If you had only one lens...

Iren

Iren

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Irina
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What would it be?
I've started with Canon 85mm 1.8f as really wanted to shoot portraits and although it is great, it has its limitations.

I am ready to purchase another lens and want to make a right decision with your help.

If you like to shoot people (one or a small group) of any age, or candid portraits to be precise, with natural light (outside in the park or at home near large window), what lens would you get?
I need it to be fast and have zoom, also possible wide enough to capture group of people (5-8)

Budget up to £600 (the less, the better).
I have one lens in mind, but open to suggestions.
 
24-70 2.8
 
I agree, the 24-70mm f2.8 is a must have.
 
Are you on ff or crop?
 
Sigma secondhand the newer ones are fantastic
 
Iren said:
Any suggestions how i can get it for £600:rolleyes:?
Used? Sigma or similar? I am looking at Canon (as i have Canon camera) and it is really outside of my budget thst ive mentioned in the post
Thanks
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There are two on eBay now, one at £599.95 the other £600, both 'Buy It Now' and both 'or Best Offer'.
 
Don't discount the Tamron 24-70 f2.8, a sharp copy is very good, and it has stabilization. New is just over budget but s/h should be well within budget. When I sold my (sharp) copy a year ago, I only got £350 trade in in the end, as no-one wanted it on here.......
 
Mr Perceptive said:
Don't discount the Tamron 24-70 f2.8, a sharp copy is very good, and it has stabilization. New is just over budget but s/h should be well within budget. When I sold my (sharp) copy a year ago, I only got £350 trade in in the end, as no-one wanted it on here.......
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Where have you sold yours in the end?
If i will look into buying second hand and suggestion? Look local or online? Dont want to spend loads of money and getsomething faulty and as i am not an expert, i wont know what to look for in used lenses
 
I don't shoot Canon, so don't know their lenses very well, but I had the Sigma 35mm 'Art' 1.4 and it is a very impressive lens for the money. If you can sacrifice zoom [walk a few steps forward and back ;) ] It lived on my D800E 99% of the time until i sold it recently for a good chunk of what i originally paid. they are very re-sell-able as a bonus.
 
Iren said:
Where have you sold yours in the end?
If i will look into buying second hand and suggestion? Look local or online? Dont want to spend loads of money and getsomething faulty and as i am not an expert, i wont know what to look for in used lenses
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Mine went to a local dealer, they have long since sold it.

Most reputable shops will offer a warranty on lenses, as will the decent secondhand dealers.
 
I would certainly take a look at the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
I have had this lens for over 12 years now. (I have used it for paid jobs 8 times this year)
Read here for a review.
I have seen them s/h for as little as £99 and Wex and mpb have some s/h in stock between £129-145
Also this American place https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/149629-USA/Canon_2562A002AA_EF_28_135mm_f_3_5_5_6_IS.html have brand new ones for $299 plus shipping.
They are very good and trustworthy plus will sort out import duties etc if needed.
And here is Canon own site regard this lens.
 
24-120 f/4. Useless for the OP since it's a Nikkor! OR, 18-135 XF but again, no good for the OP since it's a Fuji lens.
 
Cagey75 said:
I don't shoot Canon, so don't know their lenses very well, but I had the Sigma 35mm 'Art' 1.4 and it is a very impressive lens for the money. If you can sacrifice zoom [walk a few steps forward and back ;) ] It lived on my D800E 99% of the time until i sold it recently for a good chunk of what i originally paid. they are very re-sell-able as a bonus.
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Thanks! Will look More into this
 
There is a 24-70 2.8 for sale on this very forum for £575 :)

There is also the Canon 24-105 f4 IS lenses to look at perhaps :) Sigma also do a 24-105 f4 OS lens that may fit the bill :) The Sigma is £600 new, the Canons are dearer but seem to be very reasonably priced second hand :)

Disclaimer: I haven't used any of the above lenses as I'm a Nikon user :)
 
retrosi said:
I would certainly take a look at the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
I have had this lens for over 12 years now. (I have used it for paid jobs 8 times this year)
Read here for a review.
I have seen them s/h for as little as £99 and Wex and mpb have some s/h in stock between £129-145
Also this American place https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/149629-USA/Canon_2562A002AA_EF_28_135mm_f_3_5_5_6_IS.html have brand new ones for $299 plus shipping.
They are very good and trustworthy plus will sort out import duties etc if needed.
And here is Canon own site regard this lens.
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i cant find it in Canon online store for some reason :/ thanks for the links
 
The Canon link is only for review purpose.
Canon do not sell this new anymore only a very few left new worldwide ie secondhand market which is why I mentioned I had mine for 12 years plus now and still use it for paid work ie I stand by it as a very versatile lens. USM and IS of 3 stops according to Canon.
 
andy1868 said:
There is a 24-70 2.8 for sale on this very forum for £575 :)

There is also the Canon 24-105 f4 IS lenses to look at perhaps :) Sigma also do a 24-105 f4 OS lens that may fit the bill :) The Sigma is £600 new, the Canons are dearer but seem to be very reasonably priced second hand :)

Disclaimer: I haven't used any of the above lenses as I'm a Nikon user :)
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Looks like it is sold now.
Perhaps i can create post in wanted and see what comes along, i am in no rush and can wait month or two for the right lens/price
I just wonder what is the difference between f4 and f2.8, def price wise its a big difference, but performance? If i shoot outdoors, light cinditions are usually good and i can do bokeh with my portrait lens..
 
Iren said:
I'll see what are the offers here. Why are you against Sigma or Tamron? Just out of interest.
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I tried a couple of Sigma lenses a long time go and wasn't that impressed whereas I've never been let down by Canon lenses especially the ones I have - 50mm f1.8, 24-105 L, 70-300L, 28-135 IS USM and others all perform very well.

And being EF lenses will fit any of my Canon cameras.

And of course buying on here saves a lot of money - in fact almost all my kit has been bought on here with no worries at all.

The good thing about buying photographic gear from photographers is that they always take good care of it.
.
 
I have the Canon 24-105 f4L and I use it on a 6D, it's great and at the long end, it's fantastic for portraits, the bokeh is lovely (even for a f4). Mine was very cheap from these very forums (ie half your budget).
If you're doing anything like portraits or weddings though, I'd go for the 24-70 f2.8. (I really don't know why Canon made a 24-70 f4 L as that range is covered by the 24-105 f4 which is generally cheaper).

People do reckon the Tamron 24-70 f2.8 VC is very good (Canon don't make an IS version of the 24-70 f2.8), but if you want to stick to Canon, you can get the 24-70mm f2.8 L Mk1 lens for your budget.
MPB have one, albeit worn, but for £499 https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equi...anon-fit-lenses/canon-ef-24-70mm-f-2-8-l-usm/
The one in the TP classifieds looks good though and still in your budget.

Here's a couple of examples,
Canon 24-70 f2.8 on a 5D2
Khaled & Eman - 6 by Alistair Beavis, on Flickr

Canon 24-105 f4 on a 6D
Portrait of youth by Alistair Beavis, on Flickr

If you're looking for something to cover events/weddings, an all purpose lens, either will do and your 85mm will cover the portraits.
 
There is definitely one on here for £575, I don't know the rules on posting links for sale ads but it has been reduced to that price as of a couple of hours ago, with no responses to the thread :)

I'm afraid I can't help with the comparison between the 24-70 and 24-105 unfortunately. I remember seeing a review online (digitalrev tv on YouTube) a while back and they preferred the 24-105 to the 24-70, although I'm aware of different versions and I'm not 100% which 24-105 they were using. Their reviews tend to be of the entertaining kind than scientific too so perhaps take that one with a pinch of salt! :)
 
Iren said:
Thanks for the link, i saw it but then its 50mm that was sold :)
Ive messaged the seller :)
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I'm afraid that's outside the TP rules, you have to do the 'deal' or 'no deal' in the thread. Any dialogue with the seller prior to agreeing to purchase must be in the thread.

I fell foul when I first started using the classifieds, just a heads up!! :)
 
ABTog said:
I have the Canon 24-105 f4L and I use it on a 6D, it's great and at the long end, it's fantastic for portraits, the bokeh is lovely (even for a f4). Mine was very cheap from these very forums (ie half your budget).
If you're doing anything like portraits or weddings though, I'd go for the 24-70 f2.8. (I really don't know why Canon made a 24-70 f4 L as that range is covered by the 24-105 f4 which is generally cheaper).

People do reckon the Tamron 24-70 f2.8 VC is very good (Canon don't make an IS version of the 24-70 f2.8), but if you want to stick to Canon, you can get the 24-70mm f2.8 L Mk1 lens for your budget.
MPB have one, albeit worn, but for £499 https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equi...anon-fit-lenses/canon-ef-24-70mm-f-2-8-l-usm/
The one in the TP classifieds looks good though and still in your budget.

Here's a couple of examples,
Canon 24-70 f2.8 on a 5D2
Khaled & Eman - 6 by Alistair Beavis, on Flickr

Canon 24-105 f4 on a 6D
Portrait of youth by Alistair Beavis, on Flickr

If you're looking for something to cover events/weddings, an all purpose lens, either will do and your 85mm will cover the portraits.
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Wow! Thanks a lot for the detailed reply and examples! Ideally i would like to stick to Canon, so will look for second hand.
TP - what this stands for? Is it the one that isnon offer on this forum?
 
Mr Perceptive said:
I'm afraid that's outside the TP rules, you have to do the 'deal' or 'no deal' in the thread. Any dialogue with the seller prior to agreeing to purchase must be in the thread.

I fell foul when I first started using the classifieds, just a heads up!! :)
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Ok, thanks! Never use dit before, so will ask all my questions in the thread
 
Don't get a sigma 24-70mm they are old designs and not really very good!

For your budget I'd get a second hand canon 24-70mm f2.8 mkii or Tamron 24-70mm vc if you don't mind going off brand both are great lenses and within budget used. You could go cheaper but I think long run you'll land up getting one of the above anyway to scratch the itch.

Left field option I would get a canon 35mm f2 IS and a canon 50mm f1.8 STM a great pair to add to your 85mm for a light weight prime setup.
 
Iren said:
I dont think i'll buy the lens on ebay, too risky for me as i am not an expert.
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eBay is fine as long as you use PayPal, they always favour the buyer over the seller so any issues younjust put in a claim and your money will be returned. That's why some sellers don't like PayPal, it's too easy for buyers to get a refund.

I buy a lot of stuff on eBay, it's really not risky :)
 
A 18-50 35mm quiv would be the only lens I would ever need. Sadly no one makes one. Nikon are soon to announce a premium compact with such a lens but decided in their infinite wisdom to not fit a evf.
 
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I have the 24-105 F4 IS on my 6D and it is a great lens.
I bought it on this site and it was 1/2 your budget.

The other lens that is on most of the time is a 70-20 F2.8 IS and at a stretch you might be able to get it at budget - perhaps not what you are looking for, but I thoroughly enjoy it and have had great results on outdoor photography with kids moving about. Careful if you go down this route as it is a fair weight to be lugging about!!
 
For your use, I'd go 24-105 f4.

You don't need the 2.8 as you have the 1.8 if you need fast. You'll have budget left to get a fast 50 or some flashes too.
 
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