Which "L" Lens for my wife??

IloveJEP · Dec 15, 2008

Hello everyone,
My wife is a very talented photographer (Ilovejep.com) and i want to surprise her with a nice new lens for christmas. She shoots mostly families and children, however she also does about 3-5 weddings a year also. I want to get her either a canon 70-200mm f2.8 L series, or a canon 24-70mm f2.8 L series, but i dont know which one would be better for her style. And is it really important or worth the extra cash to pop for the "IS" version of the 70-200mm? Please help?

Thanks Brad

Overread · Dec 15, 2008

Quality wise there is no real difference between the 70-200mm f2.8 and the IS edition of that lens (heck there is hardly much difference with the f4 makes either barring round f4 aperture)

Honestly speaking though if your wife is really into this and knows her stuff and you are willing to spend enough money for a high level L lens - then best thing is to let her choose the lens. Lens choice is very much personal choice so let her have that aspect. Granted it loses a bit on the surprise front, but it means that you definatly can get her the best one for her

Lyncca · Dec 15, 2008

Wow, what a good husband you are! You can't go wrong with either lens. Honestly, she will probably just die over either of them

She really probably would say she needed both, but if you know what her current lenses are, maybe you can do the opposite end of the mm range to give her more versatility than what she has now.

Do you know what lenses she currently owns?

For the IS, if she plans to shoot weddings in low-light and no flash, she would probably make use of the IS.

Big Mike · Dec 15, 2008

Welcome to the forum.

I agree that all 4 of the Canon 70-200mm lenses are very good. To me, it came down to having the best possible tool and that was the F2.8 with IS....because I knew that if I didn't get that one, I would (on many occasions) wish that I had.
It's a great lens for weddings and portraits if you (she) has room to work.

As for the 24-70mm F2.8...what format (camera model) does she shoot with? If she uses crop bodies (20/30/40/50D or Rebels) then I wouldn't necessarily recommend the 24-70mm lens. Rather, I would recommend the EF-S 17-55 F2.8 IS or maybe the 16-35mm F2.8 L or the 17-40 F4 L.

If she shoots with film or full frame digital EOS, then the 24-70mm F2.8 L may be a great choice.

IloveJEP · Dec 15, 2008

She has a 30D, and I'm pretty sure she has a 50mm, and a 28-135 and the one that came with her camera that she hasn't touched in forever. We are hoping to upgrade her camera body this next year to the new 5d or up. She doesn't own any L lens' yet (broke newlyweds) and i feel like its holding her work back some. She has mentioned wanting both of these lens' at different times but i can't afford to get her both at once.

table1349 · Dec 15, 2008

Big Mike said:
Welcome to the forum.

I agree that all 4 of the Canon 70-200mm lenses are very good. To me, it came down to having the best possible tool and that was the F2.8 with IS....because I knew that if I didn't get that one, I would (on many occasions) wish that I had.
It's a great lens for weddings and portraits if you (she) has room to work.

As for the 24-70mm F2.8...what format (camera model) does she shoot with? If she uses crop bodies (20/30/40/50D or Rebels) then I wouldn't necessarily recommend the 24-70mm lens. Rather, I would recommend the EF-S 17-55 F2.8 IS or maybe the 16-35mm F2.8 L or the 17-40 F4 L.

If she shoots with film or full frame digital EOS, then the 24-70mm F2.8 L may be a great choice.

I would agree with Big Mike here, with some reservations. It comes down to shooting styles as well. I shoot crop sensor, but opted for the 24-70 f2.8 as I don't normally shoot much wider than that on a consistent basis. But that is me. Others need that wider range and the 24-70 would not be good choice.

One reason it works for me is that I own the trifecta of Canon L glass, being the 16-35 f2.8L, 24-70 f2.8L and the 70-200 f2.8L. When the 16-35 gets used I am generally using it for that range alone and do not end up switching out during the shoot.

A possible suggestion that I would give would be a wonderful Christmas Card with a hand made coupon Good for one Canon L lens or lens of her choice. (within reason) unless you want to buy her the 400 f2.8L.

That way she can pick what she feels she will use the most.

IloveJEP · Dec 15, 2008

The coupon is a good idea but my wife is too selfless and frugal (in a good way) to ever cash it in. she is the kind of person who needs to just have it done and bought so she cant turn it down and say "its too much".

so would you recommend the one of the "EF-S 17-55 F2.8 IS or maybe the 16-35mm F2.8 L or the 17-40 F4 L." over the 70-200 f2.8 IS?

Big Mike · Dec 15, 2008

so would you recommend the one of the "EF-S 17-55 F2.8 IS or maybe the 16-35mm F2.8 L or the 17-40 F4 L." over the 70-200 f2.8 IS?

I really depends on her shooting style.
It sounds like she doesn't really have a telephoto lens now, so can she get by without one or is it something that she's really missing?

Most of the wedding photographers that I know, who shoot with crop cameras, use the EF-S 17-55 F2.8 IS as their main lens. The optical quality is said to be on par with L lenses...but the build quality isn't quite as good.
This might be a good choice if she is going to stick with the crop bodies but if she is planning to move up to a full frame body, like the 5D II or 1Ds, then the EF-S lens wouldn't be compatible, so would be a poor choice.

table1349 · Dec 15, 2008

IloveJEP said:
The coupon is a good idea but my wife is too selfless and frugal (in a good way) to ever cash it in. she is the kind of person who needs to just have it done and bought so she cant turn it down and say "its too much".

so would you recommend the one of the "EF-S 17-55 F2.8 IS or maybe the 16-35mm F2.8 L or the 17-40 F4 L." over the 70-200 f2.8 IS?

That is where you just up and take her to a good photography shop, take her inside and tell her to pick out what she wants. Let her know that if she doesn't you will pick it out something for her, but that it would be better for her to get what she wants cause one way or another she is leaving with a nice piece of L glass.

You have to remember, she is a woman, shopping is in her DNA. You get her in a store, she will shop.

Heck, my wife and I have been married 30 years. When we go somewhere we always walk hand in hand. Some folks comment on how nice that is after all those years of marriage to still walk hand in hand together. I always set them straight though and let them know that if I let loose of her hand SHE WILL SHOP. :lol:

Good luck however you decide to go about it.

IloveJEP · Dec 16, 2008

Ok, so i did some very obvious digging (i'm pretty sure she knows) and so i just bought the 70-200mm f2.8 IS USM. Man, its some expensive hardware! but from all that i have heard i'm sure it is money well spent. When I was shopping around I found people that were selling their L lens' and they used the fact that they had used a filter on the lens for its whole life as a selling point. (I ended up buying the lens new) Do these filters do anything to protect the lens other than the obvious fact that they go over the front glass? Is this something I should also get her, and if so are there ones that are good that wont defeat the purpose of having high quality glass? Are there ones I should definitely stay away from?

PS. Thank you all for your very knowledgeable advice. I couldn't have done it without it!

Overread · Dec 17, 2008

depends how well people keep the kit as to how well the filter works. If they are working at the seaside in salty seaspray then chances are the filter has saved the lens many a time but if they are just working the odd wedding chances are that filter or no filter the lens would be about the same.
It all depends on the user and how they work

IloveJEP · Dec 17, 2008

so do the filters protect just the front glass? (i know they can provide other things for the photography itself) This lens was a big investment and i want to keep it protected for her. im sorry im not more knowledgeable about all this stuff. My wife probably knows??

Overread · Dec 18, 2008

best to ask her the debate on using or not using filters is endless. The only certain facts are:

1) if your going to use a filter don't use a cheap one - cheap $/£5 are not worth it since they will degrade light entering the lens. A quality filter will give hardly any noticable degradation at all

2) if your shooting somewhere like a seaside, or windy dessert or anywhere where material is going to be hitting your front element then use one - you can quick wipe a filter and not worry half as much as damaging your lens (its a lot cheaper to replace a bust filter over a scratched lens)