Only lens for a couple of months ... which one?

[dakid]

I'm definitely going to buy a 40D in the New Year. Maybe not until February, or maybe even March, but still ...

Aaaanyway ...I've been thinking I'll buy it with the 24-105L as a first lens, but with all the posts on this forum, I've now been thinking about the 50mm f1.4 instead. The only other option was the 17-40L, but that gives me neither the flexibility of the 24-105 nor the low-light, high-speed options of the 50mm (indoor sports - martial arts and badminton - are very much on the agenda of things I want to use it for, albeit not exclusively).

In terms of my growth as a photographer, I also get the feeling that getting a 50mm fixed for a couple of months until I can afford a second lens (the other of the two above!) would teach me a lot more about composition and making the right shot ...

Anyone got any thoughts, please?

 

[Cobra]

I think you have pretty much made up your mind And the way you are thinkin' makes a lot of sense, assuming the fifty will get you close enough to your chosen subject (s) ?

 

[dazzajl]

I like the idea of the 50 too. Not the solution for lots of folks as it is the most limiting option but I do agree, you'll learn more that way.

Don't dismiss the 17-40 over the 24-105 though. It's a funny little lens that is looking more and more obsolete on paper but it's a cracking bit of kit.

 

[nbt]

40D is a 1.6 crop right? Does it take ef-s lenses? (quick check reveals it does) What about the 17-55 f2.8 IS USM?

 

[dod]

24-70 F2.8 is another option to consider. Along with the 85mm F1.8 if you need the extra reach.

 

[dakid]

Thanks guys ... glad to know that the slightly unusual idea isn't a completely daft one. I'm not sure about the reach, but I think that at about 5m distance, a person should come close to filling the frame at 50mm when reach for a high badminton shot, or doing a long flying-kick? Would that be about right?

Regarding the other lens suggestions, I'm wanting to only buy lenses I'll keep. I'm not entirely averse to buying secondhand, but I don't want to buy something only to later sell it on (seems a waste of money to me). This means I'm pretty much restricting myself to L lenses only. The 50mm f1.4 I'm thinking about isn't an L lens, but for the quality of the images it produces, it's really not very far off, from the reviews I've been reading.

So, while I do appreciate the recommendations for other lenses, they would have to be quite substantially good ones for me to buy them, especially where they overlap the main 17-40L, 24-105L and 70-200L lenses. I'm normally a fairly impatient chap, but on this occasion, I'm happy to wait to get my perfect lenses!