lenses...starting from scratch.

[boo]

i come from a Sony a700 so i know nothing about canon lenses. simple. what:

wide?

telephoto?

fisheye?

prime?

will continue my lens research....thank you!

[cjwolff]

IMHO I'd start with a good quality 50/1.4. They are light-gobblers and can be had on the used market for a song.

[Zim]

I was thinking if I did get one since I have nikon stuff I'd need a lens. The kit lens? Buy an adapter for my 2.8 Nikon lenses? I'd probably want a good zoom.

But then again I might just get the D300s!!

[cjwolff]

But then again I might just get the D300s!!

Are you serious?

http://www.adorama.com/NVEOSNK.html?sid=1252077559583113

[xbourque]

Are you serious?

http://www.adorama.com/NVEOSNK.html?sid=1252077559583113


Are YOU serious? 279$ for a Nikon to EOS adapter!? Theses things are worth about 20$

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Nikon-Lens-to-Canon-EOS-Adapter-for-450d-500d-1000d_W0QQitemZ350245674505QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLens _Accessories?hash=item518c44de09&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262

[ydgmdlu]

Are YOU serious? 279$ for a Nikon to EOS adapter!? Theses things are worth about 20$

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Nikon-Lens-to-Canon-EOS-Adapter-for-450d-500d-1000d_W0QQitemZ350245674505QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLens _Accessories?hash=item518c44de09&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262
Actually, they're worth less than $10. Under economies of scale, they're probably less than $1 apiece to manufacture.

Since the Sony A700 is an APS-C camera just like the 7D, you can use lenses with the same focal length that you've been using. Consider getting some manual focus lenses, if AF in still mode is not important to you (since the camera doesn't do AF in video mode anyway). You'll either want Canon EF or EF-S lenses, any Pentax manul lenses, Nikon AI or AI-S lenses, or Olympus manual lenses.

[luke stewart]

IMHO I'd start with a good quality 50/1.4. They are light-gobblers and can be had on the used market for a song.

I'm confused. How is f1.4 a light gobbler?

EDIT: Oh, I get it, light gobbler as in passing more light through

[danny dale]

... any Pentax manul lenses....

just want to make sure about this... the Pentax K-mounts will work? I thought it was only the M42 screw mounts.

[xbourque]

just want to make sure about this... the Pentax K-mounts will work? I thought it was only the M42 screw mounts.

Looks like it:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/Pentax-K-lens-Canon-EOS-Adapter-Digital-Rebel-xs-xsi_W0QQitemZ360184200620QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLens_A ccessories?hash=item53dca6bdac&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262

[xbourque]

While we're on the subject, this is an interesting read:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flange_focal_distance

If the lens you want to use has a shorter focal flange distance than the one the camera expects, there's almost no chance that an adapter can be me to focus to infinity without using glass elements.

[Cranky]

I've been reading about 7D mount, this is what I found out so far.

Native lens series is EF-S, with it I will get autofocus and I suppose, metering. Listed here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_EF-S_lens_mount there are not many of them, and they are quite slow. The decent one 17-55mm f/2.8 costs about $1K, whoa! The EF-S 60mm f/2.8 costs about $400, more bearable, but still quite expensive.

EF series lenses can be used too, I will get all the same features, but have to take crop factor into consideration. There are many lenses available, but the prices are high too, for example the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L costs about $2K.

Non-EF or EF-S lenses can be mounted with a mechanical adapter. With it, I lose autofocus, I get that. what about metering? Wikipedia says: "With a manual connection, the aperture and focus controls of the lens cannot be controlled or read from the camera; the lens must be focused manually. Since the only possible metering is through-the-lens, the lens must be manually stopped down to accurately meter at anything less than full aperture. (This is called stop-down metering.)" I did not quite get this. Ok, I cannot set aperture using the buttons, I have to set it manually on the lens. But will the camera read this value and display it? If not, what will it display? Will it at least display the image on the LCD properly? Will zebras and whatever else, work?

Like the original poster, I would appreciate recommendations of say 3-4 lenses, not overly expensive. I would like having one moderately fast zoom lens, and several inexpensive primes. I can live with manual focus if I can reliably set if from the camera, I can live with manual aperture if I can read it from the camera or at least judge by an image.

[FatDaddy]

A little thread going on at cinema5d about lenses: http://www.cinema5d.com/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=4940

[edy4eva]

When I started into SLR photography I was overwhelmed by the variety present in the EOS lenses line up. It can get pretty confusing.

However your lense (tool) choice all depends on your goals and what you want to get out of it.
It also depends on the conditions you will shoot through (low light, studio lighting etc).
There's also the investment factor: you might think a $500 lens is a good investment but consider the amount of perfectionism that goes into a high end lens (with top grade glass/coatings) and the fact that you will be tempted to get the high end lens anyway, that $500 will turn into a loss (of few $$ at least, to the whole $500 if you never use that cheap lens afterall - yes you will see a $500 lens cheap (not that it's bad).

Generally speaking Canon lenses can be divided into 3 groups: entry level, mid level, and pro (similar to their SLR cameras offerings). That's not to say that an entry level setup can not produce good quality photos/videos comparable to the higher end setup. The fact remains that a high end setup can go a long way in getting your produce good quality work: for example better focus mechanism for getting more images that are usable - sharpness wise, or a fast prime with exceptional distortion, vignetting, CA control that lead to less work in post.

Now for your question, there is a slight separation between two schools of thought: get a bagful of fast primes (1.4 or 1.2) versus a couple of good fastish (f2.8) zoom lenses.

On average most Canon fast primes are sharper than any zoom at the wide end opening of the zoom. But this is only one factor to consider.
You might find yourself thinking at some stage that you will need a full frame to make use of the EF24mm 1.4L II or the 14mm 2.8 II, great wide lenses (on FF at least). So for an APS-C camera it's hard to recommend it because you won't be benefiting as much from these lenses (my personal view).

I would encourage you to get a fast prime, the early suggestion 50mm 1.4 is a good one.

To start the ball rolling, I'd suggest, once you get the 7d with the basic lens, experiment and find your optimum zoom range, and % of of clicks you take wide open; you will be able to determine the best lens you should invest in.

Hope this helps.

[Zim]

Are you serious?

http://www.adorama.com/NVEOSNK.html?sid=1252077559583113

serious about getting the D300s? Yes I might get it. Some of the footage looks really good. Maybe better the 7D.

[Mr. Japetto]

My Lenses - The Super Taks feel good.

Lenses:
Super-Takumar 1:1.4/50mm
Yashica auto Yashinon-ds 1:1.9/50mm
Super-Takumar 1:1.8/50mm
Super-Takumar 1:3.5/28mm
Yashica auto Yashinon-ds 1:1.9/50mm
Yashica auto Yashinon 1:2.0/50mm
Yashica auto Yashinon 1:3.5/200mm
Soligor 1:4.5/90-230mm – In Case
Soligor 1:3.5/135mm
Tamron 1:2.8/28mm – In Case
Tamron Auto zoom 1:3.8/80-250mm – In Case
Pentacon auto 1:2.8/135mm
Hanimex automatic 1:3.5/200mm – In Case
Sigma Telemax 1:2.8/135mm
Marinda mc macro 1:2.8/28mm
Cunor Telephoto 1:6.3/400mm – In Case
Sun Auto zoom 1:4.5/85-210mm – In Case
++ others

Heres a link to the pic:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42168267@N04/3888717882/

I got all shown in the picture, (except one of the cameras, the furniture, walls & floor) I'm so happy!!!!! I tried to swim in them when
they arrived, and I threw out my back, so I'll have no more attempts at that activity. Now for a Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye & Tokina 11-16mm f2.8
and I'm Sorted - I think :) With lenses, that is.

[sblfilms]

I recently finished my prime set, the 28mm/1.8, 35mm/1.4, 50mm/1.4, and 85mm/18.

I think I will probably add the 24-70/2.8 some time in the future.

[boo]

ok, been doing some research...seems like a no brainer to get the kit lens...only $200 more vs. $250 purchased seperately(besides, i need to take shots of the kids at Disneyland ya know :))

for wide, it seems the 3 most recommended is the canon 10-22mm 3.5-4.5, the tokina 11-16 f/2.8, and the sigma 10-20mm f/3.5

for fisheye, the new sigma 10mm fisheye HSM w/ constant 2.8 aperture.
http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-Fisheye-Canon-Digital-Cameras/dp/B000YYDF7W

with a many of my shots being on a crane and steadycam type device(approx max 3lbs camera weight) i'll be mainly using a wide angle and for specific shots, the fisheye. w/ the tokina 11-16mm weighing 1.8lbs and the sigma 10mm fisheye at .08 lbs and the canon 7D 1.8lbs, that'll get me to the approx max weight of the steadycam device. would like to see a comparison between the tokina and the canon 10-22mm and the sigma 10-20mm...ok...just thinking out loud here....:)

[mhood]

The Tokina 11-16 sounds good but how is the workflow with a fixed aperture lens? I'm a total nube about working with a fixed aperture...

[DanDOF]

The Tokina 11-16 sounds good but how is the workflow with a fixed aperture lens? I'm a total nube about working with a fixed aperture...

mhood, as i understand the term 'fixed aperture' or 'constant aperture' only applies to zoom lenses. It just means that when you zoom from wide to telephoto the aperture stays the same (which is desirable for video). It seems most zoom lenses have variable apertures which are forced to tighten and get darker as you zoom. Those types of lenses will be named to express this limitation, for example f/4-5.6 for a variable aperture zoom lens vs just f/4.

I hope that explains what you were asking.

[mhood]

Yes it does and thank you. Am I wrong in thinking the Tokina 11-16 would be a gr8 companion to the kit lens on my 7D?

[jamesc]

For a definitive list of Canon's lenses + photographs from each:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=141406

[boo]

Yes it does and thank you. Am I wrong in thinking the Tokina 11-16 would be a gr8 companion to the kit lens on my 7D?


yes it would! low light!....LOW light!....LOW LIGHT!!!

[kurth]

the reviews of the tokina 12-24mm are much better even though it is f4- I'd have to recommend also the 17-40mm canon - it's about the cheapest L lens even though it too is f4 - then for the money the f1.8 50mm can be purchased for a song - always remember to multiply by 1.6 to know the effective 35mm focal length - the kit lens will probably be nice to put on an old elan 7 shooting film - still the greatest and cheapest full frame canon , but for video work , well who knows ! the truth is at 2mps , any canon lens will be ok , including third party lenses

[boo]

looking between the canon 17-55mm 2.8 ISm Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 VC or the Tokina 11-16mm 2.8 as far as all around lens for video. would the tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 seem to be the best combination of a fixed 2.8 aperture and 11mm max wide for a 1.6x crop factor? also the canon and tamron offer image stabilization(or Vibration Compensation for the Tamron) so that would benefit in doing handheld work as well as a longer reach but would be sacrificing on the wide end. also there's the sigma 10-20mm fixed 3.5... your thoughts? thanks.

tokina 11-16mm f2.8
sigma 10-20mm f3.5
canon 17-55mm f2.8
tamron 17-50mm 2.8

[Kholi]

If you cam find a Tokina 11-16/2.8 for canon don't think twice or you'll destroy yourself later. I rock the 11-16 on nikon mount on several different cameras including the RED and it's a damned steal. IMO it's a must have.

I'm considering shelling for a canon mount as well for ease of use with the aperture. The lens features no aperture ring I'm either flavor.

[boo]

thanks kholi! think i'm sold on the tokina 11-16mm f2.8...will look to pick up possibly one of the other zooms some time later.

[el presidente]

[quote=Kholi;1744838]If you cam find a Tokina 11-16/2.8 for canon don't think twice or you'll destroy yourself later. I rock the 11-16 on nikon mount on several different cameras including the RED and it's a damned steal. IMO it's a must have.quote]


Thanks for the tip...did some looking and research..spent my pennies on the tokina 11-16mm.

I only have my old 300d to check it on at the mo, but it is lovely.



regarding a decent low light setup............

I also bought one of those nikon to eos auto confirm adapters for my 50mm 1.4

I reckon i need a fast 20,24 or 28mm ..i was looking at a sigma 1.8(is this a fair compromise on price cos i cant afford the crazy price of a 24mm 1.4)

thoughts anyone?