Help on the most versatile lense.

[Sejeeee]

I own a Canon 500D and was wondering was type of canon lense would the most versatile.
The areas i am keen on shooting is sports, water sports (from behind a boat and only in shallows) and indoor sports. I also love to take landscape photos, so a wide angled lense would be preferable. I don't mind about price, I can save if needed.
Help would be greatly appreciated as i am still trying to learn lenses and whats best for what.
Oh, and any brand is fine but I'm pretty sure canon lenses are best for quality.
Thanks,
Cj

[RichardTaylor]

The most versatile as far as focal length, range goes, will be a superzoom like an 18-200/250/275. However they tend to have fairly small maximum apertures, not great IQ, and can be slow to focus).
They can be fair for landscapes (if 18mm is wide enough for you) if used F8-F11+

For outdoor sports they will not be good (mainly because of slow focussing) and for indoor sports they will be awful, mainly because of the small maximum aperture.
(I own a Tamron 18-250 superzoom)

In line with your existing lenses;
For the landscapes I would think wide (12-24 or 10-22 etc)
I own a Tokina 12-24

For outdoor sport I would consider a Canon 100-400 F4.5-F5.6 IS L which is a very versatile good light lens. It will give you a lot of reach and good IQ. I own one.

For indoor sport F2.8 is really the minimum and F2 is a lot better.
If you want a zoom then the 70-200 F2.8 L would be the way to go and for a bit more general purpose flexibility get the IS version (although that will not help much with sports) I don't own one.

The other alternative is a fast prime, or 2. Like an Canon 85 F1.8 or 100 F2 or a 135 F2L (I own a 85 F1.8 and the 135 F2 but do not use them for indoor sport.)

[Sejeeee]

Thank you for the in depth response!
Is the Tokina 12-24 good?
Would a Canon 24-105 L be good for the outdoor sports and and landscapes?
Or is it better to get a few lenses each for each different subject I take?

[RichardTaylor]

The Tokina 12-24 is a good lens. I am happy with mine even though it is the first version
The Canon 10-22 may be a bit better.

I own a Canon 24-105 F4 L and use it on a 5D it makes for a great general purpose combination, including landscapes.
On a crop camera probably not wide enough for some landscapes (but would be ok with a 12-24 as well) and maybe a bit short for sports.
It all depend how close you can get to the action.
It is a good lens.

Three zoom lenses will will cover most good light shooting needs.

(1)
10/12-22/24 Ultra wide for the landscapes, street and architecture, as well as shooting when space is tight.

(2)
A "standard zoom" for almost everything, except when you can't get close to your subject.

(3)
A long zoom 70/100-300/400 for good light wildlife, sports, landcapes etc. Some if these lenses can be very versatile.

See this thread re the 100-400
Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens

A 70-200 makes for a good long zoom for general purpose shooting if you don't need the extra reach.

You may need a fast prime or two, if shooting in low light or for portraits etc, however these don't necessarily have to be spe******ed lenses.

[Sejeeee]

thanks for all the help!
i shall go looking around, might even rent a few lenses and test them out

[Michael_2010]

I think we all go through this thought process at one time or another. A good lens represents a pretty sizable investment and we don't want to take that plunge then feel like we goofed.

Right now I am having a bad case of lens lust and want a really good piece of glass to round out my setup. This week I am leaning toward getting the Canon 24-105 in the not too distant future. My logic for this decision is that I prefer shooting outdoors in a variety of conditions. If this hobby should lead me in the direction of low light, staged settings in the future, I think I could pick up some primes that would work well.

Does that sound logical?

[RichardTaylor]

@Michael_2010

I know I didn't give it enough thought. Should have purchased good lenses straight up front instead of buying cheaper and then upgrading latter. It sort of grew like topsy.. Buying a lens that is a lot of money is a huge step. But I am happy now.

Re the 24-105. See my previous post.
If I only had a crop body, I would consider the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, for general purpose outdoor shooting, mainly because of the focal length range and that it is USM (I don't own one). But if you all ready have an ultra wide angle zoom the 24-105 would be a good choice.

The 124-105 F4 IS lens is ok for hand held low light city shots but is starting to push it for stage shows etc as F4 is really not fast enough.

(1) Hand held from our 2008 vacation.

Camera Canon EOS 5D
Exposure 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture f/4
Focal Length 24 mm
ISO Speed 1600

(2) and again (also hand held).

Camera Canon EOS 5D
Exposure 0.1 sec (1/10)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 47 mm
ISO Speed 1600

For low light shooting where you may need a faster shutter speed, primes are definately the way to go.

I have a Canon 24mm F2.8, 35mmF2, 50mm F1.8 (which doesn't see a lot of use), 85 F1.8 (which I probably shouldn't have purchased) and the 135mm F2 L which is my favourite, but not most used lens.

With the 135 F2 It is not just for the low light shooting but shooting wide open at F2 can do wonders for your pics.

From an indoor concert last sunday

Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture f/2.0
Focal Length 135 mm
ISO Speed 1600
Exposure Bias -2/3 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

(4) From last wed week. It is spring here.


Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture f/2.0
Focal Length 135 mm
ISO Speed 100

Yes I have dreams of 70-200 F2.8 IS L lenses etc. However I would sooner spend the money on an around the world airline ticket for a vacation, and so would my wife!

[Michael_2010]

Those are extremely impressive hand held shots Richard.

Thus far, I have bought several things that I wish I hadn't. Much better to think it through and save up instead of having a bunch of small regrets that can turn into real money.

I'm having one of those weekends where nothing seems to work as planned. Just when I think I am sharpening my skills, I suddenly can't seem to get sharp focus on anything. It ain't the camera or lenses either. It's me. Maybe my eyes are just getting weaker.....