canon body and lens advice

[nikkkibrew]

hi there, looking for some perspective and advice on a couple of things... i currently use a canon 400d with its standard 17-55mm lens to do my work iv had it for 5yrs now, this is what has worked for me only in the last year have i turned to doing it more than a hobby but this equipment as much as it has served me well i cant push anymore from it mainly on the fact that i know i need new lens!

I am looking into getting some new lens and also looking to upgrade my body as im starting to film so I need something thats credible in both areas, though I am wanting to concentrate on getting my lens first.

Im looking for a macro, wide angle and a zoom sharp crisp that can be used to filming as well. i have been looking at the canon 60mm macro??

I am looking to get a canon 60D iv read up reviews on this against the 7D and there seems to be a debate on the two being almost identical bar price.?? If anyone has any thoughts on this.

I do a lot of band photography and im going into behind the scene and documenting filming interviews etc i also do alot of personal art projects which is why im looking into a macro as its very close up stuff that needs a lot of colour and alot of crisp, fashion portraiture and normal close up portraiture and detailing as well as alot of walkabout and street photography, just so you have a background on what I do. .

All criticism, suggestions and advice welcome as im going loopy looking on my own and need some help and guidance.

Many Thanks and I look forward to reading your views.

[dvtldav]

I can't help you much on the camera bodies but when buying lens look at Tamron, Tokina, & Sigma. These companies make some very good glass, maybe better than Canon for less money.

Dave

[RichardTaylor]

Canon 60mm macro???

I am aware of Canon 50mm, 65mm, 100mm (2) and 180mm macros.

For a wide angle, how wide do you want to go, or do you want a wide angle zoom, if so how wide?

There is a large difference between the 60D and 7D, especially in construction, and focussing ability for moving subjects.

Will you be doing the walkabout and street photography in low light? This will impact on the maximum aperture you may need.

Do you have a budget?

[nikkkibrew]

Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens Review just so you can see from some of the reviews iv seen and sample pictures its quite sharp.

for the walkabout it varies really my canon 17-55mm has done me well and some of the shots iv managed to get from it has been perfect and most of my street stuff has been shot with that lens.... infact all as its the only lens i own alot of that was shot in low light being north east of England its always low light ... but im looking at a wider focal point iv been looking 10mm lens... iv got £2k to spend on lens and bodies, mainly lens, though i don't want to bust it all on one lens.

The main purpose I want from a lens is for it to flexible and adaptable.

Thank you both for your input.

[RichardTaylor]

Thanks.
I wasn't aware of that lens.
That should take care of your portrait, if you are happy using a prime, & very close up needs.

If you want an ultra wide, reasonably fast zoom I would consider the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X (I don;t own one)

Re the camera body.
If you are not shooting sports I would go for the 60D mainly because of the cost.
It will give you better low light performance than your current body.

[nikkkibrew]

I just happened to stubble across the 60mm I didn't know either until a few days ago but from some of the photos iv seen it's going to give me exactly what I want.

Iv just checked out some reviews and images on the Tokina im pretty impressed by them all I may have to take a trip to my local photography shops and have a go on it nice price aswell for a potentially great lens.. thanks for that.

im going to be filming mainly bands, short one to one documentaries I was thinking the 60d as im not that experienced enough to use something like the 7d or 5d etc and from what iv ready it's a good transition for someone like me ill have to go test it out somewhere.

thank you very much for the feed back

[inkista]

I have the EF-S 60, and it's the sharpest lens in my bag. But the working distance is relatively small. As long as you're shooting still objects and not wildlife with it, you should be ok, but the 100 is more general-purpose and doesn't make you maneuver your shadow quite so much. It's also a little sharp and a little slow for portrait work, imho.

For filming, your big problem, really, is going to be that the focusing mechanisms in still image lenses aren't quite as easy to deal with as those for movie cameras when you want to smoothly rack focus and the like. A lot of filmmakers are going with old adapted manual focus lenses because of the larger focus throw and finer control. Any autofocus EF lens will work, but will be fiddlier for when you want to be in manual control of the focus.

The 60D and 7D are not identical. They give very similar image quality, but ergonomically and feature-wise, particularly for fast-action photography, the 7D is a much more capable camera. You should also keep in mind that they share a sensor and processor with the 600D, so if all you're after is image quality, rather than specific usability features, you could go with the T3i/600D as well and have more money for glass.