Is the 17-55mm f/2.8 a good starter lens for the 7D?

powervideo

powervideo

Well-known member
Just looking at getting an everyday lens for my (pre-ordered) 7D. The 17-55mm f/2.8Canon gets very good reviews - sharp and fast. But is the limited zoom range a PITA for everyday use? I have a collection of Zeiss Contax primes/manual zooms for the fancy stuff, but a really good standard AF zoom has me searching...

Peter
 
Hmmm 27-88 35mm equivalent and it's 2.8 throughout the whole zoom range.

"In combination with digital EOS CMOS sensor and DIGIC II image processor technologies, the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM delivers image quality surpassing that required for many commercial applications."

"With image quality and construction approaching that of Canon’s renowned professional lenses"

I wouldn't be surprised if they offered this in a kit with the 7D.
 
Something that is good for social portraits, landscapes, etc plus if you see a nice stock fotage shot, good enough to use the standard lens.
 
It's tough trying to decide on a single lens to buy for the 7D. All the Canon AF lenses seem to have short throws which is typical of modern AF lenses designed for stills. Also no idea on how bad the breathing is, even though I've read quite a few reviews of this lens - again not something a typical photographer cares about so why would anyone bother writing about breathing?

Negative reviews bring up the lack of weather sealing and that it's prone to dust. Also its "plasticky" construction might mean lower resale value down the road if you change systems.

It's a matter of picking your poisions, but if I were to go for a single zoom, it would probably be the Tamron 17-50mm - just as plasticky and by hearsay almost as good optically, but a far cheaper poison.

Perhaps people down the road will write reviews of these lenses designed for the videographers here, rather than photographers.
 
Yeah, looking at this one myself too, and am having a tough time deciding. There doesnt seem to be a lot of options in the fast AF zoom lenses that doesnt cost more than the camera itself.
 
You can get the three great Tokina zooms for about the price of the camera. It's a great deal.
 
If I ditch the MKII for the 7D I'll probably get the 17-55 and a 11-16 tokina to make up for the loss at the wide end.
 
Am I right to belive that the 11-16mm does not have a crop factor on the 7d because it is a dx lens? Found this under a review on the lens

"the only downside to this lense you get tons of Chromatic Aberration. pretty much expect to have to correct this in lightroom or photoshop for every picture taken in bright day"

Anyone with experience with this lens have any feedback on that?
 
powervideo said:
Just looking at getting an everyday lens for my (pre-ordered) 7D. The 17-55mm f/2.8Canon gets very good reviews - sharp and fast. But is the limited zoom range a PITA for everyday use? I have a collection of Zeiss Contax primes/manual zooms for the fancy stuff, but a really good standard AF zoom has me searching...

Peter
Click to expand...

The 17-55 F2.8 is a excellent lens, very good image quality. (You won't find a lens for Canon with a bigger zoom range and F2.8 covering the whole range).
It is a high grade lens and could be considered a pro lens if it had weather sealing. I wouldn't be worried about that unless you are planning to go to the desert or other hazardous environments.
What you should consider though, all modern AF lenses have a very short way of manual focusing. That means manual focusing becomes harder, especially if you plan to use a follow focus later on AF lenses are way inferior in terms of focusing than dedicated MF lenses.
 
vcfilms said:
Am I right to belive that the 11-16mm does not have a crop factor on the 7d because it is a dx lens? Found this under a review on the lens

"the only downside to this lense you get tons of Chromatic Aberration. pretty much expect to have to correct this in lightroom or photoshop for every picture taken in bright day"

Anyone with experience with this lens have any feedback on that?
Click to expand...

Take this simple formula:

Focal length printed on the lens * 1.6 crop factor = the focal length you get. Doesn't matter what you put on a Canon APS-C, you always have to multiply by 1.6!
 
The question is get the canon ef-s 17-55mm 2.8 or the upcoming tamron 17-50mm 2.8 with image stabilization.The non stabilized tamron 17-50mm 2.8 gets great reviews and the new one should be considerably cheaper than the canon.
 
Last edited:
mico said:
The question is get the canon ef-s 17-55mm 2.8 or the upcoming tamron 17-50mm 2.8 with image stabilization.The non stabilized tamron 17-50mm 2.8 gets great reviews and the new one should be considerably cheaper than the canon.
Click to expand...

Cool. I didn't know they were making a Tamron w/image stabilization. That was the biggest knock against considering that as an option. When is it planned to come out?
 
mico said:
The question is get the canon ef-s 17-55mm 2.8 or the upcoming tamron 17-50mm 2.8 with image stabilization.The non stabilized tamron 17-50mm 2.8 gets great reviews and the new one should be considerably cheaper than the canon.
Click to expand...

Interesting how the new Tamron will be. I have used several Tamrons and still have some, they make very nice lenses. You can be sure the Tamron will cost maximum half of the Canon so if you can afford the Canon why not get the Tamron and you could add two very nice second hand prime lenses!
 
I don't own any IS or VR (nikon) lenses. Question:
Are there any drawbacks to using IS lenses for video? Any bounceback or nullifcation of when you DO want a handheld look?
 
dadoboy said:
I don't own any IS or VR (nikon) lenses. Question:
Are there any drawbacks to using IS lenses for video? Any bounceback or nullifcation of when you DO want a handheld look?
Click to expand...

Don't have Tamrons but the canons have on off switches.
 
IS does have bounceback, it is good for attempting lockoffs, longer lenses etc but not good for moves - you can turn it off of course (and the nikon wont work on a canon anyway)

S
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top