[ampere]

Originally Posted by R2D2

So stopping down in case you notice softness is just a way to go from good to better. Unless you are really pixel peeping or there's a noticeable back/front focus issue it should do.

The 50mm 1.2 or the 85mm 1.2 would just make things far more challenging with their micron thin DOF. Beautiful lenses though.

Very true. Some how I was not planning for any of the costly prime lenses. I am determined by make the basic one work to the best possible effect.
(Plan to look at Macro lenses)

Some how I never see any of these soft effects with other lenses but only with the prime. Hence thought it might be to do with 1.8 DOF and not anything with the camera. (I use a 550D)

The F4 is no slouch when it comes to IQ and you do have the lower weight advantage which goes a long way to ensure it is used more frequently. Heavier the lens, higher the chances you keep it at home.

By no means! In fact as I mentioned earlier it never leaves my camera ! Very very satisfied with its performance on field.

[Rajvir Bains]

Hello to all Photography experts
I have canon 550d with kit lens and 50mm 1.8 prime lens.
I want to upgrade the kit lens to 15-85mm lens and buy it from USA as it retails there for 800$ and here it is around 60k.
I want your expert opinion whether it is good as general purpose lens (since the range covers wide angle and a decent bit of zoom)
If you guys have used this lens, can you tell me hows the image quality and how it performs in low light conditions ?
Does the value of this lens stands justified at 800$ ?
Are there any other lens options besides 15-85mm ?

Thankyou in advance.

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by R2D2

I use my 50mm 1.4G lens at max aperture otherwise I believe one is not doing it justice. Fortunately my copy is good..I won't say perfect because no lens truly is.

My experience with my two Canon EF lenses indicates that in daylight or sunlight, I can keep faster aperture (f/4-5.6 on 24-105 mm and around 2.8 on 85 mm f/1.8). Somehow reviews of both lenses indicate better quality stopping down (especially to 2.8 for 85 mm 1.8). At max aperture on 1.8, I find great bokeh but softness in the main subject (say my wife). Having a fast aperture is a great advantage (and costs more) but one does not always need to keep it its max value.

In tubelight or bulblight, stopping down further has made even more sense for me.

On a separate note regarding 70-200 vs 24-105 mm, on a crop sensor camera, does 70-200 mm take priority as a first purchase??. I saw ampere's post and I read that he had earlier 10-22 lens. In that case as a second lens, 70-200 mm is a wise purchase. But as a first purchase, unless someone has a very specific priority and/or has already some zoom/prime lenses covering the focal lengths of <100mm, one should perhaps be better off in buying zooms covering wide (10-30mm) to short/medium telephoto (80-150mm). This also explains the max sale of kit bundle/standalone zooms in this range.

On a 1.6 crop sensor, EF 24-105 mm becomes perhaps 38-168mm. This is not sufficiently wide but will do better than other EF options which have a narrow zoom range (eg 17-40). It is definitely better than 70-200 mm which becomes 112-320mm. 112mm is adequate for portraits but will perhaps fail for group photos. 320mm becomes perhaps too specialised. Canon also has a EF-S 15-85 mm which is quite good. However, it is not a L lens and also cannot be used on full frames.

Yet I will go for 70-200 f/4 as a second lens simply for its great reviews. It covers the portrait range and may give better results than 24-105 mm f/4 and also enables to go to sufficiently long focal lengths.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by ampere

Some how I never see any of these soft effects with other lenses but only with the prime. Hence thought it might be to do with 1.8 DOF and not anything with the camera. (I use a 550D).

I have used 50mm F1.8 , 50mm F1.4 and 30mm F1.4 ( Sigma) and never found and soft focus issues. In fact these lenses are razer sharp compared to zooms.
I mostly use wide open as you rightly identified focussing is the key here.
DOF is extreamly thin , In case of portraits it helps if you focus on eyes.
And in case you can see eye lashes clearly on 100% view then it is not soft.

Suppose if there is any back focus / front focus issue and your body does not have micro focus adjustment then you can adjust yourself by focusing on nose tip or ear instead of eyes to compensate for FF or BF.

Use a focus chart to find if your lens really has a FF or BF issue or it is just a technique issue.

Below chart is useful and works best if you paste it on a door and then shoot at 45 degree angle. Pasting on door makes it easy to adjust for parallax

http://www.focustestchart.com/chart.html

[ampere]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

My experience with my two Canon EF lenses indicates that in daylight or sunlight, I can keep faster aperture (f/4-5.6 on 24-105 mm and around 2.8 on 85 mm f/1.8). Somehow reviews of both lenses indicate better quality stopping down (especially to 2.8 for 85 mm 1.8). At max aperture on 1.8, I find great bokeh but softness in the main subject (say my wife). Having a fast aperture is a great advantage (and costs more) but one does not always need to keep it its max value.

In tubelight or bulblight, stopping down further has made even more sense for me.

Thanks. I echo your thoughts pretty much. I try to do the same. Stop at 2/2.2/2.8 on my 50mm prime.

On a separate note regarding 70-200 vs 24-105 mm, on a crop sensor camera, does 70-200 mm take priority as a first purchase??. I saw ampere's post and I read that he had earlier 10-22 lens. In that case as a second lens, 70-200 mm is a wise purchase. But as a first purchase, unless someone has a very specific priority and/or has already some zoom/prime lenses covering the focal lengths of <100mm, one should perhaps be better off in buying zooms covering wide (10-30mm) to short/medium telephoto (80-150mm). This also explains the max sale of kit bundle/standalone zooms in this range.

On a 1.6 crop sensor, EF 24-105 mm becomes perhaps 38-168mm. This is not sufficiently wide but will do better than other EF options which have a narrow zoom range (eg 17-40). It is definitely better than 70-200 mm which becomes 112-320mm. 112mm is adequate for portraits but will perhaps fail for group photos. 320mm becomes perhaps too specialised. Canon also has a EF-S 15-85 mm which is quite good. However, it is not a L lens and also cannot be used on full frames.

Yet I will go for 70-200 f/4 as a second lens simply for its great reviews. It covers the portrait range and may give better results than 24-105 mm f/4 and also enables to go to sufficiently long focal lengths.

I agree on your thoughts on 24-105 Vs 70-200. I did not have a 10-22 to start with. But had the kit and the 50mm 1.8 prime. Since I had a plan to get 10-22 and had 18-55 range covered at that time, I thought of getting a zoom 70-200 which would then almost cover the spectrum. Never realized then that I will never use 18 55 again. I thought I could cover that gap by 24 70. But never realized prices would go through the roof. But then later I never felt the need too.

Since I went though the above logic, I never got into the 24 105 Vs 70 200 debate.

Originally Posted by amitk26

I have used 50mm F1.8 , 50mm F1.4 and 30mm F1.4 ( Sigma) and never found and soft focus issues. In fact these lenses are razer sharp compared to zooms.
I mostly use wide open as you rightly identified focussing is the key here.
DOF is extreamly thin , In case of portraits it helps if you focus on eyes.
And in case you can see eye lashes clearly on 100% view then it is not soft.

Thanks Amit. As you rightly said, I do focus on the eyes and that part is always sharp. The picture as a whole becomes a bit soft compared to what you get with F4. Of course thats due to DOF being very thin. Looks like there is no substitute to DOF ! Need to manage with an alternate method like flash.

[redrage]

Planning to pickup a 7D to replace my ageing 40D. Any pointers to the best market prices here? Anyone in BLR recently picked up the 7D?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by redrage

Planning to pickup a 7D to replace my ageing 40D. Any pointers to the best market prices here? Anyone in BLR recently picked up the 7D?

Do check. I am not sure, but there are rumors floating around about a 7D Mk II (possible release about August)
Might be good check about its release/availability.

[jacs]

Hi Ampere & Vasu,

Fruitful discussion it was. Got many pointers to narrow down the list. Thanks.

Somehow I am wondering the soft image issue highlighted by Ampere could be a technical defect if its very noticable. 50 1.8 is very common with buddies, do try your hands on another piece and confirm.

[redrage]

Originally Posted by ampere

Do check. I am not sure, but there are rumors floating around about a 7D Mk II (possible release about August)
Might be good check about its release/availability.

Yeah went through some specs looks like camera would be in the higher price range (2100$) for a higher MP, Higher ISO and a few other feature upgrades (Better video o/p, Body sealing, more effective AF carry over from 1x). Its going to be priced 500$ more than the current 7D.

7D MK1 does seem a reasonable upgrade compared to the 40D in a competitive price range don't you think? Or its better i wait and watch?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by redrage

7D MK1 does seem a reasonable upgrade compared to the 40D in a competitive price range don't you think? Or its better i wait and watch?

Cant comment conclusively on this, as I myself dont know much. It would be good to check with others.

[thalavoy]

Originally Posted by redrage

Yeah went through some specs looks like camera would be in the higher price range (2100$) for a higher MP, Higher ISO and a few other feature upgrades (Better video o/p, Body sealing, more effective AF carry over from 1x). Its going to be priced 500$ more than the current 7D.

7D MK1 does seem a reasonable upgrade compared to the 40D in a competitive price range don't you think? Or its better i wait and watch?

I think so. Introduction of 7DMkII or 70D could drive down the price of 7D (if it is still in production).
Or you can join the full frame with 6D

[vasudeva]

7DMKII will still be a APS-C by all accounts and if the price is higher (most surely will be as per Canon's practice) then it may make sense to buy a full frame 6D at the least (for people considering only Canon).

I had a 7D earlier (sold it recently) but have a full frame camera now and can now see that I upgraded well.

[redrage]

Mainly need the APS-C sensor for the 1.6X crop. Otherwise some subjects are too difficult to reach (I Shoot wildlife 90% of the time, 8 fps is good thing here too compared to 5 odd for the 6D). Also i am hearing noise issues with the 7D if you don't get the exposure right ,this is the only downside (which can be overcome by a few means) to an otherwise brilliant camera.

Well i guess i will see the next couple of months and then take a call.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by redrage

Mainly need the APS-C sensor for the 1.6X crop. Otherwise some subjects are too difficult to reach (I Shoot wildlife 90% of the time, 8 fps is good thing here too compared to 5 odd for the 6D). Also i am hearing noise issues with the 7D if you don't get the exposure right ,this is the only downside (which can be overcome by a few means) to an otherwise brilliant camera.

Very true. If you are on the wild life side. 7D makes much more sense than 6D. Apart from the cropped sensor, build quality also is better I think, more suited your requirements.

[nilanjanray]

7D MkII will be a crop sensor camera aimed at wildlife and sports shooters. Sort of like a mini 1-DX with similar AF. The specs look very impressive. If I were a Canon guy, I would be salivating.

I am hoping that Canon launches the 7D Mk2 because then Nikon will be forced to launch the D400 soon without milking D7100 sales too much.

The 7D MkII/100-400L and the D400/80-400 AF-S will be fantastic walk around, handholdable combos for wildlife enthusiasts like me who mostly shoot handheld.

Edit: I bought the Nik Software bundle a few weeks back. Have started liking a few of the plug-ins (Silver Efex, Sharperner, Dfine). I can launch them by dragging an image (TIF) on the Desktop icon, or by calling them directly from ViewNX2.