Lens Talk...

So a couple of people asked me what lens I got for my birthday.  And that my friends is a very LONG story.  So grab something to drink and take a seat as you may be here for a while!

I had two lenses that I used on my Canon 40D - the 50mm 1.4 and the 28-135 3.5-5.0 I/S. Both are GREAT lenses, but I was never completely happy with my photos. I had L series lens envy as I've previously mentioned.  I thought if I had a fancy L series lens, I might be able to get those crisp, milky colored, bright photos that I always want, but can't seem to get without editing.  

Based upon two friends opinions, I was stuck between getting the 50mm 1.2 and the one Susan Weinroth uses (and her photos are amazing), the 24-70mm 2.8.  I went back and forth and hadn't really made a decision or read all the reviews yet. Then Tom bought me the 50mm 1.2 for my birthday - it was quite a surprise!  

If I was only going to have one L series lens for a long while, I wanted it to be one I could keep on my camera most of the time.  I currently shoot with primarily my 50mm 1.4, so I thought this would be a good replacement.  

I tried it out for a couple of days (after staring at the box for about a week not wanting to commit to this expensive gift).  I took this picture of Chloe standing under the rain gutter:

 

I loved the color and clarity in this picture and the way the rain is bouncing off her head. This is a FAST sharp lens.  The settings I used were 1.8 / 640.  It was a really cloudy day and almost dark, so I was happy with how bright this image was.  No editing done to it!

I spent an evening in Laguna with my favorite fellow photography obsessed friend, Lisa Vanderveen. We took tons of pictures - here is a sunset shot I took while our girls were dancing at the edge of the water:

  

After reading all the reviews on this lens, I realized although it was amazing, it might not be the best all around lens for the money.  I had the 50mm 1.4 and loved it and based on my readings, the 1.2 isn't necessarily worth the increase in price.  I also realized I probably won't open my shutter all the way to 1.2 very often as it is way too tough to get a focused picture at that aperture.  So I made the (((tough))) decision to take this gem back.

I went to buy the 24-70 2.8 lens which is a better every day lens since it has the ability to zoom.  I usually shoot at 2.8 or higher, so I figured it was a better deal for me and I still have my 50mm 1.4 for really low light situations.  The nice camera store guy talked me into buying the 24-105 4.0 I/S lens and an external flash instead (which together were the same price as the lens I wanted). Sounded good to me!

I came home and shot with this lens for a couple days. Although it was super sharp and I loved the ability to zoom to 105 and I loved that it has IS (since I am too lazy to ever use a tripod), I found that many of my pictures were blurry. Most of my pictures are taken of moving subjects (my girls and my dog), so having an ultra fast lens is important. Here is a picture I took with this lens (which again, is an amazing every day lens and if you read all the reviews, most photographers say if they could only have one L series, this is the one they would get):

 

I took this image at a slower shutter speed of 1/60 and an aperture of 7.1.  I was trying to get a panning effect and I think it did a fairly good job.  The I/S allowed me to get a crisp image at a slower shutter speed then I can typically hand hold with.

The girl that has a hard time making decisions continued to read everything she could find on all of these lenses. So I went back to the photo shop (which now had a picture of me on the door saying "this customer cannot enter") and exchanged it for the 24-70 lens.  I decided I would rarely if ever use the expensive external flash and I didn't want to give up the 2.8 aperture (which opens twice as wide as 4.0).  So I gave up the extra zoom and the I/S for one stop lower.   

Here are a couple of pictures with MY final new lens - I love, love, love it!  And a big thank you to SUSAN WEINROTH and Lisa Vanderveen for listening to me talk about lenses for about 4 days straight as I tried to make a decision!  Thank you girls!

 

This picture of Sophie is straight out of the camera and it was almost dark outside!  I used an aperture of 2.8 and a shutter speed of 160.  I love her skin color here and it is so sharp!

I fell completely in love when I saw this next picture. I decided to take it right as my brother in law was taking one of me, so it was a split second decision - I just shot and didn't even think it would be focused. I love the depth of field (I didn't think I could get this much depth of field at an aperture of 2.8, but I had it zoomed to 70mm which helped). 

 

Ok, thank you for listening to all this lens chatter.  I promise to never bring it up again.  At least until I am in the market for another lens (which will be the 70-200 2.8 I/S just in case you were wondering...).  Happy shooting!  Suzy

Comments

[Wendi]

Wow! Awesome pictures. Have fun with your new toy! I ♥ your work! I visit your blog often and am always excited to see what you have created. Thanks so much for taking the time to share.

[Gemm]

Suzy, I have the same exact lens that you just bought. It's amazing, isn't it? I have been eyeing the 70-200mm 2.8 but I will just get the Tamron since it's way cheaper. Have fun with your new lens!!!

[Cindy S.]

wow! I will have to re-read this post a few times (I am still trying to figure this all out and some of it is still confusing to me...) TY for the pointers and Happy belated b-day! Can't wait to see all of your amazing pics with your new lense :)

[Linda Rodriguez]

Now I'm having lens envy! LOL about your journey to just the right lens. :) Gorgeous photos for sure!!!

[Ally]

Well, heck. If you'd just have asked me, I would have told you to go with the 24-70! LOL I knew as SOON as I read that you bought that 24-105 with flash that that one was going back... :)