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Your One Stop Camera Barn
Happy New Year to All. Hope 2010 brings you joy in your photographic pursuits.
Experts say It's not the camera but the quality of the lens that makes the difference in photos quality.
Experts say It's not the camera but the quality of the lens that makes the difference in photos quality.
So this month I will review some of the common lens suitable for Canon digital SLR being brought by photographers as a supplement to their Digital SLR kits.
The Canon EF 50mm lens offers a fast f/1.8 aperture and is an excellent lens for people who prefer a fixed focal length. Extremely light in weight at 4.6 ounces, the lens boasts a traditional Gauss-type optical design that delivers a sharp performance even when wide open. As a result, the lens provides an image that's extremely close to how your eye perceives a subject, making it excellent for portraits and images that require a natural depth of field. In addition, the lens focuses as close as 18 inches, helping you take extreme close-ups. Finally, the lens offers an excellent color balance. As with all Canon lenses, the lens carries a one-year warranty.
Customer Reviews
Sharp, fast, inexpensive
Once upon a time the 50 mm lens was THE standard camera lens and was THE optical benchmark by which manufacturers were judged and compared. Although the basic lens focus has now shifted (at least at the low to mid amateur level) to zooms - you can still benefit from years of research and development that went into designing the 50 mm lens and this here lens may be the best lens, dollar for dollar, that you can ever buy. The question is can you afford not to own this lens?
Once upon a time the 50 mm lens was THE standard camera lens and was THE optical benchmark by which manufacturers were judged and compared. Although the basic lens focus has now shifted (at least at the low to mid amateur level) to zooms - you can still benefit from years of research and development that went into designing the 50 mm lens and this here lens may be the best lens, dollar for dollar, that you can ever buy. The question is can you afford not to own this lens?
Best Value in Photography!
Wow! My theory now is that Canon doesn't put this baby as their kit lens because many people would decide that they DONT NEED ANOTHER ONE! And many of them would be right!
Like others, I bought the Rebel XT and the 28-135 IS lens. The 28-135 is heavy and priced like a gold brick. I guess it does OK, and I do keep it mounted most of the time.
Wow! My theory now is that Canon doesn't put this baby as their kit lens because many people would decide that they DONT NEED ANOTHER ONE! And many of them would be right!
Like others, I bought the Rebel XT and the 28-135 IS lens. The 28-135 is heavy and priced like a gold brick. I guess it does OK, and I do keep it mounted most of the time.
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard Zoom Lens
The successor to the EF28-70mm f/2.8L USM lens released in November 1993. This lens features a new optical system design, the new zoom lens delivers an expanded zoom range with a 24 mm wide-angle focal length, ideally suiting it to digital image sizes, while also maintaining or improving on the outstanding image quality of the superseded model.Moreover, the power of the focusing lens group has been increased to allow a minimum focusing distance of just 0.38 meters, the shortest in its class at the time, throughout the entire zoom range. The new EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM also features a circular diaphragm, to give better background blur, and utilizes only lead-free glass optics in consideration of the environment.
Customer Reviews
A great general-purpose lens
I've owned the 24-70mm for almost a year now. This lens has been a favorite of many since it replaced its well-regarded predecessor, the 28-70mm. It shoots images that are very sharp and have excellent contrast and saturation. It's sharp wide open and only gets better when stopping down. The USM (Ultrasonic Motor) focuses very fast, and full-time manual focusing is allowed. I've thought about buying a 50mm f/1.4, but the results from this lens are so good, I'm having a hard time justifying the purchase. I've been nothing but pleased with the pictures I get from the 24-70mm. The constant f/2.8 aperture is great for shooting indoors and produces a very nice bokeh (background blur) when shooting portraits
I've owned the 24-70mm for almost a year now. This lens has been a favorite of many since it replaced its well-regarded predecessor, the 28-70mm. It shoots images that are very sharp and have excellent contrast and saturation. It's sharp wide open and only gets better when stopping down. The USM (Ultrasonic Motor) focuses very fast, and full-time manual focusing is allowed. I've thought about buying a 50mm f/1.4, but the results from this lens are so good, I'm having a hard time justifying the purchase. I've been nothing but pleased with the pictures I get from the 24-70mm. The constant f/2.8 aperture is great for shooting indoors and produces a very nice bokeh (background blur) when shooting portraits
Best available all-around Canon lens
Simply put, this is the best all-around lens that Canon manufactures. It produces razor-sharp images with startling color and saturation, and at f/2.8 across the zoom range is capable of shooting in all but the dimmest of lighting conditions. The "L" glass (Canon's professional line of lenses) is simply the best out there, bar none, from any manufacturer. It's pricey, but well worth it.
I use this lens for portrait and wedding photography, landscapes, sports, and anything else that doesn't require extreme telephoto. In concert with my EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM lens, I find that these two lenses cover just about everything I ever want to shoot.
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens
Incorporating Canon's second-generation Image Stabilization technology, this 70-200mm telephoto zoom responds in as little as 0.5 seconds while providing up to three stops of correction for camera shake. As a result, you can easily capture the far-off action of fast-paced sports or zoom in for an intimate portrait with a blurred background. The lens's autofocus (AF) system, meanwhile, has been refined for better response time and tracking speed. And photographers will love the new eight-blade circular aperture, which offers a more pleasing out-of-focus image. Constructed to pro standards, the EF 70-200mm lens is highly dust- and moisture-resistant and carries a one-year warranty.
Customer Reviews
Fast, sharp and solid with IS to boot
This is the best lens you can get in this zoom range for the Canon EOS. It's not the cheapest and it's not the lightest, but it's the best. This lens is fast, it has excellent optics, the build quality is very solid and the image stabilization (IS) feature works wonders for hand held shooting. If you shoot hand held in marginal light, this is the lens for you. If you always use a tripod, you don't really need IS -- take a look at the less expensive non-IS version of this lens. If you always shoot in good light, the lighter and even less expensive 70-200mm f4.0 may do the job for you. But for me, the extra stop of light and the IS make the difference between unusable images and great images. This is an awesome lens.
This is the best lens you can get in this zoom range for the Canon EOS. It's not the cheapest and it's not the lightest, but it's the best. This lens is fast, it has excellent optics, the build quality is very solid and the image stabilization (IS) feature works wonders for hand held shooting. If you shoot hand held in marginal light, this is the lens for you. If you always use a tripod, you don't really need IS -- take a look at the less expensive non-IS version of this lens. If you always shoot in good light, the lighter and even less expensive 70-200mm f4.0 may do the job for you. But for me, the extra stop of light and the IS make the difference between unusable images and great images. This is an awesome lens.
The Canon EF 70-200mm IS is an awesome tack sharp lens!,
I shoot with a Canon 20D and before purchasing this lens, used the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 III USM lens. I've always noticed the limitations of this lens when shooting amateur softball. I reviewed the lens lineup at the Canon website and decided on purchasing the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM Lens. The 100-400mm is a great lens, but it can be a little soft. For that reason I decided to add the Canon EF 70-200mm 2.8/f IS USM telephoto zoom lens to my lens collection.
I shoot with a Canon 20D and before purchasing this lens, used the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 III USM lens. I've always noticed the limitations of this lens when shooting amateur softball. I reviewed the lens lineup at the Canon website and decided on purchasing the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM Lens. The 100-400mm is a great lens, but it can be a little soft. For that reason I decided to add the Canon EF 70-200mm 2.8/f IS USM telephoto zoom lens to my lens collection.
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens
Inner focusing system with USM Closest Focusing Distance 0.28m / 0.9 ft. Zoom System Rotating type Filter Size 82mm Max. Diameter x Length, Weight 3.3" x 4.1", 1.3 lb. / 83.5 x 103mm, 600g. A great lens for Wedding photography.Customer Reviews
It is a 16-20mm lens
This lens excels at 16-20mm range. For 24-35mm it is actually less sharp when compared with my 24-105 (but has less distort and vignetting).
I definiely want the lens to perform equally well in the entire zoom range. But if a compromise has to be made, the 16-20mm range is what I need it for. My primary lens is 24-105, which accounts for 70% of all my shots.
Modest improvement mostly for full frame users
I have owned both this and the original version. The new lens is better in the corners and flares less but the corners are still a little soft at f2.8 and you can get the lens to flare a little if you try. I haven't seen the loss of clarity above 20mm that others reported. Perhaps you would see a slight difference in eyelashes if you did a lot of portraits but this is probably not the best choice for a portrait lens. It is a somewhat better lens for shooting landscapes and other shots where edge to edge clarity is important.
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This lens excels at 16-20mm range. For 24-35mm it is actually less sharp when compared with my 24-105 (but has less distort and vignetting).
I definiely want the lens to perform equally well in the entire zoom range. But if a compromise has to be made, the 16-20mm range is what I need it for. My primary lens is 24-105, which accounts for 70% of all my shots.
Modest improvement mostly for full frame users
I have owned both this and the original version. The new lens is better in the corners and flares less but the corners are still a little soft at f2.8 and you can get the lens to flare a little if you try. I haven't seen the loss of clarity above 20mm that others reported. Perhaps you would see a slight difference in eyelashes if you did a lot of portraits but this is probably not the best choice for a portrait lens. It is a somewhat better lens for shooting landscapes and other shots where edge to edge clarity is important.
Checkout my Camera Bag by clicking here
