So....I rented the 28-70 f2

[deleteme]

I had a job come up that was a corporate branding project that required a lot of small groups and single person images needing a soft, OOF BG. I was thinking of the EF35 f1.4 and the EF 50 f1.2 but thought I would lack flexibility in what I knew to be a space with lots of smaller rooms.
Then I thought the dazzling 28-70 f2 would give me both the flexibility and soft BG that I wanted.
It arrived yesterday and I promptly took it out and shot a few images to ensure it actually worked. AF is as fast as the fastest of any lens I have used and the sharpness seemed noticeably crisp.

Today the shoot started at 9AM and ended at 5 PM. The lens was on my camera most of the day and performed brilliantly. I was shooting wirelessly to an iPad and the AD was marveling at how image after image was dead sharp.

The lens was a hero today. Sharp, sharp, sharp and contrasty. The colors are great but color from my Canon lenses has never been an issue.
Obvious downside: weight and size. Yes, it is a thumping great lens but in use I really did not notice the weight. I use the 70-200 f2.8 L IS and it is lighter than that so the burden was not onerous.
Less obvious downside: It is too fast. I am shooting indoors with flash. At f 2 or 2.2 or 2.5 even at 1/200 of a second I can get ambient light affecting my exposure. I gel my strobes to match the ambient but I am shooting at ISO 100 with the strobes set at 1/16 or 1/32 power. To be fair it was only a problem is some very well lit rooms.

Bottom line: It is a spectacular performer.
Will I buy one? I am not sure. At $3K it is a no joke purchase. The rental is covered by the client so it is a point of indifference me right now. I will just have to see how much better it looks than my other lenses.

 

[matthias]

Most likely I won’t buy this lens, but I would like to know, how you shot to an iPad wireless. Which app did you use?

 

[deleteme]

Most likely I won’t buy this lens, but I would like to know, how you shot to an iPad wireless. Which app did you use?

I was using a CamRanger. it is dead useful to show ADs what exactly is happening. It is also useful for me to shoot remotely when I use the camera on top of a 25' mast.
I can control the camera from the app and the V2 also copies the RAW files to a separate card on the WiFi adapter. So I also have a second card backup on my R.
It is pretty solid with the occasional hiccup but miles better than any other Wifi app from any manufacturer.

 

[matthias]

I was using a CamRanger. it is dead useful to show ADs what exactly is happening. It is also useful for me to shoot remotely when I use the camera on top of a 25' mast.
I can control the camera from the app and the V2 also copies the RAW files to a separate card on the WiFi adapter. So I also have a second card backup on my R.
It is pretty solid with the occasional hiccup but miles better than any other Wifi app from any manufacturer.

thanks for the information. i was hoping, it works with the normal canon app :/

 

[deleteme]

thanks for the information. i was hoping, it works with the normal canon app :/

The whole point of the CamRanger is that the Canon app is useless as are virtually all OEM apps.

 

[Ozarker]

It is refreshing to read somebody saying a lens is too fast.

 

[deleteme]

It is refreshing to read somebody saying a lens is too fast.

As I tend to work at mostly f8 with strobe it was a surprise to me how much light I was getting at f2. I often use my 70-200 f2.8 at f3.2 or 3.5 to get a bit more IQ while preserving the OOF BG. However I am usually outdoors with a reflector or occasionally a strobe fill but at f2 we get over the pathetic 1/200 sync speed quickly.

I have been able to shoot at 1/250 out doors with strobe successfully on the R as the dark strip occurs on the top of the frame. However I can only do that with a single pin trigger as the camera will not let select a shutter speed in excess of 1/200 with a TTL type trigger even when I am in full manual mode. This is a bug for me as I never use HSS as it really is too weak for most of my shooting situations.
I would be delighted if they gave us a 1/250 shutter sync in the new R5 but I doubt they will.
I also think a leaf shutter 24-70 zoom of moderate aperture (f4) would be a boon to commercial photographers and those using flash extensively. While they could astonish us with that, I bet they won't until someone else has success with it first.

 

[Ozarker]

As I tend to work at mostly f8 with strobe it was a surprise to me how much light I was getting at f2. I often use my 70-200 f2.8 at f3.2 or 3.5 to get a bit more IQ while preserving the OOF BG. However I am usually outdoors with a reflector or occasionally a strobe fill but at f2 we get over the pathetic 1/200 sync speed quickly.

I have been able to shoot at 1/250 out doors with strobe successfully on the R as the dark strip occurs on the top of the frame. However I can only do that with a single pin trigger as the camera will not let select a shutter speed in excess of 1/200 with a TTL type trigger even when I am in full manual mode. This is a bug for me as I never use HSS as it really is too weak for most of my shooting situations.
I would be delighted if they gave us a 1/250 shutter sync in the new R5 but I doubt they will.
I also think a leaf shutter 24-70 zoom of moderate aperture (f4) would be a boon to commercial photographers and those using flash extensively. While they could astonish us with that, I bet they won't until someone else has success with it first.

I use an ND filter (2, 4, or 6-stop) outdoors when I use my lenses wide open with flash. With the RF 85mm f/1.2L I am sometimes still at 1/8000 sec. as I like the sun behind my subject. In fact, my avatar to the left was shot at 1/8000 sec and ISO 50. I never use TTL. Just have not had good consistent luck with it. You are right, 1/200 is reached real quick at f/2, especially the way I shoot. I just use great quality ND filters to help and have not noticed any color cast problems. I'm getting real anxious to get back out there and shoot and hope all the restrictions are lifted soon. Hope you and your family are well.

 

[deleteme]

I use an ND filter (2, 4, or 6-stop) outdoors when I use my lenses wide open with flash. With the RF 85mm f/1.2L I am sometimes still at 1/8000 sec. as I like the sun behind my subject. In fact, my avatar to the left was shot at 1/8000 sec and ISO 50. I never use TTL. Just have not had good consistent luck with it. You are right, 1/200 is reached real quick at f/2, especially the way I shoot. I just use great quality ND filters to help and have not noticed any color cast problems. I'm getting real anxious to get back out there and shoot and hope all the restrictions are lifted soon. Hope you and your family are well.

Thanks. We are all well. Oddly, I am getting some architectural jobs (not real estate) as it is an essential business here. The ND filter solution is a good one but the single pin trigger is necessary to make it work.
I use the Godox X2T trigger as I have moved over to all 2.4 Ghz receivers (some built-in some attached). As it is a TTL trigger it tells the body a flash is being used. Switching to the XT-16 2.4Ghz trigger might be the solution.