Canon lens selection.

enerlevel · Apr 27, 2017

hi all,
I have just moved from a sony a7s II with 28mm f2 and 70-200mm f4 fe lens.
I now have a 5D mark III and am a bit confused with my lens selection.
I have a few choices

1) prime everyday lens.
Canon 35mm f1.4L
Canon 28mm f1.8

2) zoom
Canon 24-70 f2.8 mk I
Canon 24-105 f4 L

3) telephoto

Canon 70-200mm f4 non IS
Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 VC
Canon 80-200mm f2.8

I can buy 3 lens in total. However if I choose the canon 35mm f1.4L, then I will have to skip zoom lens.

What do you think is the best lens selection ?

I am thinking 28mm f1.8, 24-70f2.8 and tamron 70-200 VC... what do you guys think? Thanks

ronlane · Apr 27, 2017

It totally depends on what you shoot. For me personally, with a 5d mk iii, I would go with the canon 24-70 f/2.8, the canon 70-200 f/2.8. Not sure what the Canon 35 or 28 are for but if it were for astro, I think I would go with the 28mm f/1.8 just for the little bit of extra width.

DonaldC · Apr 27, 2017

I agree with ronlane. I shoot the 5D mk iii and consider what you want to do with your lens choices. Otherwise, if you can squeeze some extra coin, I will happily 2nd Ron's suggestions.

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DonaldC · Apr 27, 2017

I agree with ronlane. I shoot the 5D mk iii and consider what you want to do with your lens choices. Otherwise, if you can squeeze some extra coin, may I suggest getting the most current versions of these lenses. I will happily 2nd Ron's suggestions.

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weepete · Apr 27, 2017

I'd buy a 24-70 f2.8 ii and then start saving for the rest.

enerlevel · Apr 27, 2017

Thanks guys for the reply,

The reason why I want the 28mm f1.8 is to make the setup smaller and not too loud.. as I will be using this camera for family social photography as well ...

ronlane · Apr 27, 2017

You're welcome. For that kind of money, consider the Canon 50mm f/1.4. It is smaller. The new 50mm f/1.8 stm is a cheaper smaller lens and a lot less. I have this one and got a good copy of it.

The 50mm would be better for portraits than the 28 or the 35 would be.

Juga · Apr 27, 2017

I will play devil's advocate for a bit and throw in another option...the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD...it goes for roughly the same cost as the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L Mk I but has image stabilization. I have used the Mk I and Mk II and the Tamron stacks up well against both. It is definitely as sharp or a bit sharper than the Mk I but slightly less than the Mk II. At the time that I purchased it the Mk II was nearly $1000 usd more than the Tamron.

enerlevel · Apr 27, 2017

Yes I actually did not consider the 50mm because it's too tight.. mostly for my type of social photography chances of getting a portrait shot are very unlikely... mostly group shots is what I take .. that's why I considered the 28mm f1.8.. infact Previously i have been using the 28mm f2 FE on the sony system and hardly even touched the 70-200mm ... let's keep it this way ... the 70-200mm is the least length or lens which I would use but is always good to have it in your arsenal when you need it ...

Derrel · Apr 27, 2017

I had the 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lens for nearly a decade on the 5D classic...I LIKED the lens and the focal length range...the difference between 70mm and 105mm is a BIG difference, and f/2,.8 is unusabke for many things....and besides, f/4 is the "new f/2.8" on newer cameras and newrr lenses! I personally feel that in zoom lenses, images shot at f/2.8 typically look SUBSTANDARD...CA, softness at the edges of the frame, shallow depth of field, and low-resolution at the outer parts of the frame and in the far corners also... f/2.8 is simply NOT WORTH it on a zoom lens, to me at least, hence the suggestion to get the 24-105mm f/4 with image stabilzer technology. THAT makes a very useful walkabout lens...AND it has the sheer length to make it truly useful for many situations; 70mm is simply not long enough in many situations.

A second lens would be the 70-200 f/4 L IS USM from Canon, OR maybe the 70-200 f/2.8 Tamron G2 lens. Yes, the Tamron 70-200 VC is much less costly, but the newer model is pretty amazing.

bratkinson · Apr 28, 2017

As mentioned by the other respondents, what lenses you get depends on what you intend to use your camera for.

The lens choices for my 5Diii allow me maximum flexibility and I can do a decent job on everything except macro photography and birding. I've also settled on an 'overlapping' series of L zoom lenses to handle what I do shoot mostly...indoor events (no weddings), railroads, cityscapes, and some landscapes as well. So, I have a 16-35 f2.8L, 24-105 f4L, and an 80-200 f2.8L (1993 build). And when I want to get some real 'pop', a 135 f2L.

While many will say the 24-70 and 70-200 make a nice 'end to end' fit, what do you do when you want to zoom in to perhaps 90mm and have the 24-70 mounted. At a wedding, for example, you do not have the time to swap lenses! The same is true while taking pictures of trains. The 24-105 is used for 70-80% of all my photography. For what it's worth, I rented the mark ii version of the 24-105 a month ago and it's as sharp as the 24-70 ii! I'm very impressed...except it is several ounces heavier than the mark i. Now if I can only figure out how to pay for one...

Derrel · Apr 28, 2017

There's a real reason the 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM was THE "kitted zoom" lens with so, so many 5D series outdfits!

I payed right art $3,999 for the 5D Classic and the 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lens in one, large, single-box kit.

The issue with a 24-70 is that it conks out at 70mm...RIGHT when you often desperately want more focal length! It's too narrow a lens range above the 50mm point...70mm is in that never-never land...not long enought for selective vision...