What's your favorite Canon lens and why?

[Quasimodo]

I have so many favourites... =(

The only one I have is the 135mm f/2
Intend to get the 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II (another favourite) soon though...

also:

200mm f/2 IS
300 f/2.8
100 L macro

Anyone want to donate to the "D.Sim Favourite Lens Collection Fund"? 

You can have my Tokina 17mm, lol. It is stuck on infinity, and the AF does not work. Neither is it supersharp. I bought it used, and was screwed over. On the other hand, I paid so little that I did not bother making a fuzz.

While you dream of the 200 F2.0L IS, I would seriously ask you to consider it to try it before you buy it. Its heavy and bulky, and it comes with what my wife referred to as a beauty bag;). It gives incredible pictures, but I believe that the difference between the image quality of that and the 70-200 F2.8L IS II is minimal and does not justify itself as far as price is concerned (unless you do this for a living, or someone else is picking up the bill).

I see many mentions the 35L. I have never tried it, but I was lucky to observe a professional photographer a month ago while he was shooting some pretty awsome portraits/environmental portraits. It is definitly on my list.

I have to say, after reading many of these posts that I am a bit envious of some of you guys who have owned and still own some 'old school lenses', the FD's.

[D.Sim]

I have so many favourites... =(

The only one I have is the 135mm f/2
Intend to get the 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II (another favourite) soon though...

also:

200mm f/2 IS
300 f/2.8
100 L macro

Anyone want to donate to the "D.Sim Favourite Lens Collection Fund"? 

You can have my Tokina 17mm, lol. It is stuck on infinity, and the AF does not work. Neither is it supersharp. I bought it used, and was screwed over. On the other hand, I paid so little that I did not bother making a fuzz.

While you dream of the 200 F2.0L IS, I would seriously ask you to consider it to try it before you buy it. Its heavy and bulky, and it comes with what my wife referred to as a beauty bag;). It gives incredible pictures, but I believe that the difference between the image quality of that and the 70-200 F2.8L IS II is minimal and does not justify itself as far as price is concerned (unless you do this for a living, or someone else is picking up the bill).

I see many mentions the 35L. I have never tried it, but I was lucky to observe a professional photographer a month ago while he was shooting some pretty awsome portraits/environmental portraits. It is definitly on my list.

I have to say, after reading many of these posts that I am a bit envious of some of you guys who have owned and still own some 'old school lenses', the FD's.

I have tried it... And while its a ridiculous lens, what it is is non other than optical engineering perfection... same goes for the 300 2.8



and I can't believe I forgot to mention the 85 1.2 =O




also the 1200mm bazooka >.>

[decltype]

I'll add a small twist to the Pete Souza quote (at least it's been attributed to him), and say:

"My favorite lens is the one I will buy tomorrow"
 

[koolman]

My favorite canon lens, is the nifty fifty 50 1.8. Its light, inexpensive, and produces great images.

Great walk around lens for my 550d - for close up type shots.

[Gothmoth]

it´s hard to say what is my favourite lens.

from the number of pictures it´s the 70-200mm f2.8.

but then i shoot 95% of all portraits in my home studio with the 85mm f1.2.
 
and for the landscape shootings i never leave home without the 16-35mm.

[GeorgeMaciver]

I'm with V8Beast here, the 24-105 isn't the sharpest lens around, but it's versatility, the IS, and the picture quality means it's on my camera 90% of the time, even shooting wildlife.

The IS gives you a terrific return of keepers handholding shots like these.



Then being able to instantly have wide angle available can be extremely rewarding if you find yourself unexpectedly up close and personal.

[dunkers]

My favorite lens is probably my 100mm f2.8L IS macro. It is definitely my sharpest lens. It produces creamy smooth bokeh. On a crop lens, it has a reasonable distance for street photog and is black in color do you are less noticeable The focal length is very fun to work with. . It is my go to lens for portraits and headshots. I also love how I can immediately take macro shots if I see some insect or critter flying about. I also love the design of this lens. It looks and feels like a professional lens.

My 70-200 f2.8 IS II comes in at a really close second. It is very sharp, good bokeh, and extremely versatile. However the drawback is the weight of the lens. It is significantly heavier than the macro. It is very good for street photography, but the color makes it much more noticeable in a crowd.

[codewizpt]

My fav is 135mm f2. It's amazing and has a unique signature
But my answer is based on the lenses I have/had.

[willrobb]

A tough question. My 24-70mm f2.8L is my most used lens by far, it delivers time after time and is my bread and butter....but I have to say, I think the 50mm f1.2L and it's lovely bokeh is my favourite.

[candyman]

At this moment my favorite lens is the Canon 70-300 L
I like the flexibility of the range, the sharpness and the color.
I use it as walkaround lens in landscapes as well as outdoor sports photos

[AmbientLight]

My favourite lenses are actually two. I can't decided between those.

50mm f1.2 L and 14mm f2.8 L.

I love both for the colour rendition, which in my experience is significantly better than with my other lenses. Both are good for photography in low-light conditions, too.

Nevertheless if I had only one lens it would be the 24-105mm f4 L. This was my first lens for digital and I keep on using it.

[danski0224]

16-35 II for me.

It fits the range I take pictures in.

I would like a 14mm

[mitchell3417]

My favorite lens is the ef-s 17-55 2.8. Why? Because it's the closest I have shot to an L lens, it's a great focal length, and is use it 90% of the time.

[KimH]

on my 40D it has to be the 17-55 2.8 - this is as close to L-Glass the APS-C gets. IMO it is L glass in an EF-S package, clearly Canon has some issues in their line logoc and decided to package it to "not quite meet the L grade"

I wish I had a 24-85 L FF (2.8 IS) to match it on my 5DII

For my 5DII it's the 24-105 L kit lens with all its quirks - you know them, nothing to add, but I take a bundle of pictures with it and they come out to satisfaction most of the time.

I found my excuse to buy the 24-70 II when looking at the 24-105 shots and finding tht I almost always stay below 80 (hence my wish for an 24-85 as the max) when shooting with my L-Kit lens

In the bag with the 5DII I also carry either the 70-300L. I actually love this lens for sharpness and contrast, size and convenience , i have had a preferrence for the 100-400 until Spring last year when I popped the price tag for 70-300) or - if on landscape tour 17-40.

For fun jobs

Macro 100L
TS-E  17L
FE 8-15

[Axilrod]

Ooh tough call.  I would say overall, the 16-35MK II.  It works flawlessly, silently, instantly, and is extremely sharp wide open.  The wide end for landscapes and fun portraits and the long end (35mm) for normalish shots.    It just has a ton of uses.

I agree about the versatility of the 16-35, but you may have a freak copy if it's "extremely sharp wide open."  Mine is pretty sharp at f/4-f/8, but at f/2.8 it definitely softens up a bit.  It could just be that I've gotten used to the outstanding sharpness of the 14L II and maybe that's diminished my perceived quality of the 16-35.  And I'm sure the fact that all my other lenses are primes doesn't help. 

My 50L/85L are probably my favorites, but I love them all.