Upgrading or adding to my 28-135 IS lens - help me out

[ritesh]

Hi,

After a break of a few years (kinda hard to visit forums with new baby in the house), need help from you guys again :-)

I currently have an Elan 7e (or EOS30e, as it is called here in Oz) and a 28-135 IS lens. This general purpose lens has served me well over the last couple of years.

Now I want to add to or upgrade this lens and have been considering one of the following options:
1. Upgrade 28-135IS to the 24-105L IS. Is this a worthy upgrade? I am looking for much more sharpness and perhaps this lens will provide me with it.

2. Add a 50 1.4 to the kit. I guess 50 is a nice focal length and it gives me a chance to shoot without flash in low light. Would this give me much better sharpness and results than my existing lens? How would it compare in sharpness to the 24-105L IS mentioned above?

3. Add a 17-40L lens, and sort of prepare for the digital, which I might buy in around 5-6 months time. It also gives me a little wider angle for group shots etc. Once again around the 30mm focal length, would this be much sharper than the 28-135? What about the 24-105L?

As you can guess, the hunt has just started and I am a bit confused with my options here....

Please note that most of my shots are of people around house, in restaurants etc. and in their surroundings. 50% outdoors and 50% indoors with available light/s.

thanks for any suggestions, and guidance,

regards,

Ritesh

[Liz]

Ritesh,

Welcome back! I'm glad you're posting again.

I got your email, but due to end-of-the-year budget meetings still going on, I haven't been home to reply. I'm glad you posted here because you'll get more input. I can my share my experience, but may not have all the specifics that you're looking for. I have used all of the lenses you mentioned and will give you my thoughts.

The Elan7e and the 28-135 IS lens - along with the 50mm/f1.8 were what I used until I switched to digital at which time I recycled my lenses. I was very happy with both of these lenses, and I used them for a few years. When I got the Digital Rebel, I wanted a better portrait lens, so upgraded to the 50mm/f1.4. For me personally, it worked better for portraits and low light situations since IMO the color rendition and general quality is better They're about comparable in sharpness, but I love the bokeh and general look of the f1.4.

I eventually sold the 28-135IS and purchased the 17-40L - although not to replace the IS. When I saw the results of this, my first "L" lens, I was blown away. The quality, color rendition and sharpness is awesome.

24-105L IS. I just posted in another thread about this lens. It's my favorite lens of all that I've ever owned. The color rendition alone would be reason enough for me personally to purchase the lens. IMO, the 28-135 can't compare with the 24-105 - and I liked the 28-135. The focal length of the 24-105 is perfect for me, the build quality very solid. It is 3rd generation IS which is much improved over the 28-135. The color rendition is even better than the 17-40, and it is very sharp. I do very little post processing and am very happy with the results. There is some distortion which is basically normal for the focal length. Others have experienced some vignetting, but so far I haven't seen that with my images. No lens is perfect.

BTW, you really can't compare the 50mm/f1.4 with the 24-105 as the prime will always be sharper. I love both of these lenses, but as I said the 24-105 is my favorite.

I hope others will give you more information. Any more questions. I posted some images on Viewfinder - keep in mind they are basically snapshots - just trying out the new lens. IOW, I wasn' t trying hard to get the "perfect picture. Here is the link.

NYC - for a few hours

Here are my first shots taken with the 24-105

First photos - 24-105 lens

Liz

[Peter_AUS]

I'm going through the same thing Ritesh, but I think you are better off with a 50mm f/1.8 prime, 17-40 f/4L and a 70-200 f/4L and keep the 28-135 IS lens as well. It will give you very good coverage, if you get a 1.4x converter you can use that with the 17-40 L and the 70-200 L lenses and only loose 1 f-stop in light that you can compesate for anyway.

Just my opinion.

I know Liz has used a few of these types of leses as well as she has posted above.

I have the 28-135 IS lens and used that most of the time, 50mm is a bit long on digital Canon 10D for me some of the time but I do like the lightness of the lens as well.

I have a 70-300 IS lens for sale, I'm in Sydney.

[Cowgirl]

The 17-40 L is a very nice wide angle lens. I use it for group shots, weddings and portraits. For indoor work, the wider angle will probably come in handy compared to the 28-135 IS & 24-105. The 17mm on a film camera would be fun, and if your going to switch to digital soon, the 17 is nice for the 1.6x digital ratio.

Kathy

[ritesh]

Ritesh,
Welcome back! I'm glad you're posting again.

Thanks

The Elan7e and the 28-135 IS lens - along with the 50mm/f1.8 were what I used until I switched to digital at which time I recycled my lenses. I was very happy with both of these lenses, and I used them for a few years. When I got the Digital Rebel, I wanted a better portrait lens, so upgraded to the 50mm/f1.4. For me personally, it worked better for portraits and low light situations since IMO the color rendition and general quality is better They're about comparable in sharpness, but I love the bokeh and general look of the f1.4.

Which ones are comparable, the 50 1.8 and 50 1.4 or the 28-135 @ 50mm?

I eventually sold the 28-135IS and purchased the 17-40L - although not to replace the IS. When I saw the results of this, my first "L" lens, I was blown away. The quality, color rendition and sharpness is awesome.

I am just a bit concerned about its quality with the film; I've heard (no experience) that it is a bit softer on the edges, and also there is a bit of vignetting; probably is more designed for the digital only.

24-105L IS. I just posted in another thread about this lens. It's my favorite lens of all that I've ever owned. The color rendition alone would be reason enough for me personally to purchase the lens. IMO, the 28-135 can't compare with the 24-105 - and I liked the 28-135. The focal length of the 24-105 is perfect for me, the build quality very solid. It is 3rd generation IS which is much improved over the 28-135. The color rendition is even better than the 17-40, and it is very sharp. I do very little post processing and am very happy with the results. There is some distortion which is basically normal for the focal length. Others have experienced some vignetting, but so far I haven't seen that with my images. No lens is perfect.

Very impressive pictures, seems like a perfect upgrade for me

BTW, you really can't compare the 50mm/f1.4 with the 24-105 as the prime will always be sharper. I love both of these lenses, but as I said the 24-105 is my favorite.

Outside of the bokeh, it would be good to compare them @f4 or something. If I can get away with just one lens, that would be my preference.

The other option would be to get the 50 1.4 first and then upgrade to 24-105L in a few months time !

Regarding the 50 1.4, there are some reviews where the focus system goes a bit heywire in a year or so. Anything like that happened with yours?

Thanks for all the info. much appreciate it,

Ritesh

[ritesh]

I'm going through the same thing Ritesh, but I think you are better off with a 50mm f/1.8 prime, 17-40 f/4L and a 70-200 f/4L and keep the 28-135 IS lens as well. It will give you very good coverage, if you get a 1.4x converter you can use that with the 17-40 L and the 70-200 L lenses and only loose 1 f-stop in light that you can compesate for anyway.

Yes I am tempted to first try the 50mm !

thanks,

Ritesh

[Liz]

Ritesh,

After all you've said, you might want to consider purchasing the 50mm/f1.8 now which costs only about $70. You can't go wrong with this lens for that price - it's got a great reputation/reviews. This will give you plenty of time to look around, check more reviews/images and make some intelligent final decisions before spending a lot more money.

Liz

Yes I am tempted to first try the 50mm !

thanks,

Ritesh