What to consider with body when buying lens?

[haka1a]

Hello,

I'v been wondering for a while what is it that people asks what body do you have when others ask for good lens.

What is specifically the reason and what to look into with body when choosing a lens?
Is it only the sensor size and then they just tell what lens had good points or is there something else like does crop rates and other more technical specifications make differences how lenses work?

I haven't seen any thread or tutorial that concerns this matter and there seems to be alot of people wondering the same cause the same question repeats itself in alot of places.

Haka1a

[RichardTaylor]

If it is a full frame body it means EF lenses only, or third party equivalent.
If it is a crop body then it can also take EF-S lenses, or third party equivalent.

Also it's handy to know when considering shooting distances and angle of view etc.
ie 24mm on a full frame body is pretty wide where on a crop body it is just wide.

[haka1a]

Well that helps too but what i ment was more specific like people speaks it is different "good" lenses for 500d and for 6d and so on and those are both crop bodies so whats the point in that?

[gturner]

There isn't, people just don't know how to ask the question and don't know what qualities make one lens better than another.
Understanding aperture numbers is the main thing I see.

[Rentham]

It depends on what you are doing with photography. If you are just taking snapshots of your kids at the beach and your family at the bbq, the variable aperture kit lenses are fine. Otherwise, you should invest in pro gear. My philosophy is to buy good lenses first, then upgrade bodies. I had three L lenses before I upgraded from my Rebel. I'll use those lenses on every body I ever own.

What makes a good lens? For me, it has to be 2.8 or faster. I don't mess around with the EF-S stuff, although I'm sure that line has some nice items. All the lenses I buy have to work with full frame and crop. Where reasonable, I opt for the L-series lenses. The exceptions are the 50mm and 85mm focal lengths where I just can't afford the f/1.2 versions yet.

[veritasimagery]

Originally Posted by RichardTaylor

If it is a full frame body it means EF lenses only, or third party equivalent.
If it is a crop body then it can also take EF-S lenses, or third party equivalent.

Also it's handy to know when considering shooting distances and angle of view etc.
ie 24mm on a full frame body is pretty wide where on a crop body it is just wide.

Now, I was just reading through a recent "Digital Photo Pro" magazine that had an article on all the Pro-Body cameras, and they said that the 5D is actually not a full-"Full Frame" and can accept the entire line of EF lenses, including the EF-S ones. Here's what they said:

"And you can shoot video as well as still images with the full wide range of EOS lenses."

On both the 1D MkIV and 1D MkIII they specifically said that they couldn't use the EF-S lenses.

"Being a full-frame camera, the EOS-1D Mark III can't use Canon EF-S lenses..."
"With a sensor midway between APS-C and full-frame, the Mark IV can't use the small-sensor EF-S lenses."

Now I'm confused. I thought the 5D was a full-frame camera.

Kevin
Veritas Imagery NW

[inkista]

The 5D (and 5DMkII) are full frame cameras. They cannot use EF-S lenses, either.

The main reason we'd ask what camera body you're shooting with has to deal with a few practical factors.

1) Full frame vs. crop body changes the field of view of a specific lens. What is wide on the former can be more like normal on the other. The usage of the lens can change pretty drastically depending on this. For example, the 24-105 I had on my 50D was a slightly-wide to telephoto lens. On my 5Dii, it's now a very-wide to short telephoto. Nobody ever tells you to do the math backwards, but having a 24-105 on full frame, is like having a 15-65 on a crop body.

17mm on full frame and crop has vastly different FoVs:


Also, EF-S lenses can only be used on crop bodies. If someone is planning on going to full frame in the near future, or wants to share the lens across crop and full frame, then we want to avoid giving EF-S recommendations.

2) Budget. If someone owns an xD or xxD body vs. an xxxD or xxxxD body, the chances are better that they have a larger budget and more experience (although, obviously, not always). People often don't tell you what budget they have for a lens, and you have to guess. While I might still throw out an L recommendation to someone with an entry-level body, I'd probably also add at least one lower-cost alternative. To someone who already has a full frame and a bunch of pro glass, not so much.

3) On the Nikon side of the fence, there's another demarcation line, which is the point at which the bodies get a focus motor in it. This affects lens recommendations, because if the person asking needs autofocus for what they want to shoot, but they have an entry-level body, then you only want to recommend AF-S lenses for them, or warn them that an AF lens won't autofocus.

[veritasimagery]

Originally Posted by inkista

The 5D (and 5DMkII) are full frame cameras. They cannot use EF-S lenses, either.

So, the article is a bit misleading. Hmmm.

So here's another lens question. On my T3i with either the EF-S 18-55 or EF-S 55-250 I have noticed that what I see in the viewfinder (not the LCD) ends up actually being a smaller (cropped) image than what shows up on the LCD. This is quite frustrating with composition because I end up with more "space" in the shot then I intended. Is this due to the EF-S "kit" lenses? And would that change if I were using the other EF lenses?

Kevin
Veritas Imagery NW

[Rentham]

Per the T3i specs, the viewfinder provides 95% coverage.

[veritasimagery]

Originally Posted by Rentham

Per the T3i specs, the viewfinder provides 95% coverage.

So, it's a built in "error". Ugh. You would have thought that Canon would make sure that what you see in the viewfinder is actually what you are shooting, composition wise.

Thanks.