EF 70-210 lens question!

Hi all,
could someone shed some light on this for me please!
I have two questions!
I have two lenses from my 620 (film) days, a 50mm 1.8 which was the standard lens that came with the camera and a EF 70-210mm 3.5-4.5 ultrasonic zoom. Before I try to mount them on my 350D are they compatable or are they going to do some damage to my new baby.
Secondly! if they are of no use, what would the alternative zoom to replace this and I would imagine a 50mm 1.4 would be the beast to replace the other.

Any other information would be a help!

Cheers
Keith

theyre EF so they will work. from what i hear the 70-210 you have is a fairly good lens for cheap, but if you want a new one the 70-200 F4L would be great. as for the 50 1.8. i assume you have the mkI metal one, again a fairly nice lens for the price, but the 50 1.4 is awesome. If you dont want to spend you can use what you have, but you wont be upset if you upgrade either.

What would the main difference be between the newer 70-200 F4L and my lens, would it be weight or sheer better quality? also price I would assume!

Please put me out of my misery! What the "L" does the L mean on the end?

Getting back into this after a few years away and starting to love every minute.

Keith

The Ef 70-210 that you posess is a great lens for the money and since you already have it, it becomes all the better. The main problem with this lens is the fact that it "zoom creeps". If you hold the lens vertically it will extend all the way down. Otherwise, optically it is a great lens, the AF is pretty fast and it is light. IT shares the same hood as the 85 1.8 should you ever get one. Check out my POTN gallery in my sig. The swan shots were all taken with it. Also some of the shots of my daughter were taken with it as well. Keep it and use it for a while before contemplating buying the 70-200 f/4L.

All EF lenses are compatible with all canon Eos cameras, whether film or digital.
Regarding your 50mm lens, remember that it will not give the field of view that you are used to, once it is on a digital body. If you wish to replace this type of lens to get a similar field of view, I'd suggest the Canon EF 35mm f/2 or the sigma 30mm f/1.4 or the Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 - these will give a similar 'standard view'
The 50mm, IMO, is too long for walk about use on the 1.6 crop cameras. It's a good range for portraits, and that's about it - again IMO. A lot of people on here really love the 50mm focal length.
Your zoom will be just fine, probably better quality than similar spec focal ranges would give you bought today.
I'd suggest learn to use the camera with the lenses you already have, AND the kit lens, and get comfortable with the camera before worrying about spending serious money on L lenses. Take your time over this, there is a huge diversity of opinion on all this stuff, and there is so much cool gear out there, it can get very confusing.
Have a read of the Digital Picture, http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/
it reviews pretty much all the Canon lenses available, also some of the 3rd party lenses, and will give you an idea of what gear is out there. also some idea of what to look for in terms of quality etc.

Incidentally, you might like to know that your 50mm f/1.8 Mark 1 is something of a collector's item, and it worth a fair bit - do an advanced search on ebay for this lens, and check completed listings. It's much better than the Mark 2 version in terms of build quality, and I suspect it has better bokeh too, more blades on the diaphragm.

The bigest advantage on the original f1.8 is the distance scale. You can prefocus it when it is too dark for fast AF. It does not have a distance encoder like the MkII though. It is worth MORE than a new one though.

The 70-210 USM is OK except at the long end. Over about 180 it gets a bit soft. Contrast is not that wonderfull either.

My take is, did you like using the lenses on the 35mm camera body?

Then aside from the crop factor FOV change they should be just as good on the new DSLR body.

And hey, it's two more focal length lenses you don't need to buy just yet, you are that much further ahead. I'm assuming you have the kit lens?

An 18-55/3.5-5.6; 50/1.8, and a 70-210mm f3.5-4.5 sounds like a great package to start out a DSLR kit with to me. You have a tele-photo and that low light lens. Enjoy.

The build quality of the older lenses is likely very good too.

Many thanks to you all for the advice, it seems like the 50mm is OK for the moment, and the 17-210mm will do the job till I am fully converse with the 350d and all it's splendor.
I did enjoy using the zoom over the years and considering I only paid some £140.00 for the lens new! some years ago in a sale, I do not think it owes me anything.
The 50mm was always the workhorse in those days of Kodak/Eastman (joke!) and it pulled off some really nice stuff, Weddings and even landscapes! Could not afford a 135mm as well, so hence the zoom!
Coming to terms with this whole digital thing is like riding a bike, you never forget it, but it's the first push off that counts and having the confidence to find out it's limitations and making it achieve your expectations and I know it's possible as most of the people on this forum have proved time and time again.

Cheers again
Keith

when i read the thread topic...i thought you were talking about the EF 70-210mm f/4...

but go witht eh 70-200 4L...its truly and awesomely awesome lens...great optics and all that jibber jabber.

//happy shooting