Changed to Canon and need lens advice!

R

Roadkill_6mm

Suspended / Banned
Messages
398
Name
Neil
Edit My Images
Yes
I need advice!

Due to Olympus not supporting DSLR's (other than the E5) I have taken the difficult decision and sold my gear and jumped ship to Canon (have a 60d on order)
The big plus point for Oly was the lenses - I had the 50-200mm F2.8-3.5 Zuiko and 12-60mm F2.8-4

I'm looking at replacing the 50-200mm with the Sigma - either 100-300mm F4 or the 120-300mm F2.8

What I need is some advice as to what to replace the 12-60mm with. This was my main 'walkabout' lens and I also used it to shoot portraits of my 7 month old son. Remember the crop factor on 4/3rds so this lens was 24-120mm eq.

I want advice on a canon equivalent lens which will cover up to 100mm ish. I'm a keen amateur - with no aspirations of going pro, however that doesnt mean I won't be critical. The lens needs to be a good, sharp performer - remember I'm coming from using near 'pro grade' glass (albeit on an amateur body!)

Budget wise, that's the question! I'll be shopping second hand I reckon - I have a budget of circa £400 now but will look at waiting and saving (more likely hammer the credit card!!!) if there's something just beyond that.
Ideally Id want to spend £400-£500 on both a lens and flash but the lens is the priority!!

I'm sold on the advice that the glass is more important than the body when it comes to photography, hence my investment in good Oly lenses - shame Olympus didn't reward this with a new body I could afford!

Regards

Neil
 
skullcandy said:
or if you can stretch a bit further 24-105 f4 L is a fantastic lens, if your lucky and can find someone that has split a 5dmk11 kit then you can pick one up for about £750 new from london camera exchange or park cameras.
Click to expand...

I'm sure it's a decent lens but on a 60D it loses the wide end.

Agree that it's a shame that Olympus no longer fit the bill. I agree with a lot of what they've done but it's a shame that they no longer provide what a lot of people would ideally want.

Good luck choosing a new lens :)
 
Canon 17-85 f4 usm is is not a terrible lens on a 60d, reasonably priced if u want a flash also and fairly sharp especially when stopped Down a bit!
 
12-60 2.8-4? I'd abandon any system just to get a lens like that...

I am pretty sure neither Nikon nor Canon or any of the third party lenses for those two systems have anything with that kind of range.

I really love the wide end but all wide lenses for those two systems stop at anything between 16-24. Would have been really nice to only have one lens that covers such a range.
 
vrapan said:
12-60 2.8-4? I'd abandon any system just to get a lens like that...

I am pretty sure neither Nikon nor Canon or any of the third party lenses for those two systems have anything with that kind of range.

I really love the wide end but all wide lenses for those two systems stop at anything between 16-24. Would have been really nice to only have one lens that covers such a range.
Click to expand...

Remember though, because of the 2x crop factor of the sensor the 12-60mm is eq. to 24-120mm on 35mm

Does anyone have an opinion on the Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC MACRO OS HSM??

Seems reasonably priced, slightly faster than the canon 15-85 though obviuosly doesnt quite cover the same range

Regards

Neil
 
If you are looking at near 'pro-grade' glass I would look at getting either a Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DG Macro or the Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 (non-VC). If you can stretch your budget though I would ditch either of the above lenses for the Canon 17-55mm IS F2.8
 
Right for some weird reason I though the E5 was not a 4/3 camera. It did sound too good to be true anyway
 
I'd choose in the following order (depending on money availability and desire for 2.8)
Canon 15-85 3.5-5.6 IS (a bit "slow" but great as a walkabout - image quality as good as 17-55)
Tamron 17-50 2.8 NON VC (cheap 2.8, good performer)
Canon 17-55 2.8IS (expensive 2.8, good performer)
 
Remember the Tamron doesn't fit your requirement for 100mm equivalent at the log end - which is why I didn't mention the Canon 17-55 that I use in my initial response
 
The only problem with the Tamron is the slower/noisier focusing mechanism that is driven by a micro-motor and not an ultrasonic system. That could have an impact on focus reliability and accuracy as well.
 
grumpybadger said:
Remember the Tamron doesn't fit your requirement for 100mm equivalent at the log end - which is why I didn't mention the Canon 17-55 that I use in my initial response
Click to expand...

No worries - if sacrificing a little at the long end gets me a decent walk around lens I don't mind too much - the coverage gap to the 100mm can always be filled at a later date if required!

Thanks for the input though :thumbs:

Neil
 
jm2 said:
You should find all the info + samples you need, here -
Click to expand...

You need to edit your post.
I don't think the mods will take kindly you posting a linking to another photography forum and he can find all the info he requires here by using the search function.
 
Last edited:
I'd go for the 17-55 f2.8. Not cheap but a great lens, almost "L" quality and it has IS.

24-105 is a tad long at the wide end, but great for most other things.

Steve
 
skullcandy said:
or if you can stretch a bit further 24-105 f4 L is a fantastic lens, if your lucky and can find someone that has split a 5dmk11 kit then you can pick one up for about £750 new from london camera exchange or park cameras.
Click to expand...

sound advice although you can probably pick a mint copy from the TP classifieds for £600-650 me think.

these lens's hold there value (unless you play football with it)
 
Another vote for 24-105mm is fantastic. I shoot minly portraits so dont mind missing a bit on the wide end! 15-85 awesome also. Have got 17-85 IS, which is pretty good value and might let you afford flash as well. Fantastic colours but not up to the standards of the 15-85 ofc.

Good luck with whatever you decide :)
 
I vote for canon 17-55 f2.8 lens. On a 7d it's very good - also used it on 550d for video work and it's great.
 
i have just got the canon 15-85 to use on my newly aquired 60d
i had the tamron 17-50 but found i always needed that little bit more range so decided to give the 15-85 a go
 
DaveKing said:
If you are looking at near 'pro-grade' glass I would look at getting either a Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DG Macro
Click to expand...

that, with bells on.

used to have one and that was great but had to sell it (no worky on FF or 1.3x), just got the other half one for her 20D and that one is great too.

to summerise, great lens :D
 
Thanks for the advice everyone.

In the end I've gone for the Canon 15-85mm - yes it's not as fast as the 12-60 that I had, but it does get very favourable reviews.

I decided not to go for the Sigma or Tamron lenses as just about everywhere I read there's the same thing - they're fantastic, if you get a 'good' copy - I didn't want to risk the hassle of not getting a good one. The build quality of the canon does seem to be highly regarded.

Again thanks for all the help and advice, I'll get some pictures up once I've mastered the 60d (when I saw the manual I was kind of hoping it was in several languages, but no it's all English and really is that thick!)

Regards

Neil
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top