New 20D-what lens do I need?

Switched from Olympus E10 to 20D..Looking for info on lenses. Camera used for old- time pictures taken outside under cover, day and evening, with only stationary fill light, no flash. Switching to 20D because of lag time. E10 equipped with 35-140mm equivalant with wide angle extension 20% (28mm equivalent). I confess terrible ignorance and confusion investigating lenses, so far my options I think are EFS 18-55 F3.5-5.6 or EFS 17-85 F4-5.6 ? Thank you for any opinions.

Thanks for the info, will do some more learning ie difference between EF & EFS

Attaching my best picture with Olympus E-10

PS Just found this forum today, alll day, great information!

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The EF-series lenses will also fit, so there are the EF 16-35 f/2.8 L, 17-40 f/4 L, and assorted fixed focal length lenses from 17 mm (28 mm equivalent in 35 mm format) on up.

17 TO 85 gives you a 27mm to 136 mm on the 20d.
Rob

THANKS Jon and gyrob for your information. One more question, do you think the lenses suggested will cover approx 10' X 10' background at 8-12'. My studio has limited space.

For a good bang for the buck, take a look at the Canon EF 28-105, 3.5 - 4.5. It is a great walk around with versatility and cheap.

NCO,

you can try that out with your current E10 ... what is relevent is just the 'equivalent' focal length.

Your E10 gives you 35-140 equivalent, with the wide angle converter (WCON-08?) you get 28 mm.
The Canon 20D has a 1.6 crop factor, so an 18-55 mm lens will also give you about 29 mm (18x1.6=28.8 ) to 88 mm (55*1.6=88 ) equivalent focal length. The 18-55 kit lens is a decent lens (especially for the price), in my personal opinion the 17-85 lens is too expensive for what it has to offer. (I went with the 18-55 and Tamron 28-75/2.8 XR DI instead - cheaper, better image quality & constant f/2.8 )

The built-in flash of the 20D is rated for 18 mm (29 mm equ.) widest setting, if you use a wider lens like the 16-35, 17-40 or 17-85 on its widest setting, you will have to use an external flash, otherwise you get shadows in your picture. Using an external flash and bounding it off the ceiling is not a bad idea by any means, but annoying if you haven't planned it.

Also ... pay attention to DOF. With the small sensor of the E10, it gives you a DOF at f/2.8 that is similar to the DOF of the 20D at f/8. Very good if you want to isolate your subject from the background, not so good if you want to get a picture where everything is in sharp focus.

Best regards,
Andy

A 10 ft. FoV at 8-12 ft. distance would be about 17-24 mm f.l. lenses. That may be a bit wide for portraiture, if that's what you had in mind.