Stuck On Lens Choice

[FuNkEyMoNkEy]

Right, I have taken your suggestions on board and you are right about the weddings and I have decided to push the boat out and get all of the lenses. FYI the 70-300 has got some great reviews and has been classed, by some, as a hidden L lens, and the STM, from the limited reviews I could find, is sharp throughout the whole zoom range.
I have joined a photography club in my area and have met a few pro's that I will ask to work with as a second or third.
Any more advice that you have would be greatly appreciated.

MoNkEy.

[neuroanatomist]

FYI the 70-300 has got some great reviews and has been classed, by some, as a hidden L lens...

Who's reviews? Let's compare the 70-300 with an L lens covering the same range: at 70mm, the difference in the center isn't huge, although away from the center is another story; at 300mm, the center is worse, and the mid frame (corners on APS-C) is much worse. Hidden L lens? Maybe hidden behind a layer of vaseline smeared over the front element of an actual L lens...

Ok, I exaggerate a bit - if you stop the 70-300 down to f/11 at 300mm, it's great...no, wait...it's not, even then the corners are mushy mess and the mid-frame isn't much better. Ok, I keep exaggerating. Actually, if you stop down to f/8 and keep it under 200mm, it's ok. But hidden L lens? I think not...

[HDNitehawk]

FYI the 70-300 has got some great reviews and has been classed, by some, as a hidden L lens, and the STM, from the limited reviews I could find, is sharp throughout the whole zoom range.

Did you find this review;

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/R...ns-Review.aspx

This was the first lens I bought, you could get it at a discount when you bought it with the 50D 28-135mm kit. For the 50D kit it was a fine lens, and performed better than the 28-135mm. It is no where close to being an L lens, and if I were reading someones review that said it was I couldn't give them any credibility whatsoever.

Again it is a nice lens for the price. Not in the same class as the equivilant L. I wouldn't call it sharp through the range.