Good lenses for the 20D?

[Hybrid-X]

I'm ready to throw down the $$$ after a few weeks of saving and finally get a 20D. I was wondering what are some good lenses for portrait and landscape photography. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[TurbeauxREX]

A little more information would help.

What is your budget, hundreds or thousands?

Do you want zoom or prime lenses?

What is your intended use for the images, print or electronic display?

Will you mainly shoot in bright daylight or mixed/low light?

Depending on your answers, the Canon L-series lenses are excellent, but pricey. Tamron makes lenses which are arguably comparable in sharpness, for considerably less money and they carry a 6-7 year warranty.

As for portrait, something in the 85 - 100mm range and as fast as you can afford (f2.8 or faster). For landscape, wide to medium focal length. Speed is not as big a factor unless your chasing sunsets or other low light conditions.

One last thing to consider, the 20D adds a 1.6 multiplication factor to any lens you use due to the size of the sensor, which is smaller than 35 mm industry statndard current lenses are based upon. That is with the exception of a few new Canon lenses designed specifically for the 20D and digi-rebel line.

Give us a little more info for a better answer.

Peace,

Curtis

[Hybrid-X]

A little more information would help.

What is your budget, hundreds or thousands?

Do you want zoom or prime lenses?

What is your intended use for the images, print or electronic display?

Will you mainly shoot in bright daylight or mixed/low light?

Depending on your answers, the Canon L-series lenses are excellent, but pricey. Tamron makes lenses which are arguably comparable in sharpness, for considerably less money and they carry a 6-7 year warranty.

As for portrait, something in the 85 - 100mm range and as fast as you can afford (f2.8 or faster). For landscape, wide to medium focal length. Speed is not as big a factor unless your chasing sunsets or other low light conditions.

One last thing to consider, the 20D adds a 1.6 multiplication factor to any lens you use due to the size of the sensor, which is smaller than 35 mm industry statndard current lenses are based upon. That is with the exception of a few new Canon lenses designed specifically for the 20D and digi-rebel line.

Give us a little more info for a better answer.

Peace,

Curtis

Guess I was a little too vague. Anyways, my budget is in the hundreds (mid to high per lens). Zoom would be nice. I want to use the images mostly for print and will be shot in all types of light. Portraits will most likely be in bright or overcast situations and an occasional silhouette would be nice. As far as landscapes go, I'd like to get one that can capture moonlit or low light situations. Thanks!

[WRCfan]

I would say that if you wanted two lenses to cover these two subjects (landscape and portraits) and you want zooms a 24-70ish and 70-200 both straight 2.8 would suffice. These two focal length zooms are pretty much considered staple lenses to have in your camera bag. The Canon L series lenses of this type may be somewhat cost prohibitive unless you buy used and non-IS. I know the Sigma 70-200 2.8 is a great lens as is the Canon. The smaller zoom you should definitely put one of each manufacturer on the 20D and see which you like. Hope this helps.

[TurbeauxREX]

For info overload, download this:

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/app/pd...hart012904.pdf

Shorter answer-
If you want to go with zooms, the Canon 28 - 135 3.5/ 5.6 is a very sharp lens and goes for ~$350 for a good used copy or ~$450 new. The IS - image stabalization, is good for ~ 2 stops on this lens, and easy to hand hold at <30 sec without blur. This is a good walking around lens.

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/con...9&modelid=7337

The Tamron 28 - 75 2.8 XR Di is also very sharp, straight 2.8 and ~$350, with a 6 or 7 year warranty. Tamron glass is very sharp and the mechanics are also good. Also a good walking around lens.

The Canon 70 -200 4.0 L goes for <$600 new; the 2.8L ~$1100 and the 2.8L IS is ~$1700. Knock off a few hundred from each for a good used one. The 70 - 200L series lenses are considered to be among the best in the business. Period. The sharpness and color saturation of the 2.8L is noticably better than other lenses. Any of these 3 lenses would be a good choice.

Add a Canon 2x extender ($250) and you've got a max of 640mm of reach on the 20D. Autofocus is still functional on the 2.8 lenses, but not with the f4 (Reference the chart linked atop this post for the lens chart, lower right corner of pg 9). The 2x adds 2 stops of light.
Another thing about the 70 -200L series lenses, as the price goes up, so does the weight. My 2.8L IS wieghs more than my 100 -400L, 3.2 Vs. 3 lbs.

One last thing to consider. Canon has a few lenses designed for the 1.6 x sensor camera (20D, digi-rebels) which will not work on the other bodies. They are not cheap (>$500) and limit your flexibility.

Look around on http://www.robgalbraith.com/ubbthrea...=0&Board=UBB34 for good, used equipment and good prices. Also, sportsshooter.com lists quite a bit of equipment, but you must be a member of that board to view some of the adds. Membership is limited and you must be referred by a member in good standing and present a portfolio for review in order to join.

As for Sigma lenses, do some research. I have had bad experiences with their lenses falling apart. While their product is purported to be better nowadays; however, there are still some reports of quality issues with the newer stuff. Cheap ain't always cheap.

Peace,

Curtis

PS: I own and shoot with the 28 -135 IS, 28 - 75 2.8 XR and 70 - 200 2.8L IS, among others, just so you know I have some practical experience with these lenses. I use them on Canon 1D and D60 bodies, as well, so am familiar with the cropping of the 20D due to the sensor size and how that affects these lenses. Good luck.

[WRCfan]

^ Oh, yeah. I forgot about the 28-135 IS. I haven't heard anything but good things about that lens. I've been meaning to get one, but my recent rex purchase put paid to anymore camera acquisitions.

I recommended the Sigma as their EX series lenses are great performers in my experience. I've had the 50-500 and 70-200 and put them through much abuse and they still perform like new. I'm sure there are bad copies out there, but I was pleased with mine. You can't beat the L stuff though. I would say that if you are prone to buyers remorse, DON'T get the Sigma 70-200. Wait a bit, save up for the Canon 70-200 IS. You'll be much better off in the long run.

[Hybrid-X]

Thanks for the replies!! You guys rock.

[mball]

I dont do modeling photography (or portraits) with anything less than a 300mm tele end. Ideal focal range is 140mm-210mm and I find 200mm lenses get a little too soft towards the 200mm side. Depends on how much portrait photography you will be doing but Sigma makes a couple awesome 70-300mm lenses.