topic Re: Best (Not Ultra Expensive) Everyday Lens for Canon 5d Mark II? in EF & RF Lenses

Best (Not Ultra Expensive) Everyday Lens for Canon 5d Mark II?

kayleec — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 22:41:40 GMT

Hi Everyone!

I have a Canon 5d Mark II but have never upgraded from my Canon 50mm 1.8 lens. I primarily am shooting indoors and I'd love to be able to fit a little more in the frame (the rooms in my house are small and I'm typically shooting everyday life/family scenes). I'd consider myself an amateur photographer so I'm not looking to spend thousands, but the 50mm just isn't working for me.

Any suggestions? I've looked into the Canon 35mm f/2 but have seen mixed reviews.

Re: Best (Not Ultra Expensive) Everyday Lens for Canon 5d Mark II?

kvbarkley — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 22:43:49 GMT

Do you want a zoom or prime?

The 40mm f/2 might also be a good choice.

Re: Best (Not Ultra Expensive) Everyday Lens for Canon 5d Mark II?

kayleec — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 22:50:13 GMT

I'm open to either zoom or prime. I've been looking into prime lenses because they seem to be less expensive. I have loved the 50mm's aperture abilities (not sure if that's how you'd phrase that...) since my original kit lens I had back in the day (with my Rebel T3i) didn't get even close to 1.8.

Re: Best (Not Ultra Expensive) Everyday Lens for Canon 5d Mark II?

ScottyP — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 23:25:17 GMT

My everyday lens is a Sigma Art 35mm f/1.4. Super sharp and goes right into dark rooms and comes out with great shots.

Re: Best (Not Ultra Expensive) Everyday Lens for Canon 5d Mark II?

RobertTheFat — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 23:28:11 GMT

@kayleec wrote:
Hi Everyone!

I have a Canon 5d Mark II but have never upgraded from my Canon 50mm 1.8 lens. I primarily am shooting indoors and I'd love to be able to fit a little more in the frame (the rooms in my house are small and I'm typically shooting everyday life/family scenes). I'd consider myself an amateur photographer so I'm not looking to spend thousands, but the 50mm just isn't working for me.

Any suggestions? I've looked into the Canon 35mm f/2 but have seen mixed reviews.

You want the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS. It's an excellent lens for the money and can sometimes be found at a significant discount. And it's in the process of being replaced by a newer model, which should put additional downward pressure on its price.

Re: Best (Not Ultra Expensive) Everyday Lens for Canon 5d Mark II?

kvbarkley — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 23:30:05 GMT

I guess the Art is not *Ultra* expensive, just ridiculosly expensive.

Re: Best (Not Ultra Expensive) Everyday Lens for Canon 5d Mark II?

Waddizzle — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 10:20:05 GMT

@kayleec wrote:
Hi Everyone!

I have a Canon 5d Mark II but have never upgraded from my Canon 50mm 1.8 lens. I primarily am shooting indoors and I'd love to be able to fit a little more in the frame (the rooms in my house are small and I'm typically shooting everyday life/family scenes). I'd consider myself an amateur photographer so I'm not looking to spend thousands, but the 50mm just isn't working for me.

Any suggestions? I've looked into the Canon 35mm f/2 but have seen mixed reviews.

If you want a wide angle lens, with a wide aperture, you're going to spend some money, especially for a full frame body.

I'm not sure if a 35mm lens can give you the angle of view that you seem to be looking for. I'd advise looking at something in the 16-28mm range, with f/2.8 aperture, or faster.

I think what you're looking for is something like the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, which has recently been replaced by a version III of the lens. But, neither lens is inexpensive. The EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM is a great lens, but I would advise using a flash indoors with an f/4 lens. A flash is a good investment, anyway.

You can find the 24-105mm lens in Canon's Refurbished Store for as much as 40% of the regular list price, when it goes on sale. Items sell out quickly in the Refurbished store because they are such excellent values for the money.

Re: Best (Not Ultra Expensive) Everyday Lens for Canon 5d Mark II?

TCampbell — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 12:57:29 GMT

Canon has a few new lenses... the most popular lens for the 5D II had been the 24-105mm f/4L ... about $1000 but could sometimes be found in a "white box" edition for maybe $700. It was the "kit" lens for a few cameras and sometimes the consumer wanted the "body only" (they already owned lenses) but the store didn't have a "body only" package to sell...so they'd remove the lens and sell it separately as a "white box".

Also the 24-105mm f/4L has been updated and there's now a version "II" of that lens. (often that means you can get the original version less.) The refurb of the original is available on the Canon store for about $650.

There's also the EF 17-40mm f/4L... about $590 on the refurb store.

Lastly, now Canon sells a version of the 24-105 in a variable f/3.5-5.6 version. I see this lens is available in Canon's "refurbished" section of the store for only $479.

Re: Best (Not Ultra Expensive) Everyday Lens for Canon 5d Mark II?

ebiggs1 — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 13:51:50 GMT

Bob from Boston has again offered the correct answer.

"You want the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS."

This lens is hard to beat at its regular price. It is a Best Buy in a pro level Canon "L" lens. Usually the first L lens most people buy. And now the price is sure to come down with the release of the new version. If you look for a WHite Box copy you can expect $700 or even lower in a price. An outstanding value.

Re: Best (Not Ultra Expensive) Everyday Lens for Canon 5d Mark II?

Waddizzle — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 14:09:07 GMT

@ebiggs1 wrote:
Bob from Boston has again offered the correct answer.
"You want the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS."

This lens is hard to beat at its regular price. It is a Best Buy in a pro level Canon "L" lens. Usually the first L lens most people buy. And now the price is sure to come down with the release of the new version. If you look for a WHite Box copy you can expect $700 or even lower in a price. An outstanding value.

Everything you said, i would agree with. Except for this case, the OP stated they mainly shoot indoors with a 50mm f/1.8..

Re: Best (Not Ultra Expensive) Everyday Lens for Canon 5d Mark II?

RobertTheFat — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 15:28:38 GMT

@Waddizzle wrote:
@ebiggs1 wrote:
Bob from Boston has again offered the correct answer.
"You want the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS."

This lens is hard to beat at its regular price. It is a Best Buy in a pro level Canon "L" lens. Usually the first L lens most people buy. And now the price is sure to come down with the release of the new version. If you look for a WHite Box copy you can expect $700 or even lower in a price. An outstanding value.
Everything you said, i would agree with. Except for this case, the OP stated they mainly shoot indoors with a 50mm f/1.8..

And indoors the 50mm f/1.8 makes perfect sense. But outdoors or with flash, the 24-105 is a lot more versatile.

Re: Best (Not Ultra Expensive) Everyday Lens for Canon 5d Mark II?

Waddizzle — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 15:50:45 GMT

@RobertTheFat wrote:
@Waddizzle wrote:
@ebiggs1 wrote:
Bob from Boston has again offered the correct answer.
"You want the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS."

This lens is hard to beat at its regular price. It is a Best Buy in a pro level Canon "L" lens. Usually the first L lens most people buy. And now the price is sure to come down with the release of the new version. If you look for a WHite Box copy you can expect $700 or even lower in a price. An outstanding value.
Everything you said, i would agree with. Except for this case, the OP stated they mainly shoot indoors with a 50mm f/1.8..
And indoors the 50mm f/1.8 makes perfect sense. But outdoors or with flash, the 24-105 is a lot more versatile.

Buying a flash to use with an f/4 lens indooors is exactly what I pointed out above.

Re: Best (Not Ultra Expensive) Everyday Lens for Canon 5d Mark II?

ebiggs1 — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 16:02:59 GMT

" But outdoors or with flash, the 24-105 is a lot more versatile."

The ef 24-105mm f4 is more versatile,...period. No prime can match the versatility of a decent zoom like the 24-105mil.

An ef 50mm f1.8 is an add-on for the 24-105mm, an asterisk, if you will.

Re: Best (Not Ultra Expensive) Everyday Lens for Canon 5d Mark II?

ScottyP — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 17:32:41 GMT

Flash is not a solution for everything.

A single on camera flash can look terrible and you certainly don't want to lug multiple units on lightstands everywhere you go. No one would invite you twice to a party. ;). You can't always bounce off ceilings or walls. Often ceilings are too high or painted black. Walls are often too far away or obscured or painted an off color. Or you may simply be outside in the evening.

If you have people in the scene at different distances from the flash, then due to falloff the close ones may be overexposed and/or the farther away ones may be underilluminated. Even ceiling bounced flash can light up the top of someone unevenly with their legs/feet etc.

Also flash can just be a pain to lug around and fool with. Hard to match flash color to ambient light so either you use gels or you just don't match. Some shots will come out blown out or underexposed or sometimes the flash won't fire at all due to recycling or heating. And batteries. Etc etc.

Also, after a few shots, the blinding shock grenade effect of flash can irritate the people you are shooting, or at least it keeps them acutely aware at all times that you are taking photos so candids are out of the question.

I really prefer the ease ease and the unobtrusiveness of shooting in natural/ambient light a whole lot more than using flash. That is why my 35mm f/1.4 prime never leaves the camera unless I am mounting the 70-200 or the macro to do something totally different. I have a 24-105 f/4. And I go 6 months or longer at a time without ever using it. The bright prime is able to use 8x more light than the f/4 lens so flash is almost never needed. When I do use it, it is most often outside in daylight for fill light.

Everyone is entitled to to their own opinions, and I think maybe the OP is a fan of bright primes, as am I. A 35mm f/1.4 or 1.8 from Canon, Sigma or other brand could be a valid and legitimate choice.

Re: Best (Not Ultra Expensive) Everyday Lens for Canon 5d Mark II?

Waddizzle — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 17:53:06 GMT

@ScottyP wrote:
Flash is not a solution for everything.

[deleted stuff]

Everyone is entitled to to their own opinions, and I think maybe the OP is a fan of bright primes, as am I. A 35mm f/1.4 or 1.8 from Canon, Sigma or other brand could be a valid and legitimate choice.

I agree. Flash is not the solution, but it will be needed indoors with an f/4 lens under many, if not most, circumstances.

But, what the OP wants doesn't exist. Wide Angle, Fast, and "not ultra expensive". Sigma makes f/1.4 "Art" lenses at 20mm, 24mm, and 35mm. And, the OP seemed to indicate that 50mm wasn't coming close. While 35mm may be a good lens, it just might not be wide enough. I use my 16-35mm zoom indoors a lot, and I'm almost always 24mm, or shorter.