Best Zoom Lens Recommendations for Canon 7D HD Video Recording?
 

I just ordered my Canon 7D and am looking for the best zoom lens for shooting HD video on the camera. I'll be shooting video in low light at bars/clubs/concerts. My budget is under $2000. Image Stabilization is crucial I believe for this type of shooting? What do you recommend?

I don't know how the footage will turn out but I would get the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM. I guess it depends what you mean by zoom. If you mean far away then I guess you need a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens as well.

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens Review

EDIT: A quick search brought up this video, but I am sure there are people here who can offer suggestions for improving low light performance.


I am thinking about lenses at the moment too, the way I am planning to do it is to borrow a cheap slow zoom lens, film the shots I want, work out what focal lengths I used, then buy either primes or the two zooms I mentioned.

I don't know how big the nightclubs you go to are, but I am pretty sure I couldn't use a 70-200 in any nightclub in Japan.

There is the Canon 18mm to 135mm but it is only a 3.5 and that may not be fast enough for you.

The Canon 17-55 is a nice, sharp lens and has IS, but there's really no single fast lens with IS to do everything as you find on traditional video cameras. The 24-70 L lens is probably the most useful range for most people, if you can only have one lens. But it doesn't have IS. You might consider getting one and then with the rest of your budget get a small lightweight tripod and/or a shoulder mount system Cavision is nice for around $350 for rods, handgrips, shoulder mount, and the shoulder mount is more curved than most, so you can press back against the front of your shoulder, similar to a shotgun mount, and gain extra stability. Still, you don't want to do much handheld shooting with the 7D except at wide angles.

Another lens I'd get is the el cheapo f1.8 50mm. It feels like a toy and has a plastic mount, but it's razor sharp and under a hundred bucks. It's one of those things you have to get because it's so cheap. There are times that f1.8 is a life saver.

Even with fast lenses, in a bar you're going to be raising your ISO, so I agree that the faster the better on your lenses. If you could go with primes, I'd do that because the fastest zoom is 2.8. The good zooms are also pretty heavy, and unless you have a shoulder mount system, that will get old really fast. I'd go for a tripod along with whatever lens you get.