Lenses in my bag

[rickp1]

Hey guys and gals,
I've been doing some brain storming (which can be dangerous) about the lenses that I have.
First of by no means am I a pro. I'm just someone that really enjoys photography and want to be good at it.
So for some reason I feel like I'm missing a lens or the lens that I have for general all around photography is not quite adequate, I feel (at least in my head) that it's a bit too wide. The lens I'm talking about is the Canon EF-S17-55 f/2.8 IS USM. I feel that even for taking pictures of the family while in the pool again the lens is a bit wide and I'm missing some reach. I know it's great for landscape, just not so sure as general walk around lens.

THe one lens I really felt like it covered all the usefull walk around oportunities is the 28-135mm f/3.5 lens that came with my 50D. But that lens somewhat sucks, not to sugar coat it.

So I'm looking for some advice, is this all in my head or is it a good idea to invest in a lens with a bit more reach for general photograpphy like the 24-70mm or other lens that you guys would recommend.

The other lenses I have in my bag are:
8mm f1.8 prime
70-200mm f2.8 IS USM

So what recommendations would you make to fill the gap if any?

Thanks
R.

[RichardTaylor]

Canon 24-70 F2.8 L (if you want relatively fast)
or
Canon 24-104-F4 IS L (If you want even a bit more reach and IS) - I use one on a 5D

[RolandAA]

The lens that sits on my camera the most is a 24-105 4.0L IS. I think it would fill that gap very nicely

[rickp1]

Ok so this bring up another question for you guys. I like the focal length of the 24-105mm lens but I'm not so sure about the f4.0.
Would you consider that to be a bit too slow?

I've read reviews on these lenses and both are very good.

R

[RolandAA]

Originally Posted by rickp1

Would you consider that to be a bit too slow?

It's plenty fast enough for almost anything except action shots in low light. Because it's 4.0 for the whole zoom range it is only 1 stop slower than the f2.8 lenses and actually generally faster than most zoom lenses because they have a variable f stop and end up being slower than f4 as soon as you start zooming in. The IS on the 24-105 is really effective and lets me take hand held pictures of still objects in light so dim that the 24-70 rolls over and whimpers for a tripod.

I was amazed by the performance of this lens when I visited the museums in Washington DC. I was even able to get pretty good pictures in the National Archive where the lighting is kept extremely low to protect the documents.

[RichardTaylor]

For general purpose shooting F4 is fine = especially when shooting at high ISO.
The IS is worth a couple of stops.
The only downside to the lens is barrel distortion at the wide end especially noticable when shooting buildings etc..

Examples - all available light and hand held.

(1)

Camera: Canon EOS 5D
Exposure: 0.1 sec (1/10)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 47 mm
ISO Speed: 1600
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

(2)

Camera: Canon EOS 5D
Exposure: 0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 40 mm
ISO Speed: 1600
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

(3)

Camera: Canon EOS 5D
Exposure: 0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 1600
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

I do have four fast primes for those times that I may need F2 or faster - however, except for the Canon 135 F2 L, they see very little use.

[rickp1]

Again, thanks for the info.

Richard,
Wow, those are some nice pictures.

Are the L series lenses considered better lenses beause of their build or becuase of better image quality?

I like the lens, and it certanly has positive reviews I just want to make sure I can't do the same thing with one of my other lenses (list is in my first post) since I'm really new at this


R.

[AgBeard]

If I have any Barrel or Pin-Cushion issues with a particular photo & use PTLens to sort it out.

PTLens applies correction via database of camera bodies & lens specs - no hit & miss here!

[donniecs]

I also vote for the Canon 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM, its a great versatile lenses and it mounted to my camera (Canon EOS 7D) more than any other lens. The Canon 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM is probably one of the most popular high end walk around lenses out there. The Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L USM is also a great lenses also but lacks the IS, with the IS on the 24-104 it can basically shoot in the same light conditions as the 24-70. The advantage is that the the 24-105 has a bit more reach and is actually a smaller lens (if I remember right), so thats why I chose it over the 24-70mm.

[RichardTaylor]

@rickp1
Re "L" lenses.
Both + .

Better IQ (especially at the wider apertures), build quality, and faster focussing.
I own four of them, and some consumer lenses..