Price isn't too bad - backpacking across the planet -

New_Zealand

New_Zealand

Veteran
After doing some filming and traveling across the planet there was a number of times I wish I had a lighter Zoom lens. I used the 50mm for the whole time and left my 70mm - 200mm 2.8 home due to its heavy weight. But there were times that I really wish I had it with me to get that closer up shot etc......... Packing a bunch of lens (prime) doesn't work either. I have been staying in Backpackers across New Zealand and Australia so I slept with my 5d mkiii and laptop to make sure both were safe and everywhere I went they went so you can see carrying the 70-200 or a bunch of prime lens would have been a total nightmare. I'm heading up to China, Spain etc.... on my next trip and want to travel as light as possible.

So I'm now looking at leaving the 50mm home and either get the 24-70 or the 24-105. The video shoot will be the most used on either of these two lens. The only thing is I wish I could get the 2.8 instead of the 4.0 but does anyone notice a major issue with the 4.0?

The price for this Canon 24-105 isn't bad;

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-24-105mm-USM-Zoom-Lens/dp/B004V97MXE/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_i

And some refurbished lens that are not actually refurbished but are price right;

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...olp_refurbished?ie=UTF8&condition=refurbished
 
I just traded my 24-70 2.8 version 1 for the 24-105 4.0 straight up and I could not be happier. I shoot with a 5D3, so the extra stop of light won't be missed. I needed the IS more than the stop, and the lens is a bit sharper than the original 24-70 version 1.

I would consider a 50 1.2 if I could find one REALLY cheap but for now the manual Nikkor 50 1.8 that I modified will do. I also use it for some lens whacking from time to time.
I also have a canon 100mm 2.8 version 1 without IS that is really beautiful, and relatively cheap on ebay for macro stuff.

In Summery, I figured the 24-105 would work as my zoom for now, with the likelihood of buying the rumored Sigma 24-70 2.0 OS when ever it ships if I keep the Canon 5D3. I love the RAW on it, but the Sony a7S could change all that later this summer.
 
I hear you about the heavy gear while traveling. I'm a little torn about it, but I've come to the conclusion that if you're there to travel then you need to trim your gear down to accommodate that. If you're there to shoot, then yeah…lug the heavy gear to the shoot. I was in Japan this winter and had to shoot a couple things properly so I had to have my C100 and 5D3 with me. The rest of the time I was out there traveling around outside of the shoots I was missing shots because I didn't want to take the big gear out or it wasn't ready to get the shot. Next time I'm going on a trip like that I'm going to bring a small camera that I can carry everywhere to grab shots. It won't have the beautiful bokeh of the 5DIII or beautiful video of the c100, but I'll be getting shots and not just getting tired from carrying too much gear.
 
Thanks for your feedback. On Amazon it shows about a $50 differences between White Box and refurbish but they say it is lens that came from a kit and not actually a refurbish lens. Does any of these look like a good choice. Same lens but different companies selling them. I'm looking at the $695 one should be the same as the $729 which says it is from the Mkiii kit? Any thoughts on this?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...olp_refurbished?ie=UTF8&condition=refurbished
 
I bought my 5D3 out of a kit without the lens and warrantied it through Canon USA website the same day... no problems on my end even with the purchase of a $2600 camera. that's just my experience, though.
 
Not so much lens-specific, but 2.8 vs. F4 as an aesthetic decision vs. needing one more stop of light:

These days, for most of my shooting, the ISOs are clean enough that I wouldn't make that decision on light. I tend to do a lot of shooting at F4 or 5.6. The only time I really, really want 2.8 or 1.8 is telephoto people shots - fashion, interviews, etc. And I always have plenty of lights in those cases.

For travel, I could definitely see losing 1 stop for reduced weight. (Besides, my mid range zoom is the 28-70 2.8 - they don't call it "the beast" for nothing.)

I really love the compressed look with a wide-open lens, but I wouldn't want to sleep in a hostel with that giant thing strapped to me!
 
You might add a Canon EOS M to your kit for $225 to $350 if you can afford it.

The 22 mm 2.0 lens is fantastic. The 18-55 mm STM is very good. Add a $75 Canon adapter from eBay and you can use all of the other Canon lenses on it.
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I use a T4i with the 18-135 mm STM (the only non-L lens I have used) The EOS M is basically the same camera/sensor at 1/4 the total size.

Sorry to muddy the waters - just very happy to have this little beast right now. :)

Good luck on your travels!
 
I use the 24-105 and it covers pretty much everything I shoot. The IS and the extra range is more than worth the stop of light you lose from the 24-70 in my opinion, although I do shoot a lot of handheld doc stuff where the IS is really useful.

The only thing to be aware of is that you lose some light (about 1/3 of a stop) when you zoom in on the 24-105. I thought it was an issue with my copy, but I've seen it in the other ones that I've used too. For some reason, mine stays constant when it's at F4, but as soon as I stop down it loses light as I zoom in. Other than this, I really like the lens.
 
I have the 24-70 v2 and a 70-200 and a bunch of sharp, fast primes...these days the 24-70 stays on the camera more than anything else because it's a wide and a close-up and that'll cover everything I need to shoot with no lens-swapping. Sometimes I wish I had the 24-105 for that extra reach but usually getting closer to the subject is not a problem. Both are great lenses!
 
I'm going on a big trip in a couple of weeks myself and I've been struggling with lens choices as well. I'm a big fan of my Tamron 28-300 3.5 Macro zoom that I picked up for about $50, light and great to use. I'm sure I'll bring along my tagalong 50mm 1.8 and my Canon 28-105 IS but anything more than that I'm not sure. But for most things, those three cover just about everything I would want to film or photograph.
 
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