Best L lens for a crop sensor camera?

Sibil wrote in post #18659818
All this talk about the 15-85 is making me want to dust off mine and put it back into some service.

That's what I'm doing!

i-G12 wrote in post #18659826
That's what I'm doing!

mwsilver wrote in post #18658479
Thanks, micro contrast and sharpening had been added in DXO Photolab, but you can't really successfully sharpen what isn't there in the first place. I also changed the vertical perspective in the second image to compensate for extreme barrel distortion at 15mm when you are right on top of objects like the archway. There were also deep shadows on the archway from which I pulled detail. My examples weren't intended to show straight out of camera results, but merely the angle of view at 15mm. Other than the zoom creep, I've always been very happy with my copy. It is a little less sharp in the corners at 85mm.

It is not a perfect lens by any measure, but it is a pretty good one with a solid build. What makes it so popular is it's somewhat unique 5.66x focal range with a 15mm wide end. While I have a EFs 10-18, I don't tend to use it as much as I otherwise might, in part because of the wide end of the 15-85. While I obviously am not comparing the wide end of both lenses, 15mm lets me dip far enough into the wide end so that in a pinch I can get a wide shot without having to change lenses when I'm casually walking around. I also figured out long ago that 90% of my images are captured at less than 100 millimeters. So, this lens is somewhat of an niche product which appeals most to those who's shooting requirements coincide with its focal range.

mwsilver wrote in post #18659887
=mwsilver;18659887] I also figured out long ago that 90% of my images are captured at less than 100 millimeters. So, this lens is somewhat of an niche product which appeals most to those who's shooting requirements coincide with its focal range.

It's funny how we have perceptions about what we do. I too felt the 135mm was a good thing until I started charting the FL of my shots. Easily 95% were under 100mm mostly within the 85mm of the 15-85...so that is what got me thinking. Still waiting for some decent weather to get out with my 15-85 and do some shooting with it again!

I am also a fan of the 15-85... we had two of them. My wife inherited my 70D and she still uses it on that for all her indoor kitchen install photographs. The 15mm gets her wide enough and she's on a tripod so the aperture isn't a factor.

We've both used them outdoors for our walk around lens... works great.

I know there are some bad copies out there, or so I've heard. Both of ours were excellent... and we bought them used from people who migrated to full frame camera bodies.

ct1co2 wrote in post #18659779
This was/is the same scenario for me as well. I’ve never felt compelled to replace the 15-85 with any of the 18-xxx variants as it’s given fantastic results on 3 different crop bodies. I have the 10-22 for specific purposes, but it’s shot at 10mm probably 95% of the time it’s put to work. Tried the 10-18 thinking it could replace the 10-22 at a lower cost investment, but was not impressed. The Sigma 18-35 can be a potential good solution for wide’ish and fast if you get a good copy. Been through 2 copies 6 months apart. I wanted to like it, it produced beautiful images when it hit focus, but the degree and frequency of inconsistency (especially with the 2nd copy) was not tolerable.

have you tried doing adjustment? I was lucky getting a good first copy right out from the box....

Photo from Ah-keong's gallery.
Image hosted by forum (911763)

I tried adjusting with the body as well as the dock, but could just not get consistent results. When it hit focus, beautiful results and I see why it gets high marks. Maybe it’s user error and maybe I just lost patience after 2 weeks of continuously messing with it, but ended up returning it.

i-G12 wrote in post #18657934
Best L lens for a crop sensor camera?

Seems the replies here have strayed away from the OP's original question about L lenses, so I'll bring it back to the original question.

As far as "best lens", well, that really depends on what you shoot, how you shoot it, and what you intend to do with the images after you shoot them. . So it's not really possible to give you a simple answer without knowing all of that information.

So, in lieu of telling you what the best lens would be for your needs, I can share what I have found to be best for me with my crop sensor cameras.

The 24-105 is something that I find very useful on a 1.6 or 1.3 crop body. . It is not nearly as useful on a full frame, to me, because I would almost never want to shoot real wide, and 24mm on full frame is way too wide for my tastes. . I think that a 24-105 is a viable alternative to the crop lenses that you mention in your first post. . In fact, I find it even more useful than those lenses, because I shoot so many images up around the long end of the focal range ....... 90mm to 105mm on a 1.6 crop body is just about perfect for a lot of the shooting I do, and you miss out on this part of the range if you go with the other shorter zooms that people have mentioned.

One other advantage to using L lenses on a crop body is that your images will not suffer vignetting like they do when you use them wide open on a full frame body. . You wont have soft corners, either.

I have also found the 400 f2.8 IS to be excellent on a crop body. . Ditto for the Sigma 300-800mm and the Canon 100-400mm. . However, I don't think that these telephotos are things that you would find useful, based on the short focal lengths that you repeatedly mention throughout this thread.


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This is a case of an unfortunate thread subject line. Instead everyone is answering the questions found in the actual opening post content, and then the subsequent replies made by the TS. Since all L lenses are EF lenses, and they are "put off by EF lenses", and then the 18-135 and 15-85 EFS lenses were mentioned, anything is fair game.

I am sure most of us assume the content of the post is what needs answered or addressed vs the slightly different slant of the original title.

i-G12 wrote in post #18657934
I'm looking for better glass for my 80D but I'm put off with the EF lenses because of the lack of wide angle on the crop sensor.

But there doesn't seem to be much available for a great walk around lens.

I'm currently using the 18-135 EF-S or the 15-85 EF-S but always looking for something sharper.

WTH? Are there no alternatives?

TeamSpeed wrote in post #18660664
I am sure most of us assume the content of the post is what needs answered or addressed vs the slightly different slant of the original title.

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The content of the posts that were subsequent to the first post have been addressed over and over again. . I found that there were hardly any posts at all that went back to the original question, so I thought that I would fill in this gap in the overall thread content.

Surely there is enough room in any thread for addressing everything, both the original question and the twists and turns that the thread takes. . And most surely I am allowed to post whatever I want to, so long as it is related to the original topic and does not break POTN rules.

The thread does not exist just for the OP to get the help that he needs, but rather for all of the people that may read the thread in the future, and seek pertinent advice. . Many of these future POTN visitors will first see the thread title, and they should not be disappointed by reading all through a thread and not finding what they were expecting to find when the first clicked on the thread.


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Tom Reichner wrote in post #18660685
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The content of the posts that were subsequent to the first post have been addressed over and over again. . I found that there were hardly any posts at all that went back to the original question, so I thought that I would fill in this gap in the overall thread content.

Surely there is enough room in any thread for addressing everything, both the original question and the twists and turns that the thread takes. . And most surely I am allowed to post whatever I want to, so long as it is related to the original topic and does not break POTN rules.

The thread does not exist just for the OP to get the help that he needs, but rather for all of the people that may read the thread in the future, and seek pertinent advice. . Many of these future POTN visitors will first see the thread title, and they should not be disappointed by reading all through a thread and not finding what they were expecting to find when the first clicked on the thread.

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I have to disagree to a certain extent. The OP allowed for this expansion of the topic when he stated in the first post, "I'm currently using the 18-135 EF-S or the 15-85 EF-S but always looking for something sharper." That opened up the general discussion as to whether or not EF lenses or L lenses are actually always sharper or even significantly better with regard to distortion than EF-s lenses. The OP also actively participated and contributed to this thread as it veered off from the title of the thread and in fact indicated a willingness to readdress his use of his 15-85 lens. I would like to think we have addressed this topic to the OP's satisfaction and have given him an option to consider which won't even require the purchase of a new lens.

While a lens like the 24-105 may work well for you on a crop camera because you prefer the longer end of that lens' range, for many of us the 24-105 is simply not wide enough on crop. It is not clear whether the OP's struggle to find an L lens to use as a general walk around is because of this limitation at the wide end. However, he does indicate in one of his posts that most of what he shoots is in the range of the Canon EF-s 15-85, making a discussion of that lens appropriate.

When there is nothing left to discuss, you discuss the discussion.

What if the discussing of the discussion is disgusting, then what discussions do we discuss?

TeamSpeed wrote in post #18660704
What if the discussing of the discussion is disgusting, then what discussions do we discuss?

A time comes to bail!

TeamSpeed wrote in post #18660704
What if the discussing of the discussion is disgusting, then what discussions do we discuss?

Archibald wrote in post #18660711
A time comes to bail!

I actually like discussions the most when they get to this point. . It's usually that just when I get really interested in things, that the thread dies on its own, or else gets locked down by a mod. . I guess I just like the things that nobody else does, when it comes to conversations and so forth.


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I took some shots today out in the sun overlooking Puget Sound.

With the 15-85 I noticed the vignetting very clearly. Not sure if that was because of the harsh angle of the sun or just the lens doing what it does. And this was at like 65mm. I got rid of it in LR by using the lens Correction feature.

I guess I never really noticed this like that before but yeah it was an issue.

I do find photographing over the water in bright sunlight to be problematic. So maybe that is the major issue.

Need to find a different subject maybe tomorrow.