5D Lens suggestions

[pakman]

Off on a tangent, howsabout any suggestions for alternatives to the Canon 24-105 f4 L IS USM for a general topside (sorry) lens?

Larry, next time you're over on this side of the Pearl Delta, swing by and I'll let you play with the 24-105L. Should be very nice on a FF body. 24mm on a cropped sensor is just not wide enough but still it's my favorite general walk-around topside lens and I still have the 10-22 sitting around if I need something wider.

I guess you'll have to decide on whether you prefer the faster 24-70 f/2.8L or 24-105 f/4 L, 1 stop slower but with IS. You've got the 70-200 f2.8 L IS right?

 

[Hammerhead]

Yup Mike, that was my first new buy, and it's lovely!

I'm not really sure how much use the extra stop is for a general lens, so I'd probably stick with the 24-105, but I was interested to see if anyone had a Sigma / Tokina suggestion. I'm cheap, you see

 

[bigfrog23]

the 24-70 2.8L is worth the money. i have shot with bot the 24-105 and the 24-70 and currently own the 24-70 2.8L. the 24-70 2.8L outperforms the 24-105 4L IS ever time. the 24-70 is much sharper than the 24-105. plus the 24-70 is a stop faster than the the 24-105. Image stabilization is not much help at the wider angles and even at 105 the benefits are minimal at best. As far as build quality the two lenses are about equal but the 24-70 feel better in my hands and is a little smoother when zooming. the one thing that the 24-105 has going for it is that it is about half the weight of the 24-70 aka the brick. personally i don't mind the weight of the 24-70 it is much lighter than the 70-200 2.8 but it is still heavy for its size. i find that the weight of the 24-70 helps me hold it steadier at slower shutter speeds.

one lens third party lens that i like a lot and am going to add to my collection is the sigma 17-70 it has gotten good reviews and looks very sharp. plus it is about 800.00 cheeper than the cannon lenses

 

[Kim]

one lens third party lens that i like a lot and am going to add to my collection is the sigma 17-70 it has gotten good reviews and looks very sharp. plus it is about 800.00 cheeper than the cannon lenses

That's an AP-C sensor lens like a Canon EF-S lens. It will vignette on a full frame.

It's a great lens for either the 400D or 40D. I have it.

 

[bigfrog23]

ya i forgot about that o well

 

[spt29970]

Just so you know, you can't use the 24-105 F4L lens underwater. It is too wide. If you use it in with a flat port, it will vignette on the 24mm end. Its effective focal point moves too much to put it in a dome. If you use an extension to push it out so that it won't hit the dome, the focal point won't be centered on the center of the dome. This will lead to lots of distortion. I have this lens and I love, it, but it is strictly for topside use. For wide angle underwater I use the Canon 24-70 WA zoom and a Sigma 15mm fisheye under a dome port. For macro, I use the Canon 100mm macro under a flat port with a Macromate wet diopter. This covers pretty much the whole range for me.

 

[Hammerhead]

one lens third party lens that i like a lot and am going to add to my collection is the sigma 17-70 it has gotten good reviews and looks very sharp. plus it is about 800.00 cheeper than the cannon lenses

As Kim said ^^^^^^

I also used this one with my 350D and then the 400D. Very, very good value, but not OK for full frame. I'll be selling it off shortly.

Pakman was good enough to lend me his 24-105 to try out. To clarify, my intention was to use this topside, and it's a nice lens, that's for sure.

The fact that the 24-70 can also go underwater will probably settle the argument, though.

The final call?

Underwater

EF 15mm f/2.8 (Christmas Present )
EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM (bought last weekend)
EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM (Christmas Present )
Sigma AF 50mm f/2.8 EX Macro (already own one)
EF 100mm f/2.0 USM (already own one)

Topside

EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM (again)
EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM (already own one)

Next year, I probably will buy the 24-105, but I think I have the bases covered for now...

Thanks all of you!

 

[pakman]

Can I get my 24-105L back now... I'm kind of feeling incomplete without it... :mooner:

And why would you get the 24-105L if you're already getting the 24-70L (for topside)?

um Larry - the 24-70 is too big for Ike ports, or is their port chart outdated?
"*24-70mm EF f/2.8 Lens diameter is too large to operate in port system."

Canon SLR Port Chart

 

[Hammerhead]

Mike, I'll bring it back this weekend and give you a shout to deliver it.

As for the port size for the 24-70mm, I'm now completely confused

um Larry - the 24-70 is too big for Ike ports, or is their port chart outdated?
"*24-70mm EF f/2.8 Lens diameter is too large to operate in port system."

I use the Canon 24-70 WA zoom and a Sigma 15mm fisheye under a dome port

For the holidays, I'll pack the 15mm, 17-40mm and the 100mm. Should have me covered.

Anyone shot a 15mm fisheye in the 6" Dome? Any comments? Basically it would be a PITA to pack both ports if not necessary...

 

[pakman]

Larry, if you plan on housing the 17-40 and those others, you might want to consider the bigger 8" dome and get rid of the small dome.