Best Lens for Canon EOS 5D Mark III

[Bradenkr]

Hi everyone! 

I was hoping to get your opinion on a good lens to get for my new camera. I recently upgraded and am loving shooting on my 50 mm 1.8 lens. However, I'm hoping to get another lens that is either a wide angle or just a normal frame that is not zoomed in like my 50 mm. If you have recommendations on lenses that will not break my bank account, I'd love to hear it! I'm looking for anything from 200-700 dollars, but lower is great if you know of something that is still qualitiy. 

Thanks!

[rs-eos]

What did you have prior to the 5D Mark III?

You'll have to be more specific with the types of images you want to create in order to get lens recommendations.

When you say "zoomed in" like the 50mm, I'm wondering if perhaps your last camera had an APS-C sensor?  If so, the 50mm on that camera would have a field-of-view as an 80mm would have on a full-frame camera like the 5D III. 

[Bradenkr]

Hey! I had a Canon Rebel t3i. I'm hoping to have a lens that will do well with landscape shots and also family photos with lower/smaller aperture. 

[rs-eos]

If you're doing group shots of people, the 50mm f/1.8 will do well.  It's wide aperture is also very useful for indoor shots especially in more dimly lit rooms.

For landscapes, adding a wide angle lens of 24mm or wider (18mm, 14mm) would be what I would recommend.  Cost though could be a challenge depending on if you want to stick with a new Canon lens.

[jrhoffman75]

One drawback of FF cameras compared to APS-C versions is a a lesser amount of lenses, particularly lower cost lenses.

A good all-around lens that will work for landscapes is the 24-70 version. You could go wider with the 16-35, but it has a narrow range of focal lengths.

[amfoto1]

There are any number of lenses that might meet your needs. But to narrow it down...

I think by "lower/smaller aperture" you mean larger aperture (lower number) for better usability in low light conditions. There are 16-35mm and 24-70mm zooms with f/2.8 maximum apertures, but they will be well over your stated budget. There are also f/4 versions of 16-35mm and 24-70mm that are more affordable and would be excellent for landscape photography, but perhaps not ideal for indoors, low light, astrophotography. There's also EF 24-105mm f/4 IS USM (both original and II version).

Instead of zooms, smaller, more affordable prime lenses might meet your needs.

• EF 20mm f/2.8 USM
• EF 24mm f/2 IS USM
• EF 28mm f/2 IS USM
• EF 28mm f/1.8 USM
• EF 35mm f/2 IS USM

As you can see, these primes also have at least f/2.8 max aperture and in some cases even f/2 or f/1.8.

To stretch you budget further in any case, look for used or refurbished (here on the Canon website).

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Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7DII (x2), 7D(x2), EOS M5, some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
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