Need help choosing lens - DPChallenge Forums

04/10/2009 10:34:52 AM · #1

I have a Canon 30D, using a tamron AF (not EF) 28-300mm with this camera. The fact that I am using a AF on a digital camera, I assume, is/will cause some issues. Kinda feel like I am loosing something. More like a compatibility issue, slow focusing etc...
They just don't seem to talk to each other correctly.

I am looking for a lens for all-around general use.

My choices are:

1. canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
2. canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

Both lenes are around $1200.00 US new and both have great reviews. I have looked at Conon, B&H, Amazon along with a few other sites for pricing and feedback.

I am leaning towards option 1 because of IS.

Please feel free to post and pros/cons pretaining to either of the lenes and maybe a cheaper price to buy.

Thanks,

Joe

see

Canon PowerShot S95

04/10/2009 10:43:50 AM · #2

What exactly do you like to take photos of?

04/10/2009 10:50:32 AM · #3

Originally posted by alans_world:

What exactly do you like to take photos of?

At this point I take pictures of sons playing hockey, family photos, some landscape. I have another lens in mind for sports photography. Just looking for all around lens and to get away from tamron.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

04/10/2009 11:01:35 AM · #4

Have you considered the Tamron AF 28-75MM F/2.8 XR Di LD ? Compared to the Canon 24-70 it is shorter. much lighter, about a third the price, and on a clipped sensor like your 30d it scores very close to the canon, they swap leads as top of the category in different aspects. Fred Miranda discussion Digital Picture review

goinskiing

Canon EOS-6D

04/10/2009 11:05:44 AM · #5

If you're looking for more general purpose, choose the 24-105, especially if you're looking at a sports lens (which will need F2.8 for sure). You'll have you're bases pretty well covered this way.

bspurgeon

Fujifilm x100

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

04/10/2009 11:08:17 AM · #6

I'll give you my personal preference...the 24-70. I briefly used the 24-105 for a few weeks as it came with my 5DII. It's great, I just didn't need it and couldn't justify the cost as I have a 70-200, etc. I'm firmly attached at the hip with my 24-70, and others will say the same about the 24-105. The 24-70 is my favorite lens for child portrait work. Focuses fast and gives me plenty of range when I take my feet in to account!

But essentially this question has no set answer...I chose the 24-70 way back when primarily for the larger aperture and my preference for available light. I must admit that when I briefly had the 24-105 it stayed on my camera for the added reach. If cost was not an issue I would have both!!!

Based on what you posted about your needs I would go with the 105. You should be able to get one used for under 1k if desired. You should be able to find a great deal on a lightly used, if not new, kit lens, that came with a 5DII. I sold mine for $900.

see

Canon PowerShot S95

04/10/2009 11:11:49 AM · #7

Both will probably work with family, and landscape, but indoor hockey you probably might prefer the wider aperture of the 24-70 IMHO.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

04/10/2009 11:28:20 AM · #8

For any kind of sports pics I am going to go with the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM. This wil be coming later.

So I guess either choice would do well, just a bit of overlap with the 24-105mm.

From a technical perspective, wasn't sure the what was better having IS or f2.8.

Brennan mentioned a clipped senson on the 30d. Not sure what you mean, please explain if not too much trouble

BTW...thanks for the comments! It's great getting feedback.

MattO

Nikon D4

04/10/2009 11:46:30 AM · #9

I'd stay away from the Tamron lens just for the slower AF reasons. If you need reach more the speed go for the 24-105, however you can't go past F4 on it. I'd not buy a lens that wasn't F2.8 all the way out, however that is just because of my style of shooting since I don't know what you do its a personal preference. However unless you are dead set on new, you can save yourself quite a bit of money buying from a reputable seller on Fredmiranda.com. I bought my 24-70 about 3 years ago for less then $900, the 24-105 can be bought there for about the same price too. Some are even new take outs from 5DII kits.

Matt

04/10/2009 12:29:40 PM · #10

Originally posted by MattO:

I'd stay away from the Tamron lens just for the slower AF reasons

Matt, what has been your experience with slow AF on this Tamorn lens? It is a bit slower than the Canon 50mm but faster than the Canon 200mm. in my experience it is fast and locks quickly even in low light. If you have an infinite supply of money you might drop an extra eight hundred dollars on one lens over another to upgrade from fast focus to very fast focus, but not many people do.

Joe, I agree with Matt that it is better to have fast lenses, but If your profile is right and you have no lenses but the Tamron 28-300mm, and have around $1000.00 to spend, then you can get one of the lenses you listed used, or you could buy both the Tamron 28-75 and the Canon 70-200 f4 new for the same coin.

Message edited by author 2009-04-10 12:50:28.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

04/10/2009 12:41:57 PM · #11

Originally posted by JoeCan30d:

Brennan mentioned a clipped senson on the 30d. Not sure what you mean, please explain if not too much trouble

The 30d has a clipped sensor so it is less than full frame 35 mm sensor, as opposed to the 5d which is full frame, the D30 has
a 1.6 crop factor, so when you are looking at lenses for this body the edges of the light that the lens brings into your camera will fall outside your sensor. Issues like the chromatic aberration that are a big issue at the corners with some lenses, mainly on a full frame sensor, are less of an issue with the clipped sensors. The Tamron 28-75 rocks on a 1.6 crop, but at full frame the corners are mushy, so I would not use it on a 5d or a 1Ds.

Other lenses like the Canon 10-22 mm EFS are meant only be used on clipped sensors. if you are thinking about dumping your 30d and going with a full frame body, and are building your lens collection around that, then your choices will be different.

Message edited by author 2009-04-10 12:47:02.

MattO

Nikon D4

04/10/2009 12:51:24 PM · #12

Originally posted by BrennanOB:

Originally posted by MattO:
I'd stay away from the Tamron lens just for the slower AF reasons

Matt what has been your experience with slow AF on this Tamorn lens? It is a bit slower than the Canon 50mm but faster than the Canon 200mm. in my experience it is fast and locks quickly even in low light. If you have an infinite supply of money you might drop an extra eight hundred dollars on one lens over another to upgrade from fast focus to very fast focus, but not many people do.

I do like fast lenses, but If your profile is right and you have no lenses but the Tamron 28-300mm, and have around $1000.00 to spend, then you can get one of the lenses you listed used, or you could buy both the Tamron 28-75 and the Canon 70-200 f4 new for the same coin.

There is no comparison between the Canon 24-70 AF speed and the Tamron 28-75 AF speed. Light worlds apart. I started my Canon digital life with one.........when I started shooting sports with it the slow AF became very apparent. Once I dropped the coin on the 24-70 the keeper rate soared. The best thing to do is buy the lens you want AND need the first time, rather then buying a lens and finding its short comings. The OP has already decided to buy the Canon lens.........just not which one. When someone brought up the idea of the tamron I wanted to make sure the OP understood that there is a big difference in AF speed. This is not just my opinion somewhere on here there is a user who went from Canon to Nikon and bought the Tamron and noticed the difference quickly. AF speed makes a huge difference between getting the shot and not.........especially when shooting children.

Matt

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

04/10/2009 01:24:01 PM · #13

Originally posted by MattO:

There is no comparison between the Canon 24-70 AF speed and the Tamron 28-75 AF speed. Light worlds apart.

I'm sure thats your experience, but it was not mine, nor was it the opinion I find on the Fred Miranda review forums
Tamron has issues with quality control to a higher extent that Canon, and I've heard of people getting bad copies ( AF speed seems unlikely to be accounted for this, its usually focus issues) I have shot with the canon 24-70 and while I found it to be capable, I prefer the Tamron for its size and image sharpness (irrespective of the four times higher price). All of the comparative reviews show them to be very close, though your experience was different, it would not seem to be the norm.

In my real life I am a building contractor. I own alot of tools of many makes.Some people will only buy Bosch rotary tools, but I think While Bosch is good Riobi makes a nice router, cheaper.

Some people will only shoot with Canon L glass, some people look at any glass that they can get to focus light. I have friends who will only use Canon L primes. I don't trust their opinions on zooms. They don't like them before they use them. While I don't dispute the superiority of their glass, I like having a mix of lenses, it suits the way I work, for me they are tools, not a collection.

As far as limiting my comments to the two lenses the OP asked about; come on, its a forum, he can ignore me if he wants, you don't need to try to narrow how I choose to answer him.

MattO

Nikon D4

04/10/2009 02:36:59 PM · #14

You are right its probably just me being an L snob Smurfguy agrees but I'm sure we are both wrong.

Matt

smurfguy

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

04/10/2009 02:49:25 PM · #15

Originally posted by MattO:

You are right its probably just me being an L snob Smurfguy agrees but I'm sure we are both wrong.

Matt

Funny, I found this thread by accident just now. Anyway, I will never buy another lens without USM.

When you really start investigating lenses, you realize there're many more properties than those stated in the names, and even on the spec sheets. Just looking at the names (focal range, aperture) how can you justify an $1200 Canon 24-70 f/2.8 over a $400 Tamron 28-75 f/2.8. But trust me, it's not just brand snobbery. There's focus speed, build quality, flare control, color reproduction, etc, that simply don't have a number associated with them that can make or break your shot, depending on your application.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

04/10/2009 03:20:17 PM · #16

Originally posted by smurfguy:

Originally posted by MattO:
You are right its probably just me being an L snob Smurfguy agrees but I'm sure we are both wrong.

Matt

Funny, I found this thread by accident just now. Anyway, I will never buy another lens without USM.

When you really start investigating lenses, you realize there're many more properties than those stated in the names, and even on the spec sheets. Just looking at the names (focal range, aperture) how can you justify an $1200 Canon 24-70 f/2.8 over a $400 Tamron 28-75 f/2.8. But trust me, it's not just brand snobbery. There's focus speed, build quality, flare control, color reproduction, etc, that simply don't have a number associated with them that can make or break your shot, depending on your application.

The thing of it is, the Tamron compares very favorably to the Canon in all those areas. It falls a little short in the focusing speed sweepstakes, but not by that much if you're not an instant-response shooter. Since I am almost always shooting from a tripod, and at least half the time manually focusing, the Tammy was an obvious choice for me, allowed me to get my macro lens at the same time and still spend less. And, let's face it, the Canon 24-70mm lens is not their most stellar performer either...

R.

04/10/2009 03:43:01 PM · #17

Originally posted by MattO:

You are right its probably just me being an L snob Smurfguy agrees but I'm sure we are both wrong.

Matt

Perhaps there is some major shift in performance between full frame and clipped sensor cameras. Both of you guys shoot full frame, I don't. I have heard that the edges are horribly soft, why it should influence how fast it locks focus, I can't imagine.

And if i could afford it I would be happy to become an L snob myself ;-)

Message edited by author 2009-04-10 17:38:21.