Help Choosing a trans standard Zoom for a EOS 7D

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I plan to buy an EOS 7D.<br>

I’m the owner of old Canon EOS5 EOS1N …. And also a certain number of lenses.<br>

I own the 50mm f:1.4 / 35mm f2.0 / 24mmf2.8 as well as an Old Tamron 19-35mm f:3.5-4.5 + extension rings + Flash. I’ve sigma zoom, but they are “dead”/seems not working on EOS D bodies.<br>

I’ve tested few days ago a 550D with a 18-135mm, and must say that I was quite impressed by the combo … when stepped down of at least 2 stops. Obviously my primes were just better, especially at apertures that were unavailable on the ZOOM.</p>

<p>I essentially shoot kids, landscapes and a bit of macro (flowers …).<br>

Here is my question … I’m potentially looking for a zoom (trans standard) in order to travel lighter than I do and be more flexible than my 3 lenses.<br>

I’ve identified the</p>

<ul>

<li>15-85mm f:3.5-5.6 – this one is nice in term of focal length but image quality for landscape/ travelling photo ?</li>

<li>17-50mm f:2.8 – focal range less interesting, but potentially better image quality – price … (a bit too much).</li>

<li>17-40mm f:4 – one of my favorite choice for a full frame … but a bit short for a trans standard on crop sensor.</li>

<li>17-50mm f:2.8 tamron – Cheap… same versatility as the Canon 17-50 – but potential issue with focus</li>

<li>17-55mm Sigma – Cheap same versatility as the Canon 17-50- but potential issue with focus.</li>

</ul>

<p>For the moment … I look at the 15-85mm but I would like to have your thoughts.<br>

Thanks for your help.<br>

Brgds Gilles.</p>

I will follow the replies. Where is the wide canon fast angle 16-35 2.8?

<p>The 15-85mm on the 7D is a wonderful lens with excellent image quality, very quiet IS, and a wonderful focal range (24-136mm in 35mm equivalence). As nice as the others are, this one gives you the greatest flexibility.</p>

<p>Do you need wide angle, large aperture, or would you be interested in more reach? How about the 24-105 f/4? It was the standard lens on my 7D until I got the Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 (BTW, you have the focal range of the Canon and Sigma lenses reversed).</p>

<p>I love the 15-85mm on my 7D, great for anything outdoor, slow for indoor. If you care about speed Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 is good value for money, Canon 17-55 f/2.8 is excellent but expensive, Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 and Tokina 16-50 f/2.8 are somewhat in the middle.<br>

I own a 24-105 f/4 too, but usually I want wider than 24mm on a 7D.<br>

All in all my first choice would be 15-85mm, as long as you consider the limitations of a slower lens.</p>

<p>hi Herma,<br /> The 16-35 looks a very nice lens, however, its price and weight are important, additionally it is less versatile than the 17-50 f:2.8 for instance.<br /> Thanks Andy, Jay,<br /> In fact for this zoom I'm more interested by wide angle than really "long reach".<br /> as I take a lot of landscapes, the equivalent of 24mm (15mm with this zoom) is something important for me.<br /> Obviously I would prefer a fast lens... but this does not exist... My ideal lens for a Cropped sensor would be 15-70 ou 80mm f: 2.8 with a reasonable price and weight.... but I dream...<br /> On a full frame, the 24mm was fine, and the 50mm long enough for many of my shots.<br /> In fact for long reach I plan to either by a 135mm or the famous 70-200f4 IS.<br /> My choice is still not 100% clear, but the 15-85 looks has many plus for my type of use. I read many reviews; my only concern is the use of this zoom in interior shooting kids.<br /> Will I be obliged to put a flash ... or use my primes? (I'm not 100% certain than even with a 17-50mm f2.8, this will help a lot...)<br /> Best regards Gilles.</p>

<p>thanks Massimo, You raised the point I was scared about. In clear I've to do a choice:<br>

wider Zoom (15-85) or<br>

quicker Zoom (17-50 f:2.8)</p>

<p>You certainly do have to choose. I would prioritize based on the frequency of subject.</p>

<p>For<strong> kids</strong>, the 17-50/55 /2.8 (Sig or Tamron, or the Canon) is going to be a vastly better choice. by 50mm, the 15-85 already has a max ape of f5, which (as I'm sure you are aware) is going to <em>severely</em> limit your DOF control. The slow speed virtually guarantees you'll want flash, as the IS won't help you much w/ fast moving subjects.<br>

For <strong>Landscapes</strong>, the 15-85 is a clearly better choice. NOT because of 'superior' IQ, or any reason other than focal length. For landscapes, an eff. 24-136mm is a far better choice than the 28-80, since all other differences are negligible.<br>

For <strong>macro</strong>, the max magnification of 1:4.8 (15-85) vs. 1:4.5 (best of 17-50/55s) is an inconsequential difference. If you do a lot of macro, I'd chose something completely different.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I use my 16-35 II as my standard lens on the 7D. I am not advocating this lens for you (unless you plan to go full frame) as it is expensive and has limited range. It is also a bit soft - especially at the 35mm end. I mainly shoot full frame and APS-H so for me the upgrade from the 17-40 F4 L to the 16-35 F2.8 II was worth the money. When I bought my 7D I got an 18-135 as it was only an extra $200. I never really got on with this lens and gave it to the kids. My issues with the 18-135 were mainly that it was slow (aperture not AF - the AF is not too bad on this lens) and lacked manual focus override.<br>

For these reasons I think it comes down to a choice between the 15-85 and one of the F2.8 17-55s (I would pay the extra for Canon) As I have not used either of these two lenses I cannot advise you further beyond saying that I would test both to see how much extra coverage the 15-85 offers at the wide end. The digital picture suggests that you only get an additional 6 degrees but have to live with more distortion and a much slower lens<br>

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Lens-Specifications.aspx?LensComp=398&Lens=675&Units=E</p>

<p>Coming from film, you might not realize that RAW conversion softwares, such as LR, DPP, DxO and others automatically correct for most physical errors of you zoom lenses, such as vignetting, CA, barrel, pin, etc. at every aperture and every focal length. When you discover this and start using it, your primes will not hold much, if any, advantage over your zooms.</p>

<p>The EF-S 15-85 f/3.5-5.6 is a great lens. Many reviewers (including <a href="http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-S-15-85mm-f-3.5-5.6-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx">this one</a>) are very favorably impressed with it. It has excellent image quality, and a great range for an APS-C sensor camera. The only downside is the variable maximum aperture. (I'd love to see Canon come out with a refreshed version with an f/4 constant aperture. It's be in my kit bag as soon as it came on the market, and would be a great "kit" lens for the 7D.).</p>

<p>I opted for the Canon 17-55 f/2.8 for low light capability with my 7D, and it came in handy at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm this past summer, when even the 7Ds high ISO wouldn't have helped me handhold with the 18-135 kit lens...</p>

<p>Hello Marcus, Philip,<br>

Here we are with the famous choice : 17-50 vs 15-85 <br>

Hi David , yes I've ssen (with one of my friend) what we can do with either DXO or DPP .... But unfortunatelly you cannot extend focal range or increase the aperture, so I still have to choose between range extension versus aperture.<br>

I will try to rent boths in order to decide if the range extension is really a pain for me - I know that it will be a difficult choice<br>

brgds Gilles</p>

 

<p>Gilles, the high-ISO performance of the 7D vs. film will change your photography life. Apertures of f/4 are more than adequate for most situations, including low light at ISO 6400, like below:</p>

<p><a title="Michelle checks for text message... by dcstep, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6582141799_dc9f11e821_b.jpg" alt="Michelle checks for text message..." width="800" height="533" /></a></p>

<p>I have both, the Canon 15-85, and Tamron 17-50. They both have their place. I use the 17-50 for professional work portraits, and weddings(especially in low-light churches, but also use primes). But, at a wedding reception I use the 15-85, since it gives more range for the dance floor and fast group shots, or close-up shots. In general, when with my family or when traveling I have the 15-85 mounted on the camera, most of the time; I just love the range. It has Image-Stabilization, so that helps in low-light too.</p>

<p>Since you really want it for "Travel/kids/landscape" purposes, I would get the 15-85 (I haven't done too much macro with this lens...so not sure about that). You already have a nice set of primes, if low-light or portrait situation arose. If you were doing more portrait work, I'd recommend the 17-50.</p>

<p>I do have flash mounted most of the time when shooting indoors (regardless of lens). You can get a used 430EX (Model I) for cheap, or 430EXII for around $280. </p>

<p>I fully agree with you Larry,<br>

a 15-85mm f:4 would be a perfect zoom for a 7D.<br>

Yes David, I try a 550D and a 50D and was alredy really impressed with ISO... I was used to have 100iso films, now we can push up to 800 (even more) with absolutely no risk (like on your image). <br>

<strong>I think that I absolutely need to do some testing in-house and play with ISO.</strong> and see what happens with high apertures and DOF<br>

so my first step is to get the 7D. <br>

I will comeback with my tests.<br>

Best regards Gilles.</p>

 

<p>I predict that you'll be very pleased with the high-ISO performance of the 7D. One more caution for a film-guy. You don't shoot digital RAW the same way that you shoot films like Ektachrome. Instead of trying to get the exposure perfect in-camera, you "expose to the right" (to the right of the histogram) only making sure that you don't blow out important highlights. Then in RAW conversion you bring levels down, but you'll have more shadow detail than if you exposed for the final result. This only works for RAW. It'll make in-camera jpegs look washed out. (Talk to your friend that you mentioned earlier about this).</p>

<p>Thanks David for the TIP.<br>

I will ask my friend a training ... on how to shoot in RAW.</p>

<p>The EF-S 15-85mm is made precisely to be a extremely handy 'walk-around' lens on any APS-C camera body. It is essentially a 'crop' equivalent of the 24-105mm/28-135mm on the 35mm-sensor cameras.</p>

<p>I have the older EF-S 17-85mm, and liked it despite some warts. If I were still using APS-C for non-telephoto work, I'd certainly upgrade it to the newer model.</p>

<p>I got the Sigma 17 – 50 on a t2i and like it. The lens did front focus slightly in tests when I first got it, though I didn't notice in normal shooting; I sent it into Sigma for adjustment and it now tests perfectly too. Honestly, I'm not sure it was even worth sending it in; with MF adjust, you should be fine.</p>

<p>I wanted to save the $500 over the Canon. </p>

<p>Gilles,</p>

<p>If you are also planning on using your new lens on your EOS 1N keep in mind that several of your choices will not fit. Also, since you are just coming from full frame, if you find yourself wanting to get back to full frame (5D, etc) then most of your choices will not fit. The same goes for any scenario where you plan to rent or borrow a 5D - most won't fit.</p>

<p>Perhaps this is a nudge towards the Canon 17-40 or ideally the Canon 16-35 . I'm usually one of the first ones here to recommend the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8. But that is usually for people just starting out with their first DSLR (where 95% of the time it's a crop body). In your case however, with such recent full frame experience and your preference to work around 24mm, I would think the Canon 16-35 f2.8 would be a nicer fit for you on your 7D. The 7D is a heavier camera which will help with balance - but the combo will never feel any lighter when your arms start getting tired :) The filters will just make this expense even more expensive. Yet it does give you a great full frame lens should you start missing the true 35mm format.</p>

<p>There's also the more affordable Tokina 16-28 f/2.8 but that may not have enough reach on the long end. This lens (like the Canon 16-35) should be quite nice on a crop sensor. But you may have to return a few to get one you like.</p>

<p>Otherwise, I'd recommend one of the crop 17-50 which are f2.8. It won't cost you that much (depending on which one you get) to find out if you can make due 17mm vs 15mm.</p>

<p>All,<br>

I've received my EOS7D and finally I also ordered the 15-85mm.<br>

I need to do some more testing with this zoom - i did not test that much the zoom as from now.<br>

all i can say is that it is "quick/silent" to focus. regarding image quality , I also need to see the results either "direct output from the 7D" or " output from DDP using RAW corrections.."<br>

it is clear that the zoom is dark, but that is not a real issue from what i've seen. for me as for now the main limitation comes from the aperture on the 70-85mm range.<br>

On the other hand I've tested the 7D with my primes and my first impression is really that the 7D + 50mm f:1.4 is really incredible.<br>

I've also tested the 7D with my old 540EZ flash, and this works perfectly (in full manual mode obviously!)<br>

regarding macro, I will do my macro with the 50mm f:1.4 + extension rings. This works quite well.<br>

Will get back to you in few weeks ... If I change my mind on this zoom.</p>

<p>Thanks you for your help and support.</p>

<p>note:<br>

Brad, I do not plan to use anymore my film camera.... so the FF Lenses are not mandatory.<br>

Tom, I'have had bad experience with sigma lenses/Zooms (28-70 f2.8 and 70-300 .... ), So I do not want to go this way. additionnaly I understood that Canon did not give the focusing algorithm to 3rd party vendors such as Sigma, and this seems to be an issue in some specific cases.</p>