Bought my first digital camera today 5d

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iasm

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Hi Everyone
After waiting overa year for a d800 or watever nikon wanted to call there full frame with video we bought the 5dmkII. Still reading the manual but so far were happy. Just wanted to introduce myself and say hi. Just got the 24-105 and would like to add a fixed prime and larger zoom. Any recomendations or advice. The salesman at the camera shop was a pure nikon guy and the nikon rep was there also visiting and they both did there best to push us to the nikon but in the end my wife just wouldnt settle for less then full frame.
Thanks
Rod
 
B

briansquibb

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For primes:

50 f/1.4
85 f/1.8
135 f/2

As you are on ff dont forget to add in the crop equivalents - ie on a crop the 50mm becomes an 85 on the ff, and the 85mm becomes the 135.

As you have covered the 24-105 why not try the 135 f/2 - a superb lens that gives a creamy bokeh that you would die for. It isn't that expensive either.

Depends what you want the zoom for and your budget

There are 4 types of 70-200L in order of price:

F/4
F/4 IS
F/2.8
F/2.8 IS II

The F/4 are light enough for travelling. Personally I would skip the F/2.8 - the worst of the bunch by a long way

There are two alternatives which are F/5.6 at the long end (depends what kind of shooting you are doing)

100-400L
70-300L
 
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W

willrobb

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briansquibb said:
For primes:

50 f/1.4
85 f/1.8
135 f/2

As you are on ff dont forget to add in the crop equivalents - ie on a crop the 50mm becomes an 85 on the ff, and the 85mm becomes the 135.

As you have covered the 24-105 why not try the 135 f/2 - a superb lens that gives a creamy bokeh that you would die for. It isn't that expensive either.

Depends what you want the zoom for and your budget

There are 4 types of 70-200L in order of price:

F/4
F/4 IS
F/2.8
F/2.8 IS II

The F/4 are light enough for travelling. Personally I would skip the F/2.8 - the worst of the bunch by a long way

There are two alternatives which are F/5.6 at the long end (depends what kind of shooting you are doing)

100-400L
70-300L

Any of the three lenses at the top would be good, seeing as how you have FF there is no crop factor though, your 50mm will stay 50mm, the 85mm will stay 85mm etc.
 
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iasm said:
Hi Everyone
After waiting overa year for a d800 or watever nikon wanted to call there full frame with video we bought the 5dmkII. Still reading the manual but so far were happy. Just wanted to introduce myself and say hi. Just got the 24-105 and would like to add a fixed prime and larger zoom. Any recomendations or advice. The salesman at the camera shop was a pure nikon guy and the nikon rep was there also visiting and they both did there best to push us to the nikon but in the end my wife just wouldnt settle for less then full frame.
Thanks
Rod

For a prime -- it depends on what you are shooting. For a general purpose prime I'd suggest the 50mm f/1.4. For a tele zoom, Canon make 4 different 70-200mm lenses, all of which are highly regarded.

If you want a longer lens than that -- a portrait prime, I'd suggest an 85mm lens. There are four -- Canon 85mm f/1.8 and f/1.2, Sigma 85mm f/1.4 and Zeiss 85mm f/1.4. All of them are worth considering. Zeiss lenses are manual focus only.

If you want a wider lens, Canon make the 35mm f/2 (dated design but good and inexpensive) and the 35mm f/1.4. Zeiss make lenses at this focal length, I don't know what they're like. I don't recommend Canon's 28mm f/1.8.
 
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Mar 25, 2011
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Good luck, its a learning curve to get all the settings right, go out and take lots of photos. Learn to use RAW and process the images with good software, DXO, Abobe Lightroom, etc. You will have much more ability to correct colors, contrast, sharpness, and noise reduction by shooting in raw. The free DPP is good as well, but with no manual, its difficult to learn.

Nikon or Canon, they are just tools and both are excellent. Canon is more popular because they cost less, and its easier to find good used lenses, but you would be pleased with either.

I'd suggest a 70-200m f/4 L IS to go with your 24-105 as your longer zoom.

For primes, 35mm L, 85mm f/1.8, 100mm f/2.8L (macro and portraits), 135mm L.

85mm and 135mm are classic portrait focal lengths, and 100mm is excellent as well. I'd wait and see if they improve the 50mm f/1.4 next february, so get it later.

I'd put off buying Sigma lenses until you have more experience, they have a reputation of having autofocus issues, so you want to stick with fast and accurate AF lenses at first. Then, if you get a lens with a issue, you will know whats normal and whats not.

Doing a tweak of the autofocus micro adjust can improve sharpness slightly, and for a wide prime, it might improve by a large amount. Most Canon lenses are good right out of the box, but it pays to check.
 
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niccyboy

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I agree with above except I would also suggest the 50mm 1.4 as well.

Much better build quality than the 1.8.

Also while i agree with what is said above about Sigma as well, the Sigma 50 1.4 is a nice lens... (actually more expensive than the Canon 1.4)...

Good luck with it... I use both Nikon and Canon, but i prefer the user interface of the Canon. I just find it much more comfortable to use.
 
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Z

Zuuyi

Guest
Depending on Funding here are my suggestions

Low End High End
50/1.4 50/1.2L
85/1.8 85/1.2L
100/2 135/2L

For the Zoom I suggest one of the 70-200/2.8 lenses. It's about needs and budget there.

So a 50/1.4, 135/2L, and a 70-200/2.8 USM, and a 2x Extender would be my suggestion.

This would give you two portrait lenses (50mm & 135mm), and a quality 70-200mm lens (there are better ones the IS and the IS II but they cost more). The 2x Extender will work on the 135L & 70-200/2.8; This will give you a 270 prime & a 140-400 zoom lens.
Total cost is around $3500.

You could go hog wild and get the 50L, 85L, 135L, 70-200 2.8L USM is II, and the 2x extender but that would be around $8000.

But to be honest you need to give more details on what you plan on doing with your camera.
 
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Jan 21, 2011
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niccyboy said:
I agree with above except I would also suggest the 50mm 1.4 as well.

Much better build quality than the 1.8.

Also while i agree with what is said above about Sigma as well, the Sigma 50 1.4 is a nice lens... (actually more expensive than the Canon 1.4)...

Good luck with it... I use both Nikon and Canon, but i prefer the user interface of the Canon. I just find it much more comfortable to use.

I have to second the comment about the 50 f/1.4. While it is an old design, it is a superb lens. We opted for the Canon rather than the Sigma partly also because of size and weight. I would also agree about avoiding the 50 f/1.8 because of inferior build quality and the fact that it has only 5 aperture blades - resulting in pentagonal out of focus highlights.
 
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Jettatore

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You are saying what you want, some sort of prime lens and a larger zoom, but you are not telling us what purposes you need them for, which makes a thought out recommendation impossible.

Also, if you get one of the cheaper fixed primes in the focal range of your 24-105, you're just going to get a lens that can operate at lower f-stops, but not at top it's optical performance, in particular while in low light when it's most needed. That is not to say it isn't usable or perhaps even very good, but it doesn't seem to give you a ton of extra usage that you don't already have in that very nice 24-105 lens so I would want to know specifically what I wanted it for, and not just to say I owned a prime lens...

As far as telephoto, see if you can't try them out first, since the good ones are indeed very expensive. If the 70-200 is long enough for you, then you have your lens, as the IS II version is the best of the best in telephoto zoom. If the length on the 200 end isn't quite enough, or if it's too big and heavy for most of your uses (which is my problem), then you are going to have to make a very personal decision, and I would recommend reading up on and testing all of the options available, including the option of 70-200 with tele-converter(s), 100-400 IS, 28-300 IS, and the rumored/upcoming/possibly costs a fortune 200-400 IS with built in extender, as well as the 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 DO and the newer f/4-5.6 options, as well the older 70-200 lenses, like the f/4 option, are both lighter and cheaper, so this is a consideration as well and is likely why they still exist on the Canon line-up. The list doesn't stop there either when you consider non-Canon options, discontinued value options, or EF-S mount options that DON'T work on your fullframe but can still deliver in a smaller size if you pick up a second, relatively inexpensive body for a smaller total size and weight option.

Also, spend some time sifting through this site http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=141406

I have looked through a variety of lenses on that site, all used on different bodies, and I've said this before, but what became quite apparent is that the equipment they make today is just awesome across the board. The bad pictures you find, you find them even on the very best lenses. And it's because good lenses and nice camera bodies on their own (going by today's equipment) don't take amazing photographs. And even when I see bad pictures, poorly composed, poorly lit, improper settings chosen, /not good art photo's, I can still see what the lens was capable of and can't fault the equipment. What this means to me is, you pick out the lens by it's size, weight, focal range, f/numbers, price, features etc., based on what your needs are and how useful that lens design would be for your needs. If you don't do this, you will still have great equipment but you won't be well thought out, and you might not even be able to answer these questions right now. I heard a great piece of advice on here a few weeks back. Don't buy too many lenses at once. Take the awesome 24-105 you have now (that's an amazing lens with a really useful range) and just go shoot as much as possible, forget about what you don't have, and find your style, what you like to do, and also what you learn that you are having trouble doing/can't do with your current setup, but really want to be able to do in the future. Then you will know what you need most. Or you can just buy 1 of everything Canon makes, and you probably will never even be able to leave the house as you won't have a clue as to what to bring with you...
 
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Jettatore said:
You are saying what you want, some sort of prime lens and a larger zoom, but you are not telling us what purposes you need them for, which makes a thought out recommendation impossible.

Also, if you get one of the cheaper fixed primes in the focal range of your 24-105, you're just going to get a lens that can operate at lower f-stops, but not at top it's optical performance, in particular while in low light when it's most needed.

According to photozone's numbers, the 35mm f/2 and the 85mm f/1.8 have comparable resolution at their wide open apertures (f/2 and f/1.8) as the 24-105 at similar focal lengths at f/4. So you gain an extra two stops at comparable optical performance. The 50mm f/1.4 is soft in the corners wide open, but stop it down to f/2.8 and it is comparable to the 24-105 at f/5.6. So you really do gain an extra two stops.

That is not to say it isn't usable or perhaps even very good, but it doesn't seem to give you a ton of extra usage that you don't already have in that very nice 24-105 lens so I would want to know specifically what I wanted it for, and not just to say I owned a prime lens...

A prime lens will give you much shallower depth of field than an f/4 zoom. If you're taking portraits, that's quite a lot of extra usage.
 
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J

Jettatore

Guest
elford,

I will concede all of those points and more, after the intended purpose for the lens is well defined. If the need is shallower depth of field sure, low-light where a prime length is ok without lens switching/carrying too much equipment, sure that too. But then once the needs are well defined, the even faster, more expensive lenses, or rentals of them if they are only occasionally needed, might be better options. Also, while I agree with you completely, the 24-105's added IS does give it some extra low light capability if your subject needs can still work with slower shutter speeds, and in many cases they can. That's why I am suggesting to push the existing lens as far as possible before getting anything else. Actually, upon determining needs, with the limitations/requirements of intended purpose, an EX Flash might be a better purchase than a faster prime lens of either the highest end price and quality or the middle/cheap of the road step.

Also you are probably even more correct than the various reviews available. I wasn't in low-light, but a borrowed 50mm f/1.4 shot at f/1.4 was excellently sharp to me. I do hear (again from these reviews) that the f/1.2 preforms better until f/2-f/2.8 so again if the need, is low light, perhaps the greater investment or a flash is a better solution than getting something without knowing why you need it first.
 
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elflord said:
A prime lens will give you much shallower depth of field than an f/4 zoom.
Assuming the camera has a wide aperture selected, otherwise, the maximum aperture counts for little. That's really down to the photographer.

Besides, shallow depth of field isn't always useful.

About the 50mm lenses: The f/1.4 really isn't sharp at f/1.4 even in the corners on APS-C. The 50mm f/1.2 just looks too expensive, and judging from the real-world examples on Photozone it won't be as usable for general purposes as the f/1.4 owing to the chromatic abberation (especially check out the water picture). Anyway, that seems to me to be outside the scope of the camera.

If it was me, I'd get some hands-on experience with the 24-105mm f/4 first and then decide if buying extra lenses was worthwhile.
 
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M

mreco99

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iasm said:
Hi Everyone
After waiting overa year for a d800 or watever nikon wanted to call there full frame with video we bought the 5dmkII. Still reading the manual but so far were happy. Just wanted to introduce myself and say hi. Just got the 24-105 and would like to add a fixed prime and larger zoom. Any recomendations or advice. The salesman at the camera shop was a pure nikon guy and the nikon rep was there also visiting and they both did there best to push us to the nikon but in the end my wife just wouldnt settle for less then full frame.
Thanks
Rod

Hi Rod,

Congrats, had mine a couple of weeks now, i keep stroking it. I can recommend the 100mm Macro L if thats for you, you get a nice fixed prime+macro compatibility
 
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markd61

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Congratulations. I use my 24-105 for what seems to be 90% of my work and it is a splendid performer. As for primes I have a 100 Canon macro non -IS and Canon 85 1.8 and a Sigma 50 1.4 and a 17mm TS-E. I shoot architecture and portraits with the odd wedding (many are very odd) and event.
I like primes for weddings because of the low light abilities but I hate the Sigma 50. It is sharp but is very poor at focusing in low light. The 85 is wonderful. I would choose the 35 1.4L if I were you as it is dead useful indoors in low light with great IQ to boot. I could see easily shooting an entire wedding with just the 35, 85 and 135 f 2.0. Although I have to say a zoom really helps when you have enough light.
As for a zoom I am quite happy with my 70-200 2.8L IS. The new Version II is even better but more expensive.

I suggest you rent to see which lenses fit your needs.
Best of luck.
 
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briansquibb

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markd61 said:
Congratulations. I use my 24-105 for what seems to be 90% of my work and it is a splendid performer. As for primes I have a 100 Canon macro non -IS and Canon 85 1.8 and a Sigma 50 1.4 and a 17mm TS-E. I shoot architecture and portraits with the odd wedding (many are very odd) and event.
I like primes for weddings because of the low light abilities but I hate the Sigma 50. It is sharp but is very poor at focusing in low light. The 85 is wonderful. I would choose the 35 1.4L if I were you as it is dead useful indoors in low light with great IQ to boot. I could see easily shooting an entire wedding with just the 35, 85 and 135 f 2.0. Although I have to say a zoom really helps when you have enough light.
As for a zoom I am quite happy with my 70-200 2.8L IS. The new Version II is even better but more expensive.

I suggest you rent to see which lenses fit your needs.
Best of luck.

The 24-105 works well on the 5D - the sweet spot seems to be about f/8
 
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