Which…lenses to buy?

DSLR Gear DSLRs featured Lenses

This has become THE number one question asked to me. “I have xxx amount of dollars or I have xxx camera, which lenses should I buy”? It’s a question that is very difficult to answer, not least because it gets asked 20 times a day. Hopefully this will cut down on those emails! Try not to ask which lenses to buy in the comments. This blog gives you all the information you need. Read it, decide what is important to you and go from there! 🙂

What follows is not the definitive list of lenses to buy. It’s my opinion. Please treat it like that. Many will disagree and may well be quite right too! All I can do is base this post on my own experience, with the plethora of lenses I own and have used.

I want to cover other makes of cameras with this evolving blog post but for now it will be purely for Canon lenses. I will cover the GH1, Nikon, Sony at some point later. My most experience is with Canon Lenses.

First let us cover the fundamentals of what you need to know about sensor sizes and how your camera will affect which lenses you buy.

Currently there is just one solitary Canon that has a full frame sensor for Video and that is the 5DmkII. The 1dMkiv is an APS-H sensor and a 1.3x crop. All the others are a 1.6x crop called an APS-C. The full frame sensor is massive compared to the APS-C. It’s easy to forget just how much bigger it is. Look at this image below and you will see what I mean.

So the above image is shot with a 14mm L series lens. Designed for full frame and is as wide as you can get without going all fisheye on the Canons. It’s an amazing lens and one of my favourites…problem it is expensive and as you can see only wide when used on the 5Dmkii, on the other sensors it is cropped, making it not so wide. It’s still a 14mm on any camera, it’s just the equivalent field of view (EFOV) that has changed. On the APS-C sensor it has the EFOV of 14mm x 1.6 which equals 22.4mm, still wide-ish but as you can see above, nothing like the spectacular wideness of the lens on a full frame body.

This is the most important factor you need to think about when buying lenses. Is it worth spending over $2000 on a wide angle lens that is no longer wide for your crop sensor camera? Personally I think no. For full frame users, there is nothing like it, it’s amazing. But for the rest, don’t get this lens unless you are planning to upgrade to a full frame sensor very soon.

That is the biggest issue really. Do you buy lenses designed especially for your 1.6x crop (called EF-S by Canon) or do you get lenses which are future proof if you decide to move up to a full frame camera (called EF by Canon)? All the EF lenses are compatible with all the Canon cameras. It does not work the other way around. Some lenses by third party manufactures will work on the 5Dmkii despite being designed for the crop but will vignette heavily, unless they are zooms so you can zoom in slightly to avoid this…more on that later.

5Dmk2/7D lens comparison test from Mike Collins on Vimeo.

Canon’s premiere line of lenses are the L series. They are magnificent, expensive but worth the price. Build quality is almost uniformly excellent and the range of glass they have is enormous. These lenses are completely compatible across the whole range of cameras….There is one caveat. These lenses are getting sharper and sharper. I have the above mentioned 14mm II and the new 70-200mm F2.8II and they are actually too sharp in my opinion for video, for stills they are amazing, but in video they can accentuate some of the main issues we have with the camera, mainly moire and aliasing. I recently shot a project in Italy. A lot of it with the 14mm and the new 70-200 and I have had more moire issues than I have experienced before and I am certain it is down to them being simply tack sharp and this means all the detail can be seen and that is when we have moire issues. I am not saying don’t buy these lenses. If you do, make sure that your sharpness is turned all the way off (as it should be all the time) and look out for it. Below is a section of a shot where you can see the issues on the water…

Am i bothered? Yes and no. I can easily use a filter to knock back the sharpness of the 70-200mm version 2 (not on the 14mm though and it wont take filters). My old 70-200 was more forgiving, but these lenses are investments for me and I know that Canon will improve these cameras. It shows you just how incredible these lenses are for the money, their sharpness is almost too good for the video function of the cameras!…and this guys is the key thing you need to know when buying lenses.

It is the glass that is your investment, NOT the camera.

Your lenses should last you for years, through many bodies, so always take that into account when buying lenses.

Zooms or Primes?

Tough one this…prime lenses are generally of higher optical quality and are generally faster (as in can let in more light so better in low light and better for shallow depth of field) but are of course a fixed focal length so it’s harder to shoot with them. Zooms are great flexible lenses but PLEASE avoid those kit lenses. A zoom must have a constant aperture to be useful in video. Constant aperture means it maintains it’s F-Stop no matter how much you zoom in or out. Without this the iris stops down making the shot unusable. Of course constant aperture lenses cost more, but like everything in life, you get what you pay for. Canon’s L series of zooms are amazing. Although some like the 24-70mm could really do with updating to give them IS. IS is image stabilisation and I believe is absolutely essential for video work as it reduces the rolling shutter artefacts that we can get. Canon also do a very nice zoom for the EF-s with IS, it’s the 17-55mm F2.8 IS. Great lens, the crop sensor equivalent of the 24-70 but with IS, not an L series though. No EF-S lenses are L series. One of my favourite L series zoom lenses is the 24-105 f4 IS. Nice range and IS although a little on the slow side. It’s one of my favourite interview lenses.

So Zooms are easier to shoot with as you can vary your focal length, are not as good in low light and the good ones cost money! There are some third party zooms out there which are very good. I haven’t used most of them but Sigma and Tamron make good lenses and the Tokina 11-16mm is easily my favourite crop wide angle lens. An absolutely essential purchase for 7D and T2i users. Yes, if you are a T2i user expect to spend a lot more than your camera on lenses and accessories. The downside of owning a dirt cheap camera! 🙂

Right…let’s get down to what to buy and why. We can cover more of the type of stuff above as we go along. First off I am going to break it down into type of sensors assuming money is not an issue and then after that into budget.

Zeiss lenses

I love the Zeiss ZE (The ZF’s are Nikon mount). They have excellent image quality, amazing build quality. Have hard focus stops unlike the Canon lenses and lovely long focus rotation for more accurate rack focusing. In a way I prefer the ZF lenses as they have manual apertures which can be modified to make them cine lens smooth but they focus in the opposite direction to Canon lenses so it may do your head in!

The Zeiss lenses are probably the best there are for video. They don’t have the bells and whistles that the L series have…no auto focus, no IS but they do have amazing metal build quality, incredible optics and wonderful focus control. Not ideal for stills though as they don’t have that amazing L series autofocus. It’s a shame the longest non macro they do is 85mm…I would love to see a 135mm F2 from them. The 100mm macro is good but focus, like any macro is tough and worse still the barrel moves in and out as you focus, it does not have internal focusing, no using with a matte box is tough, using a follow focus is practically impossible. I prefer the Canon one over this due it’s closer focus and the excellent IS.

Zeiss also has the CP.2 PL lens (positive lock) lenses for all the Canons. These are essentially re-housed ZE lenses. They have the same filter size and length and have pinpoint accurate focus marks. Great it you have the budget…They also have EF switchable mounts for these lenses so nice and flexible. PL mounts are always permanent mods to your cameras so do this only if you have no plans to ever use stills glass again…

Lenses for full frame cameras

Well the 14mm F2.8 II is the most amazing wide angle lens I have ever seen. Yes it is super sharp and can cause the moire to be visible especially on deep DOF shots but it really is in a class of it’s own.

Alternatively look at the 16-35mm F2.8L. A constant aperture zoom lens with a nice range and nice and wide, although quite distorted at the wide end and a little soft.

Next up would be either the 24mm F1.4 or the 35mm F1.4, although the 35mm is due an update and is not as sharp as I would like. The 24mm F1.4 is stunning and your best wide angle low light lens out there. An essential purchase. The Zeiss ZE is a lovely 35mm lens but slower at F2

From here we go to the Canon 50mm F1.4 or even better if you can afford it the F1.2. The F1.2 is an L lens and one of my favourite lenses. Amazing for stills and video. Is it worth the price difference. If you can afford it yes, otherwise get the F1.4.

I am not a fan of the 85mm F1.2. I hate the focus ring on it, too loose and too inaccurate. I much prefer the Zeiss 85mm F1.4. An amazing lens.

If you have the cash I adore the Canon 100mm Macro F2.8 IS. Make sure it is the L series version. Amazing lens, great IS and wonderful image. I just think the build quality is not quite as good as some of the other L series lenses. Feels plasticky. But I never travel without it…below are two short films, one shot entirely with the 100mm macro the other a lot…

As the water… from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Clock from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Next up is the other essential lens for your collection…the 70-200mm IS. MAKE SURE IT HAS IS…long lenses need it. You have two options here. The much cheaper and much lighter F4 version of the more expensive and very sharp F2.8 II. If you want one with more low light capability then go with the F2.8. If you are shooting daylight mostly get the F4. It’s much much lighter and a heck of a lot cheaper. For more flexibility get the F2.8.

Well those are the essential lenses for the full frame camera!

Lenses for crop cameras

First and foremost get the Tokina 11-16mm, it’s better than the Canon 10-22mm as it’s constant aperture even though the range on the Canon is better. Get it. This one of the only EF-S lenses I recommend getting. It is the best wide angle for the 1Dmkiv too, zoom in slightly to lose the vignetter and it’s the widest lens you can get for that camera. Same trick works for 5dmkII but only at the full zoom…16mm making the zoom part of it and for me the lens too, pointless for this camera. Save up and buy the 16-35mm much more use…BUT, $700 for a 16mm F2.8 prime ain’t bad! See…am full of contradictions!

Next up is your 50mm equivalent for the crop…Take a look at the Sigma 30mm F1.4 (EF-S) only or the Canon 35mm F1.4 (universal). The Sigma is WAY cheaper and I hear good things, although never shot with it myself…Just remember, it won’t work on a 5DmkII!

The 17-55mm F2.8 IS is a great flexible zoom…worth the cash, trust me!

Then I would look at the Canon 50mm F1.4 or the F1.2…you 85mm equivalent…

The Macro 100mm will be great here too…especially as it becomes an EFOV of 160mm!

Then the same as the full frame…the 70-200…

I recommend getting as few EF-S lenses as possible, make yourself future proof!

Nikon lenses

Great lenses if you are on a budget. There are loads of old ones on ebay and you can get some bloody good bargains. Also they are generally not as sharp and therefore quite forgiving! Get a Fotodiox Pro adaptor and away you go! I bought a 20 years old F1.2 50mm for $250 from ebay. It’s awesome!
This is the way to go if you are really on a budget…

I am on a real budget!

Well if you are REALLY on a tight budget then get one lens. You can shoot everything you want with a standard lens. That’s a 50mm on a full frame, 3omm on the crop sensor. So if you have a T2i, 7D get the Sigma, it’s a great price and has great image. For the 5Dmkii get a 50mm. The below film was shot entirely on a Zeiss 50mm F1.4 and the music video below was shot on a 50mm F1.2


Sofia’s People: Canon 5dmk2 24p from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Monarchs “Miles away” from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Telephoto lenses are really important too, so on the T2i/ 7D look for an 85mm F1.4 and for those really wide shots the Tokina as mentioned earlier.

Full frame users have to pay more as EF lenses are generally more. So if you are on that budget then it’s Nikon all the way for now!

Canon FD lenses

Avoid the Canon FD lenses. You need an adaptor with glass in it to make it work with the EOS cameras and they simply do not work well. Soft am afraid! A real shame as there are lots of affordable FD lenses out there…

Special effect lenses

Samyang do a nice 8mm fish eye for the crop sensor and it’s pretty cheap if you can source them…

I love the Canon Tilt Shift lenses although these are not cheap. They are designed primarily for architecture photography and you can alter keystone lines so they are straight when looking up at buildings but can also be used to make things look really nice and miniature. Also check out the Lensbaby Composer lens, again, special effect but a lot of fun. Check out the pool shot in the below film shot on the 24mm F2.8 TS lens.

Sky from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

As with all special effect lenses use sparingly. But great fun to use.

This is the end of the first draft of the lens blog. This will be continually updated, so keep an eye on it!

507 comments

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  2. Great article Philip. I agree with you on all your recommendations. I’m debating selling my Zeiss ZF kit and going all Canon and picking up the Viewfactor Impero HDSLR Controller. I wouldn’t mind keeping the Zeiss glass and getting the Redrock microRemote, but I do like the small footprint the Impero would give me.

              1. No, I was considering getting my 7D PL converted but since I’m not looking to get any other cine lenses at the moment I thought I’d just stick to the EF mount. I was really wondering if there’s any particular advantage to the PL mount over EF mounts on these CP.2 primes?

                Also, I can only afford three of the lenses; out of the range of focal lengths/apertures they have, what would be your ideal three?

                Thanks for the advice Philip. Absolutely love your work and will def. try to make your next London meet up.

                Rich

                1. The PL mount is much sturdier than EF but then you lose the mirror box when you get camera modded making stills not really feasible and you HAVE to use PL lenses only. an expensive prospect!

  3. Thanks Phillip, great blog post.
    As a cinematography student on a major budget I cannot afford L-series but cannot wait to get my hands on the Tokina 11-16 for my 7D, now if I can just find it in South-Africa or wait for B&H to get some more in stock. Regards, Duran

  4. Great blog Mr.B love the pragmatism over your choices and not the predominant shiny kit syndrome that seems to come from most sources. To add my two-penneth as an owner of a 5D I would say the canon 100mm f2 is a loverly small body telephoto lens, well built and does not draw attention to itself because of it’s size and is fantastic for stills as well

  5. Mr Bloom,

    What will happen to my canon lenses when newer panasonic af-100 or sony’s cinema camera is released ? I know that red has plans to come with canon mounts but what about panasonic af-100 ?

    Is there some way to mount the canon lenses on these cameras ? I think for videographer, investing in manual lenses is better, so that they wont have to stick to canon cameras only.

    I know that you are a big time sony fan,and you will definitely be getting that sony cinema camera when it’s released. But you are already prepared for that because you have those nice zeiss manual primes 🙂

        1. First off great post Phil, thank you, answered lots of questions.

          I’ve read Birger is doing something with an EOS adaptor. Hope it’s not the price of the RED adaptor! I’d have to start selling myself on the street already 😛

          Also thoughts plz, I’m about to invest in a Canon 70mm – 200mm L IS USM II for a Canon 7D I’m getting. Considering an adaptor is created, any idea if the Image Stablilization of the Canon lens would work on the Panasonic AF-100? I’m not totally up on the tech of how it works you see, soz if a n00b question, still learning. I wouldn’t want spend about £1600 on a lens that might be a dead end in the future. I take your note about the lenses being your main investment so I wouldn’t like to make an expensive mistake when considering an AF-100.

          Thanks.

  6. Brilliant! thank you v much, some solid information from someone who I trust with something like this. Once I have the money to upgrade my lenses, I’m hopefully going to test out some of these and see what I think.

    Thanks!

  8. Great line-up of choices. Really nice to read a list that pertains to video in particular, rather than having to search though still photography specs/reviews online. Thanks!

  9. All sound advice, as usual, Mr Bloom! You’re right to also recommend the Sigma 30mm lens for 550D/T2i users. It is a cracker. I’ve had it for a couple of years now on my old 350D and it is sharp, fast, and has good colour. And on the 550D, it has an additional benefit for video: a permanent manual override of the autofocus, meaning that if you do find yourself moving from shooting stills to video quite often, you don’t have to keep clicking the AF button to Manual. Doesn’t sound much, but it’s really useful. I love it!

  10. Really awesome, all-in-one post as always, Philip. After following you for a few months, I don’t see how you keep up with all you do, between your professional work, following your twitter and facebook, and writing informative blog posts. Well done, sir! Always a pleasure.

    -Andrew W.

  11. Greetings Mr. Bloom,

    Very helpful. I learned a thing or two that I did not know. Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts. Real life experience is far more helpful than speculation. Again, very appreciated.

    Cheers!

    1. I hate the nifty fifty. Piece of plastic junk with nasty focus barrel! Never used the 85mm. 135 looks good at f2. Never used it. I don’t see me getting it either as it does not have IS. I may as well stick with my zoom

      1. Nothing scientific to back this up, and it is based more on stills than video, but I would rate my 85mm f1.8 higher than my 50mm f1.4 for image quality. Certainly worth trying if you can’t afford the Zeiss

        1. I bought the 85mm f/1.8 for use with my Canon T2i, and I love it. I tested the 85mm Zeiss at a camera store, and it was of course magically fantasic, but so sharp that moire’ was very evident, more so than with the Canon to my eye. The Canon 85 is just beautiful on the T2i.

      2. If every amatuer doesn’t start out with the Canon 50mm f1.8II they are nuts.

        For it’s price, it is a fantastic lens. Yes it’s all plastic and the focus ring is awful, but the image out of it wide open, is perfectly suitable for video on the 7D or the 5DMKII. You simply won’t find better for the price.

        Of course if you can afford a 1.4 or 1.2L go for it, but don’t be discouraged if you can’t, it will do the job just fine!

              1. Sorry, I missed that. How does the image quality compare to the Nifty Fifty? Is it really that much better or does it simply resolve some of the build/ergonomic issues that the Nifty has?

          2. Hi Philip,
            Great blog. I see many Nikon lenses on ebay like the one you are recommending above (Nikon F1.4 50mm). However I see two kind. The Ai and the Ais. Will an Ais work on a T2i the same way an Ai with the nikon-canon adaptor?
            Thanks

      3. The 85 1.8 is an amazing lens for its price, and a far far more economic alternative to the 85 1.2. I use it alot for stills too and it apparently outshines the sluggish 1.2 in terms of autofocus. True USM too so no play on the focus barrel, unlike the 50 1.4 for example. A great lens to have in one’s lineup.

    2. I own the 28mm 1.8, 50mm 1.4, and the 85mm 1.8. The 28 and 85 are of identical build quality, much better than the 50mm 1.4, and leaps ahead of the 50mm 1.8. The focus on the 50mm 1.4 isn’t all that smooth. I have compared this on numerous 1.4’s and they all have the same feel. The 28mm and 85mm have a much smoother focus ring. I do recommend all three though if on a budget – I have been very happy with the results.

  13. Very helpful article, is the tokina 11-16mm the lens of choice for the night sky time lapses that you do?

    many thanks for your time and effort in helping us all become better cinematographers

      1. I was on a job and the client rented 2 of these lenses. One was awfully soft, not sure if it was inconsistent build quality or if it had been abused previously. Other than that I was happy with the lens that was sharp, agreed it is essential for the 7D.

        -Dane

  14. I’m all for vintage lenses, a bit of a lottery but really cheap and sometimes with astonishing quality

    I already have a nearly-full set of primes with zeiss jena and leica glass; I still have to buy two or three more, but, of the five lenses I have already bought, two are absolutely amazing, one is pretty good, one is mediocre, and one is an absolute lemmon; it takes lots of work to build the set this way, but I didn’t have to break the bank (mean price so far is well below $250 including the fotodiox adapters)

    my latest buys are not there yet, but you can see you all these compare with my father’s modern lenses (including the tokina 11-16, tamron 17-50 and canon 50 1.8) here:

    Testing my lenses with The One Dollar Resolution Chart
    http://www.similaar.com/lenstests/lenstestsa.html

  17. Hi Philip,

    Great article!

    You wrote “image stabilisation […] is absolutely essential for video work as it reduces the rolling shutter artefacts that we can get.”

    I thought it is generally not a good idea to have IS turned on when you’re panning the camera as the IS is fighting against the camera move?

    Also, perhaps it’s good to state that although the Tokina is a great lens, it does not work with the VariND/FaderND filters, which are so essential in DSLR shooting to maintain shallow DoF under most light circumstances. On the other hand, with wide lenses you tend to stop down much further since you mostly need to get deep focus.

      1. My experience was that you get a big cross mark in the middle of the image when you put on the VariND. That’s not vignetting, right?

        I totally agree with you on the 85mm F1.2. I have it, but have not really used it, since the focus ring is way too loose, like you said. Not a good investment…

        1. vignetteting is seeing the filter around the edge of the frame. You do not see this with the thin vai nd…you do need to be very careful with it as you can get dark patches on the image, especially on bright areas like the sky. it is after all a linear polariser and a circular polariser working together…I use it all the time…as I say just be careful with it.

  18. Hi Philip,

    One more thing – what procedure do you use for correct white balancing the DSLRs? I recently bought an ExpoDisc. Still have to see how it performs, but it promises to be a quick and workable solution.

    Perhaps you can do a posting on white balancing as well in the future?

  19. Thank you very much for this post. I really appreciate all the effort you put in this!
    Since three weeks I am searching for good and affordable lenses and you helped me a lot! I will follow your work!

    Thanks again!
    dpf

  23. Thanks a ton Phillip!
    Beginner in DSLR world and just got my 5Dmkii yesterday, so timing couldn’t be better (although I was bummed when my old EF-S 18-55 wouldn’t fit and had to look up why).
    Now just praying the mkiii doesn’t come out like next month!

  24. Great summary and reference Philip.
    I was a little surprised with your feelings on the 85/1.2. Seems to be ‘The’ magical lens to many but i realize your issue isn’t with the glass itself. I’m considering that against a 50/1.2…..or Zeiss i guess.

    “Well the 14mm F2.8 II is the most amazing wide angle lens I have ever seen.” Thats quite a statement. Have you compared the quality of the Zeiss 21 Distagon against the Canon 14/L? Most reviews i’ve read like the Zeiss 21 over the Zeiss 14. So i was wondering about that with the Canon. Cheers!

      1. I was just at the store trying the Canon 14mm II, and while even there the people working at the store were like, “That’s a great lens,” the video taken with it was very much distorted. I’d walk down an aisle of the story, shooting, and the distortion was very prominent as things moved to the edge (and then out) of the frame.

        So we tossed the 24mm f1.4 on. Still a BIT of distortion with video.

        The 35mm f1.4 had none; it was gone. And how beautiful it was! I’m still thinking about it…. and about selling my car, getting a bus pass, and going back to that store.

        Shooting on the 5d btw.

        1. All wide angles have distortion at certain angles. It’s the nature of the beast. The 14mm has least I have seen. At right height in room it can look like there is no distortion. Walk with it and of course there will be. Naturally the tighter you go the less distortion you have!

  26. I do believe you missed a few lenses,
    Not your fault Philip, I just think you may have not tried them all…

    (Please Note this is my opinion, and I’m using these lenses on the 5DMK2)

    The Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM is a much better 50mm lens than canons 50MM
    in my opinion it is much sharper and has better color and contrast,
    Albeit at a higher price tag and weight, it is built like a tank.
    Another great Sigma lens is the 28MM f/1.8, I have done extensive testing on canons 5omm,and Sigma’s, I would rather spend a few extra and use Sigma for a 50MM,
    Great glass very clean and well built, not that it comes close to zeiss, but for my money it does the job!

    If I could…I would buy Zeiss ZE, or the CP2’s.
    Hopefully I will be able to next year.

    Thanks Phil

    1. oh i missed loads Greg…it’s just hard to recommend lenses I have not used, impossible to recommend any gear that I haven’t used…but thanks for the tips. Hopefully people will read these comments and get extra info!

  27. I do like for my 7D Tokina 16-50mm f2.8.
    Great manual controls nice WIDE rings unlike Canon or Sigma or Tamron.
    Still waiting for new FULL FRAME Zeiss Cine Zoom being released this IBC….lets hope it will be T2.6.

    If not,another option is change Canon mount to PL and use new RED 17-50mm T2.9 zoom for $6000.

    jiri

  28. …Hi again…

    Well, as a 550D user, who doesn’t plan on upgrading to a full frame (not for a while anyway…) I think I’m going to go with the Canon 17-55mm, the Sigma 30mm and the Tokina 11-16mm when I have the money.
    I’m on quite a tight budget (well – non existant at the moment), but I’m sure that once I get back to uni and a bar job, I should be able to raise the money.

    For now as an extremely cheap alternative – even though it is cheap and nasty! – I’m going to keep my 50mm 1.8 II until I can afford the upgrade to a 1.4 as well as everything else…

    Just as a quick question though…
    What’s your opinion on the Canon 17-40mm L f/4.0?

    I think I’m still going to go for the 17-55, but my friend suggested the 17-40 as an alternative in case i’m struggling for money… however, I think the low light capabilities and IS are definitely worth the wait/extra £200
    – though it is one less EF-S lens in case I do ever decide to go full frame.

    …I’ll probably have to start saving for that 70-200mm 2.8 L some day soon too! 😉

    Cheers for taking the time to read and write this stuff, and I hope you enjoyed your break from the internet/trolls!

    Thanks,
    Jon.

    1. Hi Jon

      I though I would just chip in here as I recently had a chance to compare the wide zooms you mentioned. I own a 17-40 and that tends to live on my 5D Mk2. Its good value for an L lens and I have pleasing results away from the extreme ends of the zoom range.

      However, I also have a 550D and I recently went on a trip where I was travelling light and could only take the 550D and a couple of lenses. I hired a 17-55 for the trip and I was very impressed with it. The only real downside compared to 17-40 was the extra weight and the lens extension (if you ever wanted to use a rails). I did appreciate the extra range, speed and especially the IS. Optically the two seemed similar.

      I didn’t give it back with much relish, but it was just too expensive to hang onto when it only fits one camera. If you are sticking with cropped sensor its a great choice.

      1. Awesome thanks!

        I guess I have time to think about it for now, but to me the 17-55mm just seems like the one to go for! The extra weight and lens extension don’t bother me for now, and I have no plan to upgrade from the cropped sensor.

        It’s great to have so many other people contributing to this blog!

        Many Thanks,
        Jon.

    2. If you can grab the EF 50mm 1.8 MKI – the old one that has the metal mount as opposed to the newer/crappier nifty, you’re golden!!! I have one, it cost roughly $135 – its razor sharp, and has a very useable focus ring – not the greatest but definitely workable.

      Only knock is that its loud as buzz saw when using autofocus for stills.

      cheers

    3. for decent video, f/4.0 is way too low. most lenses are a bit soft when used wide open, so in reality you’ll probably have to go to f/5.6 to really get the best out of it.

      for pics : yes, for video : there’s better options.

  29. “An absolutely essential purchase for 7D and T2i users. Yes, if you are a T2i user expect to spend a lot more than your camera on lenses and accessories. The downside of owning a dirt cheap camera! :)”

    sorry Phillip but I don’t like you picking on the poor T2i, well technically owning the 7D is just as much a downside on the lens side of things as it uses the same sensor.

    T2i users spend the same lens wise as a 7D user

    1. You are totally misreading what I said Shaun…I am simply highlighting that owning a T2i which costs so little money means everything you buy for it pretty much costs more than the camera…not at all implying you need more for the T2i than the 7D. Not sure who you read my sentence and came up with that! There are a number of people who grumble that they don’t want to buy xxx for their camera as it costs more than their camera did…

      1. It’s true people do grumble about lenses that cost more than the camera, I never do because I think a good lens will almost cost as much as the camera if not a lot more.

        Yeah I misunderstood what you said or was implying, I suppose that’s a problem with blogs sometimes what people try to communicate is different to what people interpret.

        Anyway Thanks for replying and all the great info on your site which is why I keep your site on my favourites:)

  30. Just what I was looking for. Thanks Philip!

    Recently got me a T2i, and was wondering what lens to buy so I can capture video with low deph of field. 5D Mark II would’ve been optimal, but I’m kinda on a budget… plus I still have a lot to learn to even understand most of your posts, so..

    After learning a bit more and reading some basic tutorials and stuff, I decided to buy some f1.2 or f1.4 prime. Should do the trick for the stuff I’m planning to do.

    I know it takes lots of time and hard work, but if you have some tips to share on budget lighting equipment for video shooting, that’d be nice to hear too! 😀

    That and/or some good online resources for learning… kinda rare to find a blog as useful, straight to the point and inspiring as yours when it comes to dSLR videography.

    o/

  32. Hi Phil,
    Does the Light Craft Workshop FADER ND mark II vignette on wide angle lenses as well? Except from the constant aperture any other reason to prefer the Tokina 11-16 over the canon 10-22? Specially because the Canon has much better focal length, its distortion control is superior and the minimum shooting distance on the canon is shorther which is very important on wide angel shots

  33. If you’re looking for a 50, but don’t have enough for the Zeiss or the 1.2 from Canon. Try the Sigma. I’ve been using it the past week and I’m blown away by the optics (as are the people I show the images too). I recently saw a test on Sigma’s 24-70 HSM lens vs Canon’s outdated, but still great, 24-70. The Sigma beat out the lens in sharpness and color accuracy, but it’s to be expected as Canon’s 24-70 is kind of in need of a refresh (which will apparently happen soon, for more $$$ of course). The Sigma retails for about 8-9 hundred so it’s already cheaper than Canon’s offering.

    With all Sigma lenses, however, your mileage may vary. If you do a lot of still shooting, like myself, you must be aware of the focusing issues Sigma lenses sometimes have on Canon bodies. The 30mm F/1.4 has been causing a bit of a shit storm in the T2i camp for it’s front and back focusing. It is very possible that you may have to do the Sigma Shuffle to get a lens that focuses correctly. However if you’re mainly doing video work/or are a manual focus nut like myself, it’s a risk worth taking because the quality of the optics are fantastic.

    Anyway, I’m gonna stop hijacking Phil’s blog post now. Good stuff Phil! See you at the Canon EXPO.

    RomanM

  34. I am so glad I bought the Zeiss ZE lenses!! i kept checking on your blog about which lenses to buy and back then you were going more towards the Zf range and I had just put the order in for the ZE and felt like crap thinking what have I done!! but I find them to be amazing to use and the 85mm in comparison to the Canon 85mm 1.2 is just on another planet!! so glad you stated something similar in regards to the ZF and ZE range…i feel it was the best investment I have made.

  35. Great article, love all your stuff. You are truly an asset to our industry. And thanks for putting this all online for everyone & their opinions, sometimes people don’t realize what a pain it is to maintain a blog… Keep up the good work. PS: Just bought a 7D & EF-S 17-55IS today, thanks again.

  37. Only wish I had read it before I bought the Tamron SP AF 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II. 🙁

    Oh well…I’m just learning the ropes so this article, and the one on video DSLRs, have been a great source of info for me.

    Keep up the good work.

    Hmmm, if I can only sell off my two old T90 bodies…I could put the cash towards some decent glass…not likely I know 🙂

    Cheers

  39. Great service you are giving to artists everywhere bud. Great instructional videos too (Both 5d and 7d).

    Quick question.

    For practical versatile 5d & 7d video use today — and given the accentuated moire effect — Do you recommend the 70-200mm 2.8 iiIS OR the older iIS lens?

    Gracias for all your help.