L Lenses

[TechKnowBabble]

Forgive my stupidity, but I keep seeing them referred to. What is a L lens and how does it different from other lenses?

Thanks!

Nikki

[Scottes]

L Lenses are Canon's "Luxury" line of lenses. Great quality of glass and build. Least distortion and chromatic aberations, etc.

And you pay for it. Dearly. :)

[TechKnowBabble]

L Lenses are Canon's "Luxury" line of lenses. Great quality of glass and build. Least distortion and chromatic aberations, etc.

And you pay for it. Dearly. :)


Ahhhhhh.....so I shall have to sacrifice my first born to get one? LOL Thanks for the answer!

Nikki

[petiot]

:D candid question!! i love it. i

Yes, L lens are canon top of the range lens. They have a red circle around the lense barrel, and for telephotos they are usually white. They are supposed to be optically better ... sorry they are optically better (i am going to trigger a "thread storm" if i say they are not). One thing is sure they are much bigger than normal lenses, much heavier and more expensive, and Much more expensive and Much more expensive

If you keep reading threads you ll soon know everything on L lenses because there are so many threads about L lens. Maybe one day you will have one ... and i wish one day i will have one too!!!

Dan

[Scottes]

Maybe one day you will have one ... and i wish one day i will have one too!!!

Don't wish too hard - I have 3 L lenses, and now I'm out of children. :lol:

[Lamplight]

Argh! Don't talk about the L or I'm going to want one! And most of them cost more than my camera! :lol: :cry:

[TechKnowBabble]

Argh! Don't talk about the L or I'm going to want one! And most of them cost more than my camera! :lol: :cry:

The cheapest one I've found on B&H is 579.95. *sigh* That won't be for a while. :-( Unless someone decides to give me a boatload of money :-)

Nikki

[Scottes]

That would be the 70-200 f4 L. This and the 17-40 L are considered absolute bargains considering how good they are.

[petiot]

you see Nikki!!! Say the L word and all L junkies are screaming for money!!! :wink:

it is true that the 70-200 and 17-40 F4 are top for the price and i have been considering both of them for a long time. They are L but they are not perfect: the 17-40 is too short i think to really be a flexible lens (and what if in 2 years there is a full frame 10D).

As for the 70-400 it looks really good, but it is big, and i wonder how usable a telephot at f4 is.

and even if i have both (damn i d like to have them both) there is a big gap in between 40 and 70 !!

conclusion: L is not perfect ... but i stil want L

[petiot]

Maybe one day you will have one ... and i wish one day i will have one too!!!

Don't wish too hard - I have 3 L lenses, and now I'm out of children. :lol:

by the way scottes, you sold your children to buy L lens!!!! ???? :shock:

i am going to make some!

[Ferdinand]

You guys are lucky you have kids to give away. I have to pay thru my nose for my first L the 70-200 2.8L IS :(

Bleeding won't stop until 2 paycheck from this one and then I am back on another, its addictive........ Now I Just need to get the 16-35 and 24-70 to complete my collection *fingers X* Maybe then I will stop getting L lens forever!

Regards,
Ferdinand

[CoolToolGuy]

One of the things about 'L' lenses is that they are just like a quote from a potato chip advertisement from several years back - "Bet you can't eat just one." Once you get bit its like an addiction.

An addiction for good things.

But then, I'm strong, I can stop anytime I want.

Right after I get my next one.

Truly.

I promise. :wink:

Have Fun
Rick 8)

[karusel]

The L lens is the peak of rasistic design. Does 'white power' mean anything to ya? What color are the vast majority of superior lens? What color are the inferior lens? I rest my case.

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

[ssim]

and even if i have both (damn i d like to have them both) there is a big gap in between 40 and 70 !! L

Don't forget the 24-70 f/2.8 L. I have this and it is probably my most used lens in my bag

[IanD]

I have run out of children, first born grandsons and the wife refuses to get a third job. There is only one more "L" to add to ther collection and I shall rest easy for a while. Now where is the photo of that 300F4 prime :?: :?:

[CyberDyneSystems]

"Bet you can't eat just one" is right,. but it is in fact even more insidious than that...

There are 5 stages;

Stage One, Pre-meditation:
The first time you consider spending over $1,000.00 on a lens, you literally piss yourself working up the courage,. you lose sleep,. you pace a lot, mumble to yourself in public,. sweat a lot,. daydream in work,. hyperventilate,.. perhaps even heart palpitations. All trying to work out this ridiculous idea of spending sooo much on something so small,. and unnecasary,. (oh sure you'll justify it! ) and so easily damaged, stolen etc...

The Next stage is
Stage Two, Denial
You make the commitment somewhere deep in the mind,. so deep it isn't even conscious yet,. so deep it's in your motor cortex,. a virtual reflex action like breathing.. Conciosly you may not even realize your going to do it,. but your fate is sealed. If Questioned on the possibilty by a family member or freind who's opinion you admire,. you will deny it. "No,. I've thought about it but it's too much."

HA,... because at the same time your are now working out complex equations in your head..

You are now at
Stage Three, Acceptance:
This phase is all about the math, You budget your Macaroni and Cheese purchases,. you cancel your auto insurance.. to the outside observer,. it may look a lot like phase one,. pacing, day dreaming,. cold sweats,.. the difference is what is on your mind. No longer are you questioning metaphysical and emotional issues... now you are past that and down to pure numbers... Once the numbers balance... (however delicate that balance may be)...

You have acheived;

Stage 4, Nirvana:

This is the point at which you are mounting the lens and getting the results. You may thinkI missed a stage,. the actual purchase,. but in fact you must remeber the deicison was made,. the die cast way back in Phase 2,.. (arguably as early as the latter half of stage 1) so the actual handing over of the cash (or credit) is in fact insignificant,. and just part og the Nirvana... this can be called "The Joy Of the Big Purchase".. a small subchapter in the Stage of "Nirvana"

So what's Stage Five???

At the beginning iof this diatribe I indicated that the process is in fact "insidious".... it is at Stage Five Where the true nature of the "L"coholic is revealed.

Stage Five, Complacentcy

This is where it all falls to peices..
Remember how difficult that first decision was,. all the steps,. the time, the calculating,. the plotting,. the upset stomache, the discussions with Allah?

It would be a difficult task to go through again? Wouldn't it?

Here is the final Evil of the whole twisted obsession...

You won't!!!!! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

Having made the decision once,. it suddenly becomes "EASY" :twisted:
The next time you won't think twice about dropping a bucket load of cash on a nice peice of glass,. you love your lenses,. you NEED you lenses.. and you start buying them like candy! :shock:

So take this as a warning!!!

Once you start,. you can not turn back!
All that lies at the end of this journey is bankruptcy!

[Tom W]

I have run out of children, first born grandsons and the wife refuses to get a third job. There is only one more "L" to add to ther collection and I shall rest easy for a while. Now where is the photo of that 300F4 prime :?: :?:

There's a used one without IS at KEH, but I don't think it has the tripod mount (or is that Gitzo mount?).

[hogzilla]

Yes.....I have read all of your steps and now i am ready.... I feel a L glass in my near future.....

[Scottes]

Yes.....I have read all of your steps and now i am ready.... I feel a L glass in my near future.....

LOOK OUT, Hogzilla!

You're skipping right over Step 2 and going directly to Step 3.5 - The dreaded
Pre-Acceptance Of Nirvana!

DON'T DO IT!

The fact is, the next step after Step 3.5 is Step 6 - Blissful Destitution.


I can see your future:
http://www.itsanadventure.com/postimages/kraft.jpg
Get used to it.

[CoolToolGuy]

Yes.....I have read all of your steps and now i am ready.... I feel a L glass in my near future.....

I am looking into the crystaL baLL (24-70 f2.8 L), and I see your future - yes you will be getting a new lens, as well as... wait, I can almost see it - but if I had the other crystaL baLL (100-400 IS L) I could see your future a little better. Hello, B&H, send me a....

Whew! I'm back now. What a dream :!: :roll:

Have Fun
Rick 8)

[flyfishnj]

CDS -

Very funny :lol: :lol: :lol: (and true)

[IndyJeff]

Maybe one day you will have one ... and i wish one day i will have one too!!!

Don't wish too hard - I have 3 L lenses, and now I'm out of children. :lol:


Wonder how my wife feels about one more pregnancy?

[kb244]

Man those 2.8 aperture L lens are bloody expensive.

There is this one 85mm L ( no zoom, its a prime ), that has max aperture of f/1.8 and USM, and it cost bout 1500$

The two most expensive ones i've seen were

Canon EF 400mm F2.8L IS USM for 6500$
and
Canon EF 600mm F4.0L IS USM for 7000$

IS attributing to most of the cost on topof the fact its an L lens.

anyone feel like lending me 6500$?

[Lamplight]

There are 5 stages;

Sooo....it's much like a drug addiction, yet even more expensive?!?!

Ok, I'm in. :D

Hey, $579 isn't that much to start, is it? Is it? :lol:

[Ferdinand]

Well, once you do a bit more research into L lenses, and if you don't have any yet, you might want to start right, and you will probably want to consider the FAST zoom lenses like the 16-35 f/2.8, 24-70 f/2.8, 70-200 f/2.8 IS then it all starts to add up :D

Regards,
Ferdinand

[LazyPhotographer]

" Once you start,. you can not turn back!
All that lies at the end of this journey is bankruptcy!

Your first purchase is the beginning of the end. After you have that lovely L lens in your hands... no ordinary tripod will ever do, a generic camera backpack or case is out of the question, and on and on until you spend more on accessories and filters than the lens cost.

You may even get to the point where to drive the lens around in a baby car-seat, because you couldn't bear anything to happen to it. You'll become pitiful and addicted, just like the rest of us. :wink:

[Ferdinand]

mmmm I am still on generic backpack from the flea market and lots of bubble wraps stuffed into it :D

Regards,
Ferdinand

[CyberDyneSystems]

Yes.....I have read all of your steps and now i am ready.... I feel a L glass in my near future.....

Yes Grasshopper,. I can see that you are ready,. now snatch the last quarter you'll ever hold from my hand... you'll need it to by food.

[CyberDyneSystems]

" Once you start,. you can not turn back!
All that lies at the end of this journey is bankruptcy!

Your first purchase is the beginning of the end. After you have that lovely L lens in your hands... no ordinary tripod will ever do, a generic camera backpack or case is out of the question, and on and on until you spend more on accessories and filters than the lens cost.

You may even get to the point where to drive the lens around in a baby car-seat, because you couldn't bear anything to happen to it. You'll become pitiful and addicted, just like the rest of us. :wink:

Yes, this is what I mean.. It is a hopeless condition.

Except it and move on...


...to your next lens purchase.

[randyk]

you see Nikki!!! Say the L word and all L junkies are screaming for money!!! :wink:

it is true that the 70-200 and 17-40 F4 are top for the price and i have been considering both of them for a long time. They are L but they are not perfect: the 17-40 is too short i think to really be a flexible lens (and what if in 2 years there is a full frame 10D).

As for the 70-400 it looks really good, but it is big, and i wonder how usable a telephot at f4 is.

and even if i have both (damn i d like to have them both) there is a big gap in between 40 and 70 !!

conclusion: L is not perfect ... but i stil want L

Believe me the 70-200 f4 is very usable and its really not that big. These shots were all taken with that lens:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=383777

And you fill that hole between the 17-40 and the 70-200 with a prime.

[Ferdinand]

I just did some reading tonight and since I already got my 70-200 f/2.8 for action/sports.

I think I am going to go for the 17-40mm f/4 next, dont need the f/2.8 since it will mostly be landscape where a tripod is a must and you need to stop it down to f/8 f/11 anyways, and also potrait which unless if your subject is jittering around because they have too much coffee, you really don't need the f/2.8 IMO :) And for everything else, if its too dark for f/4 you probably want to use a flash anyways otherwise you are stuck with a pretty narrow DOF.

Regards,
Ferdinand.

[TechKnowBabble]

All I can think of is ordering from B&H. I'm getting the shakes....bad part is I can't afford it til at LEAST December. Just dropped a bunch of $$$ on my 300D, lenses, accessories and have a cruise coming up in December. Gotta have SOME money for it hehehehhehee

Nikki

PS - You guys are a scream! I love this place

[IanD]

All I can think of is ordering from B&H. I'm getting the shakes....bad part is I can't afford it til at LEAST December. Just dropped a bunch of $$$ on my 300D, lenses, accessories and have a cruise coming up in December. Gotta have SOME money for it hehehehhehee

Nikki

PS - You guys are a scream! I love this place
Nikki,
You would be suprised how much fun you can have in a row boat on a small pond. Pack a picnic lunch, a sleeping bag and you have an really, really cheap cruise. Even better if there is a light wind to blow you around, save on rowing. Now with all the money you have saved by not taking that fancy schmanzy cruise, you can call B&H and go wild :lol: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:

[TechKnowBabble]

Nikki,
You would be suprised how much fun you can have in a row boat on a small pond. Pack a picnic lunch, a sleeping bag and you have an really, really cheap cruise. Even better if there is a light wind to blow you around, save on rowing. Now with all the money you have saved by not taking that fancy schmanzy cruise, you can call B&H and go wild :lol: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:

Hehehehheee...thanks you are very inventive. Something tells me I can't get my boyfriend to give up our western Caribbean cruise to lay in a rowboat for 7 nights hehehehehhee

Nikki

[Cadwell]

Hehehehheee...thanks you are very inventive. Something tells me I can't get my boyfriend to give up our western Caribbean cruise to lay in a rowboat for 7 nights hehehehehhee

Nikki

Depends what you get up to in the rowboat... if you catch my drift ;)

"L" fever can be a terrible thing :cry:

[Cadwell]

I just did some reading tonight and since I already got my 70-200 f/2.8 for action/sports.

I think I am going to go for the 17-40mm f/4 next

The 17-40mm f/4.0L is a nice toy.

[TechKnowBabble]

Hehehehheee...thanks you are very inventive. Something tells me I can't get my boyfriend to give up our western Caribbean cruise to lay in a rowboat for 7 nights hehehehehhee

Nikki

Depends what you get up to in the rowboat... if you catch my drift ;)

"L" fever can be a terrible thing :cry:

:lol: but sheesh I would already have my hands full with the camera :twisted:

Nikki

[BearSummer]

[quote="kb244"]Man those 2.8 aperture L lens are bloody expensive.

There is this one 85mm L ( no zoom, its a prime ), that has max aperture of f/1.8 and USM, and it cost bout 1500$

The two most expensive ones i've seen were

Canon EF 400mm F2.8L IS USM for 6500$
and
Canon EF 600mm F4.0L IS USM for 7000$
[quote]

LOL, is that all, you should try harder.....
The 85mm L is 1.2 not 1.8, say it slowly, think about it, one point two, mmmm, downside is that its a heavy SOAB

And the one that you missed was the 1200mm f5.6L USM, say its name with pride. weight is 16.5Kg... thats 36lbs.... near focus is 46 feet. You pay half up front, and they build it for you, you pay the rest when its complete. Now thats what I call a lens, last time i checked (just for fun mind you ) the "up front" was $30k, do you feel lucky punk, want to do some serious workout, got 60K??? thats only 3 kidneys if you know the wrong type of people, you, your wife, and one of the kids... hmmmm Hanibal the photogropher.

Trouble with gLass is that by the time you buy it your technique is usually good enough so that you notice the difference. Which means that you take care and improve your technique more, and boy does that pay dividends. But once you have one, the only way to go back is when they reposses everything and you cant even afford to buy a P&S. Thats when the fever dreams come, white lenses, red lines, large front optics, the heft...crack, pah, L's are worse.

Best regards

BearSummer

[Whaler]

I find it amusing the if you take the number "7" as in 7 night cruise and turn it upside down it now in the shape of :lol: an "L"

[sparktography]

I decided that I should go see a Gypsy Fortuneteller to see if an L lens was in my future... Unfortunatly she took one look at me and said "yes... now go away beacuse I know you won't be able to afford me"...

2 more weeks till I get my 17-40L... <drool> first L lens... :)

[TechKnowBabble]

I find it amusing the if you take the number "7" as in 7 night cruise and turn it upside down it now in the shape of :lol: an "L"

You guys are just too funny. That is very amusing. Maybe I should go out pan-handling...

Poor Photographer....will work for L lenses

:P

Nikki

[petiot]

thanks Randyk. Your shots are brillant, now you made me think again. As for the prime, i already ordered it (50 f1.4). Thanks for your suggestion.

Dan

[Mikesht]

you see Nikki!!! Say the L word and all L junkies are screaming for money!!! :wink:

it is true that the 70-200 and 17-40 F4 are top for the price and i have been considering both of them for a long time. They are L but they are not perfect: the 17-40 is too short i think to really be a flexible lens (and what if in 2 years there is a full frame 10D).

As for the 70-400 it looks really good, but it is big, and i wonder how usable a telephot at f4 is.

and even if i have both (damn i d like to have them both) there is a big gap in between 40 and 70 !!

conclusion: L is not perfect ... but i stil want L


You can fill that gap with fixed 50mm and you are all set!

[IanD]

Nikki,
You would be suprised how much fun you can have in a row boat on a small pond. Pack a picnic lunch, a sleeping bag and you have an really, really cheap cruise. Even better if there is a light wind to blow you around, save on rowing. Now with all the money you have saved by not taking that fancy schmanzy cruise, you can call B&H and go wild :lol: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:

Hehehehheee...thanks you are very inventive. Something tells me I can't get my boyfriend to give up our western Caribbean cruise to lay in a rowboat for 7 nights hehehehehhee

Nikki
Youy have to find a new boyfriend who is into MKII's and "L" glass. He will happily spend a month in a row boat for a new lens :lol: :lol: :lol:

[kb244]

How much is that 50mm 1.4 lens anyways, Being very fast, I could probally attach a closeup filter and get some nice insect shots, even tho it would not be 1:1, but would not have a problem at all with light.

[Scottes]

$295 & 6.66:1

Not so great for bugs.

[merlyn9]

Nikki,
You would be suprised how much fun you can have in a row boat on a small pond. Pack a picnic lunch, a sleeping bag and you have an really, really cheap cruise. Even better if there is a light wind to blow you around, save on rowing. Now with all the money you have saved by not taking that fancy schmanzy cruise, you can call B&H and go wild :lol: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:

Hehehehheee...thanks you are very inventive. Something tells me I can't get my boyfriend to give up our western Caribbean cruise to lay in a rowboat for 7 nights hehehehehhee

Nikki
Youy have to find a new boyfriend who is into MKII's and "L" glass. He will happily spend a month in a row boat for a new lens :lol: :lol: :lol:

I have happily given up this year's vacation to Florida with the wife, kid's, and mother inlaw... for my first "L" ...now I am looking for where they can go next year without me?

As long as work keeps allowing me out to other countries on projects... and I get to pick how I get home... (this August I go to the UK... we will visit Scotland (again) and Germany on the route back home!)
...if only I could get a project in Alaska!

[Scottes]

...if only I could get a project in Alaska!

It never hit me until now... Given the northern latitude and the fact that the sun doesn't fully rise in the winter... Wouldn't you have "The Golden Light" for weeks rather than an hour or two?

[chris.bailey]

Having succumbed twice to ordering 'L's under the influence of alcohol I have turned TT. Friday nights were beginning to follow a trend.

A few beers on the way home with the work crew

A couple of bottles of wine with the wife.

She falls asleep in front of the TV.

Logon to the Internet, check up on Warehouse express and get an 'L"

Wake up on Saturday to a ParcelForce delivery. Eh, who ordered that?

Feel guilt and remorse a week later when the Visa bill arrives. Promptly hide it from wife.

As the saying goes. "My name is Chris and I am an Laholic".

Managed to stop with a 100-400 and 17-40 so the damage could have been worse but am out tomorrow so see a 1.4TC on its way Saturday or a 70-200 if I get really off my face:wink:

[John_T]

I've heard the latest Canon marketing schemes have been worked out by the Cartel in Columbia, getting the L addiction going at the budding of photomania.

They are now giving away cameras with little L's.

The scheme is called "Pro 1".