New member, lots of Q's

Hey guys,

First post after reading the site for some time and have a few questions about gear and just looking for some advice in general.
In the past I was just a point and shoot type having a couple of panasonic cameras (FZ18 and GF2) as well as a Nikon D40 I was given to play around on.

Recently I've decided to get into photography a bit more and have bought a Canon 7D with battery grip, Canon 50mm F1.8, Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 and the mighty Canon 70-200mm F2.8L IS II (love this lense )

At the moment I'm looking for a lense(s) to fill the gap between 16mm and 70mm.
Choices so far are the EFS 17-55 f2.8 IS or 24-105 F4L or 16-35f2.8L or 24-70f2.8L. I can't decide what to go for but have thought maybe the 17-55 & 24-105 or the 16-35 &24-70 as I may look at getting a 5D II later on. Suggestions on other leneses or which to get would be appreciated

Another thing I'm looking at getting shortly are some remote triggers for some speedlites and really like the sound of the pocket wizards. I've read about alot of people having issues about them and would really like to hear from those who have had experience with them and whether or not they worked as advertised for you?

As for what I'd like to shoot its pretty open

24-105. You'll never take it off.

Aus.Morgo wrote in post #14263671
Hey guys,

First post after reading the site for some time and have a few questions about gear and just looking for some advice in general.
In the past I was just a point and shoot type having a couple of panasonic cameras (FZ18 and GF2) as well as a Nikon D40 I was given to play around on.

Recently I've decided to get into photography a bit more and have bought a Canon 7D with battery grip, Canon 50mm F1.8, Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 and the mighty Canon 70-200mm F2.8L IS II (love this lense )

At the moment I'm looking for a lense(s) to fill the gap between 16mm and 70mm.
Choices so far are the EFS 17-55 f2.8 IS or 24-105 F4L or 16-35f2.8L or 24-70f2.8L. I can't decide what to go for but have thought maybe the 17-55 & 24-105 or the 16-35 &24-70 as I may look at getting a 5D II later on. Suggestions on other leneses or which to get would be appreciated

Another thing I'm looking at getting shortly are some remote triggers for some speedlites and really like the sound of the pocket wizards. I've read about alot of people having issues about them and would really like to hear from those who have had experience with them and whether or not they worked as advertised for you?

As for what I'd like to shoot its pretty open

If you're thinking of going FF, stick with the EF glass. To cover the 16mm to 70mm range, I would pick the 16-35 & 24-70. If you do video, pick up the 24-105 for IS. If you want extremely thin depth of field focus, you may want to look at some prime lenses. If you are into macro photography, then take a look at Canon's macro lens offerings.

I have read of issues with the PocketWizard TT5 frying a couple 580ex II's. Haven't read of any other issues.

You can take a look at Phottix Odin for a radio flash solution.

Canon also recently released a new speedlite and a commander that can communicate with radio transmissions (2.4 GHz) rather than the older the line of site IR the 580ex II and others use. Here's a linkif you want to read up.

VCY wrote in post #14263731
If you're thinking of going FF, stick with the EF glass.

Conversely, if you decide you're not going fullframe, the EF-S 17-55mm should serve you very well.

If I did studio portrait work, I would highly consider the 24-70. For all other portrait work and general shooting, the 24-105 would be my choice.

Echo Johnson wrote in post #14263767
Conversely, if you decide you're not going fullframe, the EF-S 17-55mm should serve you very well.

Even if you are going FF at some point in the future (unless it is very soon), I would still get the 17-55 f2.8. As someone earlier said about the 24-105, I never take it off my 7D (well rarely).

When you go FF you can always re-sell the 17-55 and you won't take much of a loss. You will totally love this lens.

Thanks for the input everyone, I was leaning towards the 17-55 and 24-105 as having IS would be an advantage, plus the savings in price as well. The 16-35 and 24-70 might have to wait untill I get a FF.

I have heard of dust issues with the 17-55 and that using a filter solves this, anyone know more about that?

What would be one good prime for the 7D? I'm thinking something around 30mm?

First off, welcome to the forums. You will find a wealth of knowledge here.

As was mentioned, if you're not planning on going FF w/in the next 6 months, the 17-55 f/2.8 is a great choice. Given that you've already got a 70-200 f/2.8 IS II, the 24-105 is going to be a bit redundant, not to mention a stop slower. I honestly don't have a problem w/ the gap between 55 and 70.

As far as a good prime, it depends on what you want to shoot, and what range you need. 85 f/1.8 is a great lens for the price. So is the 50 f/1.4. The 28 f/1.8 is ~$500, if you need something wider. The 35L is ~$1400 and the 24L is ~$1600. Both are f/1.4. It really comes down to what you're going to shoot.

Sigma 30 1.4 is good prime for 7d.

Aus.Morgo wrote in post #14263993
I have heard of dust issues with the 17-55 and that using a filter solves this, anyone know more about that?

I own one and with a UV filter it does not prevent dust from getting underneath the front element. However, it also does not interfere with the awesome IQ from this lens. It's is a really awesome lens for croppers.

If you do decide to go with the 24-70 or 24-105 now, then you might have to consider carrying the 11-16 with you at the same time. Depends on your type of photography of course.

Here's an article about dust from the folks at Lensrentals:
http://www.lensrentals​.com …e-apocalypse-of-lens-dust

Aus.Morgo wrote in post #14263993
Thanks for the input everyone, I was leaning towards the 17-55 and 24-105 as having IS would be an advantage, plus the savings in price as well. The 16-35 and 24-70 might have to wait untill I get a FF.

I have heard of dust issues with the 17-55 and that using a filter solves this, anyone know more about that?

What would be one good prime for the 7D? I'm thinking something around 30mm?

I don't have a dust problem with my 17-55. As far as a prime, I have 3 of them: 28mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, and 85mm f1.8.
The 28mm is my most used prime. However, it depends on what you are shooting, of course.

I'd recommend getting the 17-55/2.8. Great lens that will serve you well.

In the past there were a lot of reports of dust getting under that zoom's front element, but I suspect Canon has made some changes because we don't see complaints about this now. I wouldn't be very concerned about it with a new lens.

If you decide to go to full frame later, you can sell the crop lenses pretty easily. Don't try to build your lens kit around wishful thinking.... Build it around what you have and change it later if needed. All but ultrawides, it's pretty easy to build a kit that's both FF and crop compatible, but considering what you have now, the 17-55mm is probably the best fit.

Don't worry about the gap between 55mm and 70mm... It's actually pretty meaningless, but if it really bugs you (pun intended) and macro photography interests you, maybe get a Canon 60/2.8 or Tamron 60/2.0? Either of those can serve dual purpose and might replace the 50/1.8 in your kit.

Be careful about overwhelming yourself with too many different lenses initially. Get out and learn to shoot well with what you've already got and maybe one or two more. Actually, I'm not a good one to talk... I have more than a few lenses! But they were added gradually over ten or eleven years time. Unless I happed to come across a screamingly good deal, I only add a lens when I can clealy identify an important purpose for it.

amfoto1 wrote in post #14265311
I'd recommend getting the 17-55/2.8. Great lens that will serve you well.

In the past there were a lot of reports of dust getting under that zoom's front element, but I suspect Canon has made some changes because we don't see complaints about this now. I wouldn't be very concerned about it with a new lens.

If you decide to go to full frame later, you can sell the crop lenses pretty easily. Don't try to build your lens kit around wishful thinking.... Build it around what you have and change it later if needed. All but ultrawides, it's pretty easy to build a kit that's both FF and crop compatible, but considering what you have now, the 17-55mm is probably the best fit.

Don't worry about the gap between 55mm and 70mm... It's actually pretty meaningless, but if it really bugs you (pun intended) and macro photography interests you, maybe get a Canon 60/2.8 or Tamron 60/2.0? Either of those can serve dual purpose and might replace the 50/1.8 in your kit.

Be careful about overwhelming yourself with too many different lenses initially. Get out and learn to shoot well with what you've already got and maybe one or two more. Actually, I'm not a good one to talk... I have more than a few lenses! But they were added gradually over ten or eleven years time. Unless I happed to come across a screamingly good deal, I only add a lens when I can clealy identify an important purpose for it.

Alan, I do agree in general. I would like to ask you though whether a EF 24-70L might not be a better choice than a EF-S 16-55 (assuming that UWA is not an issue). Pricewise, they are similar. But the EF 24-70 is FF compatible.

I had the 17-55, and it was a wonderful lens. However, if I were to go back to crop I'd probably pick up the 15-85.

If you are set on eventually moving up to FF then the 24-105 would have my vote. Along with a prime (35, 50, or 85 depending on how you shoot) and you'd be set.

Choice between the 17-55 and the 24-105- I'd likely take the 24-105- as it would make a nicer general walk around lens than the 17-55 (not bad- but often short, imo). Some of the third party glass might also make sense- like the Sigma 17-50... Your shopping cart has a lot of expensive, and often heavier glass- a lighter general walk about lens is what I'd suggest. Although not as fast- you might also consider a 15-85 - highly regarded fills your needs unless you absolutely need faster glass.

I've also heard of problems with pocket wizards and 580 ex II's. If you are close and inside- you can often use just the wireless built-in flash commander of the 7D. Otherwise, you might want to look at some Photox Odins or the Pixel Kings..