General L series lens Help

brandondull

brandondull

Well-known member
I have a Canon T2i now and I am wondering what to buy next? Should I buy an L Series Lens or the Canon 5D and use my Canon 35mm on it?
 
What lenses do you have already?

For the price of a 5D body, you could put together a nice collection of very good 3rd party lenses (eg Tokina 11-16, Tamron 17-50, Simga 30mm f/1.4 + a full set of vintage Nikon Primes - 28mm, 50mm, 85mm, 135mm - would give you plenty of change). A 5D mkII is not very useful without some lenses to match it. Better off keeping the t2i and collecting lenses in my opinion.
 
it's always better to invest in glass than in bodies

but deltoidjohn is right: unless we know which lenses you already have, any advice is just tentative

plus: I love my set of vintage primes, it's a much cheaper way to L-like image quality (or sometimes even better, but usually slower), and they'll live to work on my next camera, whether it's canon, nikon, sony, panasonic, whatever (in my case, it's all leitz and carl zeiss jena, about $1K for 35+50+90+135+180)
 
Thanks for the fast replies. I have a Canon 35mm & Rokinon 8mm fisheye. I would like to get the L Series 35mm but since I'm debating to spend so much money I was also thinking about just getting a Canon 5D because it's a full frame sensor camera. It's also better for photography which I was going to do on the side of videography.
 
brandondull said:
Thanks for the fast replies. I have a Canon 35mm & Rokinon 8mm fisheye. I would like to get the L Series 35mm but since I'm debating to spend so much money I was also thinking about just getting a Canon 5D because it's a full frame sensor camera. It's also better for photography which I was going to do on the side of videography.
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Only you can answer that question. The only reason to buy gear is when you are faced with limitations. Personally you need to see what in your current setup is stopping you from doing what you want and go from there. A 35mmL glass is not going to magically give you something you already don't have.
 
vision_filmz said:
Only you can answer that question. The only reason to buy gear is when you are faced with limitations. Personally you need to see what in your current setup is stopping you from doing what you want and go from there. A 35mmL glass is not going to magically give you something you already don't have.
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yeah your right. I am going to buy the 5D instead of L series lens but don't worry guys I plan to keep my T2i!!
 
brandondull said:
I know, but I WANT the 5D. I know this is the T2i section of the forum so of course everyone is going to say invest into glass for the T2i.
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well, what do you think the 5D is going to give you that the T2i can't?

btw, I understand the wanting completely, but us telling you to invest in glass first isn't just this forum. Glass, if well taken care of, will last a lifetime and be useful on every single one of your bodies from now on. A camera body's life-span is somewhere from 2-7 years, depending on how often you upgrade.
 
* I think you'll benefit a lot from reading these two pieces:
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2010/07/lenses-dont-collect-the-whole-set
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2010/07/the-full-frame-move

* if you're doing photography too, vintage glass may or may not be suitable for you: I've learned to love focusing manually even for stills (as it "I'm the one taking this still, not the camera"), but it's painfully slow, so even for me the lack of autofocus is a dealbreaker for many situations; some vintage primes offer the same IQ of the best modern lenses, while costing less than five times as much, so it's definitely something to ponder carefully

* edit: if you're into photography, it is for sure that eventually you will want a better body; not because of full-frame, but because of microadjustment:
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008/12/this-lens-is-soft-and-other-myths
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2010/03/this-lens-is-soft-and-other-facts

* I also have a t2i and eventually want to go full frame; but I'm sure my budget is tight enought that I don't want to switch to the 5Dmk2: it's a lot of money for a not-so-big difference (the bits I don't like about my t2i are aliasing and moire, and a 5Dmk2 won't solve that) --> I'll wait for the 5Dmk3

* have you considered non-L primes? don't write them off too fast, some of them are much better than your current 35mm f/2, for example the 24mm f/2.8, the 50mm f/1.4 and the 85mm f/1.8; add the tokina 11-16 to that bunch, and it's a very nice lens set (probably with a weak link at 35mm)
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=2
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0
 
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NormanBates said:
* I think you'll benefit a lot from reading these two pieces:
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2010/07/lenses-dont-collect-the-whole-set
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2010/07/the-full-frame-move

* if you're doing photography too, vintage glass may or may not be suitable for you: I've learned to love focusing manually even for stills (as it "I'm the one taking this still, not the camera"), but it's painfully slow, so even for me the lack of autofocus is a dealbreaker for many situations; some vintage primes offer the same IQ of the best modern lenses, while costing less than five times as much, so it's definitely something to ponder carefully

* edit: if you're into photography, it is for sure that eventually you will want a better body; not because of full-frame, but because of microadjustment:
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008/12/this-lens-is-soft-and-other-myths
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2010/03/this-lens-is-soft-and-other-facts

* I also have a t2i and eventually want to go full frame; but I'm sure my budget is tight enought that I don't want to switch to the 5Dmk2: it's a lot of money for a not-so-big difference (the bits I don't like about my t2i are aliasing and moire, and a 5Dmk2 won't solve that) --> I'll wait for the 5Dmk3

* have you considered non-L primes? don't write them off too fast, some of them are much better than your current 35mm f/2, for example the 24mm f/2.8, the 50mm f/1.4 and the 85mm f/1.8; add the tokina 11-16 to that bunch, and it's a very nice lens set (probably with a weak link at 35mm)
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=2
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0
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Exactly what I meant. Only buy what you need and what you are currently limited by. I was having a problem recording low light scenes in the 20mm-30mm range. I went and bought a 28mm 1.8 lens and My life couldn't be happier.


All I have is 50mm and under lenses that are nice and fast. During a recent live shoot I learned 50mm wasn't long enough so now I will be a longer Zoom lens (24-105 possibly)

You don't buy just to buy, great articles!
 
brandondull said:
What lenses should I buy?
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:huh: Scratches head?

Have you paid any attention at all?



Edit: This Is The Lens You Need

41nW4a0AjAL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-70-200m...RWSW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303946090&sr=8-1


You will produce now some of the best footage of your life.
 
Anyway.....

Think about what you most shoot and chose a lens to suit that.

I might think of the 50 1.4 and 85 1.8 from Canon. That would round out your 35 nicely and not cost too much at all.
 
JPM Photography said:
Anyway.....

Think about what you most shoot and chose a lens to suit that.

I might think of the 50 1.4 and 85 1.8 from Canon. That would round out your 35 nicely and not cost too much at all.
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Thanks I used to have a 50mm 1.8 but it broke. lol. What type of shots would I use an 85 1.8 for?
 
well, for closer up shots or shots that need more background compression. different focal lengths can also have different "feels" that they impart on the image that can add to what the character is feeling. Often times you can use a long focal length to isolate someone who is feeling isolated. A good example is one of the dvxuser film fest films that the DP/director used only a 300mm f/2.8 prime for the entire piece. It VERY effectively isolated the character and helped him feel alone.

so, while you can get the same framing by just moving forward or backward with your 35, oftentimes changing the focal length can help further the story along. I think I rambled on and may have not answered your question.... Did I?

I guess you could also just get a zoom and figure out where you spend most of your time with it. Maybe the Tamron 70-200 or the Sigma 50-150
 
@brandondull: I see you really lost, so my advice would be: start slowly, and save most of your money for when you know what you need

you already have the 35mm f/2 and a 8mm fisheye; I'd try to get some cheap workhorse lenses, the first one probably being a canon 50mm f/1.4 (for portraits); start shooting and see what you like, what you need, and what you want; after that 50mm, the next one may be a 24mm f/2.8 or a 85mm f/1.8, or a tokina 11-16mm, but you'll only know what you'll need when you've used your camera and realized there's something missin in your kit

I definitely wouldn't go 5Dmk2 yet
 
NormanBates said:
@brandondull: I see you really lost, so my advice would be: start slowly, and save most of your money for when you know what you need

you already have the 35mm f/2 and a 8mm fisheye; I'd try to get some cheap workhorse lenses, the first one probably being a canon 50mm f/1.4 (for portraits); start shooting and see what you like, what you need, and what you want; after that 50mm, the next one may be a 24mm f/2.8 or a 85mm f/1.8, or a tokina 11-16mm, but you'll only know what you'll need when you've used your camera and realized there's something missin in your kit

I definitely wouldn't go 5Dmk2 yet
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I added up the prices of all the lenses you suggested and it came out to be around $1900.00 seems like a way better buy then the 5D. Thanks!
 
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