5D Primary and 40D Backup - Lens Strategy

[nevadalife]

Hi,



I have the following lenses:

Sigma 10-20mm

Sigma 30 1.4

Canon 50 1.8

Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8

Canon 100mm f/2.8

Canon 85mm f/1.8



And I've got 40D and 5D Mark II.



I'm wondering which lens I should keep and which to sell. Is it worth
replacing the zoom lenses to equivalent 17-40 (for 10-20) and 24-70
(for 17-50) in FF? Will I see a difference in IQ?



I'm thinking of using 5D with prime lenses get the nice shallow depth
of field and 40D for zooms as I already have. Does this make any sense?



Few lenses I have an eye on are



1. 70-200 F4 IS. I don't like the weight for 2.8 although, I've seen some great shots with it.



2. Replace Siggy 30/Canon 50/1.8 with Canon 35/1.4 or Sigma 50 1.4. Which do you guys use on FF?



3. 135L, it very nice lens I had a chance to try. Not sure if I should
spend a little more and get 85L instead. I can't afford to get both.
What do you guys recommend?



Darren

[Daniel Browning]

I'm wondering which lens I should keep and which to sell.

There are a ton of good options. You can't go wrong.

Is it worth
replacing the zoom lenses to equivalent 17-40 (for 10-20) and 24-70
(for 17-50) in FF? Will I see a difference in IQ?

Yes, you will definitely see a difference in IQ. When used at the same print size and DOF, the 17-40 on 5D2 will have much higher contrast (and other aspects of image quality) than the 10-20 on the 40D. Blows it out of the water, really. Same story with the 24-70.

I'm thinking of using 5D with prime lenses get the nice shallow depth
of field and 40D for zooms as I already have. Does this make any sense?

Yes, that's perfectly acceptable. It's the well-regarded strategy of "reinforce your strengths, don't shore up your weaknesses". That is, the 40D already has a weakness of poor control over DOF and light gathering power (when used at the same f-number and angle of view). You could shore up this weakness by using f/1.8 primes on the 40D and f/2.8 zooms on the 5D2. Then they would have about the same DOF and light gathering power. (You could see this as bringing the 40D up to the level of the 5D2 or bringing the 5D2 down to the level of the 40D.) But I like your idea better: let the 40D lag *way* behind; put the primes on the 5D2 and it will have even thinner DOF and even more light.

70-200 F4 IS

One of my top three lenses. Can't recommend it enough.

Replace Siggy 30/Canon 50/1.8 with Canon 35/1.4 or Sigma 50 1.4. Which do you guys use on FF?

If you want to shoot 50mm wide open, the Sigma provides excellent quality and is much cheaper than the Canon f/1.2. The 35mm f/1.4 is an excellent wide angle lens. If you can only get one, you'll have to pick which focal length is more important: wide angle or "normal". (On the 40D it's "normal" and "telephoto", respectively.)

3. 135L, it very nice lens I had a chance to try. Not sure if I should
spend a little more and get 85L instead. I can't afford to get both.
What do you guys recommend?

Whichever one you will use more. Personally, I find that 135mm is my most commonly used portrait focal length on the 5D2. But on the 40D the most common (for me) is 85mm (135/1.6). It depends on what kind of shots you like to take.

[Jon Ruyle]

I agree with Daniel. The "reinforce your strengths" approach makes more sense because you get more versatility by making the cameras different than trying to make them the same (unless one camera is a true backup body... but in this case, might as well get two of the same camera and save money on lenses)

Personally, I find that 135mm is my most commonly used portrait focal length on the 5D2. But on the 40D the most common (for me) is 85mm (135/1.6). It depends on what kind of shots you like to take.

If, like Daniel, you like the 135mm focal length on full frame, I think the 135mm f/2 on full frame is a better choice than 85mm f/1.2 on 40D. It is cheaper, focuses faster, and I'm pretty sure 135 at f/2 ff will give you much better iq than 85mm at f/1.2 cropped. IMO 85mm f/1.2 makes the most sense on full frame, because there is no way to get the equivalent on a crop body.

[Colin]

My limited experience with the 135 f2 and and lesslimited experience with the85 f1.2 on FF suggests that, overall, I like working with the 135 f2 more for reasons previously stated. The 85, optically, is fantastic, but it's a tank, the autofocus is slow, and I'm not a big fan of the electronic manual focus. I'm stepping out on a limb, though, because I'm assuming that the 135 f2 can autofocus correctly when calibrated. Both copies I've had so far have had backfocus issues with both of my bodies, so I'm going to send the last copy in for a factory visit with my 5D so they can do it right. I've been willing to work around the backfocus for a few days to play with it, and love what it does otherwise, but....


can somebody reassure me that the 135 f2 can in fact autofocus correctly, and that what I'm experiencing is most likely a calibration issue? I'd sure feel a lot better []