What do both of these photos have in common? No, not the fact that the subject of both photos is a hairy animal (though this is a good guess). Both photos were taken with Canon telephoto lenses. I told myself that when I sold my home my reward would be a nice new lens. I currently own two lenses that I really enjoy: the Canon 24-105mm 4.0 L, and the Canon 17-40mm 4.0 L. The weak point in my current roster is not having a super fast lens and also one with good telephoto. Could I get both those qualities in one lens? The top photo is shot with the Canon 135mm 2.0 L lens. It is a terrific piece of glass. Super fast, super sharp, and incredible background blur. The only problem is it doesn't offer me much reach over my 24-105. The bottom shot was taken with the Canon 200mm 2.8 L II lens. It has the telephoto, the speed, and incredible sharpness. The big downside is its lack of versatility. It can really only ever hope to be a portrait lens. To further complicate matters, every professional photographer I know swears by the Canon 70-200 2.8 IS L lens, which I want desperately to like. I've rented it, played with it for hours in stores, and in the end I still feel like its too heavy and intimidating for my style of photography. But alas, maybe there is one more option. It has the versatility, a solid reputation with professionals, the telephoto, the sharpness, is relatively light, and has image stabilization to boot. I think the winner is the Canon 70-200 4.0 L IS. Now all I need is a fast prime!
i hate that word... bokah. no one in the real world uses it.
ReplyDeleteget this, my G9 and 70-200 both died this week!
your style of photography has nothing to do with how heavy or intimidating your lens is... if you can't get "close" enough to your subjects, it isn't because your lens is too big and intimidating... lenses don't project attitude or temperament, humans do.
lenses are tools... some better than others... but it is a very rare occurrence when a lens is responsible for making a picture good.
get one that you will use. if it stays in your bag or hung low over your shoulder and never put to your face, it is without purpose.
regardless of what you choose, IT will not make you a better photographer.
i've got a shoot on wednesday that would be perfect for the 135 2.0!
You're a tool!
ReplyDeletenice llama.
ReplyDelete