Please help me pick an lens for 5D Mk III

inspectoring wrote in post #18167659
Hi I have the following

1. 5D Mk iii - waiting to be shipped
2. Canon 24-70 L MK I (first gen) lens
3. Canon 70-200 f2.8 MK II
4. Sigma 50 f1.4 (this is the old version - I don't see it anymore on Amazon but I purchased it new 3 yrs ago, for 400$)

Now my budget is up to 2000 $.

I shoot - my kids 6&8, family, vacation. Not professional shooter.

Should I consider
1. sell 24-70 MK I and buy MK II?
2. get 85 f1.2?
3. sell Sigma 50 f1.4
4. Please add your suggestion.....

As to your listed considerings...
1.) I don't find f/2.8 zooms very useful. Large/heavy/limited/sl​ow. If you need convenience, buy a 24-105. If you need aperture, buy a prime

2.) I'd love an 85 1.2, but all the reports of slow AF put me off. Never shot one, though.

3.) Yes.

4.) If I had your gear, I'd sell all the lenses. Then I'd buy: a 17-40, 24-105 (pick one, its a convenience choice, not an IQ choice), 70-200 f/4LIS, a 35 IS, 85 1.8, 135L. That would (and does) work for me. YMMV.

Its just GAS, it'll pass. That pic needs two things you cant buy from Canon i.e. a beautiful model and a clear sky at sundown. Look thru all the lens sample archives and once you're thru ask the wife what she thinks. A good one will say your pictures are fine honey, a better one will say come upstairs honey i want another baby GAS fixed

I'm a fan of Canon's fast zooms. If you want to take pictures of your family in action they are flexible.
If you take you time and foot zoom while every one waits for you, primes might be a better option.

Back to your question, Canon's upgrade on its 24-70 f/2.8L was a pretty big step. I think a 16-35 would also be a good addition.

inspectoring wrote in post #18167659
Hi I have the following

1. 5D Mk iii - waiting to be shipped
2. Canon 24-70 L MK I (first gen) lens
3. Canon 70-200 f2.8 MK II
4. Sigma 50 f1.4 (this is the old version - I don't see it anymore on Amazon but I purchased it new 3 yrs ago, for 400$)

Now my budget is up to 2000 $.

I shoot - my kids 6&8, family, vacation. Not professional shooter.

Should I consider
1. sell 24-70 MK I and buy MK II?
2. get 85 f1.2?
3. sell Sigma 50 f1.4
4. Please add your suggestion.....

Inspector.
You have two out of three catagories of lenses that are a nice base in many, many camera bags.
What you have currently is what Canon refers to as the.......

Standard Zoom, the 24-70 f/2.8 L Mark I.

Telephoto Zoom, the 70-200 f/2.8 L IS Mark II

The only category missing would be the.......

Ultra Wide Zoom, the 17-40 L, 16-35 f/4 L IS, 16-35 f/2.8 L Mark III.

Of those I would recommend the 16-35 f/4 L IS. Half the price of the newly released f/2.8 Mark III. The f/4 has IS great for shooting Hand Held. And the image quality is superb. The 17-40 and 16-35 f/2.8 Matk II...Mark II....is not up to par with the f/4 L IS. If you must have f/2.8 then invest in the new Mark III.

Enjoy the Shopping Spree.

Dumb and off topic question, but what are you using for post processing? Do shoot RAW and use a good program? (If you do, ignore, but switching to RAW and Lightroom was like a minor miracle for me from straight Jpegs)

Also, my favorite images I take all come from my 85/1.8. It focuses fast enough for my toddler, I can go from thin DOF up to deep DOF, stopped down a touch it's pretty sharp and the perspective just looks great with people. I think it's small size let's me work with it differently than a 70-200/2.8.

I never owned the first version of the 24-70, but from my own experience, version 2 is simply outstanding. It's my "Go to" lens. Very sharp and creates excellent out of focus background. Expensive? Yes, but for me it took away any lens envy I had.

if you find the images from your 24-70L are soft then you should upgrade otherwise keep it.
I still love mine and find it sharp wide open at all FL

same goes for you Sigma 50mm

You may want to get a uwa for landscapes.
either 16-35 f4L IS or 11-24 f4 if you dont mind adding another 500 bucks to your budget

Though 24-70 v2 is indeed sharper than v1, one of the reasons I sold mine and upgraded to v2 was the aperture blade 8 on v1 vs 9 v2. At f/8, the v2 can produce a much better starburst. Not exactly an answer, more like an input.

yeah... except it's kind of hard to produce starbursts when shooting wide open. The op seems to look for a good portrait lens and if he wants a uwa for landscape then the 16-35 IS or 11-24 should be considered.
the 24-70 II is sharper than the original at 24mm but at 70mm they are pretty much the same, that is if you have a good copy of the 24-70 I

http://www.the-digital-picture.com …omp=0&FLIComp=4​&APIComp=0

inspectoring wrote in post #18167700
And I want to take a picture like this (not my work, found this on internet)
http://www.belovelyyou​.com …nt/uploads/2014​/04/b1.jpg
[...]
I always want to capture the sunlight, especially the fall time sunlight in the evening....

Your 70-200/2.8 wide-open at 200mm is capable of very similar results.

For light and colors, my choice is the Zeiss APO 135/2. It is amazing and much better than the Canon 135/2 (apart from the lack of AF).
https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1315168

You may also want to check the Zeiss 100/2 MP which is not an APO lens, but renders wonderful colors and is also a great macro (something you don't have).

Your current lens line is fine to make an image like what you linked to, but you're gonna need to augment with lighting.


Buy and learn lighting.

I'd suggest the 16-35 f/2.8mk2. The f/4IS provides better sharpness and micro contrast but when you say "kids" are in the equation you may appreciate the 1 stop faster f/2.8. Also the capabilities of the 5dmk3 allows you to push higher ISO so you can stop action in lower light situations. This will cover your UWA range but you can still use the 35mm range at f/2.8 which is very handy. This is my go to lens for home and events photography.

Down the road cover more ground with a fast wide angle prime like a canon 35 f/2IS, older 35L or if you like wider go 24L(mk1 or 2). For personal reasons I'd take a canon OE 35 f/2IS before a sigma 35 ART. Since you said it's for casual / non professional application I would possibly buy sigma.

I do not find the 50mm range to be a great family lens. It provides less environmental story telling in the background. If your using the 50mm for portait application this is a totally different application. Since you said family/vacation application I'd dump the Sigma 50mm in a heartbeat. For portrait application Id rather have a killer Canon 85 f/1.8 (please note I owned both but kept the 85Lmk2 for professional application for f/1.2 "look"). I regret selling my gem 85 f/1.8 and I will eventually buy another one in the future.

IF you love the 24-70Lmk1 range on a FULL FRAME you may consider buying a mk2 version. IF you like to do artistic sunflares in your outdoor photos you will find the mk2 version to make you work alot harder to get that intentional flare effect. Same goes for the 16-35 f/4IS making it hard to get that effect compared to the f/2.8 mk2.

OR "Think out of the box". Also note family situations often need running around / walks etc. If you have money to burn I strongly suggest exploration of a different secondary system for lightweight uses. Getting a secondary system has been the best thing I've ever done to my gearbag.

If you want to think out of the box I'd say stick with what you have. Buy a fuji in the $2000 range LOL!!! If bought an 24mpx fuji X-T2 with 18-55 kit lens you'll never ever touch your 7D again. IQ wise the fuji will be virtually on par with the 5dmk3 for monitor viewing pleasure and prints. If you bought a cheaper fuji X-T10 (more suitable for walkaround slower moving subjects) with killer 18-55 kit lens and additional lens you can have an extremely versatile incredibly high IQ secondary system.

Fuji has been one of the best solutions for lightweight, high IQ system when I do casual running/gunning. Their cheap 55-200 is virtually on par with a Canon 70-200 f/4IS at fraction of the cost. Have an open mind!!

Another "Think out of the box" is to sell your 7D!!! buy a Canon 80D and have one of the best dual pixel AF video camera's for 1080 vid for family documentation. This gives you video capabilities and a different FOV with your existing lenses compared to FF. High ISO is decent for a canon crop sensor body. The 80d also provides great dynamic range and almost similar softer film like rendition while retaining great sharpness (similar to the beautiful Fuji rendition).

I've been very methodical in gear purchase. I think you can gain more versatility if you choose to have an open mind on gear acquisition.

Things that make you go hmmmmmm