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State your favorite canon lenses and why.

Rameshsalvi
Apprentice

What's your favorite canon lens and why? It would be good if you stated what kind of photography you generally do.

If you have more than one, then please rank them. But try to keep the list short. Perhaps limit to top 3.

31 REPLIES 31

Uzmas
Contributor
70-200 2.8
85 1.2 (the only problem that the focus is very slow).


@arthurgretta wrote:

What's your favorite canon lens and why? It would be good if you stated what kind of photography you generally do.

If you have more than one, then please rank them. But try to keep the list short. Perhaps limit to top 3.


Why should we bother? Such a discussion sounds pointless in this forum. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I suspect that anyone who contributes to this thread will be helping you write a term paper for a photography class.

Bob
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

I ain't biting this time either.  This kind of question belongs on POTN, not here.  About the only thing they talk about is this stuff so it will fit right in.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

Some forum software allows polls for people to post questions like this one.  It is a pointless exercise and I am glad that the Canon community site doesn't have that dubious feature.

 

I have a friend who does a great imitation of Norm Abram in the PBS' New Yankee Workshop and his famous collection of every power tool known to man.  My friend was doing a pretty basic shelf installation project so he went into Norm's spiel about the tool he had chosen to use with the punchline that this was his favorite tool and the best for the job at hand because it was the ONLY tool he had available 🙂

 

My favorite Canon lens is one that I have available to use.  If they come out with a 200-400mm zoom with a f2.8 aperture that is just as sharp and fast focusing as a 400 2.8 prime AND it weighs under 5 pounds then that will become my new favorite lens and I am confident that as soon as the wizards at Canon finish perfecting cold fusion and time travel they will get to work on my lens 🙂

 

Rodger

EOS 1DX M3, 1DX M2, 1DX, 5DS R, M6 Mark II, 1D M2, EOS 650 (film), many lenses, XF400 video

I will gladly answer. My favorite Canon lens is the EF 100/2.8L Macro IS. I liked my first one so much, I bought a second one, five years later, in early 2016, when a price drop made it easier to do so. Well, OK, I actually bought a second one, because I had a duty to photograph evidence, crime scenes, and crime victims, so failure was not an option. The only truly quick “insurance policy” is a spare, of one’s primary item.

Why? Well, I knew I liked macro photography, primarily the wonders of the natural world. When such images became a duty, in late 2010, I was willing to upgrade to the best equipment. Weather sealing was highly desirable. A decade later, a 7D II or 5Ds R, with an EF 100/2.8L Macro IS, a Macro Ringlite flash, and one or more 600EX-RT I/II Speedlites, remains the best rig, in the world, for this task.

Hybrid Image Stabilization really does work. Many of my images were shot in hospital emergency rooms, hand-held, because there was no space to use a tripod, and without flash, because it could distract the medical personnel. (Using AI Servo compensates for the shooter’s own forward-and-backward motion.)

I retired almost two years ago, so the “duty” part has passed, but nature photography remains important. This lens works well for portraits, and general photography, too.

I love the ergonomics of this lens, and it is visually pleasing. This is a wonderful time to be a photographer.

My favorite one is the next one I am going to buy, whichever that is. Lately, I have not had any major GAS attacks.

That is like asking a wood worker what is his/her favorite tool.  All depends what I'm doing.  Seldom drive a nail with a saw or cut a joint with a hammer.  Lenses are tools and depending on the task at hand are selected for the job.  If you had asked what is your favorite lens for a particular situation you might have gotten some real answers.

"State your favorite canon lens and why"

 

These silly queries belong on the POTN forum not here.  They are childish but abound over there.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

I agree with Ernie that this seems to be a ridiculously common thread topic with no real answer because it depends upon the photographer and situation.

 

There is no perfect/favorite overall lens and no matter which lens is on your camera at any given time much of the time a different one could be better.  I.E. for HS football at night, my usual setup is a 300 F2.8 on the 1DX 2 and a 70-200 F2.8 on the 1DX HOWEVER there are times when the 400 2.8 would have been nice and other times the 200 F2 would shine.  And there are also times I wish I had the 24-70 F2.8 on the second body instead of the 70-200 but I am playing the odds and the 300 / 70-200 setup covers most of what happens during a game and the 300 is MUCH lighter than the 400 and with its slightly wider field of view it is easier to make the jump from QB release to the ball arriving at the receiver.  One thing that sets these primes off from other options is the focusing speed is extremely fast in low light which is where many other lens including most zooms begin to have a weakness.

 

For daytime soccer, I have used my lightweight 400 F5.6 often because it is an easy lens to handle and run with for long periods of time and although not as sharp as the big 400, this is one case where weight makes a difference.  Although not the absolute best glass Canon makes, the 400 F5.6 and the 135 F2 provide excellent IQ at a very reasonable price.  I think the Canon 200-400 F4 with integrated 1.4X extender would be a great lens for daytime soccer with its wide focal length range but I haven't tried it yet. 

 

To make the lens that you currently own your favorite lens, learn how to get the most out of it which means start with your placement and then figure out the best combination of the exposure triangle so that the lens can show its best behavior.  The best glass is nearly as good wide open as it is closed down one stop but a lot of glass is much better a stop or two removed from wide open so reducing shutter speed or increasing ISO to allow stepping down the aperture can make a big difference in performance.  Every choice involves trade-offs but wise choices minimize the impact of those trade-offs..

 

Rodger

EOS 1DX M3, 1DX M2, 1DX, 5DS R, M6 Mark II, 1D M2, EOS 650 (film), many lenses, XF400 video

I usually don't respond to these questions because I think they are silly but hey, why not?

My answer is somewhat contrary to the question, however.

 

I could limit myself to only two Canon lenses. The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM Lens. Not only are these the very best lenses Canon makes they are best of their kind made by any company. Not a difficult choice. The issue becomes more clouded when you do add the third, if I could only have three lenses what would that last one be? That lens would almost have to be my Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens for Canon EF.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!
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