I'll start by listing all EF lenses you can buy, L's are in red:
Primes
- Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L USM
- Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye
- Canon EF 20mm f/2.8 USM
- Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L USM
- Canon EF 24mm f/2.8
- Canon TS-E24mm f/3.5L
- Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM
- Canon EF 28mm f/2.8
- Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM
- Canon EF 35mm f/2
- Canon TS-E45mm f/2.8
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.0L USM
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
- Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro
- Canon MP-E65mm f/2.8 1-5X Macro Photo
- Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L USM
- Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
- Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
- Canon TS-E90mm f/2.8
- Canon EF 100mm f/2 USM
- Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
- Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
- Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM
- Canon EF 135mm f/2.8 Soft Focus
- Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM
- Canon EF 200mm f/1.8L USM
- Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L USM
- Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM
- Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L USM
- Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM
- Canon EF 300mm f/4L USM
- Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM
- Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L USM
- Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L II USM
- Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM
- Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS USM
- Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM
- Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM
- Canon EF 500mm f/4.5L USM
- Canon EF 600mm f/4L USM
- Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS USM
- Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM
Zooms
- Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
- Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM
- Canon EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM
- Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
- Canon EF-S 17-55mm F2.8 IS USM
- Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
- Canon EF -S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 USM
- Canon EF 20-35mm f/2.8L
- Canon EF 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
- Canon EF 22-55mm f/4-5.6 USM
- Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
- Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L USM
- Canon EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
- Canon EF 28-70mm f/2.8L USM
- Canon EF 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5
- Canon EF 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5 II
- Canon EF 28-80mm f/2.8-4L USM
- Canon EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6
- Canon EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 USM
- Canon EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 II
- Canon EF 28- 90mm f/4.0-5.6 II USM
- Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM
- Canon EF 28-105mm f/4.0-5.6
- Canon EF 28-105mm f/4.0-5.6 USM
- Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
- Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 L IS USM
- Canon EF 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5
- Canon EF 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5A
- Canon EF 35-80mm f/4-5.6 PZ
- Canon EF 35-80mm f/4-5.6
- Canon EF 35-80mm f/4-5.6 USM
- Canon EF 35-80mm f/4-5.6 II
- Canon EF 35-80mm f/4-5.6 III
- Canon EF 35-105mm f/3.5-4.5
- Canon EF 35-105mm f/4.5-5.6
- Canon EF 35-105mm f/4.5-5.6 USM
- Canon EF 35-135mm f/3.5-4.5
- Canon EF 35-135mm f/4-5.6 USM
- Canon EF 35-350mm f/3.5-5.6L USM
- Canon EF 38-76mm f/4.5-5.6
- Canon EF 50-200mm f/3.5-4.5
- Canon EF 50-200mm f/3.5-4.5L
- Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 USM
- Canon EF 55-200mm F4.5-5.6 II USM
- Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM
- Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
- Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM
- Canon EF 70-210mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
- Canon EF 70-210mm f/4
- Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS
- Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6
- Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 USM
- Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
- Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 II
- Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 II USM
- Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III
- Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM
- Canon EF 80-200mm f/2.8L
- Canon EF 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6
- Canon EF 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6 USM
- Canon EF 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II
- Canon EF 90-300mm F4.5-5.6
- Canon EF 90-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM
- Canon EF 100-200mm f/4.5A
- Canon EF 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM
- Canon EF 100-300mm f/5.6
- Canon EF 100-300mm f/5.6L
- Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Special
- Canon Macro Photo Lens 20mm f/3.5
- Canon Macro Photo Lens 35mm f/2.8
Ok, that is a lot. Now some fundamental questions needs an answer:
Why some lenses are L (Luxury) and some not?
To me it seems the answer is: if prime is L, it is either a specialty lens (14mm, TS-E, 180 macro), extremely sensitive to light (24/1.4, 35/1.4, 50/1.0, 85/1.2, 135/2) and it is expensive (yes, that must be one L requirement!) and intended to special target group with media visibility adding a big "I'm a pro" tag to the photographer, like all white long primes do. What must affect also is construction, distortion, colors, sharpness when open, low audible noise, fulltime manual focus, better optical elements, focus accuracy. DO is in itself an L level tag, so it does not need L. L may be very hard to manufacture and still have perfect quality control (this is why 50/1.4 is not L - it has lot of variance wide open and 50mm is probably the easiest one to manufacture).
If zoom is an L, it means it has same aperture on both ends (or a very small difference), USM, fulltime manual focus and good construction. Perhaps weather sealing, too.
Why should I buy new lenses at all?
Because I have a need which is not fulfilled by the ones I have. If flash shooting is ok to you, why get 2.8 lenses? If moving around is ok for you, why get zooms? If changing lenses is not an option due environment you're shooting is, why get primes? And vice versa. Perhaps you find that your currect lenses leave you with lots of unusable photos (not suitable for situation), or they do not deliver quality you require.
Who decides when "quality" is ok?
You do. Only you. And what you decide is governed by your experience. In time you will develop your eye to see more from image: quality of lines, bokeh, colors, distortion. You print bigger, you see more. You get more demanding assignments (less light, in more demanding environment with more demanding schedule. You start to think more of "look" than technical quality.
"Look"?
Mostly people talk about speed and sharpness. "Sharp lens is good lens". Evaluating sharpness is one of the easiest things you can do with an image. Sharpness is a good thing of course, but there are several other things which should be more important:
- can you achieve good subject separation?
- can you make backrounds smooth and unobtrusive?
- are colors natural or pleasing?
- can you capture the current light?
- can you improve (boost) the current light?
- can you express yourself though the camera with this lens?
- do you feel that the images taken with this lens look good?
- is there "3-dimensionality" or other hard do define experiences when looking the photos?
- do you feel that the photos you take look like your photos?
- can you do it better with this lens?
- and so on...
So do all L's have those qualities?
What qualities? Didn't I just say that YOU decide what qualities are needed. You decide the qualities, then look for lenses that can produce those qualities, you weight them and check what you can afford (or better advice is: do not buy compromise lenses, wait, save and by the real one later). Sigma 14 is one example of a my compromise lens (could not afford Canon) - Canon 28-135 IS I already sold.
One lens seeking story
I'm getting a new lens for 1D Mark II which should come in a month or so. Why a new lens? I have now:
Sigma 14 f/2.8
Sigma 20 f/1.8
Canon 35 f/2
Canon 50 f/1.4
Canon 70-200 f/2.8L
Canon 1.4x mk II extender
I shoot lots of people on work, indoors, street. I like very low light shots without flash, good subject separation and smooth bokeh. I have used mostly 50 and 70-200 just for those qualities.
A casual reader will immediately see I obviously lack a common short zoom (24-70). May be, but the reason I'm looking for a new lens is both practical and artistic:
When shooting portraits I have always felt 50 f/1.4 is the best lens for that (very nice at f1.8-2.5), but that I'm just slightly too close to subject when shooting. 70-200 is excellent, too, but not very "artistic" - better for live movement. So, as said obvious zoom choice would be 24-70 f/2.8L, or in primes (if based on sharpness and speed) it would be 135/2.
24-70 drops out of the list because in 1.3X camera it extends only 10mm over 50mm on 1.6X camera. And 2.8 is too little for that wide a lens: subject separation can not be done properly. I do not want "general" lenses. I other words I'm not looking a lens just for recording a certain focal lenght range.
So, what about 135/2? Nice bokeh, sharp. Works with extenders. Too long for small rooms, even with 1.3X camera. Too close to 70-200 in aperture and range. And even 70-200 at 2.8 is too sharp for some portraits.
100mm may be slightly too long, and I will get 100mm macro later so for now, I'll forget 100mm lenght now.
Then we come down to 85mm. That is the interesting focal lenght. 110mm FOV on 1D mark II (50mm = 80mm on 10D)
85/1.2L is there. But why pay mucho extra for that when you have the 1.8 version which is really sharp and nice? Let's evaluate that. I went to net, consulted Canon "Lens Work II" and came out with info that 1.2 is very usable with 1.2L, it vignettes some wide open (actually I like that), and that it is relatively slow focusing lens. I plan to use this for "art shots" - focusing speed is not an issue. What is very important to me is autofocus accuracy and it seems that the slowness of 1.2L's focusing is there because its accuracy is excellent. Although sharpness is not no. 1 issue for me I'm not saying I don't care about sharpness - 80/1.8 is not equally sharp wide open (actually on paper it is, but due to difference in optics that does not work so well in reality) - that matters. I care a lot about bokeh and subject separation ( which should be extremely good when 1.2 is also sharp and lens focuses accurately). See http://www.wlcastleman.com/equip/reviews/85mm/
for one good test. More testing in http://www.techphoto.org …/equipment/canon/50_1.epl .So, I decided to go for 85/1.2L. Ridiculously expensive, but the only lens that fills all my requirements. If it weren't an L, with same specs I would have chosen it anyway. I did not include a requirement "L" anywhere into my list. Merely because it has qualities that go beyond "normal" Canon decided to give it L tag. L should not be a requirement, but L is often chosen as a result of using both logic and feeling in the seeking process.
This was just one story how people end up bying L's. In the end it's all about YOUR requirements. Forget L, think about U.
Its a good lesson in actually thinking through the process of a lens purchase.
:P
