How to choose a lens for Canon 7D video?

[ddi]

I hope I'm not stating the obvious (well, okay, I know I *am* stating the obvious, but still...), don't underestimate the importance of IS for video. You need IS or a tripod unless you have far steadier hands than mine.


Inexpensive fast primes made by canon do not have IS. In fact I think their only IS lens faster than f/2.8 is the 200mm f/2. Not cheap



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I will be doing all the video shooting with a tripod, so I thought IS will not be so important. But then it will be useful for photography...

[peety3]

What I've read is that zoom isn't good for video - zoom rings on SLR lenses aren't made for video needs, and the air escaping/entering the lens can "corrupt" your audio. I've heard f/2 is the sweet spot for video.


A lot of engineering goes into video lenses - I think the 100x Canon zooms for broadcast video are internally counterbalanced, so zoom/focus never changes the lens' center of gravity. So yes, good lenses are worth their money; don't buy something that's not going to work for you.

[Daniel Browning]

I only have
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens. Would that lens be of any use
for video on 7D?

Yes.

What lens would you recommend for video (some of it in
low light) on 7D if I can only get one lens for now?

If it's for just video, you can get better results buying old manual lenses (e.g. Nikon), because they have much better manual focus features (rotation length, dampening, etc.). But if you need still and video together, you'll get the best results from prime lenses, especially L, because they tend to have better focus rings, less breathing, etc.