Hi,

Im thinking I should get three lenses to start with the 5D. So far based on my usage with my EX1 and Letus Extreme combos Canon FD lenses I've narrowed it down to three primes.

24mm 1.4 L
55mm 1.4
85mm 1.8

this keeps my budget for the lenses just slightly above 2000 euros so I can manage that. But Im still hesitating whether I should get a 24-70mm F/2.8 L USM Reflex zoom instead of 24mm 1.4.

I mostly shoot music videos, artsy shorts. I have one SWIT light thats served me well with my EX1 and Im hoping to use that with the 5D as well. I don't do much commercial work to speak of - just for myself.

Any advice on where would I likely end up needing the extra stop or so of light? At the wide or tele end?

There's no way I can use my Canon FD lenses right?

Sami

I would definitely consider the 70-200L. It's a great lens and gives you some reach. I hadn't shot with a full frame sensor before the 5d and therefore didn't realize how wide it shot since it didn't have a crop factor. Other than that, I use the 28mm F2.8 and the 50mm F1.4. I'm not sure about the FD lenses.

I'd agree with Jonathan for exactly the same reasons

Avey

70-200mm is my primary lens. It pretty much covers everything. I am thinking of getting 24-70, I just wished there was IS version.

Personally, for music videos and artsy shorts. the long stuff is the last thing I'd choose.

The 85/1.8 is a fantastic people lens. It's well regarded and as long as you need for music video, unless you have a teen idol singer that you want to show in pretty closeups.

Regarding the 50/1.4, it has barrel distortion and CA. This thread discusses the 50mm range in detail: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-eos-5d-mk-ii-hd/238232-canon-50mm-1-2-a.html

Frankly, for music video, I might skip the normal lens. It's a boring look.

I've got the 28/1.8. This matches well with the 85/1.8. I'd get this, the 24/1.4L, or 35/1.4L as the compliment to the 85/1.8.

For the third lens, I might get a superwide (maybe even a fisheye) or a macro. These let you get creative. If you get a macro, stick with the 24/1.4L as your wide. If you get a superwide, maybe get the 35/1.4 as your normal wide.

There's a great thread on superwides here: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-eos-5d-mk-ii-hd/236748-ultrawide-lens.html

For music videos and art, I'd skip the zoom. the only time that I wish I had a zoom is when taking photos on trips with my wife. I don't mind changing lenses and zooming with my feet, but I don't like asking her to be patient and to put up with me!

Okay, lets talk cheap, now.

1. My first thought on the lense issue is just how good and fast of a lense to you need for video-- and I assume that is what we are talking about here. Except in low light situations, you likely will shoot at fstops around f2.8 to f5.6. Thus to me the sharpest and fastest lenses are not an absolute necessity. In fact, I think shooting at f 1.4 is probably overkill for most video "depth of field" uses. Remember, that if you are trying to simulate 35mm film depth of field, the "imager" of a 5D is larger than that of a 35mm film cam, and thus the depth of field will be shallower at 5 f1.4.

2. Nikon to Canon adapters and Nikon and other brand lenses coupled with firmware 1.10 open your world up to a wide variety of lenses, available at an inexpensive price. I have about 5 classic Nikon lenses i bought on ebay, for around $70 apiece at various auctions. These lens are well known and have been work horses for years, and the use for our purposes should not be discounted.

3. I have a Takumar F3.5 28-85mm lens I find myself using as my standard lens, for many situations. I bought it for $ 50.00 on ebay, and got a throw away 28mm wide angle lens to boot.

4. I also have a 80-200 Nikon that I purloined from Chris Swanberg. I keep meaning to get it back to him... but it fits well in my lens case, so I guess I will make him ask me for it. :) The long teleshots in this video were from that lense:

Lake Tahoe on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/5403978)

5. My favorite lens for shooting faces is a lowly Nikon Series E 100mm F2.8. It actually has a great reputation as a quality lense, though it was designed for consumer use. This film was shot as a test of that lense:

Canon 5D Mark Ii 100mm Test on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/5190855)

My point is, unless image stabilization is a must, you should not rule out the adapter direction to build an lens arsenal.

My point is, unless image stabilization is a must, you should not rule out the adapter direction to build an lens arsenal.

The other reason to consider Canon lenses is if you plan to do photos as well as video.

For normal and long lenses taking photos, I want all the photo features. Autofocus is especially important for tracking people, animals and other moving objects. For macros and wides, I find that I have time to setup the shot, take some test shots to get the exposure and focus just right.

If you go with Nikon lenses, make sure to avoid the G-lenses that lack the aperture ring. Otherwise, you're into a $200 adapter with aperture lever.

Personally, having the ability to shoot in low light is really important to me. I shot some stuff in a fairly dark music store and found that 1.8 was as slow as I wanted to go. The 2.8 lenses in my bag just didn't measure up.

If you shoot in daylight, slower lenses are fine. Once you go indoors or try to shoot in the city at night, you're going to want speed. And keep in mind that DOF isn't just related to aperture. It's also related to the width of the lens and the focal distance. 1.8 might be too shallow in one circumstance, but just fine in another. But if you have slower lenses, you don't get that option.

The bottom line is that there's no one answer. It all depends on what you want to shoot.

I've purchased a bushel of lenses and I think you are on the right track with your choices and these recommendations. An f2.8 zoom is a nice general lens but even that is too slow in low light scenarios. F1.4 is too shallow for some shots but a prime lens can always be stopped down to increase DOF while the kit lens 24-105 is always stuck at F4. Don't get me wrong, the kit lens is very nice but it is too slow for some things.

I use my 35mm f1.4 Nikon quite a bit. I find my Nikon 105mm f2.5 a bit slow so I am wanting an 85mm f1.x to better match the light gathering ability of the 35mm. I have the plastic fantastic 50mm f1.8 Canon which is fine for some things but, as mentioned before, a bit boring.

On the other end of things, I have just ordered a Tamron 28-300mm with image stabilization to hopefully make the 5D act a bit like a video camera for event videos. There are lots of weddings in Hawaii and I need a bit more reach than 105mm. I wish there was a fast 35-200mm with VC/IS but such a thing doesn't exist. It isn't such a problem to use a slower lens outdoors so the Tamron will hopefully give me the range for that kind of shooting where I can't take the time to change lenses.

I'll report back later once UPS comes with the Tamron. I read lots of reviews and it is claimed to be good except soft at full 300mm zoom. I only need about 200mm so, fingers crossed, it might do the job as a general video lens.

I think I'm giving a tentative thumbs up to the Tamron 28-300 VC I just got. I tested shots at full 300mm and they are reasonably sharp. Perhaps it is the small aperture causing gain to crank up that people perceive as the lens not being sharp in full telephoto. I don't intend to use this lens indoors much so I'm not going to worry about noise. I actually need an ND filter to shoot video without stopping down the lens or going to a fast shutter speed. It's time for the Fader ND.

Here are my lens choices if budget is a serious consideration and you need to shoot in varying conditions.

Tamron 28-300 VC (vibration control) with a variable ND for outdoors use in varying conditions.

35mm f1.4 as the basic lens to use indoors in low light without much perspective distortion. It is also nice for panoramic shots in low light.

85mm f2 or faster to get a bit of telephoto when you don't want to get close indoors. I'll probably use a tripod with a lens like this.

50mm Canon f1.8 "plastic fantastic" just to have that focal length in an auto-focus lens without spending much.

I'll be using the Tamron 28-300 outdoors and prime lenses indoors. A wide lens that gives that forced perspective would be nice but it is hard to find an affordable and fast prime shorter than 28mm.

**********

I have found that the VC image stabilization on the Tamron 28-300mm is not really designed for video but still useful. It is not smooth in function like IS on a video camera. It takes it a moment to wait for the camera to stop moving excessively then suddenly "grabs on" and holds the steady image as long as there is not too much movement. If the camera moves too much, the VC "unsticks" and then tries to grab on again and can cause a jittery effect. This, of course, is a bad thing but what saves the VC feature is the fact that it is amazingly stable within its movement range. It is a bit weird to see the 300mm image become rock-solid when used on just a monopod. I think it will be just fine for shooting people from midway in the aisle of a church using a monopod and the occasional handheld at slight zoom.

Hi,

Im thinking I should get three lenses to start with the 5D. So far based on my usage with my EX1 and Letus Extreme combos Canon FD lenses I've narrowed it down to three primes.

24mm 1.4 L
55mm 1.4
85mm 1.8

There's no way I can use my Canon FD lenses right?

Sami


Can't adapt FD to EOS. If you buy a 24mm 1.4L make sure you get the new version, which is much better than the original.

Can't adapt FD to EOS.You can but you may not be happy with the result. Unlike the Nikon>EOS adaptors that just change the mount an FD>EOS adaptor requires a lens to alter where the image get focused. The only FD>EOS adaptors that you can get are pretty cheap & the quality of that adaptor lens is probably not up to much. I have a beautiful FD 35-105 zoom that cost me just 60 Euros & is literally in 'as new' condition. I have used it on my 5DII but the image is a bit soft which is a shame as the craftsmanship of the zoom lens is beautiful & probably has the smoothest zoom & focus rings of any lens that I own. It's still useable but not as good as a Nikon or some other type of mount that doesn't have optics. You can also get an FD>EOS adaptor without optics but this cannot focus to infinity & is thus only suitable as a macro lens.

If you have plenty of FD lenses then try an adaptor & make up your own mind. They are cheap enough at $40-50

I don't personally have a 5D, but Canon has some cracking wide aperture zooms out, which work for most stills situations. For video I can't see why you would want to limit your self to fixed focal lengths now zooms are so good...
In the old days, (Nikon FM2 & F3P days, I'd have a bag of four or five prime lenses...24,35,85,180 & 300) These days my basic kit on two EOS 1D's is 70-210 f2.8 & 16-35 f2.8. This cover 99% of all my shooting situations...

I appreciate in video 200mm will be a bit short, but 16mm Wow!!!

Perhaps a 1.4 converter will be a good option... or how about the 35-350mm zoom... a beast of a lens to use, for stills I hate the things, but they have very useful focal length range..

If the Canon's are too dear, Tamron and Sigma do some good versions too.

Regards
Gareth

As a note... The 5DMK2 turns on more sensitive focus sensors when the camera detects
"Canon" fast lenses...

I mention this because most of us will be using the faster lenses in darker situations and
if your using auto focus the more sensitive focus sensors do help in low light.

Just as a caveat, I have been using a Tokina 12-24 DX F4 in Nikon mount on my 5D MKII along with Nikon AI lenses in 50mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.8. Just beware that the Kawa adapters, while they work fine, they do totally throw off your focus scale. You have to religiously use the 5X and 10X zoom to check focus, which works fine, but for tracking moving subjects, this makes it very difficult to follow focus, even if you measure distances.

So Nikon lens users, your lenses are very useful but those adapters do some weird things with the flange to focal plane distance.

If I keep shooting the 5D MKII, I will be buying some more Canon lenses. I just ordered the 17-40 F4 L and will probably get the 50mm 1.4 and the 70-200 F4.

Dan

I don't personally have a 5D, but Canon has some cracking wide aperture zooms out, which work for most stills situations. For video I can't see why you would want to limit your self to fixed focal lengths now zooms are so good...

But consider if you were shooting photos indoors, didn't have a flash, couldn't adjust your shutter any slower than 1/60 (1/50 in PAL countries), and wanted to keep your ISO at 1250 or less. All of a sudden f/2.8 doesn't seem that fast any more.

That's what we face with indoor video.

Jon, don't forget that still shooters will resort to slow shutter speeds like 1/15 if they have image stabilization but we can't do that with video so there is another f-stop lost. Also, it may not be obvious that the difference between f1.4 and f2.8 is the same as the difference between f2.8 and f5.6. How would still shooters like giving up their f2.8 zooms for f5.6 units? I'm getting a prime 85mm to go with my fast 35mm.

Then again, today I was at the Portland Historic Races. I have an ND filter on order that has yet to arrive, so everything was stopped down. A slow zoom with IS would have been really nice. As it is, I lugged a tripod, shoulder rig and camera bag with primes all over the place.

The one nice thing is that with all that gear, people got out of my way. :)

"A slow zoom with IS would have been really nice."

Read my earlier posts in this thread. I'm already there. I really don't think the Tamron 28-300 VC is a bad lens at all. Even at 300mm the shots look decent. My guess is that some people are reporting it as soft because it is too slow in dim light and their gain/iso is coming up. Either that or the shutter is going too slow and giving motion blur.

I think I'm going with my 35mm f1.4 and ordering a Canon 85mm f1.8 for indoors and keeping the Tamron zoom for outdoors. I might hold on to a few others but it seems clear that primes are necessary for indoors and IS is needed for outdoors/long shots when on the run. Even though the Tamron is slow, it still needs an ND to keep from stopping down so it will be fine for daytime shots. At night, I need every f-stop possible so any zoom lens is out. I have a 35-70 f2.8 that is a beautiful lens but is too slow for night shots (or dim ballrooms) and doesn't have enough range for outdoors. Perhaps it will be good for daytime interiors with mixed lighting?

Besides a zoom with lots of range for daylight exteriors, a wide and short telephoto prime for night/dim indoors, an ultrawide for architecture, and possibly a fast zoom for well-lit interiors, what would someone need? I have an f2.8 135mm which is the fastest affordable telephoto that makes some pretty pictures but other than astronomically priced telephoto primes I can't think of anything else necessary.

The 24-105mm F/4L IS kit lens is a must have for outdoor shots. We have a couple of 5dIIs & so far I have resisted the temptation to double up on any lenses but this is the one that has tempted me most. I have however just bought a cheaper alternative the Canon 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS which is working well as a walking around outdoors lens. A good buy at just 200 Euros used from eBay. The IS on both these zooms is invaluable. If there were a short fast zoom with IS available I would grab it in an instant.

I think I'm giving a tentative thumbs up to the Tamron 28-300 VC I just got.


This lens suggestion begs a question. I currently adapt a lot of Nikon stuff to my 5D. And with recent rumors and reports about a Nikon 1080i 24p coming, should I stick with the Nikon mount ?

I understand I will lose auto focus, which I don't have for my Nikons anyway.

I honestly don't know about using it in the Nikon version on the 5D. I doubt the VC would get power with a dumb adapter.

I thought quite a bit about the Canon 28-135 IS but felt it may not have enough reach. Considering the decent performance of the Tamron at 300mm, I'm glad I went for the big (relatively) Tamron lens. It stays at f5.6 well into the useful range and I tested it at a church today that has poor light. It is probably the second darkest church during the day where I have previously shot since it has small windows, dark furnishings, and stained wood ceilings. It does have a sliding glass door (just like in a house) at the side so it does get a bit of indirect sun from there. I had bright exposure through the whole zoom range without going to high gain or 1/30 shutter. I think I am going to get a Fader ND now.

I also think the positive reviews of its VC/IS may be true. If I can hold it fairly stable, even handheld, it locks in like the lens is stuck to the subject with chewing gum. With my stabilized monopod, it will make for great non-moving shots. I don't think it will work well walking around but I mostly need stabilized monopod shots. This would probably be best on a steady rig with vest since it loses its fix abruptly. Within its movement range it feels strange to have it lock in on something.

Here are two shots I just took of the parking area out front at both 300mm and 28mm with iso400 at f6.3 and 1/100 shutter. The sky is bright but the sun has gone down behind the valley wall. This would probably be considered early evening light after the sun has gone behind trees on the mainland. In the daytime, I would need to go to low iso and maybe an ND filter to go down to 1/100 shutter. The sign is the focal point but a bit overexposed since it is white.

"I doubt the VC would get power with a dumb adapter."


That answers a lot for me. I had thought the lens might have separate power.

Ok, I have had a play around today with the 5D and now I’m wondering what lens to get with this camera.
The Canon f4, 24-105 mm lens can come bundled with the body but with lenses I’m not up to speed and at a loss in this subject. Can someone suggest some lenses to look at on line which might suite both stills and video.

Thanks

There have been many discussion regarding lens selection like this one:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-eos-5d-mk-ii-hd/238784-lens-purchase-5d-recommendations.html

Thanks Chris,
I missed that one.
Hope you are Feeling better.


Regards

Simon, you cant go wrong with the Tamron SP AF 28-75 F/2.8 XR Di LD IF. I have never been a fan of anything else but Canon L until last year 3 of them have been stolen from me in Greece. So I took a look at the cheaper end to avoid losses.
This Tamron is much more serious than it looks. Light plastic feel but tack sharp and nice bokeh. It is 2.8 which is not bad. It is very light and we shall not forget that we do mostly videography, no stills. So weight is even more important.
I own the 28-300 L Canon cannon and if I feel like skipping the gym I use that instead... :)

Other than that some vintage stuff is also worth a look.
I bought this old Zeiss Flektogon 20mm prime, very nice "zeissish" look. Little distortion, no purple fringing. Its all manual and requires a low cost adapter (ebay is our friend).
I hope it helped.

The 24-105 f4 is a very decent lens but I don't think any zoom lens is fast enough for work in low light. The difference between f4 and f1.8 or even f1.2 is dramatic. I got an f2.8 zoom and it is not enough in low light though it does look great with enough light.

I decided to go in two different directions. I got a Tamron 28-300mm f3.5-6.3 with VC image stabilization for doing "video" work in decent light. This zoom range covers just about everything but this lens is not fast enough to use at night or in a dim room. The wide zoom range also means some compromise in image quality but there are some situations where getting the shot with decent composition is more important than perfect sharpness.

To compliment the versatile zoom lens which is useless in low light, I have three prime lenses that I really like. I have an f1.4 35mm Nikon, a Canon f1.8 50mm (only $90!), and an f1.8 85mm Canon. I also have a 28mm Nikon that I may modify for use on the Canon but the 35mm is nice because it has little perspective distortion and is very fast. The 85mm f1.8 is the fastest affordable telephoto lens and just about right for work indoorsor out. A longer telephoto indoors will probably not be fast enough as even my f2.5 105mm Nikon is a bit too slow. Part of the reason for that is apparently focusing much closer than infinity kills some of the light coming in so a shorter lens focused near infinity gathers more light.

I would recommend something like the 24-105 kit lens plus a couple of prime lenses. Old Nikons are cheap as well as the 50mm f1.8 Canon. I would also get a fast wide of f2 or faster and a fast short telephoto like the 85mm f1.8. Get decent but affordable lenses that can cover a wide range of use and learn what you really like before investing thousands of dollars per lens. Lenses hold their value used so buying a couple of decent lenses won't bankrupt you since you can sell them later when you feel like upgrading or changing focal lengths.

Just as a caveat, I have been using a Tokina 12-24 DX F4 in Nikon mount on my 5D MKII along with Nikon AI lenses in 50mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.8. Just beware that the Kawa adapters, while they work fine, they do totally throw off your focus scale. You have to religiously use the 5X and 10X zoom to check focus, which works fine, but for tracking moving subjects, this makes it very difficult to follow focus, even if you measure distances.

So Nikon lens users, your lenses are very useful but those adapters do some weird things with the flange to focal plane distance.

If I keep shooting the 5D MKII, I will be buying some more Canon lenses. I just ordered the 17-40 F4 L and will probably get the 50mm 1.4 and the 70-200 F4.

Dan

Dan, what is the usable range of the Tokina 12-24 on 5DM2? I heard is 16 or 17mm. Did you see black borders at 12mm?

There have been many discussion regarding lens selection like this one: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-eos-5d-mk-ii-hd/238784-lens-purchase-5d-recommendations.html Threads merged.

I would recommend something like the 24-105 kit lens plus a couple of prime lenses. Old Nikons are cheap as well as the 50mm f1.8 Canon. I would also get a fast wide of f2 or faster and a fast short telephoto like the 85mm f1.8. Get decent but affordable lenses that can cover a wide range of use and learn what you really like before investing thousands of dollars per lens. Lenses hold their value used so buying a couple of decent lenses won't bankrupt you since you can sell them later when you feel like upgrading or changing focal lengths.I agree with much of this.

The 24-105mm F4L IS USM kits lens is a super lens in good light. The image is sharp & the zoom range with constant aperture is perfect for use as a general purpose 'walking around' lens. The extra bonus with this lens is the Image Stabilisation which is invaluable for handheld shooting.

I bought a whole bunch of mainly Nikon manual lenses cheap from eBay just to experiment & discover which ones suited what I was filming. Now that the 5DII firmware update has gievn us manual aperture control I prefer to stick with EF mount lenses as fast AF is very nice to have for stills & the ability to take great stills & great video at the same time is an enormous advantage of this camera.

My primes are the Canon 50mm F1.2L (amazing for filming in low light) & the Canon 24mm F1.4L which works so well for interiors with no additional lighting.

I don't as yet have any great use for a telephoto longer than the 24-105mm zoom.

Dan, what is the usable range of the Tokina 12-24 on 5DM2? I heard is 16 or 17mm. Did you see black borders at 12mm?

Hi John:

The widest I can get on it without vignetting is about 18.5 to 19mm with no filters.

With the Singh-Ray Vari ND in place, I had to go to around 22mm to get rid of the vignetting. I would not recommend this lens as optimal for the 5D MKII, I used it only because I had it laying around for my Nikons and I had not yet bought a Canon W/A lens. I have since purchase the Canon 17-40 f4 L and it is a much better lens on the 5D MKII. With the Hong Kong Fader ND filter on board, I can shoot the Canon lens at 17mm with no vignetting, which is superb, plus I have autofocus for stills, which is also important, as Nigel alludes to. Also, I am not thrilled about using the Kawa Nikon F mount to EOS adapters with wider lenses although they seemed to work better with my Nikon 50 and 85mm lenses. On the Tokina, the Kawa adapter totally screwed up the focus scale so many of the shots that I guessed focus on were way off, whereas with a native mount wide angle, I have had a higher success ratio in guessing focus distances using the lens scale.

Dan

I agree with much of this.

The 24-105mm F4L IS USM kits lens is a super lens in good light. The image is sharp & the zoom range with constant aperture is perfect for use as a general purpose 'walking around' lens. The extra bonus with this lens is the Image Stabilisation which is invaluable for handheld shooting.

I bought a whole bunch of mainly Nikon manual lenses cheap from eBay just to experiment & discover which ones suited what I was filming. Now that the 5DII firmware update has gievn us manual aperture control I prefer to stick with EF mount lenses as fast AF is very nice to have for stills & the ability to take great stills & great video at the same time is an enormous advantage of this camera.

My primes are the Canon 50mm F1.2L (amazing for filming in low light) & the Canon 24mm F1.4L which works so well for interiors with no additional lighting.

I don't as yet have any great use for a telephoto longer than the 24-105mm zoom.

As I'm going through the same dilema trying to learn as much as possible before I spend my money...I came to a question I was hoping someone will help me clarify...

If I'm using a 24mm lens..which is meant to be for spaces, landscapes etc... will having a fast 1.2 or 1.8 be usefull? I mean..will the DOF be so small that will interfere with the purpose of seen the whole space? if so ...and the DOF is so small ...where do you focus and stuff..

hope this is no a dumb question.... I hope someone will explain..

I'm reading here everyday...thnks to all of you.

O

Wide angles have very deep depth of field.

I have an 24mm f 2.8 wide Nikkor Wide. According to the scale on the lens, it will be in focus, if I focus the lens at infinity, from 15 ft to infinity. Racking the lens over just a bit, I can get it in focus from 7 ft to infinity, according to the scale on the lens- again at F 2.8. At F11, I can stay in focus, 3 feet to infinity, according to the scale on the lens.

If I'm using a 24mm lens..which is meant to be for spaces, landscapes etc... will having a fast 1.2 or 1.8 be usefull? I mean..will the DOF be so small that will interfere with the purpose of seen the whole space? if so ...and the DOF is so small ...where do you focus and stuff..As Chris notes the wider the angle of the lens then the deeper the DOF. You don't need a wide aperture for shooting landscapes in sunshine but you do when shooting indoors wthout extra lighting.

I also have a 80-200 Nikon that I purloined from Chris Swanberg. [...] The long teleshots in this video were from that lense: Lake Tahoe on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/5403978)

Hey Chris, I wonder if you shot that little girl (towards the end at the campground) handheld at 200mm, or is it perhaps a "shaky/pan" tripod shot? Very nice, I also like the DOF and its blue color bouquet (with a hint of yellow from her board game). Asking since I'm impatiently waiting for my new 70-200 and a tiny run & gun tripod: THK Photo Products, Inc. (http://www.thkphoto.com/products/slik/slik-pro340dx-b.html)

-- peer

Hey Chris, I wonder if you shot that little girl (towards the end at the campground) handheld at 200mm, or is it perhaps a "shaky/pan" tripod shot? Very nice, I also like the DOF and its blue color bouquet (with a hint of yellow from her board game). Asking since I'm impatiently waiting for my new 70-200 and a tiny run & gun tripod: THK Photo Products, Inc. (http://www.thkphoto.com/products/slik/slik-pro340dx-b.html)

-- peer

I think I was actually on the tripod for that shot. I was setting up to do some moon shots, and I saw her and her grandmother (my wife) playing the game, and I grabbed the shot. No even sure what lens was on board at that point, but it does look like it was at a 100mm or better. I have a fixed 100mm Nikor Series E that I love, but I am guessing this is the 80- 200 as I was setting up for the telephoto of the moon overhead.

Shot before that (on beach) was hand held with my homemade shoulder mount.

I need to rent a wide angle lens for a shoot that I have next week. Any recommendations on which lens? I need Canon glass that shoots at the widest angle possible with no/minimal barrel distortion. I will be shooting kitchens indoors but will be lighting each kitchen individually. Any help would be extremely appreciated.

Ry

Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II Rectilinear

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/attachments/canon-eos-5d-mk-ii-hd/12615d1244222724-ultrawide-lens-alamo14.jpg

Jon, enough said ^^^ Thank you very much!

That's my photo. Originally posted to http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/1154486-post24.html

That 14mm was just a loaner, but I fell in love with it. Wish I could justify buying it.

And yet another shameless self-portrait there too. That lens is around $2500.

That's my photo.

Chris, I knew it was your post, but didn't realize that you took the photo as well. Every time I think of that lens, your photo jumps to mind. It simply defines "rectilinear".

This lens and the Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L would cover just about anything an architectural photographer could encounter.

EOS (SLR) Camera Systems - Tilt-Shift - Tilt-Shift Lens - TS-E 17mm f/4L - Canon USA Consumer Products (http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=156&modelid=18174)

This is a great thread and I'm glad that it is here. A specific question on the Canon 85mm 1.8. I'm looking to get this lens to shoot indoor/outdoor low light shoots. I'll be filming a wedding and I've got the 17-40L 4.0 lens and several others, but I figured towards the late evening it may get a little too dark for that. I've filmed in very low light with that lens and the ISO/noise is actually pretty decent.

So has any one have experience with the 85mm 1.8 in indoor/outdoor low light party/wedding atmosphere with the 5D MkII? For the price do you recommend it? For now the 85mm 1.2 is out of the budget.

thanks again
Michael

I have the 28/1.8, 35/2.0, 50/1.4, 85/1.8, and 200/2.8, and the 85/1.8 is my favorite of them all. First, 85mm is the perfect people-scale lens. It's got USM autofocus, and full time manual focus. Lines are straight, and f/1.8 is good enough in all but the lowest light.

The 50/1.4 is better in low light, but the angle of view can be boring, and it has barrel distortion, making it bad for portraits - not only do you have to get too close to your subjects, but the barrel distortion can make them look piggy.

My favorite foil for the 85/1.8 is the 28/1.8. Photographers don't rate this lens very high, but I find it sharp enough for video. The trick is to put something interesting in the foreground, like a table centerpiece or wedding cake, and show the people in the background. It's a very artistic look without being ultrawide. And with enough distance to your subjects, they won't display the big nose, little ears effect.

If I could only keep two of my lenses for video of people, the 85/1.8 and 28/1.8 would be my choices - in that order. The 200/2.8L has the sweetest look of them all, but it's best used in a big space on a tripod and doesn't touch the others in low light.

You'll have no regrets with the EF 85mm f/1.8 lens.

Jon,

Thank you sir! That is very helpful. I've got the 50mm 1.8, so for this wedding, I think the 85mm 1.8 will be a great add on. I'll look into the 28mm 1.8 soon.

thanks again for the detailed response.

I have recently purchased the Canon 85mm f/1.8 and it is great for an affordable lens. It gathers lots of light and is the perfect focal length for medium-sized areas. I used it at night outdoors and it is great for people from about 5-50 feet away. This is right in line with what you want for unobtrusive tight shots at a wedding. You still must get in close, but you don't have to be right in their personal space. Like Jon, I am coupling it with a wider lens but I like my 35mm f/1.4 as it is super fast and doesn't distort much like a wider lens. This is a Nikon manual lens with an adapter and I find the manual focus is best in low light as the auto always has a tough time. Besides, the auto in video mode on the 5Dii is not really proper. Of course, I have 50mm lenses but I think they will stay in the bag most of the time.

...Like Jon, I am coupling it with a wider lens but I like my 35mm f/1.4 as it is super fast and doesn't distort much like a wider lens. This is a Nikon manual lens with an adapter...
A 35/1.4 would be a sweet partner - with either the 85/1.8 or 85/1.2. I'll gladly trade my 28/1.8 for a 35/1.4L, but I doubt that I'll get any takers. ;) I'd want the 24L to complete the set.

The 28/1.8 isn't the ultimate lens, but it's a great value. It's the same generation design as the 85/1.8 with the same feel and features.

BTW, last night I tested some Magic Lantern alpha code that lets me set two focus points and toggle between them with the push of a button. Currently, there's only one (fast) speed, but it works great with the 85/1.8. Soon, we'll be able to control the speed of the focus pull.

What a change! Before June, manual lenses were the thing to own. With the 1.1.0 firmware, Canon EOS lenses became viable, but many prefer the mechanical focus rings of other brands. With electronic focus control, Canon may soon be the lens brand of choice.

Jon:

Not knowing the whole Canon lens history, I understand that FD's don't work, but what about lenses originally intended for EOS Rebel and such-- are they a fit for the 5D ??

Edit: Answered my own question. Canon 5D mount is for EF lenses only. Newer lensesn in EF-S series will not fit without some adaptation, if at all.

You've answered your own question, and I'll add that FD lenses only fit with surgery and an adapter. They're too deep for modern Canon cameras. Nikon has made hay with this, since you can mount AI lenses to modern Nikons with no problem.

Then again, I can mount Nikon glass to Canon cameras, but not the other way around. The FD lenses are one of the few truly obsolete 35mm product lines.

And yeah, skip the EF-S lenses.

One thing to look for are FTMF (full time manual focus) EF lenses. They are the way to go with electronic rack focus.

With the A-M switch, you have to set the lens to M, adjust it, change it to A and then do the rack focus stuff. When setting thing up I was back and forth with the A-M switch. My EF 35/2.0 is non-FTMF, and it doesn't communicate all of the focus information to the camera that I can get from the FTMF 85/1.8. It did still rack though...

With the FTTM lenses, you can adjust the lens manually, and the Magic Lantern readout shows the data change in real time. FTTM is the only way to go for electronic rack focusing!

Thanks for that bit of wisdom....FTMF......

You've answered your own question, and I'll add that FD lenses only fit with surgery and an adapter. They're too deep for modern Canon cameras. Nikon has made hay with this, since you can mount AI lenses to modern Nikons with no problem. Not quite correct. The big issue is that when Canon moved to EF lenses they changed focal point vis a vis FD lenses. So with a simple adaptor like we use to fit Nikon lenses to the 5DII it is impossible to focus to infinity an FD lens but it is possible to use it as a Macro. There are adaptors available that include a lens that does allow focusing to infinity but sadly these adaptors come from the cheap end of the market ($30-40) so clearly the optics are not great quality.

I have a beautiful Canon FD Zoom 35-105mm F3.5 (http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/fdlenses/fdzooms/50135.htm#35-105mmNEW) that probably has the best & smoothest zoom & focus rings of any of my lens collection & I would love to use it with the 5DII. Sadly with a cheap adaptor the image is just too soft for my liking although on the upside I suppose there is no chance of moire effect.