Hey everyone. I'm a new photography enthusiast, always wanted to try my hand at it and finally pulled the trigger. Got a pretty good deal on a T7i and away I go. I currently have the 18-135 kit lens and the nifty fifty and would like to purchase my first real lens. My interests would be macro, portraits, video of my kids basketball and vacation pictures like Disneyland, etc. I know there is no such thing as a "do everything" lens but I'm hoping there is one that's pretty close. I've been looking at the 100mm f/2.8L macro and the 24-70mm f/4L. I've read countless reviews and watched a ton of youtube videos on both. Depending on what I read or watch I can find reviews that say both are great lenses for my particular needs. So I decided to come here and see what you guys think. So, what do you think? Are either worth the investment for a beginner or is there a better lens I'm not considering? Thanks for your time!
A good place to start would be priorities and then budget when selecting newer lenses. Both of the lenses you mentioned are great lenses for what they do. Example the 24-70 4L is a great upgrade to the kit lens you have, it performs better optically and has a professional quality build. So if you want an upgrade that is a good option, I personally would try to afford the 2.8 over the 4.0 s that you can open up that much wider, you may not always need the extra stop for light, but it helps with action shots and if you want the soft bokeh background 4.0 does not cut it, in fact you may eventually buy a prime that is really wide like 1.4 for that reason. The macro is really nice but a bit of a specific use lens so I think it doesn't need to be prioritized as high unless your happy with the 18-135 for now and want to get something very specific. You also will be able to focus moderately close with the 24-70, not macro close but still closer than you would think. My lineup for example has a short wide zoom, a fast long zoom and a number of primes between that are faster, the 14mm is a fisheye, the 50 and 85 step between the zooms and provide fast wide open apertures. And my old 100mm macro while overlapping the long zoom provides macro capability. So I don't double up really anywhere with my lineup, you just want to have a bit of a plan of attack.
Hello and welcome to the forum. Just to add a couple of thoughts on top of what Johnsey suggested. As you are new to this, what is your current 18-135 not giving you? If I were you, I would have a play around with your 18-135 and see how you use it. Do you use it at the wide end more, or more on the telephoto end, or in the middle? If it is better quality that you are looking for, or a faster lens, once you have found the focal lengths that you favour you can then upgrade. The 100mm marco and the 24-70mm f4 L are both full frame compatible lenses, so if in time you decide to go full frame, you wont have to replace the lenses. One thing I would add is spend your money on good quality glass. If you are thinking of the 24-70 f4 L, also have a look at the 24-105 f4 L, it my work for you as well. Let us know how you get on. Gary
If you are genuinely interested in having a go at macro photography, Sigma make a Canon compatible 105mm f2.8 macro lens that has 1:1 magnification and Optical stabiliser. Despite it getting some very good reviews for both macro and portrait photos, the price seems to have crashed recently and you can get a new one for as little as £300 if you shop around (I paid a quite a bit more than that!!!) I cannot pretend to be anything other than a novice, and have only used mine whilst experimenting on spiders and bugs etc, around the house and yard so far, but it seems to take good quality images to me! The pictures seem to crop/blow up very well from an amateur perspective. It might not make the grade for a professional or serious hobbyist, but for someone looking to experiment to find their particular field of interest, it certainly won't break the bank.
Hello again, taking Gary's advice I played around with my kit lens and found the wife and I like the wider angle for travel. I've been going back and forth between 24 and 35 primes or getting a zoom like the 16-35 f/4. The 2 primes would cost about the same as the zoom but add an extra lens to my bag. I know having a crop sensor doesn't give me the full 16-35 but if I'm looking to get 24 and 35 primes wouldn't it be the same but with better "L" glass? I haven't seen any review saying image quality is better or worse with full or crop bodies and that's what im interested in finding out. IQ and good glass from the 24-50 focal range and carrying 1 lens instead of 3. Thanks for your time and any suggestions!
The 16-35 f4 will cover both the 24 and 35 prime focal length that you are looking at. Yes it is one lens verses two, but the primes are little faster, and the zoom is more convenient. The 16-35 is an "L" lens, and I am guessing that you are referring to the 24 non L, and the 35 non L. If you don't want to mess with changing lenses, I would seriously look at the 16-35. To be honest, it is a lens that I have considered getting for myself. Also, have a look at Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina 24-70 lenses if you think that 16mm is to wide. I maybe miss understanding what you are asking about image quality being better or worse with a full frame or a crop body. I really don't think that you will notice too much difference between the two formats. Gary
thanks for the response Gary, I've looked at Sigma and Tamron, Sigma scares me as it seems 75% of the reviews complain about focusing issues. Tamron doesn't seem to have as many negative focusing reviews but does have some. yes the primes I was looking at were the non L versions. Sorry for the confusion on my IQ concern. I'm just confused as many people say that the 16-35, for example, is a waste of money on a crop sensor. and while I understand you don't get the benefit of the ultra wide there has to be another reason why it's a waste and not recommended at all. being a novice I was thinking maybe a lens built for full frame may not translate well to crop as far as image quality is concerned. thanks again!
I wouldn't get overly worried about IQ, that is a rabbit hole you will notice people getting really heated about. At the end of the day, the higher grade lens like Canon L glass, or sigmas Art lens will tend to be sharper and built better than their consumer grade counter parts. I do think it is worth reading a few reviews on the lenses you are looking at to know what to expect. A few rules, the cheaper the lens the more likely it will be soft at either end or have more issues with things such as vignetting or chromatic aberrations. Primes with tend to have wider apertures and out perform their zoom counterparts. I would say if you want to keep the kit light the L zoom would surely be on par with a few non L primes. I went with a 17-40L 4.0 myself as i figured I did not need a really wide aperture via a prime for the subject matter I would shoot with that lens. I wouldn't worry much about the crop body and full frame, the quality is not going to downgrade on a crop sensor. If anything high end full frame lenses are designed to be used on very high megapixel bodies, some resolve better detail than others, but that isn't something to be concerned with unless you have a 50mp camera.
thanks for putting my mind at ease. I feared making a $1000 mistake. one last question, how do you feel about Canons refurbished lenses? Right now the 16-35 refurb is $200 cheaper than new. that's $200 towards a new lens thanks again!
I am more than happy to buy used lenses. I have never brought a refurbished lens, but I can't really see there being any problems. Gary
It is definitely personal preference. I have bought many used film lenses without issue. I have not bought any referb lenses, simply because I felt it was worth the bump in price to get something with no mileage and a 1 year warranty if there was an issue.
My suggestion is a simple one, take your camera and go into some camera shops. Ask to try the lenses you are interested in and request to try them on your camera, take a few test shot. Any good camera shop will let you do this, remember they are after a sale. Don't buy from the first shop you go in, have a look at others and compare prices. Now see who has the cheapest price. Most important of all, make sure you have a freshly charged battery and memory card, other wise it could be embarrassing. All the best with it.
