Lens arsenal

[Jonathan Lau]

Hello,

I currently run two 7D's with a 35L, 50L, and now awaiting a 70-200 2.8L. I'm wondering if I should sell the 35L for a 24L. I love the 35L as an all-around lens with the 1.6x crop factor on the focal length, but I'm beginning to wonder if the focal length is a little close to that of the 50L. Anyone have any thoughts/suggestions? Never actually used the 24L yet but my roommate loves it on his 5D2.

[Robert Turchick]

get a 24-70 f2.8L or 16-35 f2.8L. They will fill in the gaps and are both killer lenses. I have both along with my 70-200 f2.8L USMII and they cover just about everything I shoot on both my 7D and 5D mkIII.
I have a 50mm f1.4, 28mm f1.8, and 100mm f2.8L macro for primes but lately the zooms have been getting all the gigs!

[Rob Cantwell]

yeah i'd agree,
got those three and a 24-105mm f/4 L IS which will do the job nicely too

[Jon Fairhurst]

Jonathan,

If possible, try your 35L on your friend's 5D (or on a 5D at a local camera shop) to get a feel for the view that you will get from the 24L on your 7D (38.4mm equivalent.)

Personally, the 35mm view on full frame is my workhorse view, so I would choose the 24L over the 35L on a crop cam. It's like a "normal" 50mm view, but with a bit more perspective, and slightly more dramatic motion. I find the view to be dynamic with a bit of attitude, but no so wide that the audience thinks of it as a wide view.

At the Canon booth at CES, Bruce Dorn spoke of the idea of "avoiding the middle." The idea is that your shots should be about the character (50L+7D) or on the action/space (24L+7D). A middle view that doesn't quite show space and action and that doesn't feature the face either can be a wishy-washy shot. Of course, you can back up the 35L+7D to get more in the frame, but the action won't be as dynamic as with the 24L or wider. You can push the 35L+7D closer to the character, but a too close camera view can be unattractive.

My ideal kit would be the 24L, 50L, and 100L with both a 5D and a crop cam. That would give me 24mm, 38.4mm, 50mm, 80mm, 100mm, and 160mm views with IS at the long end. Currently, I shoot video primarily with the 35L and 100L on the 5D2.

[Andrew Dean]

on a 7d, you'll have to pry my cold dead fingers off my 17-55 2.8 IS canon. not "L" in name or seals, but L in contrast and sharpness and it has IS, which puts it miles above the comparable FF L zooms. Canon IS is simply magic. I was shocked the new 24-105 still doesn't have it.

Against my canon 70-200 2.8 IS mkii, the 17-55 holds its own, which is saying a whole lot. The two together are very powerful.

[Jon Fairhurst]

> "I was shocked the new 24-105 still doesn't have it."

The 24-105 has it, but it's just f/4. It's the 24-70/2.8L II that still doesn't have it. If you want f/2.8 and IS in a mid-range zoom, you either need a crop cam or a Tamron 24-70/2.8 VC. There's no Canon full frame option.

[Steve Oakley]

there are so many lenses out there... 17-50 is a good choice, but 2.8 is limiting. there are 24/28 1.4/2 lenses that are nice. no idea how you have managed with 35mm being your widest because its really not. another option - 14 2.8 rokinon. please consider other than canon glass because its grossly overpriced for what it is.

[Nigel Barker]

Personally I would think that it's the 50mm F/1.2L that's wasted on a crop sensor camera. You would be better off selling it & buying the EF-S 17-55mm F/2.8 IS.