Zoom for Canon EOS 20D? As a gift....

[Tapehead47]

My daughter, Rae, is majoring in photography at FSU and wants a zoom lens for Christmas. I just started checking out lenses online, then realized what a great source AK is for almost anything!:yes:

I'm looking at the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM. It's price is over $1400.00 at B & H photography in NYC. But is it worth it? The image stabilization (IS) would be a plus for some situations. But it's something never dreamed of when I was into photography. Seems like cheating to me. (kidding)

She does a lot of wildlife photography. A nice lens would open up more possibilities for her. Seems most of her pictures are macro, though, but that could be due to her not having a good telephoto. She's not a professional yet, but you can see some of her work at organicmarble.com. It's her personal website.

Thanks for any suggestions, guys. I gotta order it soon or buy it locally.

Rick

 

[uofmtiger]

I have the 100-400mm and it is a fantastic lens. However, it is heavy and that makes it a pain to carry around for long periods of time for a lot of people. For shooting birds, it is almost a necessity to have at least a 400mm lens. Below is a gallery of a few shots I took with the lens:

http://www.pbase.com/uofmtiger/canon_100_400mm

I would also recommend looking at the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens. I borrowed my Dad's for a recent trip to FL because I did not want to carry the extra weight when I was going to be at a theme park for hours. You do lose the extra distance, but the trade off for less weight can be pretty important.

Some shots taken with the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM:

http://www.pbase.com/uofmtiger/canon_ef_70300mm_f456_is_usm_

I have also read articles that suggest getting a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM Telephoto Zoom Lens and using it with a 2x teleconverter. The extra speed makes up for some of the loss of light. I have never tried the combination, so I can't say how well it works. I have put a 1.6 teleconverter to get a little extra length, but I am not sure the photos are as sharp as they are without it.

Good luck!

 

[Tapehead47]

I chose the right forum!

Wow! Great stuff, uofmtiger! Superb composition, dazzling color. I'm big on contrast, and you definitely have that, too. Thanks for providing proof first hand!

I'll leave it up to Rae to decide. She's only 5' and 100 lbs. But you should see the backpack she lugs around! I think she can handle either lens.

I'll do a more thorough investigation of your fabulous website tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it.

Rick

 

[roseskunk]

hey tapehead- i'm a prof at a school and have been shooting for a long while... i'm happy to make recommendations for you, but why don't you pm me and/or we can talk by phone. if one of my students were getting a lens, well, i guess first i'd have a lot of questions for you/her. but a 100-400 is pretty specific. unless she's got everything else or unless she specifically wants to shoot birds, i doubt that would be my first choice. but pm me if you want and i'll call you or whatever, i'm happy to give my opinion...

 

[uofmtiger]

Wow! Great stuff, uofmtiger! Superb composition, dazzling color. I'm big on contrast, and you definitely have that, too. Thanks for providing proof first hand!

I'll leave it up to Rae to decide. She's only 5' and 100 lbs. But you should see the backpack she lugs around! I think she can handle either lens.

I'll do a more thorough investigation of your fabulous website tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it.

Rick

Thank you and good luck with your decision. There are a lot of choices out there. I do like the flexibility of using the 100-400mm because it can cover a lot of range (more with a 1.6x teleconverter). It really just depends on what she intends on shooting.

 

[cheon57]

I jsut recently received a 70-300 as a gift and like it a lot. It is kind of heavy 1 1/4lb I think so does take a little getting used to. Nothing a little monopod or lightweight tripod couldn't offset.

 

[ValvTubeHead]

From her website, I didn't really get heavy bias toward wildlife photography... Very well composed captures btw. For a student of photography, I might lean toward getting her a couple very good prime lenses: EF50/1.4 and 135/2L are versatile workhorses.

 

[Tapehead47]

Latest update to Rae's lens

I emailed her and her reply stated she does NOT want a telephoto! She wants a fixed focus lens (prime?) as she's not happy with the performance of her standard lens. My wife was 'assuming'. Ah, women!:scratch2::scratch2::scratch2:

So.....back to the drawing board. Except that Rae will email me a list of choices.

Her website contains only a few of her nature shots. She expressed an interest to me for that genre, but she's young and impressionable. Anything is possible at 21 yrs.

Personally I always preferred a wide angle lens. I don't think she has one. I'll find out as soon as she emails me, but she's very involved studying for mid-terms right now.

roseskunk: When I get the straight dope I'll PM you. Thank you for the kind offer. I don't have enough info to talk about choices.

valvtubehead: Yeah, a fixed lens would be a better, more professional choice. It is a relief, actually, finding out she doesn't want a zoom.

And thanks to all!!:yes::yes:

Rick

 

[roseskunk]

most likely she's using the zoom that came with the camera- they're soft lenses and i never recommend them to the students. i do recommend the 50 mm 1.8 or 1.4- very sharp and much faster than the zoom. the 1.8 is 80 bucks the 1.4, 300 or so. a 35mm 1.4 will cost you a grand, almost as much as the 24-105. the lens that will be on my new 1Ds Mark 3 will be the 24-105 zoom. it's sharp enough- much sharper than the 18-55, it's an L series lens and has image stabilization which is terrific. i like it better than the 24-70mm though it's a stop slower. remember that whatever lens you put on that camera, you've got i believe a 1.6 magnification factor given the smaller sensor.

zooms today are much much better than the old 43-86 nikkor of the good ol' days. i routinely make 30x40" prints and never have problems with sharpness, granted i'm on a tripod and shoot at the sharpest aperture, usually f14. the 24-105 would be a fantastic lens for anyone, and imo might be overkill for a student. i think if she were my daughter, i might get her the 50mm 1.4 and a decent speedlight (if she doesn't already have one) so she can get that flash off camera. lens and flash will be less than the 24-105mm, it's an excellent lens and flash and there's never a reason to upgrade, i keep both in my bag all the time. sharp as a tack images and great flash. it's all about the light!

 

[ProAc_Fan]

You advise someone to spend for an ultrafast lens on the one hand and then state you shoot at f/14 for maximum sharpness? Why spend 4 times the amount to gain 1 stop of speed if you routinely stop down to f/14? I agree with Ken Rockwell. With the high ISO performance of a modern DSLR spending huge amounts on ultrafast lenses is crazy unless you are a working professional..

Mike

 

[uofmtiger]

Yeah, a fixed lens would be a better, more professional choice

A lot of pros that are using digital are using zooms.

I have the 50mm 1.8 and it is a great lens for the money. You can see a few shots that I took with it on my website that I linked above.

My dad has a lot of primes and one of his favs is the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM. He also likes the Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM. He does more indoor photography than I do, so he needs the extra speed.

If your daughter like macros, the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM is my favorite lens. It can be used to good affect for a lot of shots.

 

[ValvTubeHead]

Someone who has got 'the bug' will eventually own a collection of lenses to allow improved dynamics in one form or another; speed, reach, sharpness, bokeh...I have six, four of which are primes + a 1.4x teleconverter and a set of tubes for the odd macro. I'm a self proclaimed novice, but over the course of a year, I reach for all but one of these lenses near equally...shooting upwards of 6-7000 frames. I'll always want another great lens to add to the arsenal, but can work happily with what I have...love the primes, love one of my zooms...want more primes, want another zoom.

My strongest recommendation would be to simply invest in highest quality lens you want to afford...there are a ton of good ones, and a ton of notsogood.

 

[roseskunk]

You advise someone to spend for an ultrafast lens on the one hand and then state you shoot at f/14 for maximum sharpness? Why spend 4 times the amount to gain 1 stop of speed if you routinely stop down to f/14? I agree with Ken Rockwell. With the high ISO performance of a modern DSLR spending huge amounts on ultrafast lenses is crazy unless you are a working professional..

Mike

well, i guess i'm crazy then. won't be the first time. L-series lenses in my opinion and the opinion of others who pay four times for them are worth it. they're made better, to better tolerances with better glass. it's a rare occasion that i ever shoot wide open, but i do like the fact that i can see a brighter image when i'm taking the picture. and i like a well-made product, which in my opinion, the L-series lenses are.

since the op was originally considering purchasing a pretty expensive lens, i figured that the 50mm 1.4 was a good choice and not a financial hardship for him.

some people purchase cars that will go 150mph, but they never drive that fast, or they buy SUV's but they never go off-road. same with lenses. i never turn the volume up all the way on my stereo, but i'm glad the reserve power is there. fast lenses have characteristics- like better quality, better glass- that some people prefer. like me.

 

[ProAc_Fan]

well, i guess i'm crazy then. won't be the first time. L-series lenses in my opinion and the opinion of others who pay four times for them are worth it. they're made better, to better tolerances with better glass. it's a rare occasion that i ever shoot wide open, but i do like the fact that i can see a brighter image when i'm taking the picture. and i like a well-made product, which in my opinion, the L-series lenses are.

Trust me, I own some nice glass ( Nikon and Olympus) and also some ultrafast zooms. Canon L lenses are nice. And if you fork over more than $1,000 for a fast prime lens would you really admit to someone that it really isn't worth 4 times as much as the 1 stop slower lens?

Mike

 

[Tapehead47]

Great ideas, guys....

I'm waiting for her reply. Then she and I will have a nice talk. I've got at least 2 weeks to decide on her 'surprise'.

I need to find out what her 'usual' lens is. It probably was the one that came with the camera. Maybe a 50mm 2.8? I dunno.

She is supposedly 'too busy studying' to send me an email. Then I get a text message from her this morning: "I won the poker tournament last night"....

WTF!?? Well, in my eyes she can do no wrong, so there!

Rick

 

[roseskunk]

Trust me, I own some nice glass ( Nikon and Olympus) and also some ultrafast zooms. Canon L lenses are nice. And if you fork over more than $1,000 for a fast prime lens would you really admit to someone that it really isn't worth 4 times as much as the 1 stop slower lens?

Mike

well i'm not really sure i understand your question. first of all, i never recommended that he or anyone buy a 1000.00 prime lens, i recommended that he buy a 300.00 dollar prime lens. and yes, frankly i do think the 50mm lens is a good deal and worth the price, even though i've probably never shot with it at f/1.4, and even though it's more money that the 1.8. notice that i didn't recommend that he purchase the 50mm 1.2, the 35mm 1.4, or the 85mm 1.2. they are great lenses as well, but not appropriate for a student, in my opinion. (and by the way, the 50mm 1.4 isn't an L-series lens, my mistake. the 1.2 is.)
in my opinion, the 50mm 1.2 is a specialized lens. no one is going to purchase that lens for casual shooting, nor should they. it's expensive and heavy. and yeah, at 1200.00 it is 4x the price of the 1.4. i agree with you.

 

[uofmtiger]

I'm waiting for her reply. Then she and I will have a nice talk. I've got at least 2 weeks to decide on her 'surprise'.

I need to find out what her 'usual' lens is. It probably was the one that came with the camera. Maybe a 50mm 2.8? I dunno.

She is supposedly 'too busy studying' to send me an email. Then I get a text message from her this morning: "I won the poker tournament last night"....

WTF!?? Well, in my eyes she can do no wrong, so there!

Rick

The "kit" lens for the 20D is usually the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 Lens. I got some decent shots with it, but I rarely use it anymore. The 50mm f1.8, at around $70 should be a nice addition to her bag. The great part is that you can spend the money left over to get another prime lens for her. I have taken quite a few shots with the 1.8 (although I have only posted a few) and it works great and is very sharp.

I am curious to hear what lens she is wanting to add to her bag. Let us know when you find out!