If you had only one lens...

Phil V said:
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.
Click to expand...
Good point.
I have nearly this set up, 50 1.4, 24-105 f4 and a 90mm f2.8.
Covers me for most stuff.
A fast 50 is a great all rounder anyway and is wide enough for small groups and wider portraits.
 
ABTog said:
Good point.
I have nearly this set up, 50 1.4, 24-105 f4 and a 90mm f2.8.
Covers me for most stuff.
A fast 50 is a great all rounder anyway and is wide enough for small groups and wider portraits.
Click to expand...

I have similar to the 24-105mm is a great compromise between weight focal range and speed for a walkabout lens and is capable of some great results. I back this up with a 35mm f2 IS and an 85mm f1.8 although since my 24-105mm suffered the dreaded error 01 I have enjoyed using the 35mm that much that I haven't fixed it!
 
Meeten said:
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!!
Click to expand...

Thanks!
What for do you use your 24-105 F4? Can you get clear images indoors with natural light with it?
 
Iren said:
Thanks!
What for do you use your 24-105 F4? Can you get clear images indoors with natural light with it?
Click to expand...
If you have good light from large windows it's great. If you don't have so much light, just crank up the ISO. I find that the 6D produces good results even upto ISO 10,000.
I'll see if I can dig out an example of an indoor shot taken with the 24-105 in natural light.

I find it's a great lens, 24mm is wide enough for landscapes and groups of people, 105mm is long enough to give nice portraits and compression.
If you do need really shallow depth of field and low light capabilities, then getting a 50mm f1.4 would solve that problem. You could easily get either the Canon 50mm f1.4 USM or a Sigma 50mm f1.4 EX DG (not the new Art) for £200ish and that would leave you £400ish for a 24-105 L.
If you're unsure, I'd suggest borrowing/hiring one for the weekend to give it a proper go. If nothing else, you have to be happy with the size, weight and usability.
Calumet in Central London will hire out a 24-105 for £20 per day: http://calumetrental.co.uk/canon-ef-24-105mm-f4l-is-usm - might be worth the money to make sure you but the right lens for you.
 
Another vote for the 24-105 f4 - my son has mine and i miss it - prefect walk around lens
 
ABTog said:
If you have good light from large windows it's great. If you don't have so much light, just crank up the ISO. I find that the 6D produces good results even upto ISO 10,000.
I'll see if I can dig out an example of an indoor shot taken with the 24-105 in natural light.

I find it's a great lens, 24mm is wide enough for landscapes and groups of people, 105mm is long enough to give nice portraits and compression.
If you do need really shallow depth of field and low light capabilities, then getting a 50mm f1.4 would solve that problem. You could easily get either the Canon 50mm f1.4 USM or a Sigma 50mm f1.4 EX DG (not the new Art) for £200ish and that would leave you £400ish for a 24-105 L.
If you're unsure, I'd suggest borrowing/hiring one for the weekend to give it a proper go. If nothing else, you have to be happy with the size, weight and usability.
Calumet in Central London will hire out a 24-105 for £20 per day: http://calumetrental.co.uk/canon-ef-24-105mm-f4l-is-usm - might be worth the money to make sure you but the right lens for you.
Click to expand...
 
ABTog said:
If you have good light from large windows it's great. If you don't have so much light, just crank up the ISO. I find that the 6D produces good results even upto ISO 10,000.
I'll see if I can dig out an example of an indoor shot taken with the 24-105 in natural light.

I find it's a great lens, 24mm is wide enough for landscapes and groups of people, 105mm is long enough to give nice portraits and compression.
If you do need really shallow depth of field and low light capabilities, then getting a 50mm f1.4 would solve that problem. You could easily get either the Canon 50mm f1.4 USM or a Sigma 50mm f1.4 EX DG (not the new Art) for £200ish and that would leave you £400ish for a 24-105 L.
If you're unsure, I'd suggest borrowing/hiring one for the weekend to give it a proper go. If nothing else, you have to be happy with the size, weight and usability.
Calumet in Central London will hire out a 24-105 for £20 per day: http://calumetrental.co.uk/canon-ef-24-105mm-f4l-is-usm - might be worth the money to make sure you but the right lens for you.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the detailed explanation!
I think its a good idea to rent it for a few days and see how i like it. Meanwhile, i was thinking to get 50mm 1.8 as its cheap and see if i need that Dof, few people me tioned 50mm 1.4, but do you really use it much on f1.4f?
Thanks
 
Take a look on digital rev 24-105
 
Iren said:
Thanks for the detailed explanation!
I think its a good idea to rent it for a few days and see how i like it. Meanwhile, i was thinking to get 50mm 1.8 as its cheap and see if i need that Dof, few people me tioned 50mm 1.4, but do you really use it much on f1.4f?
Thanks
Click to expand...
On the 50mm's, the best bang for buck is the 1.8STM. The 1.4 is no sharper at 1.8, isn't particularly sharp wide open and the only advantage it has over the 1.8mkII was a better focus motor and better build quality (including nicer bokeh), but the new 1.8 STM has addressed all those issues making the 1.4 a bit pointless IMHO. If you really need 1.4 the best advice is buy a Sigma.
 
Is there any obvious AF speed difference between the f/1.4 and f/1.8 versions of the 50mm? As I understand it, the wider aperture could make accurate AF acquisition a bit difficult due to the relatively tiny DoF compared to the "slow" lens (or does it stop down a bit to reduce this?) Pretty sure that any 1/2 decent AF lens can outperform me focussing manually, especially using fast lenses! (Had problems getting my old D70 to shoot with an f/1.2 50mm a few years back until I turned off the "Only shoot when focus is achieved" setting!)
 
Or you can pick up a 50 f1. 8 on here for £50. If it's not for you, go buy the STM version for a bit more. You can sell the 1.8 for £50 again. The market for that is around that level.

This way you can see if it works for you, and the net cost? Postage.....
 
Meeten said:
Or you can pick up a 50 f1. 8 on here for £50. If it's not for you, go buy the STM version for a bit more. You can sell the 1.8 for £50 again. The market for that is around that level.

This way you can see if it works for you, and the net cost? Postage.....
Click to expand...

Thats exactly what i did, i got new STM today and will be sticking with it till i make up my mind
 
Phil V said:
On the 50mm's, the best bang for buck is the 1.8STM. The 1.4 is no sharper at 1.8, isn't particularly sharp wide open and the only advantage it has over the 1.8mkII was a better focus motor and better build quality (including nicer bokeh), but the new 1.8 STM has addressed all those issues making the 1.4 a bit pointless IMHO. If you really need 1.4 the best advice is buy a Sigma.
Click to expand...

Thanks Phil! I got STM 1.8 today, for the price i can play with it for a while to see which zoom i need later on and avoid costly mistakes
 
Iren said:
What about f4?
I think f2.8 is really outside of my budget, at least if its Canon.
Click to expand...

The going rate for used 24-70 mk1 lenses is around the £550 mark at the moment. I sold mine earlier this year for around that. Awful lot of lens for the money.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top