Lens lineup... help me decide on mine

Currently I have the 18-55 kit and 50mm 1.8 II. I think Ive fell in love with primes since the 1.8 is on my 400D 99% of the time now.

This is the lineup I was originally considering before I used fifty...

Tamron 28-75 F/2.8
Canon 70-200 F/4L

Canon 50mm F/1.8 II
Canon 100mm F/2.8 Macro


That would cover everything that I shoot easy, and then some since I dont ever see myself needing much over 100mm...

I was going to purchase the lenses in the same order as well (not counting 50) but now Im completely rethinking everything.

Untill I got my 400D I mostly shot macro and family events here and there, thats when I learned that F/3.5-5.6 was not enough, but 70mm was pretty close. Id like to stick to below or around $500 per lens, since this is just a hobby and that makes the non L primes perfect.


Canon 50mm F/1.8 (upgrade to 1.4 later?)
Canon 85mm F/1.8
Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro
Tamron 17-50 F/2.8
Canon 70-200mm F/4L

My questions are, is the 70-200 F/4L enough for things like a trip to the zoo, family outting and such?

Should I stick with the 17-50 2.8 or just pick up a wide prime, like a 20 or 20mm?

Jimmer I am in the same boat as you are. I am looking at the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
& the EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM. I have found the 24-105 for $699 online, which is the cheapest that I have seen. The other I have seen online for $229. Big difference in $$ I am trying to find out if there is something else out there with better optics, that might be the same or a little more money, with maybe a little bigger range even. I currently have a 18-55 and a 70-300. I am trying to find something that will kind of be a good cross between the two. I hope that you find the info you are looking for.

Since only you can decide what focal lengths work best for you I wouldn't make any recommendations on your lens choice.

But as far as the 70-200 and the zoo I use to have this lens and loved it. But I always found myself wanting more reach at the zoo. I picked up a Kenko 1.4 extender and that gave me enough to be satisfied at the zoo.

Eric

PolynesianMedic wrote in post #4162155
Jimmer I am in the same boat as you are. I am looking at the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
& the EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM. I have found the 24-105 for $699 online, which is the cheapest that I have seen. The other I have seen online for $229. Big difference in $$ I am trying to find out if there is something else out there with better optics, that might be the same or a little more money, with maybe a little bigger range even. I currently have a 18-55 and a 70-300. I am trying to find something that will kind of be a good cross between the two. I hope that you find the info you are looking for.

I would be pretty careful about ordering at that price.

Check

www.resellerratings.co​m before pruchasing

Eric

Thanks for the link Eric

Eric&Susan wrote in post #4162160
Since only you can decide what focal lengths work best for you I wouldn't make any recommendations on your lens choice.

But as far as the 70-200 and the zoo I use to have this lens and loved it. But I always found myself wanting more reach at the zoo. I picked up a Kenko 1.4 extender and that gave me enough to be satisfied at the zoo.

Eric

A 1.4 tele is definately an option if I have a problem with reach.

With an APS-C camera there are more and more alternatives all the time -- new Canon EF-S lenses are being announced 'relatively' often. There is now an 18-55 IS. This makes it hard to give advice.
I would however suggest that you look closely at the gear lists of people who post on here and perhaps ask some of them (via PM?) for some thoughts on why they chose their gear.
I started with the kit lens and then the 24-105L - since then I have filled gaps -- or maybe I should say covered all the range - and now I am concentrating on replacements AND new gear -- eg 580 EX II

Hi Jimmer!

I went thru the same phase as u, owning and selling various zoom lens, before settling on primes. My advice for u is, once u are hooked on primes, there is no turning back! The lens that led me to the slippery road of no return is the famous canon 85mm f1.8, pretty impressive for the price paid. I am using this for all my family events/outings, and f1.8 will be fast enough for virtually all kinds of lighting condition.
The 70-200mm f4L is an amazing lens, but be very careful with it, a lot of amature photographer caught the "L" fever because of it. Unfortunately, f4 is too slow for low lights shots, limiting it's use.
Let me end off by sharing my personal dream list: 50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.8, and the 135mm f2.
Hope this helps!

I'm having my own lens fickleness, but since I own many of the lenses on this thread, I"ll throw out my .02.

50 1.4 - very useful for low lighting
85 1.8 - since I have a 50, 100, 135, i'm think the 85 is the one to be squeezed out. great lens for the money. I actually prefer this lens over the 50, but with the FL sitting between 50 and 100, its going to be on the selling blocks soon
100 macro - sharpest lens I own, but careful, it's very slow focusing. great portrait lens
135L - the term magical has been used many times. wonderful bokeh, great color, contrast
24-105 - versatile is the word to describe...but i'm wondering if I would prefer the 24-70
70-200F4IS - had the 2.8IS version, kinda have sellers remorse (though its been 10 months), but I'm finding I don't need the >105 focal length much right now

just my .02 if it's even worth that much

On a crop body you want something like a 17-55 IS or 17-50 tamron as a general/everyday/walka​round lens. the wider end, be;low 24/28mm) is very often needed for street and travel shooting. You then have the 50mm for lower light and the 70-200 will do a job most of the time for zoo style shooting, tho' way too short for wildlife. the 100mm Macro seems a more versatile buy as it will get you portraits and Macro, while the 85mm won't (I love this lens tho'). The 70-200 4.0 l IS is a stunning lens and I would try and reach for that rather than the plain 4.0 version, even more so if I was using a TCon. The Kenko 1.4 is great value.

I'd agree with this.

Also before loading up on fast primes and spending the rest of my life shooting razor thin DOF and changing lenses like a madman I would buy a 430EX flash and learn how to bounce it and control exposure with E-TTL.

JeffreyG wrote in post #4163340
I would buy a 430EX flash and learn how to bounce it and control exposure with E-TTL.

Good luck with that!!