Which is the better deal?

Published by: mike 2010-03-19

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I am saving everything I can so I can get a Canon 40D but I am not sure what lens to get that would best serve my purpose. I will primarily shooting portraits of children and families.

Here are the two i have been looking at this far:

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens
or
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens

Any thoughts? Is there something else I should consider instead?

Don't concern yourself with all of the 'hype words'..."super zoom wide angle" etc. Just concentrate on the focal length (24-70mm) and the maximum aperture (F2.8 or F3.5-5.6)...and then the features like IS & USM.

It might be beneficial to go into a local store...just to get some hands on with some lenses and some face to face with a sales associate (try to find one that knows what they are doing). Then, I suggest you buy from B&H, unless of course the price in the store is reasonably close.

I have the EF-S 17-85 IS lens listed above. It's a good, mid level lens. Not great but not terrible. I also have the EF-S 18-55...it's the standard kit lens and it's good for the price (about $100 with a camera) but it's crap compared to most other lenses. Either of those lenses has a small maximum aperture range....which isn't good.

I forgot to mention that you can look at Canon EF or EF-S lenses. EF is their designation for all of their autofocus lenses and you can use any EF lens. EF-S is their designation for 'digital only' lenses which are designed for cameras like the 40D and the Rebel series (XT, XTi etc)....you can use any EF-S lens on the 40D. You mentioned that you have an EF 28-80mm lens...you can use that lens on the 40D.

Other companies like Sigma or Tamron make lenses for Canon but they use different designations...so you have to read the descriptions. As you are getting a 40D...just about any lens for 'Canon Auto focus' or 'Canon EF' or 'Canon EOS' will work.

so now i'm thinking its better to go with a lens with a better apiture range. I really need some advice please.

I just went out and grabbed my camera bag and i have a canon EF 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 III USM. I don't use it that often so i can tell off the bat now its not something i need. My kit lens for my 35mm is 28-88mm with .38m/1.3ft which i'm embarrassed to say I don't know what that last part means.

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I was thinking something similar in range as my 35mm kit lens would work well especially for the toddlers because they are fast and sometimes suing the zoom is faster than i can run if you know what i mean. Am I way off base here?

I was told the auto focus would not work though. I could get an adapter of sorts but still it would be manual focus. Maybe I'm totally missing something but I will have to go to the local shop, i think we have a shutterbug in town and go check this stuff out. thanks for all your help Mike. You are the best :hugs:

Which lens? All EF designated lenses with AF will work on the EOS systems ( since the early 80's). I noticed that you mentioned you have the 75-300 already, so focus on the shorter zoom lengths. Like Mike stated earlier, a fast prime is ideal for portraits. With your budget, and a bit of shopping you can land a Sigma 30 f/1.4, Canon EF 50 f/1.8 and EF 85 f/1.8.The Canon lenses are known for their great performance and relativley low price. The Sigma is apetizing since it is a fraction of Canon's price for a similar lens. Poor edge performance, but on a crop camera that is eliminated. A zoom is good if you do not want to carry a lot of primes, but pricey. The Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8 L is ideal, but twice your budget. The Sigma version was not impressive to me. Poor wide performance, stiff zoom ring, and slow AF. But for $450 what could you expect? The Tamron one Mike mentioned is worth a look also. If you can, just save of a bit more for the better lenses. It's worth it. Nothing worse than buying something and not being pleased with the results.

I have an EF 28-80mm and I love it. Works fine with my 350D. Hence why I'm putting off upgrading to a 24-70mm, and getting a 70-200mm and a 300mm prime.

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I am figuring to spend on any where from $600-$800 but if i can do it for less i would. I want to buy the body separate so i get the lens i really need rather than one that is just OK

They're just marketing techniques. They're zoom lenses, and 17mm is pretty wide. And yeah - you should go try out the lenses at the shop, find which one feels better to hold and use. Most of those are just replacement "kit" lenses and I second Mike's reccomendation for the Canon 17-55 F2.8 IS, the Sigma 28-70 F2.8 or even the 17-40 F4 L, or the 16-35 F2.8 L. The Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 is supposed to be a pretty nice lens. Bear in mind the Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS wont work on full frame sensors if you choose to upgrade, but it's a pretty nice lens - fast and image stablised. I'm not sure of the US prices on these lenses, so they may be a bit expensive.

IS, is Image Stabilization. If you don't know what that is, do a search. It helps to get sharper shots at slower shutter speeds.

L is Canon's designation for it's top of the line lenses.

USM is Ultra Sonic Motor. This is the focus motor.
This is better than not having USM. It should be noted that there are two types of USM...ring USM and non-ring USM. Ring USM is better...but you have to do some investigation to know which lens has which. Your 'EF 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 III USM' is not ring USM.

A lens can have any or all of the above designations. If the lens has image stabilization...it will have IS in the name. Not all L lenses have IS...but some IS lenses are not L quality.

If you have the time and room to work...prime (non zoom) lenses are great for portraits.
1) They are usually very good optically
2) They usually have large max apertures
3) They usually don't cost as much as top quality zoom lenses.

You could have a look at the Canon 50mm F1.8 (or the 50mm F1.4). The Canon 28mm F1.8 or the Sigma 30mm F1.4. Canon has a few 35mm lenses as well. The 85mm F1.8 is a great lens at a good price...good for individual shots or head shots...but may be a bit long for group shots.

I have both the Sigma 30mm F1.4 and the Tamron 17-50 F2.8...both are quite good.

thanks soylentgreen I will definitely check those out in the shop. I really really appreciate the help and I have learned so much. The 50 f/1.8 is the one i keep going back to especially since its mid range to my kit lens where I think i will feel most comfortable. still i have to see for myself and have to consider budget.

The "38m/1.3ft" is probably the minimum focus distance...not really important unless you want to get close ups. The lens you mention is probably the EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6.

The 'crop factor' for the 40D is 1.6...so when comparing that camera to your 35mm film camera...you should take that into account. For this reason, I suggest something like the Canon 17-55 F2.8 IS, the Tamron 17-50 F2.8, the Sigma 18-50 F2.8 or even the 70-40 F4 L, or the 16-35 F2.8 L.

Yes, we would need to know how much you are willing to spend and what you are willing to pay for higher quality.

The 28-135 IS, is a mid level lens. It's pretty good but not great. As mentioned, the maximum aperture isn't very large, which is limiting.

I've heard that the 70-300 IS, is pretty good, especially compared to the cheaper 70-300 lenses...but it's still not nearly as good as either of the 4 different 70-200 L lenses. Again, the max aperture is rather small.

Best lenses for that camera might include the 17-55 F2.8 IS and the 70-200 F2.8 L IS...both are rather expensive. The 24-70 F2.8 L, is also a fantastic lens but rather pricey.

You might consider a fast zoom lens from another company. You can get a lens with a large aperture for much less money than Canon L...but the quality isn't as high. For example, the Tamron 17-50 F2.8 is pretty good as is the Sigma 24-70 F2.8.

i am learning so much Mike...taking notes here :) I was looking on B&H and if i want auto focus i need to be sure to get Digital SLR Interchangeable Lens right? I also noticed that many say zoom super wide angle. I was looking up some of the ones you listed on B&H.

Zoom Super Wide Angle EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Autofocus Lens for Select Digital SLR Cameras (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/351548-USA/Canon_9517A002_EF_S_17_85mm_f_4_5_6_IS.html)

Zoom Super Wide Angle EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM Autofocus Lens for Select Digital SLR Cameras (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/351554-USA/Canon_9475A002_18_55mm_f_3_5_5_6_EF_S_USM.html)

Zoom Super Wide Angle EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Autofocus Lens for Select Digital SLR Cameras (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/351548-GREY/Canon_9517A002_EF_S_17_85mm_f_4_5_6_IS.html)

sorry for all the questions but i really want to learn and you are helping me so much. also should i maybe shopping at my local camera shop for a lens instead?

Well - what's your budget? There's a lot of lenses, but the budget defines what you can get :)

thanks Mike once again you rock. What is the difference between IS and L?