Going to buy 5D Mark II - which lens?

[natek313]

For the most part, I agree with the recommendations of the 24-70mm f/2.8L and 70-200mm f/2.8L. However, those come with pretty heft price tags. But, there are faster lenses that will deliver the goods.

I own the 85mm f/1.8 USM, and I really enjoy it for portraits. The focal length is a little on the longer side, so group shots wouldn't be the best, but you could very easily do a portrait of a couple with it. It's a great lens - great optics, nice build, fast, and reasonably priced. What more could you ask for?

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

It also does things that neither the 50D or 7D can do: super high resolution, better high-iso characteristics, shallower DoF.

This may be a dumb question, but how does the camera body contribute to a shallower depth of field?

[djotaku]

Originally Posted by natek313

This may be a dumb question, but how does the camera body contribute to a shallower depth of field?

it has to do with sensor size. In the same way that print/viewing size contributes to DoF

[stikywiket]

I've only used one prime before so I'm a little scared of getting a nice one right now. What I'm leaning towards (looks like the 7D is the body)

EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS

Thoughts?

[natek313]

If you're going to narrow it down to those choices, I think I would go with the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens. Since you'll be using it on a cropped sensor, the effective focal lengths will be approximately 27-88mm, which is a nice range.

And, if you have the extra money to spare, you could even pop for the EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens. It's a fast, affordable lens that has good optics. That would definitely serve you well, and it's even faster than the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens.

[stikywiket]

Thanks - I actually just ordered both the 70-200 and the 17-55... I could wait no more. I heard a lot of great things about that 50, so I suppose it's next on my list - thanks for reminding me! To start off I also got the 580 EX II speedlite, an extra battery, and a softbox with the notch taken out of it to help not block the sensor. I hope I made wise choices... it's like starting from scratch. I still need to figure out a remote - wired or wireless... other than that, I'm not sure that I need anything else immediately, unless someone has a suggestion on that too!

Thanks to all for being super helpful.