From the readers is a new category of articles I am working on. As a blogger, I get daily emails about what gear one should buy or how to do X thing. Since the answer to these questions is generally of public interest, I have decided to turn them into articles. If you have any questions you would like answered, feel free to contact me.
Of all the lenses related question touching the 5DmrkII, one that keeps coming up is What should I do with the kit 24-105L4IS? I receive questions about this lens at least once a week and it is a popular topic in forums as well. While I cant provide a straight answer that will hold true for all readers, I think I can give you some interesting pointers.
First, lets see why people have this lens in the first place. Most of the time, it is because it is a popular kit lens. After doing some maths, a lot of prospective buyers saw that if they bought the 5DMrkII kit and sold the lens, they could save some money over the body only box. Proud of their calculation, these fine accountants rush to the store and get the kit then realize how hard it is to sell the 20-104L4IS at their expected price.
Why? Supply and demand. While the 24-105LIS is a great lens (more on this later), too many people did the 5D kit thing and now want to sell theirs too, pushing the price down. While this lens used to worth about the same as the 24-70L, it is now advertised on Craigslist at around 900$ or lower.
But, why people want to sell the lens? Is there something wrong with it? Is there something better for the price? Actually, for its price, the 24-105LIS is an incredible lens. While the f4 aperture might be a bit small for photography work, it is perfect for video. The image quality is very good for still and even better for video and the huge zoom range means that it is a great do it all lens. Add IS to the list and you get a very decent lens for photo and near perfect for all around video. I have shot a few clips with a 24-105 hand held and it worked way better than I expected thanks to its IS. If you dont remember how useful IS can be for video, check this old clip.
So, if it is so great, why so many for sale? From my personal experience, I can see three reasons:
- As mentioned above, they think they can turn a quick profit.
- They realize (a bit too late) they need a wider aperture lens for their shooting style.
- They follow the herd and forum trolls without even giving the lens a real try.
Last night, I was discussing with a few other cinephotographers about how people (mostly converted photographers) want to shoot video wide open while they would get much better results by using a small aperture. Unless your storytelling requires strong subject isolation, an aperture of f4-5.6 is fine for most CU and medium shots.
Let say that you really need a lens with wider aperture. What could one get for selling the lens? While the choice is quite easy for most photographer, since they will pull some more cash out of their wallet and go with the 24-70L2.8, for videographers there are a lot of other options. A popular choice is to go with a Canon 50mm f1.4
What ever you do, make sure you dont overlap the focal range and that you are getting at least two stops of light in exchange. Also think about the complication involved in a multi-lens kit. Switching lens in the middle of a shoot is not practical, even more so when shooting in a dusty environment.
I just finished reading this post and I am not sure if I managed to clear the situation of just put more confusion into the mix. If I did so, sorry! The general idea behind this post was to show how great the 24-105 is and how hard it is to replace such a versatile tool.
Post publication edit: as stated in the comments, I screwed up and invented 2 lenses… lens models corrected now to reflect current Canon offering!
After reading Dan post (a while ago) about wide angle lenses with wide aperture, it got me thinking. While I have been happy with my 17-40L4
Before going into the list of available options, I think it is worth looking at the effect of wide aperture on wide lenses. After all, the goal of this exercise is to find a wide angle lens that will give us some control over DoF. As we all know, a wide aperture allows more light into the camera which allow us to shoot in lower light which is always good. The other result of aperture is too control the depth of field (DoF), which is another familiar concept. The thing you might not be aware of is how hard it is to get a shallow DoF when shooting ultra wide.
For most of us, this is a good thing because it allows us to shoot in low light without having to worry about keeping the subject in focus. But what happen when you need to shoot wide and want a shallow DoF? Lets look at some numbers.
This one might be obvious to many but it just saved me about 100$ so I thought it would be a good idea to share my experience.
Two weeks ago, my 50mm f1.4
Lucky for me, I remembered that I bought the lens with my credit card (VISA) and it had an extended warranty feature which doubles any warranty up to another year. I quickly called the insurance company to confirm and it seems like everything is fine! Only have a #$%#$ form to fill.
Of course it is going to take forever to repair but at least it will be free. I suggest you check if your cards provide the same coverage, it was free and worth it!
The sad part of the story is that I will have to use the 50mmf1.8 for filming for the next few weeks which I already foresee as a real pain.
Tired of always answering the same question in every forum I go to, I have decided to make a blog post about it…
So you want to get a 70-200 lens but dont know which one to buy? Should it be the 70-200Lf4
To answer these questions, I would ask two others. Read the rest of this entry »
This is a repost from my old blog. It was one of the most visited page and since I keep seeing people asking the same question over and over again, I think it would be a good idea to forward them here. I have a few more of these posts that I will file under ‘learning the basics’.
Using tools in new ways is an essential skill for the photographer who wants to develop his creativity. In this post, I am going to do a quick exploration of the link between focal length and perspective.
To better appreciate the differences between wide and long lenses, it is important to understand two key principles:
- The focal length of a lens determines the field of view. This number, expressed as an angle, determines the amount of information that is available in the viewfinder / sensor.
- Sensor/negative size is constant. This means that if you get more information in the frame (using a wider lens), all of these elements will take less space on the sensor to make them fit.
Knowing that, if you take two shots of a subject at different lens range (let say 24mm and 70mm) and you want the subject to be the same size in both picture, you will have to be closer to the subject when using the short lens.
Now lets put this into practice! The shot bellow is done using a 24-70f2.8L at its shortest focal length (efl 24mm). Notice how much of the background is visible and the distance between the two pots.
Unless you are very lucky, you have probably noticed that not all your lenses focus perfectly every time. Some might focus a little bit in front of the subject, others a bit behind it. These issues appear mostly when using a long and wide aperture lens such as the 50mm 1.8 (or 1.4) where the depth of field is less than 1cm.
While there might be a few possible cause for this issue (ex: faulty AF on the lens, problem with the body, etc) the most common is a small discrepancy between the lens and its ‘perfect’ version that was supposed to come out of the factory. There is no need to return the lens, it is almost normal for lenses to be a little bit different from each others. This difference make them focus a bit differently while the body is set to work with the ’standard and perfect’ version of the lens. This is why two copies of the same lens might focus differently from each others on the same body, and even differently from one body to the next.
Fortunately for us, manufacturers are aware of this and have taken care of the issue in their pro and semi-pro bodies. This is where the custom function AF Micro adjustment comes into play. This function allows you to correct slight front or back focussing issues for each of your lenses. People generally refer to this operation as ‘lens calibration’. It used to be quite a chore because of the lack of tools to support the process but now it can be done in less than 2-3 minutes per lenses.
This article was first posted on my older photography blog. Since I am going to reuse the domain for something else, I will slowly move the most useful articles over here.
So you are at the store, you have the money in hand, you know what you want and even the spouse agreed that you need a new lens. Yet, you cannot make up your choice between the three lenses the guy has put on the counter. They all have the same aperture, same zoom range and about the same price. Which one should you pick?
Some times, the devil is in the details. In this article, we are going to look at all the small features that might swing your vote from one lens to the other.
Circular Aperture
Circular aperture means that when you are shooting at very small aperture (ex: f/22), the aperture remains circular instead of going hex/octa/decagonal. This is mostly visible on bright circular subjects like the sun or street lights when shooting at night. It is a very important feature for night and landscape photographers because it gives the light sources an unnatural shape.
Non rotating front element
This feature is only available on zoom lenses and it allows the front element to keep its orientation while zooming. This means that if you put a filter on your lens, it will stay in the same position no matter how much you zoom in or out. This is mandatory when using gradient filters so the dark part remains in the upper part of the frame.
Constant length / internal focusing
When zooming or focusing, the front element of some lenses moves back and forth. This might seem like a small thing but it can get down right annoying when you want to take macro shots and the bug fly away each time the front element gets too close. Also, as time passes by, the lens gets looser and the front element might start to slide in or out without you doing anything. Some people also see this as a way for dust to get inside the lens. Constant length lenses keep their size what ever is happening.
Weather sealing
You camera might not be weather sealed but it is still reassuring to know that your lens has some protection when it is accidentally splashed or when you really want to take a shot and there is a small rain. There are two levels of weather sealing for Canon lenses. Click here for a full list of all Canon weather sealed lenses.
Big fat zoom / focus ring
No mater the size of your fingers, having big rings means that you can make small adjustments without your eye having to leave the view finder or fearing that your finger will hit the front lens element.
Focus distance switch
The goal of these switches is to constrain the minimal focusing distance to a certain range. This can be useful to prevent the lens from focusing on objects close by, but it is mostly useful to speed up focusing when shooting at objects in the longer range.
Tripod collar ring
I always thought that all lenses that could be mounted on a tripod came with a tripod so I was quite surprised when I saw that my macro lens (100mm f/2.8 Macro
Now that my rant is over, I find it very convenient that my lens could be mounted directly on the tripod instead of having to mount the camera. First it allows a better weight balance then it makes it easier to move from landscape to portrait mode.
Conclusion
None of the features above should be seen as a deal breaker, but if you are torn between two equivalent lenses from two manufacturers, it is a good idea to look at these features and see which lens has the ones you might need.
This question has been asked to me so many times that I decided to make an ‘official’ list that I can refer people to the next time the question pops up in a forum.
Before going to the list, you have to know that the weather sealing of the Canon 5DMrkII is marginal. Unfortunately, it is not as good as the pro series, Nikon or Pentax. Still, it is better than nothing and if you are careful it should be enough for most situation. The first time I had to trust it, I was a bit scared but now I am not afraid to pull my camera out in light rain.
Lenses in italic are rumored to have some level of weather protection but this protection is not endorsed by Canon. So trust at your own risk!
- Canon EF 16-35mm/2.8L USM
- Canon EF 16-35mm/2.8L II USM
- Canon EF 17-40mm/4L USM
- Canon EF 24-70mm/2.8L USM
- Canon EF 24-105mm/4L IS USM
- Canon EF 70-200mm/4L IS USM
- Canon EF 70-200mm/2.8L IS USM
- Canon EF 28-300mm/3.5-5.6L IS USM
- Canon EF 50mm 1.2L USM
- Canon EF 85mm 1.2L II USM
- Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM
- Canon EF 300mm/2.8L IS USM
- Canon EF 400mm/2.8L IS USM
- Canon EF 400mm/4DO IS USM
- Canon EF 500mm/4L IS USM
- Canon EF 600mm/4L IS USM
- Canon EF 800mm/5.6L IS USM
So you got your 5D MarkII and now you want to save some money on lenses. Great, make sure you read this post about the cost/benefits of doing so first. Here is a short list of the best value lenses.
Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6
If you want to go wide without using a fisheye, this is your only alternative. Very popular for architecture, landscape and street shooters. Be aware that sharpness used to vary a lot in older models so you better get it new.
Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8
At a fraction of the cost of the 24-70 from Canon, this lens is a real bargain for such a good performer. Dont let the low price fool you, this lens offers an exceptional value!
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8
A bit wider than the Tamron version. Get this one, the 12-24 and a 70-200 and you have everything covered in a set of 3 lenses for (almost) the price of a single L glass. Not bad!
Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8
A very good alternative to the Canon model for half the price. Everything on this lens is on par with its competitor except focussing speed and size. So it should be more interesting for videographers than photographers.
Sigma 20mm f/1.8
Cheapest wide prime lens you can get! I really see a lot of use for this lens for videophotographer.
Tamron AF 90mm f/2.8 Macro
Of all the lenses in this list, this one has to be the biggest underdog. Everyone I know who uses this lens is happy about it. It is a very nice alternative to the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
I am sure there are other gems hidden out there. I just reviewed the lenses I have personally played with. If you feel that I missed something, feel free to add it to the comments below!
Andrew Howe suggested the Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD VC
For the budget conscious photographer looking for new lenses, there is a solution: third party manufacturers.
In fact, it surprises me that we don’t hear about them more often. They offer nice products and when you take into account that they cost half the price of the “official” ones, it is worth investigating.
So let’s see what they are all about.
Things you lose when moving away from Canon
Focus speed
The biggest advantage of Canon lenses over third party ones is not as much the image quality as the Ultrasonic motor (USM). As a generalization, we can state that all Sigma and Tamron lenses are slower to focus than their USM powered counterparts.
How much of a problem is this? It depends. If you are mostly shooting static subject or you are in a controlled environment, you couldn’t care less. On the other hand anything related to sport or wildlife photography requires instant focusing.
In either case, if you are planning to use the lens mostly for cinephotography, it should not be an issue since you will use the manual focus anyway.In this case, just make sure the focusing ring rotation is smooth and fluid.
Internal focusing/zooming
This is one of these things that you don’t notice until it is gone. Basically, it prevent the front of the lens to rotate or moves when you zoom or focus. While this might not seem like a big issue, it is quite important when you are using grad filters. It is a small annoyance when taking pictures, but a big deal when shooting movies. So according to your need you might want to watch this carefully.
Built quality
Canon might charge a premium for its lenses but at least a small part of it is spent toward better quality material. While a plastic enclosure might not have an effect on the quality of the picture, it has a better resistance to shock and scratches. Also, from personal experience I can say that I have never seen a broken metal lens while I have seen countless plastic ones which had a defect of some sort.
While most high end third party lenses have a very good built quality, it is just not as good as the one from Canon. I am thinking here about weather sealing (water and dust). But then again, unless you are planning to drop your lens on the ground, it should not be that much of an issue!
Image quality
Yes, it is true, generally speaking third party lens image quality is lower than the Canon equivalent model. How much lower? It depends. In some case there is not much differences and for others, it is drastic. This is why I created a list of premium third party lens (coming very soon!). While the lenses on this list might not have all the bling and coolness of their Canon counter part, they have identical (or better!) image quality which make them great buys.
If you are going to use the lens for video, lens sharpness is not as important since the resolution of the video is far from the maximum glass resolving power. You should be more interested in how color are rendered, vignetting and contrast.
Things you gain when moving away from Canon
Better warranty
Only god knows why, but Tamron warranty is much better than the one provided by Canon. Typical Tamron warranty lasts 6 years for the pro line, Canon: 1 year, enough said. Having some issues right now with my 100mm f/2.8 Macro
More money in your pocket
3rd party lenses are cheap, how cheap? Most of the time you can get an equivalent lens for about 50% of the Canon version. For the photographer on a budget (who isn’t?) this is incredible, especially if the lens fit the required task. Some would say going third party allow you to save half of your money, I prefer to say that it allows you to have twice as many lenses!
Broader choice of lenses
Since Canon does not cover every focal length, there are some interesting focal gaps that have been exploited by third party manufacturers. The most popular of these being the Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6
Final verdict
Be careful, there are a lot of sub quality third party lenses available. If you are interested to go that route, you need to make sure that you buy the ones that compare favorably to their Canon counterparts. This is even truer for Canon 5D MRkii users since lens defects are magnified when used with a full frame camera.
Fortunately for our readers, I have already compiled a list of best “best” third party lenses which should be published very soon. Stay tuned and prepare your credit card!
