Lenses: Which would you buy?

marnel

marnel

Sweet Shoppe SugarBabe
I've been eyeing these 2 lenses since before Christmas and I need help in choosing one. I'm going to use it for photographing everyday stuff, my lovies a wedding in July and a Sweet 16 a lil later.

or


I was suppose to get it for Christmas but decided to wait and used my money for other things :( so now I have the money again 5mths later, lol and i'm seriously face palming b/c I want both :o

Help please and tell me why you would pick one or the other :blink:

TIA-Mary
 
I have an 18-135 and an 85 (in fact that 85 is the one I have) and the lens I use the very most is the 18-135. Of course I am not a professional photographer but here are some images I captured a week or so ago:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3904533614233.171511.1306032984&type=3&l=027e09d5d0

All of those were taken with the 18-135. So I would probably (definitely) recommend the zoom lens. I think it is a better all around lens. I honestly do not think I really have even used the 85 but maybe 1/2 dozen times.
 
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The 85 would be useful for low light situations and I've heard it takes really sharp photos. The other one has variable aperture so if you zoom it out alot, the aperture goes higher (5.6). It would be a good walkaround lens but if you are indoors (with low lighting), the lowest aperture it will go is 3.5 if you stay at 18mm. If you really rather have the zoom without having the variable aperture, I would suggest the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8. It's way less expensive than the Canon equivalent model. And it's highly rated. I'm renting those lens to use this weekend and will let you know how they worked for me :)
 
According to BNH.com this is what they say about the two lenses:

28-135
Pros

Fast / accurate auto-focus (92)
Easily interchangeable (72)
Consistent output (62)
Durable (53)
Strong construction (39)

Cons

Heavy (27)
Lens creep (26)
Poor in low light (9)
Blurry focus (6)
Slow focus (6)

Best Uses

Landscape/scenery (62)
Sports/action (41)
Weddings (34)
Wildlife photos (31)
General purpose (29)

85
Pros

Fast / accurate auto-focus (960)
Consistent output (585)
Lightweight (560)
Nice bokeh (555)
Easily interchangeable (494)

Cons

Heavy (67)
Slow focus (30)
Weak casing (21)
Blurry focus (11)
Poor in low light (11)

Best Uses

Low light (598)
Weddings (514)
Sports/action (316)
Portraits (280)
Night photography (262)

(the numbers in parenthesis are the amount of people chose that in their reviews.)

they had about the same rating which was right at 4 1/2 stars maybe a little more. Thought it might help you decide. If you go to www.bnh.com you can read reviews of the lenses
 
I have a couple of zooms and just bought the 85mm last week. The difference in low light is incredible!!!!! The zooms don't even begin to compare in those situations. And the action shots are just wow. I have spent the last week saying "now I get it." The color is also incredible. I did get the 1.4 mm though. However, I find that I don't have the versatility with composition using the fixed length lens that I do with a zoom. It's taking me some time to figure that out. Both are good choices, just picture yourself using it and figure out how important the zoom is to you and how much you will really use the lens in low light situations. What makes the 85 very nice in low light is that you can use a lower ISO so you have less grain and more pop.
 
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I love my 85, but I don't use it all the time.

For weddings I stick to my Canon 28-70mm 2.8L.

If you have the 50 mm 1.4, then you're good for your low light situations. I think it's probably the better choice for a all around lens so you're not switching back & forth all day, but I've never shot with it.
 
I haven't got both of them so I am not much of a help.
I have a 18-200mm which I use for about everything and 105mm macro lens which I use for specila portraits and bugs hahaha.
 
Jessica thanks for the info and I'm going to check out the photos :)
Ophelia that sounds awesome.
Vanessa that other lens sounds like something I need... hmmmmm

I will be going on vacation in Aug and a soccer game in July so I'd love to have em for those occasions also.
 
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Phew, those are so very different. If you want a "go-to" zoom lens you usually have three options:
a) Good in low light (F/2.8) and decent quality, but with limited zoom range
b) Good (F/2.8) to decent (F/4.0) in low light, with a broader zoom range
c) Variable aperture lens with big zoom range

If you want low-light capabilities plus zoom, you have to either make compromises on the range or the brand or have a killer budget. As others pointed out Tamron has very good options for Canon with F/2.8. I bought the 17-50mm recently and am very happy with it. As long as you don't need the wide angle, the 28-75 will sure be a great alternative in that price range.
 
Ginger_79 said:
Phew, those are so very different. If you want a "go-to" zoom lens you usually have three options:
a) Good in low light (F/2.8) and decent quality, but with limited zoom range
b) Good (F/2.8) to decent (F/4.0) in low light, with a broader zoom range
c) Variable aperture lens with big zoom range

If you want low-light capabilities plus zoom, you have to either make compromises on the range or the brand or have a killer budget. As others pointed out Tamron has very good options for Canon with F/2.8. I bought the 17-50mm recently and am very happy with it. As long as you don't need the wide angle, the 28-75 will sure be a great alternative in that price range.
Click to expand...

Yep, what Inga said. :D My question for you is what zoom range/aperture do you use the most? Are you needing more zoom outdoors? Are you finding you need a faster lens for low/light indoors? How often do you use the wide end of the kit lens (17mm)? Because what I'd recommend based off my experience and what you need might be two different things.

One thing to consider is if you only need a lens for a specific occasion, like a wedding, you can always rent one for a few days for that purpose, especially if it's not one you'd use that often. Then you can spend your money on the lens you'd use the most regularly in your normal life.
 
My 50mm is perfect for low light I have no issue with that. It's always stuck on my camera. The 50mm is kinda limited b/c it's a prime. It's slight zoom range I need.

I would use the wide end for vacation, beach, the Wedding and Sweet 16 coming up. I am by far not even semi-professional I was asked as a favor since they saw my pics from the other wedding photos I took. I know it will come in handy for various things so I want to have another lens.

I am really appreciating the feedback and questions makes me really be aware of what I want it for.
 
One tip: If you are researching pictures online, pay attention to the cameras used!

I know a lot of people look up photos taken with their possible lens candidates. And also check out images to get a feeling for the zoom range. BUT: Some 24/28 to 70/80 mm lenses are classic standard zooms for full frame cameras. Which on a crop sensor would compare to 17-50mm lenses. So not every 28mm image on the web will look the same.
 
Inga I've noticed that alot... I especially like when they say what camera body and lens they use so helpful but it's rare to see it :/
 
I get tripped by it all the time, when I wonder how someone did a beautiful landscape with 28mm. Until I remember it's most likely full frame.
 
Yeah, 28mm on a crop body isn't very wide - it's considered "normal" which is what a 50mm on a full-frame camera would be.

Since it sounds like you're looking for a good walk-around lens, have you looked at something that has a 17-18 wide end, maybe like the 17-85mm EF-S or the 15-85mm EF-S? I have the 17-85mm lens (got it instead of the kit lens) and while it's not the most sharp lens ever, I'm still using it 5 years later because I LOVE the focal range on it. It's not fast enough for indoors but it's perfect for traveling which is what I use it for. The 15-85mm is basically the newer version of it but it's also a bit more expensive. Both of those lenses might be more than what you want to spend though.
 
Lynnette those sound like great lenses... I am going to research both and probably make my purchase next week. I am so scared to buy one but i will once i feel like I've got the right one...

Thanks everyone for all the helpful info...
 
Mary the only other thing I would suggest is to rent each of these lenses for a a few days and try them out and see which one fits you better :) and try to take as many pictures as possible in different situations :) I have the Tamron 28-75 and even though I LOVE it, if I had the budget I would have gone for the Canon brand or the Canon 85mm....I rented the Canon equvialent to the Tamron 28-75 and I tell you the Canon just "felt" better :) good luck! Can't wait to see what you get and see some pictures with it :)
 
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