Next lens to buy

Hi All,
I'd like to ask for some feedback...
My dilemma is that I'm stuck between the Canon 24-70 F2.8L and Sigma 24-70 F2.8 EX. The Canon offers a 77mm opening which I have a CPL for the 16-35 F2.8L I have (and really like a lot); the Sigma is an 82mm. Now in terms of cost, that's not the issue, I can afford either one. I know that the Canon L glass is expensive, and I am thinking about creating a Canon L-aholic Anonomous group. I shoot a wide array of different situations from landcape/nature to portraits to airshows (but this isn't what this lens is for). There is almost a $1000 differnce between the L glass and the Sigma! I will likely be in the Northeastern US next year getting snaphappy with the fall colours so I'd like to have a lens that, in conjunction with the aforementioned 16-35L lens I can produce some pics that are nothing short of stunning! Then it is to bridge the gap from 70-120mm approx. I'd like to stick with Canon L glass or Sigma EX, and F2.8 if possible.
What do you people reccommend?

CDS, if you read this, feel free to post the one I sent you with the trees and Ely Cathedral. That one was taken 2-3 weeks ago, if I recall correctly.

Cheers from England,
Canuck

It's so easy to have opinions on things like this, especially when it's not your own money that's being spent. That having been said, I would (in fact, have) spent the extra money on the Canon lens. You're going to live with that puppy for a long, long time, and you really don't want any regrets to crop up later. The Sigma lens is very good, but the Canon lens is better. You could find yourself at some point in the future wishing you'd bitten the bullet and gone for the 'L' glass.

The obvious other side of the argument is, $1,000 is a lot of money, and you could certainly use it for yet another lens to round out your bag. Ultimately, it's going to end up being your call alone. I suspect you're going to get a lot of opinions just like mine.......useless.

Whatever you do, good luck. We'll want to see those pictures of the fall leaves, even if it means waiting almost a year.

Tom

I would have to agree with Tom. The choice comes down to what you and you alone value in a camera system. I think we all fall into the trap of being techno weenies about the photos we take and over analyzing the finest details and missing the beauty of the overall photos we take even with inferior technology. Some of the greatest photos I have ever seen are from 1940's vintage cameras that no doubt are inferior to what I am using today (10 D).

Now having said all of that I buy L glass because I am a techno weenie about my gear and my photos some times and I hate to wonder what could have been "if only" I had used my best lenses...

Spend the money on travel instead take more photos and fight the urge to buy L glass! Save yourself!

Cheers,

Darrin

My name is Jim , and I own L-Series lenses.

L. Always L.

Oh, the choice is killing me this is why this topic was started!!! I'm succumbing to the dreaded pro/L glass disease and unfortunately, there is no known cure!!

> As for the pics of the fall in the Northeast, you can buy them...thru my agent. My people will call your people.
>

That would be nice! What I am getting at is that I have a Sigma EX lens and it coupled with the 10D is a real beast of a setup, but man can it deliver! It better for a $1900 lens!!! I will wait some more opinions. I know what you mean, especially about spending other peoples money. If I coudn't have afforded it, I wouldn't have said it in the original post.

As for the money issue, I was trying to set up a friend of mine w/ the digital rebel and could use my pro lenses (a Canon L glass and Sigma EX series) to see what it is really capable of. I even made a thread out of it. The only problem there is money. That is so incredibly frustrating. I would hand him the 10D w/ Sigma EX lens to shoot with for the day at an airshow but it like a lot of things takes some getting used to, including the weight at nearing 10 lbs total. I need to get a few other bit and bobs before this airshow if we're gonna do it. Shooting RAW munches memory like crazy! I need mass storage option!

Tom, I'll be sure to get the fall foliage pics out, even if I have to e-mail them to you. Hopefully by then the website will be more than up and running. At that time, I'd be happy to place anyone elses pics that are along the lines of what I have on there already and of course proper credit would be given to respective owner and used with permission. Basically that site will have landscape/nature/sunse​t/airshow/to be determined. Whatever way you put it, it will be for anyone to look at, 100% G rated!

Cheers from England,
Canuck

Here's the kit I have thru today:
Canon EOS 10D w/ BG-ED3
Canon 16-35 F2.8 L
Sigma 120-300 F2.8 EX APO HSM IF
2x 512MB CF cards
Canon EOS 50E
Sigma 28-80 F 3.5-5.6
Canon T90
Canon FD 35-70 F3.5-4.5
Canon FD 70-200 F??? not handy to check
Sunpak auto 36 DX thyristor flash (works w/10D great!)
EOS-FD adapter to use FD lenses on 10D
It works, I will have to see about putting some up on the net! I'm waiting on broadband to set up a site.

Once again thanks for inputs!

Hi,

Look at the new Tamron 28-75 ModelA09 XR Di.

According to some tests it betters the L lens from Canon in sharpness and contrast.

I bought the lens last week and compared it to a Sigma 28-70 f2.8 EX Asp. It was much sharper and had much better contrast (see my review in this board).

For the price it's an absolutly no-brainer.

Greetings,
Frank

I'll share my reality with L-Glass...

I first bought a D-60 in the fall of 2002. I got the 50mm f1.8 and the 28-135IS, both great lenses BTW and I still have both. I had a Sigma 70-300 lens leftover from my old EOS650 setup, and I still have that lens.

So, everything is going fine. I'm shooting wonderful shots with my D60. Some of the best stuff I've ever shot. Photography comes alive for me once again after stagnating for many years (I've been shooting SLRs for about 35 years).

This summer, before the race season comes up, I have a chance to get the 10D so I do. All this time reading these posts from the L-snobs about how great these L-lenses are.

Their pictures prove it. The color and contrast and sharpness are incredible. So intense it borders on the surreal.

I have a chance to afford a 100-400L IS right before a major race and I go for it.

The rest is history. The first two weeks of having my L-glass is a freaking dream. I shoot THE absolute best shots of my life. I had a shoot with the sprint boats and then the next week with the ChampCars and I was shocked -- literally shocked -- at the quality of the photos I was producing.

Finally -- FINALLY, I was shooting like a pro. And my pictures proved it. I was posting galleries here, at Miranda's and also at a couple of motorsports forums. The positive feedback was overwhelming.

Several comments on a motorports forum were: "Jim's pictures look better than the ones at ChampCar.com!" My comment was: "Thanks, but be nice. Those are the guys I learned from and still shoot with shoulder-to-shoulder." I was in awe and extremely humbled by the comments I was receiving.

And I know for a fact that those two galleries alone sold at least three 100-400L IS lenses, maybe more. And a recent sprint boat gallery I posted sold a 70-200 f2.8 IS USM and 1.4TC combo with at least one other hanging in the wings.

So, I think that kinda speaks for itself. Yes, the high-end Sigma lenses are pretty nice and I have seen some awesome photos produced from those lenses, but Canon L-Glass is in a class of its own.

When shooting, if I use my other lenses (non-L) during a shoot, it's easy to pick out the ones that were shot with L-glass, except maybe for the 50 f1.8. They stand out above the others.

They are expensive yes. But you'll have them forever, so it's money well spent, IMO.

I can remember when I first got my 10D body I was in such a hurry to get a lens that I got the 24-85USM. Now it didn't take bad pictures but they just weren't where I thought that they should be. So I went on a binge and here is what I have ended up with.

EF 100-400 L IS USM
EF 16-35 f/2.8 L USM
EF 50mm f/1.8 II
EF m100 f/2.8u
EF 24-70 f2.8 L USM
EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM

I looked long and hard before making my final decision. I tried a couple of Sigma lenses but in the end I decided to put Canon glass on the Canon body. I have a couple of other lenses that I acquired in the short term that I ended up giving to my son, the 24-85 and the 100-300 USM.

These are never easy decsions but from experience I could say that you would probably never regret going with the L Canon glass. They produce excellent results on the 10D and on my EOS 3.

I just sat down and made a list of all the lenses I've purchased since July, and I'm in a state of borderline cardiac arrest. This stuff adds up if you're not paying attention! Right now, I'm at just under $9K for lenses alone, and almost $13K total when you add in the two 10D bodies, 550EX flash, filters, CF cards, bags, tripods, etc.. This is just about triple what I'd intended to spend for my 'retirement hobby.'

I'm sitting here pondering my mortality because it's only a matter of time before my wife figures out that I've squandered the grandchildren’s college money on camera equipment. Fortunately, we don't even have any children yet, so that really isn’t a big problem. But it doesn't lessen the strong likelihood that she will determine that I (along with my beloved camera gear) will be better off sleeping in the yard for a few days to give me time to reflect on my irresponsible behavior. (That's based on the prayerful hope that she doesn't just kill me.)

The one potential piece of good news is that there are no more lenses I particularly want or need. The big primes (besides looking really cool) hold no appeal, and the very specialized pieces, like soft focus and tilt lenses, are just too esoteric to justify without a specific need. I have L glass coverage from 17mm to 400mm, and that will handle just about any need I can anticipate.

One thought for you all to ponder… If my wife throws me out completely, I’ll be looking for a place to live. I’m generally very quiet and my needs are simple, so a small room above your garage will be perfect. And I’ll let you borrow the lenses from time to time.

Okay, the last line works!

Smiles,

Holly (wants a new t-shirt saying: Will Work for L-Glass)

Is that about $7,000US after shipping and taxes? Ouch! Unless that's how you make your living

If you have enough credit buy them both from somewhere that has a 21 day money back guarentee, try them both for yourself and send the lesser back. Even if you have to pay a restocking fee it might be worth not wondering for the rest of your life if you made the right decision.

Just a thought....

Hi all!
Wow, I'm amazed how much feeback I'm getting! This is great!

Well, I can say that my real job isn't the greatest and it has been irritating the heck out of me. Why is is that you work for your real job and hate it, but use your earnings to pay for a hobby that more than likely won't come close to repaying that which you put into it.

Belmondo, can you imagine recouping the $13K you have invested? Granted that is easier if you are younger, but the point still remains. I recon I have the better part of $7K or $8K invested already. It is only money and it all spends well, almost too well! I know what you're talking about. I am feeling you pain and hadn't realised I had spent that much money. It's all good, though.

Hmmm...21 day try-out option seems like a real good idea until you factor this in: 1) I'm in England and the currency is pounds. That means that everything I buy here is 1.75 times more expensive than if I buy it in the US. Example, for round numbers: That Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 lens was $2000, and would find it here for about 1700 pounds ($2975) from http://www.warehouseex​press.com/ in Norwich, about 2 hrs from here. I'm looking at a place in Swindon, Wiltshire as I have a friend there who can assist me and I go down there every so often. That area is near the Cotswolds, some of the most beautiful stuff I have seen yet here in England. It is what I thought of when I first heard I was coming over here. One of my favourite towns to date is Burford. That's down that area as well as Stow and Stow-on-the-Wold.
OUCH!!! I have found it rather difficult to procure stuff over here! 2) Being over here I have a US mailing address but it can take a month to get stuff over here, as a found with the Canon 16-35mmL lens! For now, it is a weighing my options. I was wondering as another option the Canon 100-400L lens as a lighter alternate to the Sigma, but I'm only loosing about 2 1/2 pounds.
The place in Swindon doesn't carry it. Also, at that place the 10D goes for £1179 ($2063.25)! Keep in mind that there is tax on it and already included at 17.5%. It is called the Value Added Tax (VAT). I call it the steath tax as it is already included and where it goes, no one knows! I have my suspicions, though. Not to mention, when I go back to the US, any British bought stuff is non-US and can make for problems if stuff goes pear shaped (bad)!

Just some ideas, and ramblings...

Cheers from England,
Canuck

No, I really can’t, but that isn’t an issue. I’m too old to be thinking about a new career, so this is strictly a labor of love. It’s also part of the reason I did things in such a hurry; the hard truth is, none of us know how much time we have left, but an indisputable fact is that I have a lot less than I did when I was youngster (like many of the people on this forum). In other words, if I don’t do it now, I might never get the chance. And if the finances do conspire to make this something to regret, I have other assets from earlier ‘hobbies’ that I can liquidate.

Through the greater part of my adult life, I’ve been a collector. This appears to be a not-very-unique affliction among people with plenty of disposable income, but no time to enjoy it --- a product of owning our own business and working 70-80 hours a week. Over the years I’ve collected model trains, firearms, guitars, and other things that just happened to catch my fancy at various times. Fortunately, the majority of things that I’ve accumulated have held their value reasonably well.

Upon retiring, I unloaded a lot of it, and there’s still plenty more. So if Mama hits the roof when she sees what I’ve spent, I’ll just sell a few guns --- she hates having them around the house anyway. If that doesn’t buy me peace, then there are the guitars, my collection of old Pentax SLR’s, and so forth. Right now, photography is the only thing that seems to matter. It gets me off the sofa, out of the house, and keeps my mind active.

Tom

Here's the kit I have thru today:
Canon EOS 10D w/ BG-ED3
Canon 16-35 F2.8 L
Sigma 120-300 F2.8 EX APO HSM IF
2x 512MB CF cards
Canon EOS 50E
Sigma 28-80 F 3.5-5.6
Canon T90
Canon FD 35-70 F3.5-4.5
Canon FD 70-200 F??? not handy to check
Sunpak auto 36 DX thyristor flash (works w/10D great!)
EOS-FD adapter to use FD lenses on 10D
It works, I will have to see about putting some up on the net! I'm waiting on broadband to set up a site.

Re EOS-FD adapter, i understand the focus is manual but does the arpeture work automatically? I have the 135mm f2 Canon FD lens (should have been a L lens) and I would love to use it on my 10D.