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Am I making the right choice with this lens?
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I’ve got a BIG number birthday coming up soon and a new Canon EOS 5D mark ii is on the cards. yay!! I’m hoping to develop my skills in fashion/beauty/headshot photography. Which lens do I choose for my new camera. My budget is somewhere around €1000.
I’ve been looking at the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM Lens. Is this a good choice or is there better cheaper?
i use the sigma 70-200 2.8 and think its great – plus its a lot cheaper
ps. you know the 5d is full frame so all your lenses will seem a lot shorter, and i gather some lenses won’t fit
I would choose EF 135 f/2L – it´s one of the best lenses Canon ever produced and together with 85 f/1.2 L they are the most used lenses in portrait photography. It´s pin sharp with awesome bokeh and it´s also much smaller and lighter (as a woman you will probably appreciate it).
70-200 f/2.8 L is not bad, but definitely not as sharp as the prime and you wouldn´t use the advantage of zoom – this lens is usually chosen by journalists (especially indoor sports photographers) who have limited possibilities of movement.If you want to see some sample photos, look at POTN (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;), there are about 280 pages of sample photos with comments (go to Canon Digital Photography Forums > ‘Equipment Talk’ section > Canon EF and EF-S Lenses > Lens Sample Photo Archive > Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM)
Thanks for response guys.
I have two questions, is it common practice to use non canon lenses on canon cameras. Certainly being cheaper makes the sigma 70-200 2.8 an appealing option!
And also, what impact does having a fixed length have, ie does it matter that you can’t zoom in when taking fashion shots. Please excuse my ignorance on this one, can the EF 135 f/2L be used for close up beauty shots as well as fully body shots?
It´s common practice when you want to save money, however Canon lenses are generally better than Sigma (sharpness usually being the biggest issue of Sigma lenses, although not so big on EX models) or any other cheap third party lenses. On the other hand, for example Zeiss lenses are better than Canon.
Impact of fixed length will be much better quality (sharpness, contrast, more pleasing bokeh). Impossibility to zoom doesn´t matter when shooting fashion, you simply step back or step closer (so called “foot zoom”). But from standard distance even 70 mm is too long for full body shots so you would have to step back anyway. So obviously full body shots are not the most common type of shots taken with this lens, but I´ve seen many.
Or you may also consider the 85 f/1.2 L, it will be better for full body but still long enough for head (the price of an used piece is usually between €1200-1300 while an used 135 f/2 L costs between €700-750)There´s also flickr group called “Best of your Canon EF 135mm f2L” http://www.flickr.com/groups/canon135mmf2l/pool/” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false; – you can compare it to Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L (II) http://www.flickr.com/groups/canonef85mmf12l/pool/” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false; (but beware of photos taken with APS-C cameras)
Thanks again for the advice & recommendation. The reviews for the EF 135 f/2L are unbeatable .. so after some reading around that’s the one I’m going for and very pleased about it too.
Quick update. I have been advised by a sales guy in the Camera Centre that EF 135 f/2L lens will require me to be quite a distance from the subject & therefore requires lots of space? For fashion shots, he recommended the 24-105 f4 L that comes with the kit.
Any thoughts?
1. First advise; never trust a salesman (and I have sales/marketing experience so I know why I´m saying this :D)
2. (Hopefully) you have seen lots of photos taken with this lens so you should know what you can do with this lens and what you can´t, no matter what´s his opinion.My thoughts; 24-105 f/4 L is a good lens. 135 f/2 L is a perfect lens. Do you want to be good or perfect? :)
It´s like comparing Mercedes C to Porsche 911 – you can use it when you want to take kids to school, you can use it when you go shopping on Saturday, you can use it to travel on holiday, but once you visit a racing circuit…MTF charts of both lenses:
24-105 f/4 L
135 f/2 L
If you think that you might need something wider, add a 50 f/1.4 or 28 f/1.8 or something similar, it won´t cost more than the zoom and the quality will be better.
Since you seem to know your lenses very well MMX and because I do want to be perfect (rather than good!), I’m trusting your advice over the sales guy :D
tracey m wrote:
Since you seem to know your lenses very well
There are two groups of people; those who have questions and those who have answers. I have chosen the 2nd group :wink:
Tracey: I’m not a portrait shooter so I am far from an expert on this area of photography.
However I would say that the 70-200 lens you mentioned above is a superb lens with excellent optics and will give stunning results. This paired with a 24-70 2.8 down the road and you have all you will ever need
The zoom will give you allot of flexibility don’t forget. I would not strike it off your list just yet. Id do a bit more research and ask yourself do you need flexibility or will you definitely be shooting at 135mm all the time
Best of Luck with your purchase
MartinThanks for the input Martin. I did come to decide on the 70-200 initially because it seemed to be a popular choice among photographers doing the kind of work I’d like to do.
I think I might rent it along with the 135mm and work with both for a day. Seeing them in action might just help with the decision.
tracey m wrote:
I think I might rent it along with the 135mm and work with both for a day. Seeing them in action might just help with the decision.
I think that would be a great idea. A great way of working out which lens would work best for you
Martin wrote:
The zoom will give you allot of flexibility don’t forget.
It will, however a studio isn´t exactly the kind of place where flexibility is a must. This lens is excellent for example for concert photographers who have to stand in the photopit while the musicians are moving. But even I as a concert photographer seriously think about getting two bodies (one APS-C and one FF) and primes (24, 85, 135).
However if there is such a possibility, I agree that trying both lenses personally will be definitively the best way to decide.
Don’t forget to get a new focussing screen for those fast lenses, esp if you’re contemplating doing manual focus work….almost all original DSLR screens are crap for MF. i.e. you can;t actually see whether you’re in focus or not (I hear e.g. Catz Eye screens are ok).
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