Stumped on wide to medium zoom choice.

[ColytonJohn]

The lenses I use with my 7D are those I used with my film EOS cameras:

Canon EF 28 mm f2.8
Canon EF 50 mm f1.8
Canon EF 35-105 mm f3.5-4.5
Canon EF 100-300 mm f5.6
? 500 mm f8 mirror lens

While the 35-105 was a great ‘walking about’ lens and the 28mm OK for wide-angle they’re not really wide enough with a cropped sensor DSLR so I need something else.

What I want is good wide-angle for landscapes, fast enough for good bokeh and long enough for portrait.

With a budget of around £400 (second-hand is OK) I created this shortlist from info gleaned by reading past posts here and online reviews:

Canon EF-S IS USM 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6
Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 EX DC OS HSM
Canon EF-S 17-55 mm F/2.8 IS USM

I know lots of you love the 15-85 and it did seem ideal to me too except I read the IQ at 15mm is not great and it’s a bit slow for decent bokeh.

The 17-55 is highly regarded with good bokeh and low light ability but a bit too short for portrait.

I’m leaning towards the 17-55 and maybe use my old EF 35-105 for portraits but that’s also a bit slow and I do like the one lens solution so is the 15-85 a better ‘do it all’ bet despite the issues at 15mm?

Anything else I ought to consider?

Cheers,
John

[Nathaniel]

Re: Stumped on wide to medium zoom choice.

I have had the Canon 15-85mm lens and I must say that it is a very good lens. I only sold it when I bought the Canon 24-105mm f4L lens. So I would without hestitation recommend the 15-85mm lens.

[SamFisher]

Re: Stumped on wide to medium zoom choice.

Another vote for the 15-85
I've never had a problem with IQ at the wide end

Mike

[SamFisher]

Re: Stumped on wide to medium zoom choice.

BTW, This was taken at 15mm on the 70D


Autumn, River Tummel by mike.stephen99, on Flickr

[ColytonJohn]

Re: Stumped on wide to medium zoom choice.

OK chaps, thanks for the comments, I'm convinced so there will be a 15/85 coming this was soon.

Cheers,
John

[DrJon]

Re: Stumped on wide to medium zoom choice.

The 17-55 is equivalent to 27-88 on a FF camera so longer than my 85/1.2 portrait lens. Also very sharp. Not as wide as the 15-85 (where the problem is more distortion at the wide end, rather than lack of sharpness IMHO), but as the nights draw in the extra light gathering can really help. The extra weight not so much...

[Dave_S]

Re: Stumped on wide to medium zoom choice.

A bit late to the party on this one, but when I had the 7D, I used the Sigma 18-55 f/2.8 EX lens, and the build and IQ was excellent.

On the 7D this equated to 28-88mm which made it a very useful everyday lens.

Here's an image taken with the 7D and this lens:

Dave

Barbary Ape by Dave_S2, on Flickr

[ColytonJohn]

Re: Stumped on wide to medium zoom choice.

Thanks Dave, that's a nice sharp image with good bokeh (and he reminds me of someone I used to work with!).

I did buy the 15-85 and am generally pleased with it although I haven't had much of a chance to use it at its widest nor any portrait work yet so I don't know if concerns about IQ at 15mm or the relatively slow aperture will concern me.

That said I still think I'd like a 2.8 zoom in my bag and maybe something even wider than 15mm so will have a think on what my options are. This could get very expensive.

Cheers,
John

[Dave_S]

Re: Stumped on wide to medium zoom choice.

Its a 'she' John, she is 30 years old, and lives on the Rock of Gibraltar

Quote: "This could get expensive"

Is it ever any other way with this hobby John

Dave