Upgrading Gear

eagle31 · Jul 21, 2014

Hi guys my name is Dario, from Italy but living in Sydney and i'm about to upgrade to " Enthusiast
" my gear.
So I've already decided for the canon 70D but i'm not sure about what lens.
I could get the bundle with the 18-200 but i think with this kind of camera i need to invest in something more for the lens.
So my doubt is between the Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 and the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM.
The main purpose would be travel/street photography as i'm about to go in Thailand and after India.
So what kind of lens would better? I have to say that I kind of like the macro specially for street photography so the sigma would better having a focus distance of 0.30 cm but with the canon i have more zoom range which is better i guess for travel. Is even true that the sigma has a 2.4 aperture which would give me much more light in certain condition, but the canon has a stabilizer. Which lens should i buy? Or even other lens with a budget around 600$. Thank you, if you will find the time to reply me!

P.S. This is what i think i gonna buy with a budget of 3000$. Let me know what you think!

View attachment 80048

Patrice · Jul 22, 2014

Hi,

Not familiar with Canon gear but with a crop sensor camera (I had one before my D700) I found 24mm pretty long for the wide end of a "walk around" zoom. I'd suggest a 17-55 or similar zoom with constant aperture of f/2.8 or f/4 and a longer zoom in the 70-200 or 80-200 at f/4 (less expensive than f/2.8). Those two lenses and a decent flash would likely serve you very well in almost every situation. Later you could add a 10 or 12mm prime for wide and a 85/1.4 for portraits. I'd suggest you stick with OEM lenses if you can afford them, generally better quality and better resale later on.

My crop setup was a couple a D200's, one with a 17-55/2.8 and the other with a 70-200/2.8, plus an SB800 flash. I never felt that I was missing something when photographing "street" and "events". These 2 zooms were supplemented with a set of decent specialty primes. Others are sure to come back with other good suggestions.

ronlane · Jul 22, 2014

There seem to be a lot of people that shoot canon's with the 24-105mm as their walk around lens. Depending on the lighting that you will mostly be shooting in would determine whether or not you needed the f/2.8. Honestly, the 24-105mm is the lens that I want to upgrade to, as soon as I can get the money.

memento · Jul 22, 2014

I agree about the 24mm being a bit too long for a 'walk around' lens.
I have the 17-55 and love it. Though I use my flash more than the 2.8 and don't think it's worth the extra cash (for me).
My dad has the 15-85, which wasn't out yet when I was looking. I've used it a couple times and really like it.
I think it's the perfect 'walk around' for a crop sensor

Canon U.S.A. : Consumer & Home Office : EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

TCampbell · Jul 22, 2014

A crop-frame camera has a fairly "normal" angle of view at around 30mm... meaning the image seems neither to be wide angle nor telephoto. A 24mm lens on such a camera will be only very mildly wide. You may find you wished you could get a little wider.

The 24-70 and 24-105 options are both extremely popular on "full frame" sensor cameras (e.g. 6D, 5D series, and 1D bodies). People do of course use them on crop-frame cameras (I did myself) but this is less common.

The crop-frame equivalent of a 24-70 would be something like the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 which can provide a reasonably shallow depth of field. It's focal lengths don't translate directly when you account for the crop factor... but it's "roughly" in the same category. That wont have much on the telephoto end to offer.

The new 18-135mm STM lens should also be attractive in that it's a great general-purpose "walking around" lens except that it doesn't offer the non-variable low-focal ratio of an f/2.8 zoom.

The 18-200mm is built for one thing... convenience. It's the lens you buy when you don't want to buy any other lenses. But the problem that these "super zoom" category lenses (more than a 10x zoom factor) tend to not impress in any other area except the zoom range. A less-ambitious zoom lens will generally yield a better quality result.

You could do a 24-105 and then supplement with a 10-22mm for the wide angle department.

pdq5oh · Jul 24, 2014

I have a 70D and got it bundled with the 18-135 STM. It's really a very good general use lens. A little soft at 135, but acceptable for what it is. It's, also, a very good lens for video when used with the 70D. The STM lenses are optimized for smooth, quick autofocus for video. I also got the 55-250 STM for a little more reach and light weight. I'm happy with both lenses, and work within their limitations.

weepete · Jul 24, 2014

15-85mm gets my vote and will be my next camera purchace when I get some cash together. I've used a 24-105 for years and while the range is great it's a bit limited on the wide end for everyday shooting.

Lumens · Jul 24, 2014

If your using a crop sensor, the 15-85 is the lens to have. Granted the f2.8 would be nice for indoors, but general walk-around my 7D/15-85 combo cannot be beat. If on full frame then the 24-105 is the way to go.

a_auger · Jul 24, 2014

I use a 17-70 Sigma and love it. It's part of their new line of lens and is f/2.8-4. Sure, not constant 2.8, but definitely worth the price compared to Canon equivalents. Only trouble is it's for aps-c only, so if you're considering future-proofing your investment, get a FF compatible lens. In fact, mine is for sale if you want it. Check the buy/sell forum.

gsgary · Jul 24, 2014

The lenses i use for these type of shots are 28mm, 35mm, 50mm on full frame film and digital

Davikes84 · Jul 27, 2014

The 24-105 even at F4 is a fantastic walk lens.

shaylou · Jul 27, 2014

I'm going to highly recommend the Canon 17-55 as well. I used that on my crop sensor camera and loved it. It is so sharp and fast. Everyone mentions the 2.8 for low light but it is also great for blurring the background. If you like this technique the 17-55 will out preform the 24-105 here.