Need help on a Lens decisions, opinions Welcomed........

V

vision_filmz

Carbonite Member
After I would say about 2 years of using a Dslr I noticed that medium to closer shots look better with these cameras as they preserve the most detail. Wide shots and Extreme wides lose a lot of detail + the shallow DOF that to me makes the images from these cameras look very film like.

I love the detail , contrast and dof the 50mm 1.8 from the canon lens. What I don't like is you cannot focus that close to your subject with that lens and also is almost impossible to get a wide shot of people in the frame with that lens.

Sigma 28mm 1.8 lens is an awesome lens as it allows you to focus very close (within inches) and is a great lens in low light. Only problem is, it's a little softer when compared to the 50mm and this lens is really not that wide or portrait.


I also own a Russian 15mm lens that is excellent for wides, but loses detail and always has a deep DOF. Very flare prone and glows wide open, this lens works better when stopped down.

I have the Sigma 18-50mm zoom lens and I love the focal length as it covers all of the areas I need, but the image quality from that lens doesn't really "pop" out to me like other lenses. I own a couple of more lenses, but this is all I will mention for now.

So after all of this , this is what I would like in a lens. Focal length of 15mm-80mm with quality like the 50mm f/1.8 lens.


Is there a better zoom lens compared to the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8? Also I'm really thinking about buying the Tokina 11-16mm , but outside of focal length how does it compare in sharpness and contrast to the Canon 50mm lens? Also thinking about buying the Rokinon 85mm lens?

Does one perfect lens exist for under a $1000? Any help is greatly appreciated

thanks
 
jambredz said:
prob the closest u'll get http://www.amazon.com/Canon-24-70mm-2-8L-Standard-Cameras/dp/B00009R6WT/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1329073443&sr=1-1

for a little more than 1k. OR the Tokina 11-16 + tamron 17-50 f2.8 (non VC)+ rokinon 85 totalling about the same price as the 24-70L.

There's a new tamron coming out...the 24-70 f2.8. But that hasn't been reviewed as yet.
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I've used the 24-70mm, and not impressed especially for the price tag.

I'm thinking of maybe getting the tokina 11-16mm and the Rokinon 85mm.....

Any other lenses out there that are simply must haves? I'm really looking for something with great contrast, similar to the nifty fifty.
 
The Canon 24-70mm is a very nice lens... but if you don't like it, you don't like it. The Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 hasn't even hit the shelves yet... price hasn't even been announced... but if it's anything like their 28-75mm f/2.8 it will be very much worth a look. I have the 28-75 and I love it.

There's not a "perfect lens" for under $1000. There's not even a "perfect lens" for over $1k. Each lens has applications where it shines, and others where it will fall short. There's a Canon EF-S that has the range you're looking for (18-85mm), but it's in the same family as the kit lens and does not have constant aperture. To be honest, you're going to sacrifice a few things by trying to cram that much focal range into one lens.

The Tokina is a great, wide-angle lens. It's sharp. It also has barrel distortion around the edges, so it's kind of a special-purpose lens, but I find myself using it quite a bit.

You're going to find that you have deep focus with any wide-angle lens. That's just the physics of wide-angle lenses. Of course, shallow DOF is not what defines "film-like". To make your projects look like film, you need to pay more attention to lighting and camera movement. Shallow DOF is a trap that lots of folks fall into once they are able to shoot with it, and it becomes tiresome and overused.
 
I had a Sigma 24-70 f2.8 and for video I could not distinguish it from the Canon L24-70. For stills the L series was sharper, but video wise nearly identical.
 
On an APS-C crop body, the Canon 17-55/2.8 is nearly the perfect lens... I just got the next best thing, Sigma 17-50/2.8 OS. For video, the Sigma actually has one advantage over the Canon... hard stops.
 
Kin Lau said:
On an APS-C crop body, the Canon 17-55/2.8 is nearly the perfect lens... I just got the next best thing, Sigma 17-50/2.8 OS. For video, the Sigma actually has one advantage over the Canon... hard stops.
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I just recently bought a Tokina 11-16mm and I have a Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8. I could easily sell both of those lenses and buy the Canon 17-55mm , but that Tokina 11-16mm lens is simply awesome. At f/2.8 the lens is sharp and the focal length just makes things look larger than life. I could probably get about $350-$400 for the Sigma but would still need at least another $500 to buy the Canon, don;t know if it's worth it........
 
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