Looking for input on a lens

[PaulaSmith]

Hey Gang, I hope you are all having a good day.
Last Friday I went down to the local Camera store and was checking on a 17-55 lens. I'm not a professional photographer I am just enthralled with taking better pictures. Anyways, the salesman redirected me towards the 24-70 lens. (I like shooting small weddings) I decided not to buy any lens yet until I know the pros and cons of each lens. the 17-55 is $1166.00 and the 24-70 is $1309.00. Do you guys and gals have any thoughts on this? I posted in the wedding link because this is the link that I have received so much knowledge. thanks gang.

P.S- I am using a Canon 50D body.

[form]

Here's my feedback: Online is usually less expensive.

17-55: http://cameras.pricegrabber.com/slr-lenses/Canon-17-55mm-EF-IS-USM/m19432409.html/search=canon%2017-55mm/st=product/sv=title

24-70L: http://cameras.pricegrabber.com/slr-lenses/Canon-24-70mm-EF-28L-USM/m864627.html/search=canon%2024-70/st=product/sv=title


24-70L is geared towards full-frame cameras. 17-55 is a very good alternative and perhaps sharper optics for crop sensor cameras, plus it gives you IS, but you can't use it on a 5D/1D. However, I'm not a fan of the 17-55 range on a crop sensor camera because there's very limited DoF control, and I am big on subject isolation with narrow DoF.

The 17-55 is very popular for sharp optics and having a good focal range on a crop camera, plus having IS in the standard zoom range (nice feature). It probably focuses just as fast (no personal experience), and I'm sure it is easier to carry around. Big issues people have mentioned with it are average flare resistance and occasional IS failures.

The 24-70 is extremely big and heavy for what it is. My Tamron 28-75 is sharper wide open in the center but not in the corners, gathers 1/3 more light at one end (not sure if wide or long), and is much smaller and lighter. However, the AF system in the 24-70L is infinitely faster and more accurate, so the Tamron was retired for that reason. The 24-70L handles flare well and is very durable.

All things considered, I now use primes 95% of the time, so neither lens would be my choice.

[tim]

17-55 F2.8 IS (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/425812-USA/Canon_1242B002_EF_S_17_55mm_f_2_8_IS.html/BI/2312/KBID/3114) is my pick. I like it so much I have two of them.

[tombramwell]

I bought the 24-70 two weeks ago after debating the same issue, I was also looking for a lense for general wedding use as iv recently started to cover weddings. I went for the 24-70 because of the incredibly high build quality and performance, it's certainly not light but it's perfect for wedding use and I'd highly recormmend it, it's also a good buy as it'll work on full frame cameras and is therefore future proof if your concidering upgrading to the 5dmkII in the future :p