Lens kit suggestions!

R

Rain Man

Active member
We shoot mostly interviews and documentary type work, not as much narrative (just a little...). We will be shooting with a 5D and 60D so the lenses need to be compatible with FF and Crop Sensors. I'm just not sure what focal lengths I will need/want. Here's what I've thought of so far: (obviously not ALL of them)

Canon 50mm 1.4 (or 1.2 if the budget allows) and Rokinon/Bower/Samyang 35mm 1.4 primes to cover any crazy low light situations.
Canon 24-70mm 2.8 to cover most needs, or the Tamron 28-75mm if money is tight.
Considered the 70-200 IS (f/2.8 or f/4, depending on budget again...) but not sure if I would really need it?
I was thinking the 24-70 on the 5D would be pretty wide, but should I consider a wider prime as well? If so, what do you recommend?

Thanks guys!
 
Rule out the 70 to 200 unless you want to shoot the footage from a mile away. I would think that the 24-70 choice would work best for that sort of shooting.
 
Definitely don't rule out the 70-200 - it's an awesome versatile, lens and with the 5DmkII espescially you'll find yourself reaching for it for anything and everything including portraits, interviews, CU's, as well as long-distance shots. It's a great lens for documentary shooters.

If budget is a big concern I'd go with the Sigma 24-70 & 70-200 rather than the Canon versions. The 70-200 is very good, though not as sharp as the Canon or Tamron versions, but the build quality is better than the Tamron and it is also available with IS. The Sigma 24-70 is much better optically than the Tamron 28-75, so it's a bit of a trade off - Tamron has better optics for the 70-200 and Sigma has better optics for the 24-70 vs the 28-75.

the 24-70/70-200 combo is very versatile kit. I know many photographers who shoot 99% of their stuff on these two lenses alone, regardless of whether they are shooting FF or APS-C.
 
Thanks for the tips. So what are the differences between the first and second versions of the 70-200 f/2.8 IS lenses?
 
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