Lens Advice

Clixphoto

A good part of my business lately has become event photography; Family reunions, birthdays, parties, etc. I need to find a fast lens for indoor low light situations. I shoot mainly with a 50D and am thinking about either a 17-55 2.8L or a 24-70 2.8L. I will also use it for senior portraits as well as some fine art work. Anybody got any advice?

craig_d

Clixphoto wrote:

A good part of my business lately has become event photography; Family reunions, birthdays, parties, etc. I need to find a fast lens for indoor low light situations. I shoot mainly with a 50D and am thinking about either a 17-55 2.8L or a 24-70 2.8L. I will also use it for senior portraits as well as some fine art work. Anybody got any advice?

The 17-55mm is not an L lens; there are no EF-S L lenses. It is, though, a very good lens. I'd say the 24-70mm is somewhat better, but the real question is which suits your focal-length needs best. When shooting on APS-C, I have found that group shots (of, say, 20 people posing together) indoors often require 17mm or 18mm due to lack of room to back up. On the other end, 55mm on APS-C is just barely into the portrait range (88mm FF equivalent view). Also, of course, the 17-55mm has IS and the 24-70mm does not.

While f/2.8 is certainly faster than f/3.5-5.6, I have often found that it isn't quite enough for indoor low-light situations without flash unless I raise the ISO level higher than I really would prefer to (I try to keep to ISO 800 or lower even on my 5D Mark II). I often shoot at about f/2 in these cases, using either my EF 35mm f/2 or my EF 50mm f/1.4 USM. You could buy both of these lenses for about half the price of either the EF-S 17-55mm or the EF 24-70mm L. Even adding an EF 85mm f/1.8 would still leave you spending less than you would for either of those zooms.

Of course, wider apertures also mean shallower DOF, which may not always be acceptable, and prime lenses mean more frequent lens changes and more equipment to carry around. If you are sure you want a zoom, then f/2.8 is as good as you'll get and the two you are considering are the best choices available for what you want to do.

ziggy53

The Canon EF-S 17-55mm, f2.8 IS USM is, without a doubt, my favorite for events and candids. If you can stretch your budget I would also recommend the EF 85mm, f1.8 prime for head shot and head-and-shoulder portraits.

The Tamron AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical [IF] is also a good candidate for event work. While it lacks the faster AF and IS of the Canon zoom above, it's still a very good match for the Canon 50D camera.

Tamron also makes a stabilized version of the 17-50mm zoom, but the tests at PhotoZone seem to indicate that the non-stabilized version is probably a better match for the 50D if you can do without the stabilization as the older lens is better optically in almost every regard.

http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos

jan1prs

http://www.lensplay.com/lenses/index.html has good ratings on lens with prices.

jan1prs

I have both the 85 1.8 and 1.2.
1.2 better background blur and super fast in low light. Optics are superior to anything else. Is not as fast to focus
1.8 Fast focus and a whole lot cheaper and lighter.
135 2.0 if you are in need of a combination lens for portrait and sports. Quality as good as the 1.2 and has a longer focal length.

Clixphoto

Alot of great information. After reading a few reviews, I think I'm leaning toward the 17-55. Can someone briefly explain the difference in an EF-S and an L classification and why one would choose one over the other?

ziggy53

Clixphoto wrote:

Alot of great information. After reading a few reviews, I think I'm leaning toward the 17-55. Can someone briefly explain the difference in an EF-S and an L classification and why one would choose one over the other?

EF-S lenses are only designed for the Canon crop 1.6x/APS-C imagers. They will not fit the single digit Canon cameras (5D or 1D/1Ds cameras.)

"L" designated lenses are Canon's best lenses and have superior build quality as well as superior optical qualities compared to the subordinate consumer and prosumer lenses.

The EF-S 17-55mm, f2.8 IS USM is optically an "L" quality from both resolution and speed criteria. It lacks the superior build of an "L" designated lens and it will not fit the single digit camera bodies. It is still the arguably best standard zoom for the Canon crop 1.6x cameras and it easily matches "L" lenses where it counts, in image quality and AF speed. I highly recommend it and if mine were damaged, lost or stolen I would replace it before any other.

craig_d

Clixphoto wrote:

Alot of great information. After reading a few reviews, I think I'm leaning toward the 17-55. Can someone briefly explain the difference in an EF-S and an L classification and why one would choose one over the other?

Canon developed the EF mount in the 1980s when they redesigned their camera system to support auto-focus and a fully electronic interface between the camera and the lens. All current Canon SLR and DSLR models can use any EF lens -- no exceptions.

Canon developed the EF-S mount in the early 2000s to allow them to make physically smaller, lighter lenses with a shorter back focus for their APS-C (1.6x crop sensor) DSLRs (the Rebels, the xxD models, and now the 7D). Only those cameras can use EF-S lenses, but they can still use EF lenses also. Physically, the EF-S mount is just a slight modification of the EF mount that prevents EF-S lenses from being mounted on the larger-sensor cameras such as the 1D and 5D.

The L series are Canon's professional line of lenses. All L lenses are very solidly built and use advanced optical designs to obtain the best image quality possible (though some are more successful in this regard than others). There is no official meaning for the letter L, but usually it is taken to mean "luxury". All L lenses introduced since the late 1980s are EF-mount.

It wouldn't really make sense to give the professional L designation to an EF-S lens, since Canon's pro cameras can't use them.

Clixphoto

Thank you again for the great information.

I usually make one big investment per year. After this lens, my next upgrade was to be a full frame camera. For this reason it would make more sense for me to get the L glass.

Has anyone ever heard of any compatability problems with the L glass and the 50D?

craig_d

Clixphoto wrote:

Has anyone ever heard of any compatability problems with the L glass and the 50D?

No. All EF lenses, L or not, should work fine on the 50D. I used the 24-70mm f/2.8L USM and the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM on a Rebel XSi before I got my 5D Mark II.

Scott_Quier

Clixphoto wrote:

Thank you again for the great information.

I usually make one big investment per year. After this lens, my next upgrade was to be a full frame camera. For this reason it would make more sense for me to get the L glass.

Has anyone ever heard of any compatability problems with the L glass and the 50D?

Something to think about - buy what you need when you need it rather than buying for future needs/plans. Specifically, I think you may be making a mistake going with the 24-70 over the 17-55 for indoor work. Consider:

• The 24mm may not (probably won't be) wide enough for a lot of indoor work. I have often struggled with 24mm on a FF. A 24mm lens produces the same FOV as 15mm on a 50D. What I'm trying to say is that you might find situations where 17mm isn't wide enough, let alone trying to get the job accomplished with 24mm.
• As and because it gets such good press in the forums, the 17-55 is always in demand on the used market. You may loose a bit of $$ re-selling it but I don't think it will be a major amount. And you will have benefited between now and when you sell it from getting the shots you needed.

As to compatibility ... as has already been stated, the crop cameras (xxxD, xxD, and 7D) will all mount and use any EF or EF-S lens.

jan1prs

I have a 50D and 6 L's and there are no problems. Another good feature of the L's would be resell value.

ziggy53

craig_d wrote:

No. All EF lenses, L or not, should work fine on the 50D. I used the 24-70mm f/2.8L USM and the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM on a Rebel XSi before I got my 5D Mark II.

I use EF lenses ("L" or not) with no problems on Canon APS-C bodies (Rebel XT/350D, 40D) and APS-H (1D MKII) as well as FF (5D MKII) with absolutely no problems.

Clixphoto

Thanks for the great feedback. I have asked questions on here concerning purchases I have made in the past and have always benefited from the information. You guys rock.