Portrait Lens etc.....

Hey im stepping up to the 7D... i wanna focus on portraits,group shots, landscape , general walk around lens, i also like the look for a wide angle/fisheye to play around with. Well i want everyones opinion on which lenses would you prefer and think i should go with... more serious photographers with experience i prefer to answer these questions if you would please... and an example of that lens if you got one would be awesome.. thanks everyone

Welcome aboard.

Sounds like you need one of everything.
What are your priorities?
What is your budget?

well i have young children so i would take lots of photos of them and there friends, some model pin-ups/fashion... then general walk around for everything.... i dont have a huge budget... not cheap and not expensive..so in between..

Any exact numbers? There's a lot of in between.

about $1,300

Vermontography84 wrote in post #11806425
about $1,300

each or total?

So you have $1,300 for everything... thats gonna be hard.

I would get a 50 1.4 for Portrait (upper body / head) That is around $300-$400 depending on which one you get

I would get a Sigma 10-20 for ultra wide angle (around $480 new) or a Sigma 10mm fisheye (around $650 new)

As for general walk around, give the Sigma 17-50 f2.8 OS HSM a try ($670 new)

I realize all of these lenses combined exceed your budget, but I would also look used for savings! They might all fit used.

Don't buy new unless you cant find what you need used.

Try out the sigma 17-70 OS, its range is killer.
The sigma 10-20 is the way to go for UWA, especially while on a budget.

The canon 50mm is a good choice for portraits, as is the 85mm though it is a bit long...

Look at the 60mm macro from canon, it is spectacular. L-glass isn't enough bang for your buck right now, but maybe check out a used sigma 70-200 HSM for portraits.

Please remember that you don't need an UWA for landscape, they are more useful for tight spaces.

Tamron 17-50/2.8 VC @ $650 - that's for walk-around, landscape, and some portraiture.
(Ideally, that would be the EF-S 17-55/2.8 IS, but that costs a lot more.)

Then, the Sigma 10-20 @ $480 for ultra-wide landscapes. Experiment with that before you consider fisheye lenses.

That leaves $170.
Stretch a little for the EF-S 55-250 IS @ $210 or a little more for the 430 EX flash at $285.

Vermontography84 wrote in post #11806387
i wanna focus on portraits,group shots, landscape , general walk around lens, i also like the look for a wide angle/fisheye to play around with.

so you're basically asking us for a whole lens set

The 24-105/4 L is a very good general purpose lens, even if it lacks a bit in the wide angle department for a crop like the 7D. I've been using almost exclusively on my 50D since I got it, it's sharp even wide open, it focuses fast, I love the IS, and the colors are great.
If you don't mind manual everything, Samyang does a nice 8mm fisheye and a 14/2.8 prime for very reasonable prices (if you find the 24-105 used, one of those two can fit in your budget).
For portrait you can directly invest $100 in a nifty fifty (Canon EF 50/1.8), or wait a bit and see what focal length you tend to use for this on the 24-105, and buy a nicer prime accordingly (50/1.4 or 85/1.8 : both good lenses, priced about the same).

thanks everyone so far who have posted there thoughts on what lens... im gonna do some research on them and check out used lens first..

I would get either the Canon EF-S 17-55/2.8 IS or the Tamron 17-50/2.8 OS (the Canon is better, decide this based on budget) and then team the zoom with the Canon EF 85/1.8 lens for a bit of reach.

You should also add a flash, something like the 430 EX II.

Welcome to POTN...

What lenses and camera do you already have?

Does that $1300 include the camera, or just the lenses?

Either way, you might want to forego the 7D. Unless you do a lot of sports/action shooting, for the types of shots you cite with 7D you will be paying extra for features you're unlikely to need or use. 60D or T2i or the new T3i all can give you exactly the same image quality for considerably less money and leave you more lens budget to work with. Lenses will make a much more difference in your images, anyway, than the camera body you use with them. Unless you really need to make really big prints (or crop a whole lot), you could even consider lower resolution cameras such as 50D, T1i, 40D, etc.

On any of these crop sensor cameras, the Canon 10-22 ($850 w/hood) or Tokina 12-24/4 ($500) would be my top choices for a wide lense. Neither is a fisheye, though.

For a "walk around" lens, at the top end, choose between the 24-105/4L IS, 24-70/2.8L IS ($1050 and $1330 respectively). Yes, there are some third party alternatives. I haven't used them, will leave it to others to advise.

For a cheaper walk around alternative I often recommend 28-135 IS.... Which sells in stores for $470 (w/hood) but, because it's been sold widely as a kit lens, can often be found very lightly used for $250-300. It's quite a good lens optically, EF, mid-grade build, with USM and IS. Frankly the 28-135 IS is so good optically, in build, etc. that I couldn't see paying $1000+ for a 24-105/4L IS . I did buy and use a 24-70/2.8 because it's sealed better against dust and is more durable, and my lenses don't lead an easy life.

Particularly if you get the 28-135 or 24-105, you may want a lens with a larger aperture for portraits and low light shooting. Canon 28/1.8 ($500 w/hood) or Sigma 30/1.4 ($440) is useful for group shots or tighter places. Canon 50mm (f1.8 or f1.4, $135 and $400 respectively, w/hood), Sigma 50/1.4 ($500), Canon 85/1.8 ($425 w/hood) or Sigma 85/1.4 ($900) are the more traditional "short" and "long" portrait focal lengths.

Yes, you could go with a 17-55/2.8 ($1150 w/hood). It's not terribly wide or long, so you'd still probably want one or more of the primes mentioned. For a wider lens to compliment it you might get the Tokina 11-16/2.8 ($600) although I personally don't see much need for f2.8 on an UWA, especially if it costs more and ends up with a super narrow zoom range as a result. And you'll probably still want a longer tele.... perhaps the Canon 70-200/4 IS ($1280 + $140 if you want the tripod mounting ring).

I haven't even touched upon fisheye lenses yet. You might be able to manipulate wide angle shots with some software to get fisheye-like effects (perspective and warp controls in Photoshop, for example). If you still want a fisheye lens, there are a number to choose. I condsider fisheye pretty specialized, though. Perhaps the most useful would be the new Canon fisheye zoom (t'aint cheap!) or the Tokina fisheye zoom. Most are single focal lengths (primes)... Canon, Sigma, etc. There are vintage lenses that can be adapted, too.

17-55/2.8 IS and a Sigma 50/1.4.