help me buy my first lens?

[ShellyBelly2011]

I have a Canon EOS 400D, and i am about to buy my first lens (except the 18-55 mm kit lens). I was going to buy the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM because i borrowed it once from a friend and loved it.

But now someone told me that, because i have a crop body, i won't be able to fully enjoy what the lens can offer me. I am debating between that and the Canon 24-105 mm, which only has f/4.0, but has a stabilizer, which i was told was as good as f/2.8.
Please help me- and use layman's terms, i'm kind of new to the field emoticon - smile

[Photo-John]

Welcome to PhotographyREVIEW.com, Shelly! I hope you don't mind that I moved your post to the Canon forum. I think you'll get more attention and better answers here.

What you've been told about your camera and the 24-70mm f/2.8L lens is sort of true. Your camera has a 1.6x crop factor, which effectively converts the 24-70mm lens into a 38-112mm lens. So you won't actually be able to take advantage of the full 24mm wide end. However, there are plenty of photographers using full frame lenses like the 24-70mm f/2.8L on crop sensor cameras. My advice is, if you love the lens, buy it. It's not like it becomes a bad lens on your camera. Not at all. It's still a great lens - in some ways it may even be better. You'll have more reach and if the optics aren't quite as good on the outside edges of the lens , your camera will crop them out

One question - when you used the 24-70mm before, did you use it on your camera or a full frame camera? If you used it on a 5D or another full frame camera then you may be disappointed. But if you used it on your own 400D or another APS-C sensor body, then you should be very happy with it. And by all accounts it's an excellent lens. It's got 50 reviews and one of the highest lens ratings on the site. Here's a link to the user reviews here:

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L Lens User Reviews >>

One more thing - why don't you tell us what you're planning to shoot. The 24-70mm is a great all purpose or portrait lens. So I'm assuming you're going to be taking pictures of people. Is that correct?

[Medley]

OK, I'll jump in here, and hopefully, some of my friends will correct anything I get wrong,

The EOS 400D has a crop factor of 1.6x. It uses a smaller sensor than a "full frame" DSLR, so the total area seen in the resulting image is somewhat smaller. Here's a link that explains it all much better than I can:

http://www.digital-photography-schoo...ctor-explained

The focal length you use can also cause distortion. On a wide angle setting (closer to the 24mm end) the distortion acts as a "bulge" in the image. If you can imagine looking at an image printed on a thin sheet of rubber, it's as if someone is putting their finger in the middle of the back of the image and pushing it toward you. Things in the center appear a bit magnified than the objects at the edge. How much more depends on the lens itself.

On the zoom end of the lens (closer to 70mm) the effect is reversed: the bulge coes the other way. This is generally called a "pincushion" effect.

On the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM, the bulge appears at about 35mm, and becomes more pronounced as you go towards 24mm. The "pincushion" appears at about 50mm, and becomes more pronounced going toward 70mm.

Both the 24-70 and the 24-105 are fine lenses. The crop factor (in my opiion makes more difference on wide-angle end, where the settings are identical.

I will say that the 23-70 is probably the sharper lens. You can fix a lot of things in post-processing, but you can never add detail. Sharp is important.

It depends on what you're using the lans for, but I can think of more situations where I'd recommend the 24-70 than the 24-105. Again though- just my opinion.

- Joe U.

[spiraleyes]

Another vote here for the 24-70. It's a great lens that is versatile in lots of situations.

[Jimmy B]

I will chime in on the 24-70. It's a great all round lens.

[theressaj]

While the EF-S 18-55mm performs surprisingly well for its price though, you’ll really need to upgrade to something better to make the most of your 400D / XTi. Upgrading also gives you the opportunity to enjoy a longer focal range along with features which could include Image Stabilisation to combat camera-shake, improved focusing, or greater capabilities in low light.

[Loupey]

Several years ago I had the 24-70mm but sold it to buy the 24-105mm. I still have the 24-105mm and love it.

But let me say that,
1) I don't shoot portraits (which would be better served by the 24-70mm)
2) I don't shoot in a studio
3) I shoot a lot of street scenes (i.e. low ambient light) and the IS is EXTREMELY helpful
4) I shoot with both a crop body and full-frame body (the latter of which is better suited for the 24-105mm)
5) Before I bought the 24-105mm I already had the 70-200mm f/2.8 so I had a 70mm f/2.8 option already.


Obviously I never owned both at the same time but I was never overly impressed with the 24-70mm (again, never in a studio/portrait application). However, the 24-105mm was always a solid performer for me.