Favorite Lens?

[Monica]

What is your favorite Canon lens to photograph with, and why?

[Chadowe]

Fave lens is easily my 70-200mm F/2.8L IS (V1).  

[Kolor-Pikker]

85LII ... The thing may as well be glued to my camera.

[airfrogusmc]

Favorite lens? That would be my Leica 35 1.4 summilux.

Favorite Canon lens is my 200 2L.

[Seapup]

It depends on what I'm shooting. If I had to choose only one, it would have to be the EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS II.

[grandpawrichard]

It all depends on what I am photographing as to which of my lenses is my favorite. My 2 main lenses that I go to are my Canon 17-40 L or my Canon 400 f/5.6 L telephoto. Both of these lenses give me excellent photos. 🙂 I also use my old 70-200 f/4 L lens a lot when the 17-40 L just doesn't have quite enough reach, but my 300 L and my 400 L are too much reach.

I have ready so many posts about how you need to have ultra fast lenses to get good photos in dark situations. I was taught how to use the camera at it's fullest by opening the lens wide open and slowing down the shutter speed, plus using the Higher ASA or ISO settings. My Canon 7D is a Wonderful tool for this! I love the higher ISO settings of this camera and have pulled off quite a few great shots in extremely tough situations.

Recently I went to my Grand Daughter's Orchestra Recital. I sat in a tiny balcony as close to the stage as possible. The stage lights were harsh and varying in intensity, so I had to resort to an ISO of 1250 with a Wide open setting on my lenses. The following photo was taken at 1/80 of a second and hand held:

 http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b218/grandpawrichard/prettyGirlsmallerwithsignature-4047.jpg

That Canon 400 f/5.6 L did me proud!

Here is a photo I took with my Canon 17-40 L. This shot was well after dark. The shot was hand held, I can't remember what the ISO range was, but the lens was wide opened and I only used the existing light from the cabin to illuminate the exposure:

 http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b218/grandpawrichard/A%20Weekend%20in%20the%20San%20Juan%20Islands...

So I guess I can say that my 2 favorite lenses are my Canon 17-40 L and my Canon 400 L!

[stevepow]

Tough call...depends on the situation.

The "me" lens is the 35/1.4 L mainly because I used to shoot so much 35mm on a Leica M, so the format is what I "see" and the quality of that lens is lovely.  I still have a Summilux-R 35/f2 with an adapter, but in many comparison shot I have done I always prefer the Canon lens - really no contest.

Travel, the 24-105 IS L - light enough and a good range that can get most shots. Wish it was a 2.8, but that would probably make it too heavy and expensive. 🙂  That and a 16-35 and you have all you need for travel - except for a safari.

Value - 70-200 2.8 IS II - for portraits, events, wildlife, etc - this is a must have lens for anyone.  So versatile and excellent IQ.

Work - architecture - the 24mm TSE - wow, what a fantastic lens and if you can live with manual focus full time, it is an awesome 24mm lens in general.  The IQ of this lens will spoil you.

50 1.2 L - another reasonably priced gorgeous lens - can produce stunning selective focus shots .  Wish the 85mm would get updated to be as nice.

Very Honorable mention - 40mm pancake.  Don't laugh.  Light as a feather and makes the 5DMKIII into a great walk around camera - and the IQ is great.  For $200, this lens is a no brainer.  Put it on and take your small lightweight camera anywhere.

[Bingo]

Believe it or not, right now it's the cheap nifty fifty 1.8. I took some great photographs of the NYC Sandy blackout. I've had this lens in my bag for a long time w/o using it. Much to my surprise, I'm enjoying it.

I do like the wide angle 16-35 2.8L

[MrL]

It's the 70-200 2.8 vII I have bigger and I have smaller, but time and time again this is my go to lens for great shots. I shot all day with it at the San Diego zoo. I could not imagine a better option.

[JoeN]

The 24-105 stays on my 7D most of the time as my walk around lens. A lot of people say the lens is not wide enough for a crop body but it is perfect for my shooting style.

[David]

My favorite is the 135mm f/2, it performs even when I don't.