Canon DSLR Walk Around lens choice

[PaulMedik]

I'm a recent convert to DSLR and plan to try and use my new toy as much as possible on our next cruise. I normally take several thousand shots per cruise with AF zoom point and shoots and do plan to bring my reliable point and shoot with me, but I want to use my Canon EOS 60D for most of my pics. I will be bringing a Canon 70-200 F/2.8L II IS and a Canon 1.4x II TC & 2x II TC for shots to 400mm, but I won't be opting for that lens combo for the majority of my shots.

 

Right now I have the EF-S 18-135 F/3.5-5.6 IS kit lens that came with my camera and a fish eye lens to attach to it. I also have a canon 75-300 that I bought at the same time as my camera, but will likely be selling it soon. My 18-135 will be my 'walk around' lens if I don't settle on an alternative before April.

 

The two choices I am considering are; Canon EF 24-70 F2.8L or the Canon EF 24-105 F4L IS. Either lens would cover the majority of my shots in terms of distance. The former has the benefit of better low light, but the latter has a little more 'reach' and IS for handheld / ship movement compensation (I have no clue how ship movement will affect IS, but I doubt it will be too significant).

 

Should I stick with my 18-135 and opt to get a wide angle lens such as 10-22, 8-15? Or should I just go with my fisheye on the 18-135 to cover the 10-18 gap?

 

I will also be bringing my Canon 50mm F/1.8, but other than portraits or maybe some night time low light shots, I can't see using it much.

 

My Canon 580EX II flash will be sailing with me too, but I just got it and have no clue yet when, where, or how I'll likely use it on a cruise.

 

I read some similar threads here, but they were focused on Nikon products and I can't correlate the info over to Canon. I'm sure there are those who have no problem switching back and forth between brands, but I'm not that person nor do I wish to become that person. ;)

 

Any and all advice, suggestions, or alternatives will be much appreciated. :)

[TheRoff]

Oh boy, nice camera and nice bunch of glass. I have found that wider is generally better on a cruise. My Canon 24-105 probably gets most of the use, and is my “walk around” lens. A very close second is my Canon 16-35. The 24-70 would be a nice fit also. I have found that the slowish 24-105 does just fine with interior ship shots, and have kept the IS on all the time.

 

I have found that I don’t use a long – 400mm - telephoto much, particularly in the Caribbean. It’s kind of hazy and one usually gets washed out images. Now that I have said that, I always have my 100-400 along, just in case.

 

I also carry a 580ex, but have only used it at Cruise Critic “meet and greets,” and the obligatory photo of dinner companions. Be prepared for stares from the ship’s photographers when you walk around the dining room.;)

 

I have never used a fish eye attachment for any lens. I have got to believe the image quality suffers greatly. I believe one would be better off with a good wide angle.

 

There is my $.02.

 

Larry

[picsboy]

Congratulations on converting to dSLR and welcome to the Canon family!

 

Since you have a crop-factor camera (the Canon 60D), consider using the Canon 17-55 mm F/2.8 IS lens. This lens is specific for crop-factor cameras (i.e. full-frame cameras can't use this lens). This is a very sharp and highly rated lens. Many photographers compare the quality of this lens to Canon's L lenses. This is my daily walk-around lens, since it provides a good, wide field of view, it has a large maximum aperture of F/2.8, and it has image stabilization.

 

I used my external flash (the Canon 580 EX) all the time, especially indoors and in smaller rooms. I'm not sure if you have learned how to "bounce the flash". This is a technique that you can use to provide pleasing, soft, directional light toward your subject. However, make sure that when you "bounce the flash", you point the flash toward a white colored surface.

 

Congratulations again on your HUGE camera and lenses purchase.

[sk8teacher]

Personally, I carry the Tamron 12-24 and 18-270 along with my flash, and a 1.4 converter. That makes a relatively light load to carry on tours, yet will cover 99% of the pictures that I want. The 12-24 was especially worthwhile in Italy, for taking pictures of some of the ruins. I do not use a fisheye because of the distortion on the edges. The 12-24 is perfectly flat.

 

Cheers,

[PaulMedik]

Oh boy, nice camera and nice bunch of glass. I have found that wider is generally better on a cruise. My Canon 24-105 probably gets most of the use, and is my “walk around” lens. A very close second is my Canon 16-35. The 24-70 would be a nice fit also. I have found that the slowish 24-105 does just fine with interior ship shots, and have kept the IS on all the time.

 

I have found that I don’t use a long – 400mm - telephoto much, particularly in the Caribbean. It’s kind of hazy and one usually gets washed out images. Now that I have said that, I always have my 100-400 along, just in case.

 

I also carry a 580ex, but have only used it at Cruise Critic “meet and greets,” and the obligatory photo of dinner companions. Be prepared for stares from the ship’s photographers when you walk around the dining room.;)

 

I have never used a fish eye attachment for any lens. I have got to believe the image quality suffers greatly. I believe one would be better off with a good wide angle.

 

There is my $.02.

 

Larry

 

In regards to the haze with long lenses, do the filters do the job they're advertised to do? I've taken a lot of distant shots, but I always blamed the ones that didn't turn out well on the lack of manual focus. Perhaps the culprit has been haze instead? (Shots with my Kodak 24x optical)

 

Thank you for the insight into your bag; I suspect my 'wide' lens option will be lacking if I don't make a change. I have taken a few test shots with the fisheye and there's considerable distortion around the edges when I'm not zoomed out. When zoomed out it actually does a nice job of creating a wide image, but if I were trying to get a small room, it would fail....

 

 

Congratulations on converting to dSLR and welcome to the Canon family!

 

Since you have a crop-factor camera (the Canon 60D), consider using the Canon 17-55 mm F/2.8 IS lens. This lens is specific for crop-factor cameras (i.e. full-frame cameras can't use this lens). This is a very sharp and highly rated lens. Many photographers compare the quality of this lens to Canon's L lenses. This is my daily walk-around lens, since it provides a good, wide field of view, it has a large maximum aperture of F/2.8, and it has image stabilization.

 

I used my external flash (the Canon 580 EX) all the time, especially indoors and in smaller rooms. I'm not sure if you have learned how to "bounce the flash". This is a technique that you can use to provide pleasing, soft, directional light toward your subject. However, make sure that when you "bounce the flash", you point the flash toward a white colored surface.

 

Congratulations again on your HUGE camera and lenses purchase.

 

picsboy,

 

I spent two years comparing and researching before finally buying the 60D, but I've found that lenses are a difficult beast to figure out without actually using them. For my first month or so of DSLR my shots were all of daytime football games and I didn't stray from Auto or 'Sports' Mode. My first effort at a night time football game was a miserable FAILURE! Sports Mode and my 100-400 failed to capture any decent images of anything moving. Still shots were fine, but they were not my goal. That failure caused me to switch to Manual and spend a week doing practice shots at home to prepare for the next weekend's night game. I also bought a 70-200 F/2.8L IS MK1 to accomodate the lack of light. Long story short the second night game shots were dramatically better; not good, but better. I also shot them all in RAW instead of JPEG and got my first taste of LR3.

 

I have not bounced my flash yet. I just got it a few days ago and so far I've just shot a paiting in my den a few times....well more like fifty, but I like to try several things to see what changes what. I've read quite a bit about bouncing and plan to practice it Dec 10 at my inlaws Christmas gathering.

 

I'll check out the 17-55 image gallery @ POTN and see if it may be what I'm looking for.

 

Thank you for your insights.

 

Personally, I carry the Tamron 12-24 and 18-270 along with my flash, and a 1.4 converter. That makes a relatively light load to carry on tours, yet will cover 99% of the pictures that I want. The 12-24 was especially worthwhile in Italy, for taking pictures of some of the ruins. I do not use a fisheye because of the distortion on the edges. The 12-24 is perfectly flat.

 

Cheers,

 

sk8teacher,

 

I haven't looked at the Tamron 12-24 yet, but I'll check it out. My Fisheye attachment is Tamron and that's kind of what has caused me to avoid much research on Tamron. :o

 

Thank you for the info.

[HookedonSXM]

Not sure where your next cruise is taking you and therefore what you will be shooting. If any architectural shots (i.e Europe) are involved you will love Canon's 10-22. I absolutely adore mine.

 

I also highly recommend the Canon 24-105 f4 IS L. It is my favorite all around walk around lens, and on our last cruise (southern and eastern Caribbean) it was on my Canon 7D probably 90% of the time.

 

I also travel with my 70-200 f2.8 II IS L which I love as well, I just wish it wasn't so large! Takes fabulous photos though! I use it occaisionally, I actually wish there were more situations it was appropriate for as the lens is so great! I have wondered about pairing this with 24-70, but at some point a person has to stop buying lenses! ( and I really am very happy with the 24-105)

 

I always end up bringing my 100-400, but find I rarely use it ( I am afraid to leave it at home though, for fear of not having it when needed!).

 

Really if you combine a 10-22 and the 24-105 with the 70-200 you will be set for almost anything!:)

 

Happy Photographing!

[PaulMedik]

Not sure where your next cruise is taking you and therefore what you will be shooting. If any architectural shots (i.e Europe) are involved you will love Canon's 10-22. I absolutely adore mine.

 

I also highly recommend the Canon 24-105 f4 IS L. It is my favorite all around walk around lens, and on our last cruise (southern and eastern Caribbean) it was on my Canon 7D probably 90% of the time.

 

I also travel with my 70-200 f2.8 II IS L which I love as well, I just wish it wasn't so large! Takes fabulous photos though! I use it occaisionally, I actually wish there were more situations it was appropriate for as the lens is so great! I have wondered about pairing this with 24-70, but at some point a person has to stop buying lenses! ( and I really am very happy with the 24-105)

 

I always end up bringing my 100-400, but find I rarely use it ( I am afraid to leave it at home though, for fear of not having it when needed!).

 

Really if you combine a 10-22 and the 24-105 with the 70-200 you will be set for almost anything!:)

 

Happy Photographing!

 

 

HookedonSXM,

 

We're sailing Exotic Western on Carnival Liberty out of Miami; Cozumel, Belize, Roatan Honduras, and Grand Cayman. We're staying on South Beach before and after our cruise so photo ops abound. Grand Cayman and Roatan will mostly be beach scenes. Belize will be ship pics because we're going to enjoy a day at sea, but the nearby ships and tenders coming and going do make for some nice photos.

 

I'm looking hard at the 10-22 and the 24-105 now. I still need to check out the Tamron too.

[trophy_23]

I too really am very happy with my 24-105 and 10-22 combo. I also have a 70-200 and a 300 on the long end.

[mskaufman]

I really like my Tamron 18 - 270. It covers close to 100% of my needs. I also used a 100 - 400 on my cruise, but only for taking whale shots from the ship.

[PaulMedik]

I have settled (for now) on the Canon 10-22 or the Rokinon 14 or 8. Either of these will compliment my 18-135 which may become a 24-70.

[TheRoff]

The 10-22 is a great lens. It lives on my 30D, and sees a lot of use. Good choice.

 

Larry

[Aviendah]

Thanks to this forum I just got my Sigma 10-22 this week. WOW!! I can't believe I lived without this lens for so long. I have the Tamron 18-270 as a walk around as well.

[PaulMedik]

I ordered a Rokinon 8mm yesterday from B&H; price was way to good to pass up and the sample pics on POTN sold me on it. On my 60D it will be more like a 10mm.

 

Still looking for 10-22. With all the sales going on I'm not about to jump the gun and buy early!

 

After I get a 10-22 I plan to sell my 18-135IS and get a Canon 24-70. The Canon 10-22 is $726 and the Canon 24-70L is $1209. Glass more expensive than cameras.....whodathunkit? :eek: How much is the Sigma?

 

If anyone needs or knows anyone that needs a Canon 75-300 (Bought new in September and used one time) and or a Canon 18-135 IS have them look me up. The 18-135 came with my 60D.

[PaulMedik]

I just ordered a Canon 10-22 for $525! :D

[TheRoff]

I just ordered a Canon 10-22 for $525! :D

 

WOW that is an amazing price. Where did you get it from?

 

Larry

[Sutho]

I have managed to get a good supply of Canon lenses from ebay.

 

I have the EF 24-105mm f/4L and it is my most used lens. I picked it up for A$1,055 by importing from Hong Kong. The best price in Australia was for $1,649.

 

The 17-40mm lens is a close second use lens as I do need the wider angle a fair bit.

 

I have also got a Sigma 10-20mm lens which is brilliant for wide angles. It looks a bit distorted with 10-12mm on a 60D camera but from 12m onwards the image looks perfect.

[PaulMedik]

WOW that is an amazing price. Where did you get it from?

 

Larry

 

Larry,

 

Ebay. I bid and lost about fifty times before I won. The auction I won ended early in the day instead of during the evening and the lens was posted in the wrong category so there wasn't any competition bidding against me. I almost won a second one the next day, but it sold for $5 more than I had bid. I have no use at all for a second one, but I'm sure I could have sold it for $100 more than I would have had to pay.

 

It takes a lot of patience to win on ebay at a reasonable price, but what I do is bid on multiple auctions for the same items and never bid more than what I'd like to win for.

[SnappySuzy]

Chiming in late, but here's my 2 cents anyways:

• Tamron 17-50 2.8 IS: Very nice lens on a crop sensor body. It was my go to lens (other than my 70-200) for the first couple years of my business (I'm a wedding photographer and high school photo teacher). The price also made it way more affordable than L glass although, obviously, you do sacrifice a bit by not going with L glass.
  
• Canon 24-70 2.8: On a crop body, a find the 24 doesn't get nearly as wide as I want it to. The lens itself is also an absolutely BEAST and weighs as much as a brick (not great if you like to travel light). But, negatives aside, it is L glass and it is absolutely stinkin' amazing in terms of image quality. The price tag is high, but so is the quality you get from it. I'd definitely carry something wider with me though since the 24 on a crop just doesn't cut it for a lot of scenery shots.
  
• Sigma 10-20 3.5: Not as low an f/stop as I would want, but it gets super wide on a crop body and lets you really capture a scene. As with the Tammy, the price point is right. The distortion or blurring at the edges at the widest isn't always ideal, but it has been a good lens for me despite that.
  

[PaulMedik]

I think I have my bag figured out now:

 

Canon 60D with Canon battery grip

1 8GB Class10 SD card

2 16GB Class 10 SD cards

Rokinon 8MM Fisheye

Canon EF-S 10-22

Canon 24-70L F2.8

Canon 70-200 F2.8L Mk II

Canon 1.4x II TC and Canon 2x II TC

Canon 580EX II Flash

Giottos monopod

IR filter kit for 70-200 lens and UV filters for all except Fisheye

Cleaning pins, wipes, brushes, solution, and bulb blower.

All of the above in my LowePro sling bag.

 

For walk around I'm planning to use the 24-70, but on the ship I'm going to get shots of everything with my Rokinon 8mm Fisheye; I flat out love that lens! It's the cheapest I own, but it's my favorite. I plan to carry the 24-70 & 70-200 when we're in port. I also plan to work out a lot prior and lift weights to prepare for carrying my bag! :D

[NJEMT65]

PaulMedik

 

I think the choice of the 24-70 f2.8 L was a better choice over the 24-105 f4 L. The bokeh that you see from the 2.8 over the 4 is mind blowing.

 

For my cruises I take way too much stuff: Canon 1Ds Mark II, Canon 60D with grip, Canon 24-105 f4 L, Canon 70-200 F4 L, Canon 50mm f1.8, Tamron 200-300 f4-5.6, 430EX and 580EXII speedlites.

 

When leaving the ship, the 24-105 L goes on the 1Ds Mk II, and the 70-200 goes on the 60D. The reason for that setup is the crop factor, the 1Ds is full frame and gives you the widest 24mm you've ever seen, and the 1.6 crop on the 60D gives the best reach at 200mm. A little heavy to carry, but its all good!