What lens for variety of people shots

[tessa_garland]

<p>Hi<br>

I wonder if you could help. I have a Canon 5D mark II body and have a number of prime lenses plus a Canon zoom 70 - 200mm EF 1.4 IS USM. My problem is that I find myself often shooting in crowded situations where it is hard to change my lens and often no time to do this. So I need an everyday lens to photograph people anything from 4ft - 60ft away from me in both inside and outdoor conditions. <br>

I have been looking at these lenses so far but wonder if anyone has any advice<br>

<a title="Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens 24-70 f2.8 MK 2" href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251583476931?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT">Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens 24-70 f2.8 MK 2</a><br>

<a title="Tamron 28-75 mm f/2.8 Lens for Canon *Mint Condition*" href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121372314120?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT">Tamron 28-75 mm f/2.8 Lens for Canon </a><br>

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens F4L</p>

<p>My price range is £300- £500. I am happy to buy second hand or reconditioned lens.<br>

Thank you<br>

Tessa</p>

<p> </p>

[hjoseph7]

<p>Not sure about the Mk2 version but the 24-70mm Mk1 version is incredibly sharp. You can make out the features of people from 100 feet away easy. </p>

[jamie_robertson2]

<p>4ft to 60ft? Sounds like you need the 28-300mm L - a heavy and expensive lens.</p>

<p>The 24-70mm f/2.8L II is way out of your price range.</p>

<p>Out of the lenses you mentioned I would go for the 24-105mm, it's a good quality lens and has a good range of focal lengths. </p>

<p>For £300-£500 you could just buy another DSLR and put one of your current lenses on it. That way you'll have one camera with a wide lens and the other with your 70-200mm lens all at the ready.</p>

<p>Another option would be to go for a lens like the Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5 - f/6.3. It will cover all your focal lengths. Not the sharpest or fastest lens but it's cheap and very convenient. </p>

 

[pmind]

<p>With the 5D, I use the 24-105mm a lot under the conditions you described. That would be my vote. You should be able to get away with some cropping for those 60 foot shots.</p>

[Marcus Ian]

<p>Jamie is absolutely right, for such a wide range, a 'superzoom' is probably going to be your best bet - especially with that budget. </p>

<p>If you decide on this, There are a couple of choices, the Canon EF 28-200/3.5-5.6 USM is well within your budget, but you'll probably only be able to find one used. The IQ is somewhat less than ideal, but the FL range is quite nice. Alternatively there is the Tamron 28-300 (two versions).You might want to spring for the new version of the Tamron 28-300, a little more expensive, but w/ a max aperture of f6.3 at the long end, the VC comes in handy.</p>

<p> </p>

[de_isaacs]

<p>On my 5DMk II and 7D, I use both the Canon EF-28-135 IS Zoom, and I have (from my film days - God rest my Elan-IIE) I own and use a Sigma 18-125mm F2.8 (I think) lens.<br>

There are lots of options for your dilemma - but I think that the items suggested by myself and others will see you through. Happy shooting!<br>

Derek</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Another vote for the 24-105mm IS. It's fast enough if you don't get fanatic about only using low ISOs. It also has a so-called "macro" ability (really just close focus) that makes it very good for portrait work.<br /> It nicely covers the traditional "portrait" lens focal lengths from the old "prime" days on a 35mm sensor.</p>

<p>It's also fairly compact and light weight.</p>

[w_t1]

<p>Assuming you mean crowd as in wedding or party where you can move around a bit, as opposed to a train station stampede...the lowly 50mm 1.x seems to fit the bill. I have some of the fancy zooms, but the 50 never disappoints. You probably already have though, since you said you have a number of primes. I do like the 2nd body 1.6x comment.</p>

[alan_bryant1]

<p>I use the 24-105 a lot in events with lots of people around, I find it excellent for that. That would be my choice, though at 60 feet it's going to be a pretty broad view. But really, nothing is going to get tight head shots from that distance.</p>

<p>If you had a second camera body that had a crop sensor, you could put the 70-200 on it and have a pretty respectable range with the both of them. A used or refurbished Rebel, 40D or 50D would be fairly inexpensive. The 50D probably has a control layout very similar to the 5D2, which is handy when you're switching between two cameras.</p>

[fotonuntabrasov]

<p>Hi. I use Canon 35mm f2 IS - super sharp lens, and the build quality is very good!<br>

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[Brad_]

If you need a zoom, it's tough to beat the versatility of the 24-105 f/4 zoom. IS is icing on the cake. And it's

half the price of the 24-70 f/2.8 II.

[William Michael]

<p>1. What type of <strong><em>"crowded situations"</em></strong>, specifically, including the typical lighting conditions?<br>

2. With Flash or No Flash?<br>

3. How tight do you need to frame the Subjects?</p>

<p>*</p>

<p>As a <em>general comment,</em> I would cast another vote for the 24 to 105 F/4 L IS USM.<br>

A Subject at 60ft can be cropped a fair bit from a 5D MkII.<br>

These first two below - the man is just beyond 60ft, the woman is a at about 30ft and these were cropped from a 5D (you'll do better on the crop from the MkII Camera):<br>

<a href="/photo/17106553">http://www.photo.net/photo/17106553</a><br>

<a href="/photo/17397937">http://www.photo.net/photo/17397937</a></p>

<p>For reference this is (almost the full frame of the sensor) shot at 105mm and SD at 60ft:<br>

<a href="/photo/16552573">http://www.photo.net/photo/16552573</a></p>

<p>There are a range of other uses for this lens on a 5D, here:<br>

<a href="/photodb/folder?folder_id=1051323">http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=1051323</a></p>

<p>WW</p>