General purpose L lens? 24-70mm 2.8 vs 35mm 1.4

[heyitslam]

This is going to be my first post. Lets see if it goes well.

OK, I just got a 7d with the 28-135 kit lens.
I am considering the purpose of a really good lens that will serve me well.
Looking at the 24-70mm f2.8L and the 35mm f1.4L.

I am going to be using this to take picture of family, mostly wife for now, until some kids comes along.
Also friends and stuff, general purpose is what I can say about most of my usage.

Any suggestions out there and some good convincing reason for one over the other.

Thanks

 

[smithy]

I own the 24-70 and it's a great lens. The downside to it is that on a 1.6x crop body, like the 7D, it's not a very wide angle lens. On a full frame body it's a different story. Because of this, I would suggest that you add to your considerations either a 17-40mm or 16-35mm lens, especially if you want to be able to take group shots or architectural images.

On my 40D, I tend to use the 10-22mm EF-S lens for wide angle, and the 24-70mm plugs the middle range, and then I have a 70-200mm F4L to provide the long reach. All I need is a 23mm prime haha...

On my 1V film body, the 24-70mm is perfect, and I seldom use anything else.

 

[JR]

This is a very interesting question. I have a FF myself and used to have the 24-70 L zoom but ultimately decided to sell it and only shoot with prime. I actually found it easier to compose the shot. Now I am just about to get the 35 1.4L for my general purpose lens given I have a 50mm and a 85mm. For you if you were on a full frame I would say get the 35mm no question.

But with the 7D (which is a great camera) you might also consider the 24mm 1.4L which would yield a 35mm equivalent on your body. I suggest you take you kit lens and fix it at 24mm for a few days and take picture (but dont play with the zoom). Then do the same again but this time set your zoom at 35mm.

Then look at your picture and you will be able to see which focal lenght you prefer...just a thought. I am not saying not to get the 24-70, it would be a great improvement on your kit zoom, but just try before if you could live with a prime.

 

[Loswr]

Why those two lenses? Typically, a 'general purpose' zoom covers moderate wide angle to short telephoto. On your 7D, the 24-70mm doesn't qualify (24mm isn't wide angle on an APS-C body), and I wouldn't consider a prime lens as 'general purpose.'

IMO, the best general purpose zoom lens for APS-C is the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS. IQ is equivalent to L-series (in fact, it out-resolves both the 24-70 L and the 24-105 L on APS-C). Fast aperture (for a zoom), has IS, great IQ. If you want a good prime, consider the 85mm f/1.8 for portraits.

 

[ryanandrewbruce]

I just sold my 24-70 because it was so noticeably inferior to my 35mm 1.4 that I found I was never shooting with it. I love the 35 on my 5d as much as I loved it on my 7d when I first got the two. It is a great 'normal' lens for a 7d and while it is not as versatile as the 24-70, the photos are significantly better (sharper/color/contrast) with the 35.

 

[dr croubie]

I've got the EFs 15-85 on my 7D, and I love it. An alternative to that one will be the EFs 17-55, on a crop-body it's more useful than the 24-70L (unless you really really need the 55-70 range in f/2.8).

First thing to do is play around with the lenses you have, try out the focal lengths. Do you need wider angle than the 28mm you have?
If you need wider than 28mm, is it for indoors, or outdoor landscape? if indoors, the 17-55/2.8 will be the go. If outdoors, go the 15-85.
If you really really don't want to buy EFs lenses (because you're going to upgrade to FF tomorrow), the 16-35L could be a good bet in that range and keep the 28-135 (or go the 24-70, 24-105).
(Still, even if you are going to go to FF very soon, don't discount the EFs 15-85 and 17-55, they both hold their value almost as well as L lenses do, you could sell them if/when you sell the 7D and go FF).

If you want a low-light prime for indoors, the 35/1.4L is a good choice because it frames like a 'normal' lens on a crop body. If you can deal with Manual Focussing, get the Samyang 35/1.4 and save 70% from the canon L for the same IQ in the centre, and better on the edges.

As for the long end, do you intend to do indoor portraits? You can try out the focal lengths on your zoom to see if you need anything in the 50/85mm range. The 50/1.8, 50/1.4, 85/1.8 are all great for their prices. Or if you'd rather stay with the zooms, and if you need low-light indoors longer than 55mm, that leans towards the 24-70L

(and if you want long-range outdoors for wildlife, that's a different question again, the 70-200 f/4L is great for the price. But if 135mm is long enough, then just keep with the 28-135 for now. My 15-85 is a good outdoor-hiking lens, great for lanscapes, and can get good photos at 85mm if a big animal wanders past. But i'm obsessed with birds so my 70-300L is almost glued on my body these days).

to sum up, my recommendations:
EFs 15-85 for outdoors general purpose zoom.
EFs 17-55 for indoors general purpose zoom.
24-70L only if you need the 55-70mm range in f/2.8, and don't need wider than 24mm. (or couple with the EFs 10-22 or 16-35L, or any number of 3rd-party ultrawides)
24-105L if you need extra length, and don't need wider than 24mm. (or couple with the EFs 10-22 or 16-35L, or any number of 3rd-party ultrawides)
16-35L only if you are going FF very soon.
35 f/1.4L if you can afford it.
Samyang 35 f/1.4 if you can't afford the canonL and/or don't mind Manual Focus.
50/1.4 or 50/1.8 or 85/1.8 for indoor/lowlight/portraits, check what length is good using your zoom.

 

[tourtrophy]

I too have the 24-70mm F2.8L for my EOS 7D. I also have the 28-135 IS from my old EOS 20D. Let me tell you this, the 24-70mm is very heavy. It 's not something you want to carry the whole day. I was considering the 35mm F1.4 as well for low light situations. However, I 've found that the 24-70mm has satisfied most of my needs along with my EX580 II speedlight and since I also have the 50mm F1.4. As a prime, the 50mm F1.4 is sharper than the 24-70mm at F2.8. For videography, I usually take my 28-135mm since it's much lighter and its zoom ring is larger for better control. It really depends on your shooting style. I did not consider the 24-105 F4L as I want better bokeh and narrower DOF. And for the price, I did not consider the EFS 17-55 F2.8 as I thought the 24-70mm F2.8L would have better resale value as most wedding photographers have one in their bags.

 

[niccyboy]

If it is a general purpose lens... I recommend the 24-70 or 16-35 (25.6mm-56mm equivalent).

I love primes, but with kids and groups of people a zoom can be invaluable. They are both nice and fast.

Then pick up a cheap prime like a 50mm 1.8 ($120) and have a play with that!

 

[thejoyofsobe]

seems odd to get a 28-135mm IS and then quickly turn around to consider picking up a 24-70mm whose zoom range overlaps all but 4mm (x1.6) of a lens you already have. you're looking for a general purpose L lens when you have just purchased a general purpose non-L.

 

[lukaszb]

This is going to be my first post. Lets see if it goes well.

OK, I just got a 7d with the 28-135 kit lens.
I am considering the purpose of a really good lens that will serve me well.
Looking at the 24-70mm f2.8L and the 35mm f1.4L.

I am going to be using this to take picture of family, mostly wife for now, until some kids comes along.
Also friends and stuff, general purpose is what I can say about most of my usage.

Any suggestions out there and some good convincing reason for one over the other.

Thanks

Do you intend to eventually do something more with your camera then just take family photos? If you only need to take photographs of your family and friends then go for a zoom. I would get 24-105 f/4 instead -- save yourself $200-$300. 35mm on a 7d would be good normal/portrait lens. It is one of the best and sharpest primes that Canon makes. Also how about combining 24-105 f/4 with 50mm f/1.4?

 

[heyitslam]

Thanks for the reply everyone.
I have been with my camera for a week now and have been shooting with the kit 28-135mm.

Here is my reasoning for the 2 lens I have asked about.
Low light shooting.
I have found that I have to shoot in low light situation because of when we go out.
and when we meeting up with people.
Those who are around my shooting with f1.4 or 1.8 seem to be better off.
I having to increase my ISO or lower my shuttering speed to a point where I dont want to.

I have also found that I have very little need so far to go wider then 28mm
also I have found myself using the zoom more often to zoom in on individual.

With that said any additional suggestions?
I will starting doing some more research on some of the lens mentioned above.
but seem like the I am trying to go for a lower f for my next lens.

Thanks

 

[ianhar]

You might want to buy a 50 1.8. Its cheap and produce real nice quality picture. The 50 would be good as a 'portrait lens'. And if you like the focal length of a fifty, you might want to upgrade to 1.4 or even 1.2 later on