Buying a 70D body this week. Any lens suggestions would be VERY helpful.

[aholeinthewor1d]

I know a lot of people debate about getting a camera with a kit lens or getting the body and then a better lens. I am not asking about that. The deal I am getting through Adorama is for the body only so I have to get a separate lens. For right now I just want the best possible "general" lens I can get for a decent price. So I am considering getting the normal 18-55 STM lens that would normally come with the kit but I wanted some opinions about if there was anything better for the price or around the price. This is canons rebate form with some lenses and I would also consider 3rd party lens suggestions. http://www.adorama.com/pdfs/rebates/Canon_MIR_Nov_2014.pdf

If you had to get the body only please let me know what you would get for a general lens. If there is something similar to the kit lens price (or a little higher) that is better I would like to get that. Thank you!!

[TCampbell]

A consideration on the the zoon ranges is that these 28-75 & 28-135 zooms have no wide-angle side to them when they're used on a 70D.

A "normal" focal length (one which does not appear "wide angle" nor "telephoto") is a focal length which matches the diagonal measure of the imaging chip.  

A 70D's chip is 22.5 x 15mm -- giving a diagonal of 27mm.    Nobody makes a 27mm exactly, so that would make a 28mm lens as close to normal as it gets for this camera.  Anything below 27mm offers some wide angle and anything above offers some telephoto.  This is why the kit lens is for so many APS-C cameras is an 18-55 or, on the higher end, an 18-135.  These lenses can be used as general purpose standard zooms... offering a bit of wide angle plus telephoto.

A refurb'd 18-135 non-STM is on sale in Canon's store for $299.  The refurb'd 18-135 STM version is $439.  A "new" 18-135 STM is $549.  The 18-135mm STM would probably be my #1 pick for a 70D.  The STM focusing motor is noticeably faster than the non-STM (but not as fast as USM) and if video recording is something you think you might do, then it's also got the benefit of being much quieter -- focus motor noise is unlikely to be a distraction in your videos.

There is the mention the BMX thing and if photography of BMX is important, than snappy focusing motors will be a really big deal (otherwise the action will fly by before the camera can focus.)  Action photography tends to mean expensive lenses (think $2k+ for the ideal lenses... on a budget you can work with less money but be prepared to accept compromises.)  An STM lens wont be completely ideal, but it'll do much better than a lens with standard focusing motors.  Scott Kelby (a well-known photographer who shoots a lot of sports) did a seminar that got recorded and he starts out by telling the audience that to get into sports photography, you need a suitcase full of money.  He's only partially joking because he does go on to explain that you're often shooting fast action (need fast shutter speeds), in poor lighting (need low-aperture lenses), and usually at distance (need somewhat long focal length lenses).  When you add those up, you get REALLY expensive price tags.  

[mrz1342]

Hi based on my same question and advices here i understand we would have two options to set 70d gear for covering all peruses: first crop-lens-combo including 50 f1.4 + 70-200 f4L is + 60 f2.8 macro. Option 2: 24-70 f4L is + 70-200 f4L is + 100 f2.8 macro. Some professionals believe that ff lenses are not responding very well on apc crop cameras like 70d and some say its no problem you can us ff lenses on 70d just you need add a wide lens with lower focal range 10-20mm to your gear. And still even i am confusing any pro advice?

[ebiggs1]

" Some professionals believe that ff lenses are not responding very well on apc crop cameras like 70d ..."

This is nonsense.  EF lenses work very well on crop bodies like the 70D.

[ScottyP]

EFS lenses work great on crop cameras, and I would recommend them to anyone who is not on a super cheap budget. The only thing is that the zooms tend to be a little long/awkward.

The "normal zoom" on a full frame camera starts at 24mm. Typical will be a 24-70 or a 24-105 zoom. That is what most people expect in a zoom range for full frame.

The "normal zoom" on a crop is 18-55mm, or 17-55 or 18-135. They start at 17 or 18 because that is how wide most people want to be able to go on a normal everyday lens on a crop, because the crop adds a 1.6x multiplier to every focal length. Lens designers have adjusted the 24-xx focal length of full frame to a 17 or 18 to xx length to give a similar effective range.

You certainly can go straight to a lens like 24-xx On a crop body but you may find it a little frustrating at times to have your widest possible shooting perspective to be like 38mm equivalent. Hard to get multiple people, or head-to-toe images, etc to fit into a shot, etc. Or you might not care for wide shots and never miss them. I actually think I could live with it myself, not being much of a wide shooter.

I think you would get a lot of good use out of a 17-55 f/2.8. Great lens. Great wide aperture for low light and for shallow DOF that makes your subject pop. And twice as bright as an f/4 lens, to keep you from needing grainy high ISO's as often. And with an "adjusted" focal range that is what Canon and Nikon and everyone else thinks most crop shooters need.

[HPL]

Howdy!

You don't say anything about what your photographic interests are or what kind of budget you are working with.  In general I advise folks to go with the fastest lenses in the focal lengths which fit the subjects in which they  are interested.  The F:2.8 70-200 rather than the F:4, for instance.  I will say that if I was interested in Macro, I would definitely go with the new image stabilized 100mm (which can be found previously owned for not too much green).

[mrz1342]

Dear scotty many thanks for your nice writing and useful tutorial advice. In conclusion i can go for 24-70 f4 + 17-55 f2.8 to cover mid-macro, portrait, landscape, mid-zoom aswell as lowlight and indoor shooting. Later on i can go for 70-200 f4 or 2.8 is usm if i really need that range. However at the time of changing my 70d to 5diii i can use these lenses except i need to change 17-55 to 100 f2.8 macro for better close up. Am i right?

[mrz1342]

1. my shooting concern: portrait, landscape and indoor general but my goal is fine art photography and abstract photography.
2. for now i prefer to use 24-70 f4 at its macro mode and later on 100mm f2.8 as you mentioned for real macro.

[HPL]

Actually, were I you, since you mentioned "indoor",  I would be looking for a good, previously owned 24-70 F:2.8 rather than the F:4 as it will have better boca and, of course, it is a full stop faster and so more useful in lower light conditions.  KEH.com is probably the best place to check for the used equipment, they have a huge selection, good return policy and warranty.  Call them if you don't see what you are looking for on the site as their stock changes rapidly. 

[ebiggs1]

"1. my shooting concern: portrait, landscape and indoor general but my goal is fine art photography and abstract photography.

2. for now i prefer to use 24-70 f4 at its macro mode and later on 100mm f2.8 as you mentioned for real macro.

... In conclusion i can go for 24-70 f4 + 17-55 f2.8 to cover mid-macro, portrait, landscape, mid-zoom aswell as lowlight and indoor shooting. Later on i can go for 70-200 f4 or 2.8 is usm if i really need that range. However at the time of changing my 70d to 5diii i can use these lenses except i need to change 17-55 to 100 f2.8 macro for better close up. Am i right?"

"Am i right?"

No you are not and have been told many times.  You are one dense cookie!     I think you need to buy whatever you deem fit and learn by mistaken trail and error.  A lot of us learned that way.

[ScottyP]

Mrz:

I would recommend a 24-xx lens OR a 17-55. Not both. They are too similar to get both.

You are correct that the 17-55 won't work on ff like a 5d3. I have a 17-55 I love but never use because I went to full frame. If you feel sure you will make the switch perhaps you should start with all full frame lenses, or at least buy a used 17-55 so you can sell it for what you paid for it.