Best Third-Party zoom lenses for Canon 5D MKII

oakfieldphotography.com

Great subject and very informative.
A big issue for all us up and coming photogoraphers is money or mabey not. We all want the best bang for our buck and you can get buried inside this topic until you end up searching the web until you get blinded with information that you have to sift through so here is a question for you all.
5D MKll owners can have a great choice between different manufacturers of different lenses out there so.........
Does anyone here know what the general consensus of what lenses suit this camera best through the most common used focal lenghts using B lenses only????
Forget primes just great b lenses that does what it says on the tin.:D

ziggy53

I moved this to its own thread. I hope the new thread title reflects your intentions.

ziggy53

I always recommend lenses that suit the application. Please let us know how you intend to use the zoom lenses and through what focal lengths you require.

oakfieldphotography.com

Thanks Ziggy.
Lets say all you want to use is 2 lens. Which ones could meet or come near to the canon L serires quality of output.
Ranges from 17mm to whatever lens is best suited to portraits.
All i want to see is what most people agree on here that best suits the Canon 5DMKll.

Regards
Patrick:D

divamum

Many people use the Tamron 28-75 2.8 and like it as a very affordable, lightweight alternative to the Canon 24-70L. It isn't as quick to focus in low light, but it's less then 1/3 the price (and weight!). I'm a big fan of Tamron lenses - the 17-50 I use with my crop cameras has been a very satisfying piece of gear, with astonishing optics and handling at that price point (I picked mine up for $300 used in like-new condition).

Others like the Sigma 24-70 2.8, although Sigma has a reputation for very spotty quality control leading to AF issues (front- and back- focusing). Sigma will calibrate any problem lenses if you send them back to them while under warrantee, but there are enough reports of problems with their lenses for it to be a consideration when purchasing.

Zooms are great, but for portrait use you really can (and probably should) consider a fast prime - the wider apertures not only help with low light conditions, but allow you to blur-out backgrounds and keep focus on the subject. For FF 85 is often recommended as a good length (although I personally am a fan of a bit longer for portraits whenever I can use one) - the Canon 85 1.8 is a very affordable, lightweight and terrific portrait lens (as is its sister lens, the 100 f2). Even better is the 135L, but that's very much an A lens! The new Sigma 85 1.4 is also getting excellent reviews.

oakfieldphotography.com

Thanks Divamum. Now this is what i was looking for. Does anyone else out there have an opinion on what they consider the optimum lenses to suit the full frame of the 5DMKll?

Regards
Patrick:D

divamum

Those suggestions were for full frame.... The only lens mentioned which is crop only is the 17-50, which is the sister-lens to the 28-75.

ziggy53

Divamum has pretty well summed up the third-party alternatives for Canon FF in standard zoom lenses. I would caution that the Tamron 28-70mm is sharp in the center but falls off rather quickly even approaching the sides and the corners are very soft. Stopping down doesn't help that much. The Sigma 24-70mm is probably a better recommendation if you can purchase from a source that allows easy returns/exchanges.

Third-party zoom lens recommendations for super-wide FF zooms are pretty nonexistent. The Canon EF 17-40mm, f4L USM is fairly economical if you don't need f2.8.

People do recommend the Tokina 11-16mm, f2.8 ATX Pro DX at 16mm on a FF body and the few online examples do show pretty good results, except in the corners where there is severe distortion. At lesser focal lengths you get strong to severe vignetting, which is to be expected using a DX lens for a FF camera.

Do also look at older/used Canon lenses for value. The older Canon EF 28-70mm, f2.8L USM is still very good quality and some claim even sharper than the Canon 24-70mmL. Yes, you sacrifice some on the wide end of the zoom range.

While you can use a 24-70mm zoom lens for both full-length/3/4 length and head shot/head-and-shoulders portraiture, I really recommend 85mm and longer for head shots if possible on a FF body. The Canon EF 85mm, f1.8 USM has sufficient image quality and the larger aperture to allow more control for both head shots and head-and-shoulders.

Purchasing a premium quality body and then trying to compromise on lenses is a poor strategy. If anything scrimp and save for the very best lenses and "do" use primes as possible for the best value versus quality. Your 5D MKII will reward you with excellent results.

tjstrider

if you don't have a lot for now I also recommend the the 17-40 4.0L or the 28-70 older 2.8L

I owned the 28-70 it was pretty nice on a crop body and still worked well with AF even though it was manufactured in 94 (my copy was)

if you need zoom the 70-200 F/4.0 is on the cheaper side too... Just buy these all used as the US Dollar is weak at the moment and new these lenses are all over valued.

oakfieldphotography.com

ziggy53 wrote: »

Divamum has pretty well summed up the third-party alternatives for Canon FF in standard zoom lenses. I would caution that the Tamron 28-70mm is sharp in the center but falls off rather quickly even approaching the sides and the corners are very soft. Stopping down doesn't help that much. The Sigma 24-70mm is probably a better recommendation if you can purchase from a source that allows easy returns/exchanges.

Third-party zoom lens recommendations for super-wide FF zooms are pretty nonexistent. The Canon EF 17-40mm, f4L USM is fairly economical if you don't need f2.8.

People do recommend the Tokina 11-16mm, f2.8 ATX Pro DX at 16mm on a FF body and the few online examples do show pretty good results, except in the corners where there is severe distortion. At lesser focal lengths you get strong to severe vignetting, which is to be expected using a DX lens for a FF camera.

Do also look at older/used Canon lenses for value. The older Canon EF 28-70mm, f2.8L USM is still very good quality and some claim even sharper than the Canon 24-70mmL. Yes, you sacrifice some on the wide end of the zoom range.

While you can use a 24-70mm zoom lens for both full-length/3/4 length and head shot/head-and-shoulders portraiture, I really recommend 85mm and longer for head shots if possible on a FF body. The Canon EF 85mm, f1.8 USM has sufficient image quality and the larger aperture to allow more control for both head shots and head-and-shoulders.

Purchasing a premium quality body and then trying to compromise on lenses is a poor strategy. If anything scrimp and save for the very best lenses and "do" use primes as possible for the best value versus quality. Your 5D MKII will reward you with excellent results.

You are right Ziggy all i was trying to do was save time by getting a cheaper lens to shore me up until i sell it on again at the end of the vintage season and when i have earned the money for a L lens.As i have a nifty fifty which focal lenght should i be reaching for now? I think i need a wider lens for my work with cars. I did notice with the 50mm that i had to stand further back for full body shots and this messed up trying to bounce light off a ceiling inside hotels at award cermonies. It can be very annoying especially having to walk back and forth to frame my shot right. But i have to remember that i am on a learning curve here and i will befifit from this process.
Regards
Patrick:D

ziggy53

For your application I do think that the Canon EF 17-40mm, f4L USM is a very good choice. It is truly wide on the 5D MKII and the image quality is very much "L" territory. Along with your 50mm, add an 85mm, f1.8 or 100mm, f2 prime and you are in pretty good shape.

For portraiture you could use the 40D and 50mm to get you through tight shots for now.

www.SGphoto.us

my $00.2 the tamron 28-75. i loved it!!! i also had the 17-50. great lenses, i gave up my tamrons for the MUCH more expensive Nikon counterparts. i also shoot full frame now. the 28-75 is a full frame lens.

ThatCanonGuy

Wide prime? Cheap? How about the Canon 24mm 2.8 USM? Around $300-400 used.

oakfieldphotography.com

Now that i have something concrete to work on i think i will head for the L series lenses and if im not happy with one i know that the value will be there to sell it onn. Thanks for sharing this information. This made my day.

Pat:D

ThatCanonGuy

Not happy with an L series? Unless you get the 50 1.0, I think you'll love your L

oakfieldphotography.com

Ok i have made my mind up today. I am going to buy a 24-105 L lens.
I was doing an interview with another photographer who had a few unusual cars and we got to chatting about lenses. I got the chance to try out his 24-105 and can honestly say i was blown away with the quality of the pictures. Even at 24mm i had enough room to take some photographs in limited spaces in and around his motors.
What started as a standard 3 hour interview with a few photographs turned into a 12 hour day of discovery on all aspects of wedding photography to studio work and i now know that there is so many things that you can work on. When i have enough cash saved this is the lens for me. This guy is even taking me with him to do a wedding during the summer and i am looking forward to getting a chance to do something different instead of cars cars cars.
i will post a picture when i edit it of a Riley Elf convertibale i took today with his lens.

Regards
Patrick:D

Brett1000

oakfieldphotography.com wrote: »

Ok i have made my mind up today. I am going to buy a 24-105 L lens.
I was doing an interview with another photographer who had a few unusual cars and we got to chatting about lenses. I got the chance to try out his 24-105 and can honestly say i was blown away with the quality of the pictures.

good to try before buying, the 24-105 is definitely a nice lens