Canon 7D Lens Question

Rteyp

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John
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Hi All

My first post so apologies if its not quite in the right area. I currently own a 350D and looking to upgrade to a 7D next week.

I want a good walkabout lens for holiday use, landscapes (do a lot hill and moor walking with dog) and general use. So far I have narrowed it down to the

- 15-85mm
- 24-105mm

Any other options ?

Is the extra for the 24-105 worth it ?

Thanks
John

(Tempted by Nikon 7000D - but would prefer to stay Canon...just used to them)
 
IMHO go with the 15-85 on the 7D. 24-105 isn't wide enough for landscapes IMHO, weighs more, is larger and isn't a better lens - assuming you don't mind correcting the vignetting in post processing if you shoot raw.

Our walkabouts are the 5D2 with 24-105 and the 7D with 15-85. It looks like I'll be off to Japan in a few weeks with work. If I do go, I'll be taking the 7D/15-85 and not my normal 5D2/24-105.
 
17-55mm IS also worth a look, 24-105 might not be wide enough for landscape type stuff on a crop sensor camera
 
As usual I'll go against the grain, my walkaround is a 24-105, I rarely need a wider lens for general use. I recently bought a 10-22, mainly for a trip to NYC - even 15mm wont be wide enough there!

When I had the 450D I found the 18-55 hugely limiting, I rarely used it at 18mm but was forever wanting more reach.

Not used the 15-85.

arad85 said:
Our walkabouts are the 5D2 with 24-105 and the 7D with 15-85. It looks like I'll be off to Japan in a few weeks with work. If I do go, I'll be taking the 7D/15-85 and not my normal 5D2/24-105.

Thats an odd statement given 24mm on full frame and 15mm on a crop will give the same field of view..
 
I'd go with the 18-85 and maybe at a push look at the 17-55

Hi Matt!, how long you been on here? :)

I agree with this tbh - the 24-105 isn't very wide at all on a crop and will be limiting so it's really down to the 15-85 or 17-55. Which of these depends on whether range or aperture is more important, only the OP can answer that :)
 
The 15-85 is a superb lens, good walkabout range for a crop camera, unless constant f2.8 is essential to you it's a no brainer for the 7D.

Img_1845.jpg
 
Thanks guys a great help :)

Off to New York in April location recommendations ?
 
Thanks guys a great help :)

Off to New York in April location recommendations ?

Look here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hotrods/sets/72157629058938023/ and here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hotrods/sets/72157629070450429/, exif data is intact on all images.

Do both Empire State Building & Top Of The Rock.

Empire state will not allow tripod of any sort - they took a gorillapod off me (picked it up before we left). No big deal - there isn't really anywhere to use one anyway. Once you are up there you can stay as long as you like, so we stayed until after dark.

Top of the rock has 3 observatory decks, the lower two are shielded by large glass screens, which is good because it shelters you from the wind. There are gaps in between the screens that you can poke a lens through.
The top deck is open and has stone blocks that you can plop a gorillapod on - I asked the guard up on top and he said it was fine to use the gorillapod. You can get a ticket that lets you go up twice in one day.

For both of the above you can buy tickets online that are open so you are not tied to a particular day or time.

I didn't have time, but you can go either side of Brooklyn bridge and shoot it, seen some nice shots from there.

Statue of liberty is closed until October for renovation work inside. You can still go to the island and go to the gift shop/cafe but thats about it. The same boat will take you to Ellis Island which is open ($13 each for the boat ticket).
If you just want shots of liberty jump on the Staten Island ferry from battery park - its free and sails right past her.

B&H Photo Video is on 9th Ave at 34th Street, from Times Square walk south on Broadway, turn right at Macys along 34th, when you get to 9th its on the opposite side of the street. Look in the lobby of your hotel for a guide book or a flyer from B&H, entitles you to a free gift if you spend over $50.

If you want to go to the ground zero site it is free, but you need to book beforehand, do it before you go.

All the attractions have airport style security scanners / x-ray machines. Bit of a hassle but didn't take long for us to get through any of them.

If you can't buy consider hiring a UWA lens.

Erm, thats all I can think of shout if you have questions !

Edited to add:
Look at this guys stuff : http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanbudhu/ and this group : http://www.flickr.com/groups/curbed/pool/with/6841191115/ for inspiration
 
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Thank-you"Craft" I will have a study of your links later. Maybe I'll pop into B&H on day 1 and get a 10-22mm ;)
 
Thats an odd statement given 24mm on full frame and 15mm on a crop will give the same field of view..
Not really.. I'm saying the 7D combo is better as a walkabout precisely because the whole 7D/15-85 is a lot less bulky over the 5D2/24-105. Gives the "same" pictures in a system that is easier to travel with (i.e. in my works briefcase).
 
Oh and I forgot, if you fly in to JFK exit the terminal building and go left to the yellow taxi rank - don't go with anyone who offers you a taxi ride. The reason is that the yellow cabs have a fixed fee to get you to Manhattan ($45 + tolls, so say $60 with tip), the other cars are private hire and do not.. For the return trip our asked the concierge to book us a car, which turned up on time and was a big SUV thing, much nicer than a smelly old cab and was only $10 more :)
 
Not really.. I'm saying the 7D combo is better as a walkabout precisely because the whole 7D/15-85 is a lot less bulky over the 5D2/24-105. Gives the "same" pictures in a system that is easier to travel with (i.e. in my works briefcase).

A "lot less bulky"? Not really.

Both combinations would be a similar size and, from what I can find on the Canon site, the 7D/15-85 would weigh 1395g whilst the 5D2/24-105 would be 1480g, so only 6% heavier.
 
15-85 is waaaay much better on the 7D than the 24-105. That's why I got rid of the 24-105. Even my 10-22 rarely sees light of day now.
 
A "lot less bulky"? Not really.

Both combinations would be a similar size and, from what I can find on the Canon site, the 7D/15-85 would weigh 1395g whilst the 5D2/24-105 would be 1480g, so only 6% heavier.
The 1" shorter lens helps a lot for reducing the perception of bulkiness...
 
This is a bit stupid people lens choice is dependant in what you shoot. If you need wide angle then the 24-105 is not for you. I have the 24-105 and have no issues with it on a 7d. I have a 10-22 and rarely use it although it's great fun when I can find something to use it for. Never had an issue with vignette.
 
My 24-105L is my walk about lens too and I think it is an excellent combination with the 7D. I don't shoot landscapes a great deal, so it works well for me. My 17-40L tends to be used mainly for landscapes, but even that is a bit narrow on a crop. As Paul says, horses for courses (used that phrase twice today, strangely :))
 
This is a bit stupid people lens choice is dependant in what you shoot. If you need wide angle then the 24-105 is not for you. I have the 24-105 and have no issues with it on a 7d. I have a 10-22 and rarely use it although it's great fun when I can find something to use it for. Never had an issue with vignette.

Yup! The 24-105 and 24-70 are both great lenses, whether on a crop or not, it's just a question of whether 24mm is wide enough for what you shoot.

For me it is most of the time but there are occasions when it's not - I wouldn't have switched from the 17-55 to the 24-70 if I didn't have the 10-22 to cover me at those times.
 
i have a crop camera and use the 24-105 lens and love it, no issues so far :)
 
It's not just landsacpes that 24mm on a croppy isn't wide enough for. Try taking pictures of buildings in a city where you can't just move further away.
 
I use the 24-105 f4 L that came as the kit lens as a walkabout lens on both the 5D2 and my 7D. True it's not very wide on a 7D, but I'm not into landscapes very much and take far more points of interest than anything while it's on. I normally have it on one of my bodies if I've got both with me, or in my pocket if I've only got 1 body with me. The IQ from the 24-105 more than makes up for the lack of width for me.

Ken, that's a fantastic photo, it reminds me of a set of photo postcards I used to have years ago of various steam trains. It just looks timeless, and to me, it's very inspirational.
 
Jackwow said:
It's not just landsacpes that 24mm on a croppy isn't wide enough for. Try taking pictures of buildings in a city where you can't just move further away.

That's when the UWA comes into play as 10mm is wider than 15mm.
I'm with Craft all the way on this one and that is exactly what I would doo. 10-22 and 24-105 although 15-85 would be a good compromise, I borrowed one from a friend as I wanted to try before I buy and it's a very versatile lens but not wide enough for around the city, for me at least I wished I could go wider, so that's when u use 10-22. 24-105 on the other hand for everything else. As neither 15 or 17 are wide enough to be an UWA but that's just my opinion.
Ps; you can shoot landscape with anything even a telephoto.
 
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I have both the 5D MKII and the 24-105 and the 7D and 15-85 combo.... Love both of them, but the 15-85 is the winner on the 7D, great IQ, love the IS and the range is perfect for a walk about...
 
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