Canon lens suggestion

Skorri

I love my 70-200 2.8 don't get me wrong but I need something with less reach so I dont have to "stand off" as far. I don't use Canon glass exclusively, so I'm open to most companies. :thumb

Thanks

ziggy53

It's always good to mention how you will use the lens (portraiture, social events, etc.) and which camera bodies (particularly APS-C, APS-H, FF).

Skorri

Good point Ziggy, Canon 60D is the current body and waiting for the Mark iv to eventually come come back from back order limbo. Sports photography is my main focus, then landscapes and portraits a distant 3rd.

ziggy53

It's a little unusual to find someone who wants to shoot sports asking about focal lengths shorter than 70mm, but there are some exceptions. For basketball and for volleyball there are some shooting positions where a 50mm or even a 35mm (especially just under the hoop in basketball) can gain an interesting perspective on the game. Unfortunately, a shooting position close enough to be photographically interesting will actually put you and your equipment in harms way.

Since the Canon 60D is a crop 1.6x/APS-C and the 1D MKIV is a crop 1.3x/APS-H, each body will provide a somewhat different angle of view and field of view.

There are only two Canon zoom lenses (shorter than 70mm) that I can really recommend for sports photography:

EF 24-70mm, f2.8L USM
EF-S 17-55mm, f2.8 IS USM (will only fit a crop 1.6x body, like your 60D or a 7D)

... and two prime lenses:

EF 35mm, f1.4L USM
EF 50mm, f1.4 USM (this is a micro-motor USM and not as fast to focus as a ring USM like those above, but it's still pretty good)

Those are the fastest lenses to focus in the Canon lineup that are under 70mm. Court-side access is probably going to be required to use these lenses effectively. The Canon 60D isn't so much a sports body, so you'll probably need to compensate by shooting a lot of images to gain enough selection for a usable harvest of images.

I suppose that the Canon 24-70mm, f2.8L USM would be the first recommendation, assuming that the f2.8 aperture is suitable. That lens will fit both bodies, is very fast to focus, and the focal length range should match your request. It's also a fairly good landscape lens for single-shot landscapes. Sharpness is a little lacking, so you'll need careful post-processing to make the most of what it can offer.

The EF 50mm, f1.4 USM is also usable for landscapes and some portraiture, mostly on the crop 1.6x bodies.

For third-party lenses there are not many to recommend. The Sigma lenses with HSM are pretty fast to focus, but they have a reputation for wide variations in focus accuracy. If you should choose a Sigma lens, just make sure that it's from a dealer with return/exchange privileges. (You may have to try more than one copy.)

Skorri

Thanks for the info Ziggy !

Kikoprice

I think the 1D MKIV is discontinued. +2 on Ziggys advice

Skorri

I hope they don't discontinue the Mark iv, the Dx will be out of my price range. I called Canon and all the rep would say is that it was back ordered and she hadnt heard if it was going to be discontinued. But then again, the local reps might be the last to hear about it. In the event it will be, at least there will be a few used Mark iv out there for sale as folks upgrade to the Dx

hectorjr

Kikoprice wrote: »

I think the 1D MKIV is discontinued. +2 on Ziggys advice

Just got confirmation from Canon that the 1D4 will not be discontinued (at least not here in Europe). They have been selling like mad lately mostly by pros who know they will not be able to land a 1DX in time for the Olympics. In Europe the 1D4 still sells for the original price since it was launched (around USD 5K). Crazy, but that is what's so good about the 1D series.