Which are the good quality lenses for Canon Full Frame DSLR

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Rickster

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I am new to the forum and still finding the information a bit overwhelming and hard to trawl through, so please forgive me and point me in the right direction if this is already discussed in a good thread.

I have decided on getting a Canon (full frame - decision made now) and am now trying to figure out what are the good lenses to get.

I'm going blind and around in circles on the forum and internet trying to get my head around it - Canon L? Is there mk1 and mk11 versions of lenses etc etc.

So, is there something to watch for that denotes 'quality' lens (I believe the L on Canon is for luxury - hence good quality?).

Also - if you could have two lenses for general purpose photography for a Canon full frame - what would they be?

I know it could be any depending on your preferences but thought I suggested you could only have two - to try to cover all sorts then maybe it might simplify the options that people would recommend.

I'm thinking a high quality prime of say 50mm, and a nice quality zoom - say 70-200 ish.

Any help would be appreciated in narrowing down this huge subject for me.

thanks
Rick
 
Depends on your budget and what you photograph
I have the 17-40, 24-105 and the 100-400
I used to have the 70-200 f4 L IS but sold it to fund a 24mm TS-E.
If you need f2.8 then the 24-70 and 70-200 f2.8 would be a good pair ,but expensive if you go for the Mk2 versions.
If you don't need f2.8 then the 24-105 f4 IS and then ???. I would have said the 70-200 but 200 is not much longer than 105 so perhaps the 70-300 L, which is what I would have if I did not have the 100-400.
Probably not much help but its a start.
BTW I like L glass but don't get hung up on it.
Best of luck

Chris
 
My advice is to ignore the badge and buy the best lens(es) for you. If those happen to be Canon L lenses then that's fine and dandy but if the best is a non L Canon or indeed a Sigma or Tamron or some other make then don't rule it out just because it isn't an "L."

Personally I'd go for primes, 35mm f1.4, 50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.4 and a 150mm f2.8 macro.

If you must have zooms then you could go for a 24-70mm f2.8 and add whatever floats your boat other than that such as a wide angle or a long-longish zoom.

You don't have t buy the best of everything, for example long zooms don't really interest me that much but I wanted one for occasional use so I went for a 70-300mm f4-5.6.
 
Thanks for the feedback. What is the easiest way to find recommended lenses based on performance rather than badge? Is there a good lens review section (or web site)?

thanks again

Rick
 
Rickster said:
Thanks for the feedback. What is the easiest way to find recommended lenses based on performance rather than badge? Is there a good lens review section (or web site)?

thanks again

Rick
Click to expand...

Start here http://www.photozone.de/Reviews

Its as good as any, do a search on here, POTN has a good lens archive.
Basically google is your friend
 
I think you're looking at this the wrong way round (unless you've got very deep pockets...).
You wouldn't really just buy the "best" lens, if it was a 500mm f/5.6 and you wanted to photograph broad, sweeping landscapes.

Think about what you want to photograph, as this the most decisive factor in choosing your lenses.

Once you know what kind of lens you want; wide angle, macro, "portrait", telephoto you can then compare different options within this.
 
I think you should start by making a list of priorities.

Do you want primes or zooms, focal lengths etc...

Once you have a list there's really only a few choices at each focal length. There'll be a couple of Canon choices and maybe a Sigma and a Tamron and a few manual focus alternatives if you are willing to consider manual focus.

Once you have your list and the few possible alternative lenses identified you can look up some reviews.

For example, want a 50mm? The main Auto Focus choices are...

Canon 50mm f1.2 L.
Canon 50mm f1.4.
Sigma 50mm f1.4.
 
All depends on budget and what your shooting.

Good budget lens is a 70-200f4. I have one and image quality is up there with my 70-200f2.8ii

Another good cheap lens is a 24-105f4. Image quality is great.

I also have the 100-400L and 28-300L as well as a few other sigma bit but they rarely get used.
 
OK thanks folks. Just that my head is spinning with info and the more I look the cloudier I get.
I'll put some more thought into it about what I want to do. As I want to do all sorts this is a problem but if I decide to start with one type of photography first, then that will enable me to think about the lens for that first and then the rest will follow.

Anyway - all good advice, thanks, and thanks for not slating an old boy getting back into the game.

All the best
Rick
 
Most manufacturers produce a classic 'trinity' of lenses that will cover 90% or more of what most people shoot. Canon has two trinity options, f/2.8 and f/4, eg super-wides 17-40/4L or 16-35/2.8L, standard zooms 24-70/2.8L or 24-105/4L, and tele-zooms 70-200/2.8L or 70-200/4L. Most professionals will have something like that in their bags, plus maybe a couple of primes with low f/numbers, and a macro lens etc. (Not forgetting a decent flash.)

Within that, if you're kinda typical, the standard zoom will get most use. My advice would be to just get a standard zoom for now, very versatile, see how you get on. Then build a system one lens at a time as your knowledge and experience builds. You may well end up with a fairly classic outfit, but there's a good chance that you'll change at least one or two along the way according preference.
 
For starters I would look at the Canon 24-105mm f4L, Great all round lens for general walk about. Sharp and f4 is fine on full frame. I have one and it's superb! I love shallow depth of field so am looking at the Sigma 35mm f1.4 'ART' lens which looks just amazing!

Start with a std zoom and go from there.

Std zooms for full frame are:
Canon 24-105 f4L IS (With Image stabiliser)
Canon 24-70 f2.8L
Sigma 24-70 f2.8
Tamron 24-70 f2.8 VC (with vibration control)
Tamron 28-75 f2.8 (Not the best but good and cheap..and f2.8!)

Some people are happy with just a prime so look at:
Canon 50mm f1.8 II (Less than £90 new!)
Canon 50mm f1.4
Sigma 50mm f1.4 (Prob the best 50mm at non silly prices!)
Canon 35mm f2
Canon 35mm f2 IS (with Image Stabiliser - Nearly as sharp as the Sigma 35mm f1.4 Art!)
Sigma 35mm f1.4 ART ( A real WOW! lens!!)
Canon 28mm f1.8 (if you like wider shots)

I'm sure theres a few I have forgotten but all these lenses are really great!!!
 
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I have found with my 6D I prefer prime lenses just because they are lighter and because a zoom lens say 24-105L isn't much zoom over a 50mm and is 1/4 the weight. Also, I love sharp images and I tend to get more on a budget going prime. My favourite FF are as follows...

40mm f/2.8 Pancake (Favorite walk around lens when I'm out with the family ect)
50mm f/1.4 (Low light lens for night shots)
100mm f/2.8 Macro (Macro stuff really like this one!)
70-200 f/4L (Not so sure about this one it's kinda in the middle of being useful on FF at least for what I shoot)
400mm f/5.6L (new so not had many shots yet but looks promising)
 
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Rick, you do realise I'm sure that your question is quite like asking what's a good car for general purpose use! (Don't be embarrassed - we get lots of them.)

Anyway if I were you I'd go along with Richard (HoppyUK)'s advice: get a 24-105L which is the best walkaround lens for your camera, see how you get on with it, and then decide what you want to do that the lens can't do.
 
A simple answer to the question asked is 'all the L lenses'.

Though its a useless answer. So the other question is: what lenses would you recommend for a newbie with a Canon FF DSLR?

The answer is what Richard said, start with the 24-105 and see what you feel you're missing and then what specialist lenses you might fancy.
 
Thanks chaps. I realise it was a wide open question but I've picked up some good ideas and feedback here.

I appreciate they are newbie type questions but I am on a fast re-learning curve and time is of the essence.

I find it reassuring that although they are daft questions from me, I'm not being shot down in flames but carefully steered by forum members.

That's what a good forum is about. Thanks.
 
Think I'll follow advice and start with a 24-105 and will have a look at a cheap telephoto prime in the future - a 300 or 400mm perhaps.

For the Canon L series - is there only one 24-105 IS USM L - or is there a mark 11 or anything or is it just the one model to look fo There are a few on ebay at the moment and I'll have a look on Amazon too.

Thanks
 
There is only one 24-105, however all L lenses have a date code. You can tell how old the lens is from this so you know the age of the lens you're buying.

More info here.

Ian.
 
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