Lens Rental

I am about to go over to Mexico for a few days and would like to rent a lens,

but am having difficulty deciding if i should rent a 24-70mmL lens ($25/day), a

28-70mmL ($22.50/day), or a 70-200mm L lens ($25.00/day). I currently have the

EFS 17-85mm USM IS, and an EF 50mm.

I'm guessing I will mostly be shooting landscape but my hesitation in picking

the 70-200L is that if I run into a "wide angle" shot, the image won't be as

nice as with the L lens.

Anyone have any recommendations? Is it worth the extra few $$'s to get the 24-70?

Well, since you are using a crop sensor and the 17-85mm, it makes no sense to rent a sensor

that only performs it's wide angle functions on a full frame/film body. Go for the 70-200.

Cheers,

Alex I.

Hi Ray,

I agree, you'd be better off renting a lens that doesn't duplicate focal lengths you already have on hand.

You weren't specific which 70-200: the f2.8 is a big lens for travel, the f4 might be a little more convenient, at the cost of speed of course. The f2.8 also is more intimidating to anyone it's pointed at, makes "candids" more difficult. (Also screams "expensive lens and camera", so be a little careful.)

That leaves a question if a telephoto will fit into your shooting style.

Since you have an EF-S lens in your kit I have to assume you are using a 1.6X D-SLR. On that your widest lens at 17mm isn't terribly wide, approx. same as a 28mm on full frame. For landscapes, is this wide enough for you? A 10-22mm might be more useful to some landscape shooters.

Also, the 70-200 will "act like" a 112-320mm, so an image stabilized version would be very handy to have if you aren't lugging around a tripod and/or monopod.

If a telephoto is what you want, there are alternatives to a zoom. You might want to consider renting a 100/2, 135/2 or even a 100/2.8 macro. Any gives you a bit more reach and doesn't duplicate your existing focal lengths, are top quality lenses, and can save a little space and weight compared to a 70-200/2.8 especially. The macro lens could also serve double duty, if close-ups and macro are something that interests you. On the other hand, you have 85mm already and 100mm isn't a very big difference, the 135mm would give you more options (acting like 200mm+ on your camera).

In the end, it really all comes down to what you feel you will get the most use out of, in light of what you plan to photograph. I know I've thrown some additional options at you, still hope it helps with your decisions.

Cheers!