Canon 20D lense choice advice!

[Huggles]

Hi there



As some of you know, I'm about to buy a 20D for car/girl photos, indoor, cramped space photos ( no / little room for lights ) and outdoor shots.



I'm going to order the stuff tomorrow, and so far here is the lense I have chosen based on the advice of the all wise Aaron M, and the dude on the phone at the camera place:


http://www.adencamera.com/prod-overv...125&Category=7


What do you think? Any other Canon lenses I should look at?


Thanks for all of your advice!

[parazzi]

i use a 50mm 1.4 prime on all my shoots. that 24-70L zoom is a great lens

[Huggles]

Originally Posted by parazzi

i use a 50mm 1.4 prime on all my shoots. that 24-70L zoom is a great lens

Yeah the salesman told me it would be the only lense I would ever need! Of course, he's trying to sell me a $1600 dollar lense...

[Makingcoin]

Good choice on the camera bro, that lens looks pretty slick too.

[Huggles]

Originally Posted by Makingcoin

Good choice on the camera bro, that lens looks pretty slick too.

I might be moving downtown soon too.



Not looking forward to "steal anything" underground parking.

[ChewbaCreative]

maybe CANON EF28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM + CANON EF50mm f/1.4 USM and you save $800

[rowan]

Just remember that on your 20D a 24mm focal length will be the same as a 38.4mm lens on a full frame/film camera, due to the smaller sensor.

Are you ordering by mail or can you go in and see it?

You could probably even get away with the 18-55mm EF-S kit lens for starters, and figure out where you need to go from there. Better to spend +$150 on the kit lens than $1600 on your L glass and realise the zoom range isn't sufficient...?

[Huggles]

Originally Posted by rowan

Just remember that on your 20D a 24mm focal length will be the same as a 38.4mm lens on a full frame/film camera, due to the smaller sensor.

Are you ordering by mail or can you go in and see it?

You could probably even get away with the 18-55mm EF-S kit lens for starters, and figure out where you need to go from there. Better to spend +$150 on the kit lens than $1600 on your L glass and realise the zoom range isn't sufficient...?

Uhhh, uhhhh.... Beavis, uhhh



I don't get it



Although, will I really need much zoom since the camera has a crazy ass 8 MP resolution?

[abyss_al]

if you're gonna have cramped space, i'd go with a wider angle lense.. maybe 18mm? and closer ratio to 1 (1:1) the better... but they get expensive

[rowan]

Originally Posted by Huggles

Uhhh, uhhhh.... Beavis, uhhh



I don't get it



Although, will I really need much zoom since the camera has a crazy ass 8 MP resolution?

The low end Canon sensors have what is called a 1.6 times crop factor, which means that you have to multiply the focal length that is printed on the lens by 1.6. If you put the lens on a normal film body and then onto your 20D it's like you've zoomed in 1.6 times.

So it's not the telephoto (zoom) end of the range you have to worry about - you may find yourself in a situation where you can't "pull back" any further...

I found even 18mm wasn't wide enough on my 1.6X crop camera, so I went for a 12-24mm lens. That's a fairly extreme change though, if you're doing portraits you probably don't want to go that wide.

[Makingcoin]

I might be moving downtown soon too.



Not looking forward to "steal anything" underground parking.

Awesome bro, underground parking is a nightmare down here. I just leave the top off my car when I park it, I don't need anymore broken windows.

[abyss_al]

Originally Posted by rowan

The low end Canon sensors have what is called a 1.6 times crop factor, which means that you have to multiply the focal length that is printed on the lens by 1.6. If you put the lens on a normal film body and then onto your 20D it's like you've zoomed in 1.6 times.

So it's not the telephoto (zoom) end of the range you have to worry about - you may find yourself in a situation where you can't "pull back" any further...

I found even 18mm wasn't wide enough on my 1.6X crop camera, so I went for a 12-24mm lens. That's a fairly extreme change though, if you're doing portraits you probably don't want to go that wide.

did the 12mm give you a fish eye effect?

[quantum-x]

Great lens. any L series lens is going to rock.
If you want to shoot GonzoVision style content, get yourself a fisheye.

For wideangle, you can't go past the 16-35 f3.5 L

[rowan]

Originally Posted by abyss_al

did the 12mm give you a fish eye effect?

No, it's a rectilinear lens and there's very little barrel distortion, so if you're pointing at a vertical or horizontal line it stays straight. There is another kind of issue though - perspective distortion. If you point your lens too far off the vertical horizon then the edges start leaning inwards:



It's not necessarily bad, sometimes I think those crazy diagonals add to the image:



One problem with ultra wide lenses is that subjects off-centre tend to get stretched towards the edges, which might make some content girls upset. "Does this lens make me look fat?"

[quantum-x]

yeah, i'd say 12mm is overboard for content.

[tony286]

sigma 24-70 2.8 its a great lens and about $500

[quantum-x]

Originally Posted by tony404

sigma 24-70 2.8 its a great lens and about $500

Has nothing on the Canon L series though..

[tony286]

Originally Posted by quantum-x

Has nothing on the Canon L series though..

actually if you go the photography boards they say its very close and when you consider the price is less than half its a great deal.

[MaDalton]

we use the canon ef 24-70 lens - it makes great pics but a bit more zoom would be cool. looking for some addition right now

[quantum-x]

Originally Posted by tony404

actually if you go the photography boards they say its very close and when you consider the price is less than half its a great deal.

Yeah, it depends on what purpose you're using it for.
Most lenses, you wont notice on your 6x8 prints.

If you're a picky bastard, or blow up your photos, then you'll see the L series glass doing you justice

[EROTEEK]

well, if you want a larger lens, and youa are not very keen of the ideea of spending 1.6k on a Canon L, I advise you to look at the following:

Sigma 18-125 EXDG - my fave price/performance related
Canon 18-55 kit lens - el cheapo
Tokina 12-24/4 - around 500$ new
Sigma 12-24
Canon 10-22

[Huggles]

So everyone agrees the L-series will kick ass for doing single-girl-site style shoots?



I am going to buy it in 30 minutes.

[AaronM]

Originally Posted by Huggles

So everyone agrees the L-series will kick ass for doing single-girl-site style shoots?



I am going to buy it in 30 minutes.

Please tell me that you are talking about 1600 cad because if not, you are paying too much.

[Huggles]

$1600 cnd!

[rowan]

Originally Posted by quantum-x

Yeah, it depends on what purpose you're using it for.
Most lenses, you wont notice on your 6x8 prints.

If you're a picky bastard, or blow up your photos, then you'll see the L series glass doing you justice

That's a good point. Do you need top quality glass when all of your images will end up at 1024 pixels max on the longest side in a members area?

[abyss_al]

Originally Posted by rowan

No, it's a rectilinear lens and there's very little barrel distortion, so if you're pointing at a vertical or horizontal line it stays straight. There is another kind of issue though - perspective distortion. If you point your lens too far off the vertical horizon then the edges start leaning inwards:



It's not necessarily bad, sometimes I think those crazy diagonals add to the image:



One problem with ultra wide lenses is that subjects off-centre tend to get stretched towards the edges, which might make some content girls upset. "Does this lens make me look fat?"

cool shit... thanx

[FelixFlow]

Canon 24-70 2.8 "L"

[vickyQ]

get canon 17-40/f4 L, Canon 50/1.8 and possibly the 24-70/L if you want to have zoom for the higher range. Also, many people (michael reichman too - www.luminous-landscapes.com) like the canon 17-85 lens. not a L grade lens but when you ask a question like this I assume you are not a pro and will be satisfied with this one as well.

[Huggles]

Originally Posted by vickyQ

I assume you are not a pro and will be satisfied with this one as well.

I don't even know how to use a lense



You'll be seeing me begging someone on the boards to teach me how to download the pics from the camera to my laptop

[vickyQ]

I did not mean to offend you nor make fun of you. I'm not a pro myself and many times I asked for help on the internet.

I gave you my opinion - for crowded space the 17mm at the widest end is a wise choice...