to let you all know how much I appreciate your help and comments,, oh, I also had a Canon 70-200 L f/4 on my camera today, I almost bought it, but like the wide angle feature to this lens, I dunno, I hope I did good. :-)

[Dbl]

Good luck with the new lens, make sure you post some shots when you get the chance.

[panthrcat]

I almost bought the Markll yesterday,, they have them on sale,, I had to back away slowly. lol