canon 24-105mm F4L for family photos

Hi, looking at two lenses, 17-55mm f2.8 and the one in the title.

I don't do landscape, mostly shots of my 2.5yr old daughter and maybe a new addition down the road. I realize that 24mm on the L lense has bad barrel distortion, but this will be on a 7D, so should not be as significant.

Anyway, wondering which lens i'll be happier with. I had a 15-85mm that rarely see the wide angles due to the barrel effect on faces.

Get the 17-55 2.8 for a crop camera like the 7D. Its faster, and it serves as a good walkaround lens, on a crop the 24-105 isnt that wide on the crop and what you gain on the long end isnt that great. Especially when you have the 70-200F4IS. BTW its not barrel distortion, but rather perspective distortion, and it comes from being too close to the subject, not inherent in the lens. But you will get it with any wide lens used close. So back up, or use something like a 50mm or longer lens so that you are forced to back up enough that its not a factor.

I'd go for the 17-55 too, mainly for its better low light performance.

DAMN! I want to like the 24-105 due to the price I can get a new one for. Here in canada I can get it for $940ntax whereas the 17-55mm best I can do is $1010ntax. I like the idea of L too.

walmartmartyr wrote in post #14746064
DAMN! I want to like the 24-105 due to the price I can get a new one for. Here in canada I can get it for $940ntax whereas the 17-55mm best I can do is $1010ntax. I like the idea of L too.

The optics in the 17-55 are L quality, the build quality is mostly there. BTW canon won't make an L lens in EF-S mount. Since your post was predicated on family photos, what sort of family photos are we talking here? THere might be other options.

well, candid shots of my daughter, Dog and wife. inside, outside. Xmas and birthdays. Not looking for portraits. The f2.8 to me is not benificial for low light as photos indoors without flash suck in color and tone. The f2.8 benifit to me would be the shallow DOF.

When I had the 15-85, I never used the 70-200 I have. Except if I see something out the back yard like an eagle or some sort of low flying plane or bird. Used it for moon shots once.

walmartmartyr wrote in post #14746110
....photos indoors without flash suck in color and tone.

Not true if you learn how to master available light. Like any other area of photography it requires practice and understanding. But it is easier to say something sucks.

Buy the lens you want. It is your choice in the end.

I would go for the 17-55 as well. Although you might not think the f/2.8 will be useful, trying to freeze a 2-1/2 year old bombing around, can use lots of shutter-speed. The faster aperture will help there. For single portraits, 2.8 will be nice, and for groups, you can stop down.. and still have IS.

if that my choice to take photos for my children
i will leave these two lenses
and go for the EF 50mm 1.4

1Tanker wrote in post #14746416
I would go for the 17-55 as well. Although you might not think the f/2.8 will be useful, trying to freeze a 2-1/2 year old bombing around, can use lots of shutter-speed. The faster aperture will help there. For single portraits, 2.8 will be nice, and for groups, you can stop down.. and still have IS.

As would the use of flash help to stop the movement of an active child. Actually there is a good chance even with f/2.8 you will need flash to not get blurred images of a kid being a kid inside. Learn to move flash off camera, and bounce (or other) method to diffuse the light from the flash. Using the flash also means you could get away with the f/4 - but I too like the idea of an f/2.8.

I have the 24-105 on 5D2 and it will never be my first choice indoor. Unless the subject is perfectly still, f4 is simply too slow (unless you don't mind ISO3200).

Like others have said, you might get away with f2.8 depending on the lighting, flash might still be needed. Or go the fast prime route.

seems like the 24-105mm F4L works good on my 7D outdoors and inside..

hotmouse wrote in post #14746643
seems like the 24-105mm F4L works good on my 7D outdoors and inside..

Your inside shot is a static scene, of course it works ok with IS....

I will differ from the majority of opinions so far and vote for the 24-105 f/4. I have shot quite a lot of family pics with the 28-105 and really liked the versatility of that lens. Indoors I would often use flash so the f/4 wouldn't bother me if I were using that lens.

Another suggestion I will pass on would be the Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 HSM OS combined with a canon 85 f/1.8. Looking back at some of my best photos I found the focal lengths of 35mm-50mm and 85mm to be the most used.

Just going through a few folders of photos I have with my 15-85mm. There is only 2 or 3 pics below 24mm out of say 150 I just sampled. and that lens came off f3.5 as soon as you zoomed away from 15mm. So most of the pics are at f5.6 or greater.

Most of the pics below 24mm were my wifes doing, and thus the picture quality dives. I like the compression of stepping back and getting 50mm to 85mm shots, but I guess the compression is not gunna be their on the 24-105 at those field of views.