Canon 60D. Which lense(es) do you recommend?

M

Michael Trenton

New member
Within the next couple of days I’m going to buy a Canon 60D (mainly for video purposes, but I enjoy shooting stills as well…). This will be my first HDSLR and I have literally no experience shooting video on a an SLR.

Originally my intention was to buy a 5D mark II, because of its full frame with low light capabilities and shallow DOF. However because of its age and price I have instead decided to wait for mark III to come out, and get the 60D in the meantime.

The big question now is which lens(es) to get with it.
It’s important to note that I wish to purchase lenses with full frame in mind (as I plan to replace the 60D whenever 5D mark III comes out) .
I will mainly be using it for shooting documentary footage. However I still want it to be as film-like as possible.
I haven’t even decided yet if I want to put my money on a zoom lens. Most likely one of these two:
- Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L
- Canon 24-105mm f/4 L

Or if I want to build a collection of primes. In that case I’m considering these options (I’m open to suggestions on other lenses than the below mentioned of course)
- Canon 24mm f/1.4 L
- Canon 35mm f/1.4 L
- Canon 50mm f/1.2 L

Of course with the prices on these primes I could only buy one expensive L-series lens. Then maybe add some of the other focal lengths later on (from the standard Canon series or any other make).
And one additional question: Is the L-series really worth it when it comes to video? Is the image quality actually that superior to Canons standard series of lenses (not taking the wider aperture into the equation)???

Any advice would be much appreciated. :Drogar-Happy(DBG):
 
I have all the lenses you mentioned above, except the 24-105L.

The Canon L-primes that you mention are gorgeous and cinematic. The 50mm in particular is amazing.

In my opinion, there's no comparison between them and the APS-C lenses.
 
So you are saying there is a significant and clear visible difference in quality between the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM (1600USD) and the standard Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM (399USD) even when shooting video? (apart from the half stop down that is) and would you say it is enough to justify the rather large extra cost?
 
I'd say Samyang primes - they're much cheaper, fully manual (very nice long-throw focus ring, better compatibility with future cameras) and offer outstanding image quality - for example, the samyang 35mm f/1.4, at $500, is sharper than the $1500 Canon 35mm f/1.4L and similar to the $1850 Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 - http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...LensComp=121&CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0 - http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...LensComp=749&CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0 - another example: the samyang 85mm f/1.4 has bokeh quality similar to the canon 85mm f/1.2L, worlds better than the one from the canon 85mm f/1.8 (very, very important for a portrait lens) - more here: http://www.similaar.com/foto/equipment/us_lensc.html - they don't have a 50mm yet, but I'd guess it's in the pipeline, so you can get the 24mm f/1.4 (soon), 35mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.4, plus, as you have the budget, the canon 24-70 f/2.8L or 24-105 f/4L IS (so you have a zoom, and a lens with autofocus, and maybe also with IS), and wait for the 50mm
 
Michael Trenton said:
So you are saying there is a significant and clear visible difference in quality between the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM (1600USD) and the standard Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM (399USD) even when shooting video? (apart from the half stop down that is) and would you say it is enough to justify the rather large extra cost?
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Yes, but the only way to find out is to try for yourself... lensrentals.com for example.

NormanBates said:
I'd say Samyang primes - they're much cheaper, fully manual (very nice long-throw focus ring, better compatibility with future cameras) and offer outstanding image quality - for example, the samyang 35mm f/1.4, at $500, is sharper than the $1500 Canon 35mm f/1.4L and similar to the $1850 Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 - http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...LensComp=121&CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0 - http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...LensComp=749&CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0 - another example: the samyang 85mm f/1.4 has bokeh quality similar to the canon 85mm f/1.2L, worlds better than the one from the canon 85mm f/1.8 (very, very important for a portrait lens) - more here: http://www.similaar.com/foto/equipment/us_lensc.html - they don't have a 50mm yet, but I'd guess it's in the pipeline, so you can get the 24mm f/1.4 (soon), 35mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.4, plus, as you have the budget, the canon 24-70 f/2.8L or 24-105 f/4L IS (so you have a zoom, and a lens with autofocus, and maybe also with IS), and wait for the 50mm
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The Samyang 85mm f1.4 is a manual lens and I don't know about the optical quality, because I've never tried it, but the Canon 85mm f1.2 is often considered the best portait lens on the market for full frame cameras only. Anyway, I have one of those as well and only use it on my 5D. It's not a handy lens for the 7D, as it's a full fledged telephoto lens on the 7D. So I wouldn't get any 85mm for photo or video work on the 7D. The 50mm is your portrait lens on the 7D or 60D.

That being said, I have manual lenses as well, and they are not practical for anything but mounting the camera on a tripod. Focus is extremely difficult when wide open with these lenses. If you have a follow focus and an external LCD, and a loupe, it's OK. But with an autofocus, you can exit record, do a quick focus, and then go back into record, or go into still mode, autofocus, and lock the focus, then go back into video mode. Those options are not obviously available on a manual lens.

For stills, with a manual lens, you'll never take them out of the bag. It's just too painful compared to a good AF lens.
 
me too: all my lenses are manual, except for the 18-55 kit lens: it's a cheap way to get awesome glass; I also use 50mm more than 85mm as a portrait lens, but it's a nice option anyway, and he can get the full samyang 24+35+85 for the price of one L lens!! 85mm lenses compared: http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/483-samyang_85_14_5d?start=1 - http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/536-zeiss85f14eosff?start=1 - http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/502-canon_85f12ff?start=1 - http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/419-canon_85_18_5d?start=1 - the samyang is really, really close to the canon L and the zeiss lenses, worlds better than the canon 85mm f/1.8 in terms of bokeh
 
David W. Jones said:
Not that most people would notice.
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My incidental thought. However this comment by Shane Hurlbut, ASC worries me:

The Canon EF lenses cannot hold up on the big screen. I used them on the first 2 shooting days of the Navy SEAL movie and they were just plain soft. When I went into color correction, I was not able to have the full range of detail of the 8 BIT compressed color space, that I had with the L series or the Nikons.
(http://www.hurlbutvisuals.com/blog/2010/02/06/still-lenses/)

Not that I am primarily shooting for the big screen anyway. But their (according to him) lacking of detail and color has really got me worried though... :undecided
But if the Samyang primes are as great as some reviews I've checked out after reading NormanBates recommendation, then I guess Samyang would be my most likely alternative to Canon L primes anyway...

Also I could only afford one Canon L lens (most likely I would choose the 50mm f/1.2 L or 24-70mm f/2.8 L ). The rest of the focal lengths would have to consist of either standard Canon primes or Samyang (or any other affordable brand that I'm recommended...)

btw
Anyone who has any thoughts on the Carl Zeiss Planar T 50mm f/1.4 ZE or the Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T 50mm f/2 ZE versus the Canon 50mm f/1.2 L?
 
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Interesting recommendations here :)

I've been doing outdoor and wildlife work with my T3i. It's all done in the heat of the moment, run and gun style, where the autofocus feature of a lens is invaluable. Hit the autofocus and hit record as soon as it locks up. Manual focus lenses are nearly impossible to get right on the fly IMHO.

I gravitate toward really wide or really telephoto and don't go in the middle very often. My go to lenes are an older EF 17-35 f2.8 L, EF 70-200 f4 L IS and a manual Nikkor 600mm ED f5.6 !!! I have 20mm, 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm and a 35-105mm zoom manual vintage lenses and they've been stored in the closet since I got my L zooms. The image quality is nowhere near as good and they are orders of magnitude harder to use.

I've found the wider 17mm on a hand held stabilizer to be an incredibly easy way to get very stable footage up close and personal in the heat of the moment. I can't stress enough how well it works to follow your subject around right in where they live, work and play with a wide lens on a stabilizer.

From there I like to film from a distance where the subject isn't stressed from having a camera in their face and a setup to deal with. With the 70-200 I can step back a number of paces and film in a much more natural and organic way.

The 600mm is for filming critters way out there at 200 - 1000 yards away and not really applicable to documentary work.

In any case, those are some of my ideas that run counter to the common wisdom. My point being that a 50mm lens these days is basically no mans land and serves little purpose other than as a portrait lens on an APS-C cam. Hehehehehehe :) :) :)

Cheers,
Pete
 
at 50mm, the zeiss makro-planar f/2 is the sharpest (check the-digital-picture links below), the canon f/1.2L has the nicest bokeh (check photozone links below) - if you're following Shane Hurlbut, keep in mind that he is a lot more unforgiving towards sharpness issues than most people, plus you already know about vintage leica glass, which is a very nice option too, except a bit of a lottery: my leitz summilux-R 50mm f/1.4 is quite sharp and has extremely nice bokeh (I haven't compared it to the canon 1/1.2L, though) (check my similaar links below) - http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0 - http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...LensComp=709&CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0 - http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0 - http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...LensComp=709&CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0 - http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0 - http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/472-canon_50_12_5d?start=1 - http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/564-canon50f14ff?start=1 - http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/537-zeiss50f14eosff?start=1 - http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/535-zeiss50f2eosff?start=1 - http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/bokehtests.html - http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/lenstestsc.html
 
Michael Trenton said:
My incidental thought. However this comment by Shane Hurlbut, ASC worries me:
Click to expand...

Resolution is easily measurable. Those Canon lenses are designed for 25mp still cameras, the pros that use them wouldn't tolerate any softness at 25MP, let alone the 2-6MP that Hurlbutt would be working at. Methinks he's a victim of cognitive dissonance.
 
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NormanBates said:
I'd say Samyang primes - they're much cheaper, fully manual (very nice long-throw focus ring, better compatibility with future cameras) and offer outstanding image quality - for example, the samyang 35mm f/1.4, at $500, is sharper than the $1500 Canon 35mm f/1.4L and similar to the $1850 Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 - http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...LensComp=121&CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0 - http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...LensComp=749&CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0 - another example: the samyang 85mm f/1.4 has bokeh quality similar to the canon 85mm f/1.2L, worlds better than the one from the canon 85mm f/1.8 (very, very important for a portrait lens) - more here: http://www.similaar.com/foto/equipment/us_lensc.html - they don't have a 50mm yet, but I'd guess it's in the pipeline, so you can get the 24mm f/1.4 (soon), 35mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.4, plus, as you have the budget, the canon 24-70 f/2.8L or 24-105 f/4L IS (so you have a zoom, and a lens with autofocus, and maybe also with IS), and wait for the 50mm
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I own the 85 1.4 and 35 1.4 and they are both amazing. I use them along side of L primes that I rent, and they perform just as well. They are well built also.
 
Yeah, photozone has very positive reviews of the Samyang primes. Mind you the 14mm has a lot of barrel distortion.

I've been seriously considering building up a set.

BUT

I've slowly but surley been nailing my colours to the Leica R mast.

About the only Leica R lens that won't work on a 60 D is the 19 f/2.8 2nd version (Acording to Pebble-place)

Dave
 
(on full-frame, many more vintage leica-R lenses on the wide end of things can create issues; those are expensive and not as great as normal and long lenses, anyway, but just so nobody gets a nasty surprise...)
 
For video, I feel it's always better to go for faster manual lenses over sharper glass because the difference in resolved detail won't be apparent in 1080p.

If you can stick to the f1.4 range then you're in great shape.
 
NormanBates said:
(on full-frame, many more vintage leica-R lenses on the wide end of things can create issues; those are expensive and not as great as normal and long lenses, anyway, but just so nobody gets a nasty surprise...)
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Yep, just re-checked Pebble-Place, I was wrong, it's the 21 f/3.4 Super-Angulon that's a no-go, just about anything else will work on a crop-frame. The 5DII is much more restricted, below 28mm, it's down to the 21 f/4 and type I 19 2.8, then I think one of the super-wides but as I can't afford them didn't check too closely.

ATM, debating whether to spring for a 35 and 90, both f/2.8. Speed vs Quality vs cost. I can probably afford 2.8, but 2.0 is out of my budget from what I've seen in the past.

I already have a SMC Takumar 35 f/2.0 but it's distinctly yellow (Radioactive?)

Argh, decisions, decisions...

Dave
 
the elmarit-R 90mm f/2.8 and the elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8 are, in that order, the best two lenses I've ever handled; absolutely amazing; the third one would be the summilux-R 50mm f/1.4 (maybe the reason I'm not overly in love with this one yet is that I bought it recently and haven't used it much); I wouldn't bother with the faster 35mm: it is quite a bit softer; if you want a fast and amazing 35mm, the samyang 35mm f/1.4 is the place to go; check the table I posted here: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea...e-big-screen&p=2304302&viewfull=1#post2304302
 
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