standard zoom upgrade

[cid]

Hello guys,

in spring I bought 60D with 15-85 and I was pretty happy about it. Based on reviews and shots it should have been very good lens and it really is. When my 100L was delivered this september I instantly realized I like images from my 100L much more.
Basically now the situation is, that my 15-85 is stuck in bag until I really want to take wide shots like landscapes or there is no working distance. Also there are much less keepers from 15-85 then from 100L.

Should I consider selling 15-85 and upgrading to 24-70mkII or 24-105? Is it worth for 60D? I like to shot wide open so f/2.8 would be advantage for me, but €2k+ pricetag is something what make you think. Standard zoom is very useful lens to have for general shooting. In the future I would like to move to FF so please consider this too. Somewhere back in my mind there is also idea of buying 50L (based on posts here) and maybe later add some wide and fast prime.
So guys, what are your thoughts?
Thanks

 

[dhofmann]

There's no doubt that the 100L will give you better quality than the 15-85, or any zoom. So one strategy is to collect a set of prime lenses.

But what I'm wondering is why you find you get fewer keepers with the 15-85 than the 100mm. The 15-85mm is still a great lens, if you don't mind allowing the ISO speed to rise as necessary in order to obtain an appropriate shutter speed, and if you use something like Lightroom to apply lens corrections.

 

[kubelik]

how wide do you need on your wide shots? 24mm on an APS-C sensor gives you ~38mm equivalent, which is really not that wide (the 15mm on your 15-85 is giving you a true 24mm equivalent) for a lot of landscape work. you could look into the 17-40L or the 16-35L but they're not any cheaper than the 24-105 or 24-70.

 

[cid]

But what I'm wondering is why you find you get fewer keepers with the 15-85 than the 100mm. The 15-85mm is still a great lens, if you don't mind allowing the ISO speed to rise as necessary in order to obtain an appropriate shutter speed, and if you use something like Lightroom to apply lens corrections.

I have no problem to bump ISO a little bit. Wide end seems to be bit soft to me, but technically the shots are on the same level, it is more matter of feeling when i choose keepers...(to be correct i have some great keepers from 15-85 too)

how wide do you need on your wide shots? 24mm on an APS-C sensor gives you ~38mm equivalent, which is really not that wide (the 15mm on your 15-85 is giving you a true 24mm equivalent) for a lot of landscape work. you could look into the 17-40L or the 16-35L but they're not any cheaper than the 24-105 or 24-70.

I have been thinking on that a lot and I can live with 24mm as the wide end on APS-C

 

[Dylan777]

If budget is not an issue, why not get THE BEST ZOOM lens on the market(24-70 f2.8 II). Especially, FF upgrade in the future.

24-105 F4 is too slow for crop, not a great lens for indoor. sharpness is

 

[Random Orbits]

If you can afford it and you KNOW you will be moving to FF in the future, then you should consider the 24-70 II (assuming you can do without IS) at some point, but I wouldn't suggest it now. You'd be buying it at the highest price for incremental IQ advantages over the 15-85. I'd wait on getting fast primes until you have a body with AFMA.

Depending on your preferred focal lengths, it might make sense to get a 70-xxx first.

 

[kubelik]

I have no problem to bump ISO a little bit. Wide end seems to be bit soft to me, but technically the shots are on the same level, it is more matter of feeling when i choose keepers...(to be correct i have some great keepers from 15-85 too)

sounds like you've just been bitten by the L bug. ultimately, you get what you pay for (usually) in the photo world. L-quality color, contrast, and bokeh usually resides in L-series lenses.

I also wonder if you aren't reacting in part just due to the different focal lengths? the 100 f/2.8 wide open allows for really great subject-background separation that really makes a photo pop. you won't really get that effect with any wide angle lens, no matter how much money you are willing to pay (unless you use a tilt-shift, but that's another story).

 

[Menace]

If budget is not an issue, why not get THE BEST ZOOM lens on the market(24-70 f2.8 II). Especially, FF upgrade in the future.

24-105 F4 is too slow for crop, not a great lens for indoor. sharpness is

Agreed. If you can afford it and it's wide enough at 24mm for you then do get it. Ofcourse in the future when you go FF you'll already have a great standard zoom.

Cheers