Canon EF lenses and expensive L glass

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  • #2105
    LeicaLens
    Participant

    I have a question for Canon users, in particular high megapixel full-frame users.

    I have secondhand Canon EOS-3 film camera, for which I currently use four lenses I have access to at work: 20mm prime, 28-200mm kit zoom, 28-300m L lens and a 400m prime telephoto.
    I am thinking of getting the EF50mm 1.4 prime for it, as I am toying also with a future shift to a Canon DSLR (I have an Olympus now). This may–just may–mean a full-frame model.
    However, I have heard that the high MP sensors don’t work too well with non-L lenses, as the cheaper lenses just don’t offer enough resolution.
    Would any Canon users like to chime in on this? Any experience of this problem?

    #34603
    chupathingie
    Participant

    I’ve used a non-L 75-300mm on my 5DII, and the resolution of the lens is noticeably lower than what I see when shooting thru the L-series kit lens. That’s at 21MP, not sure how noticeable the diff would be at say, 15MP. Once I get home I’ll set them both up at 100mm and have a look side-by-side.

    #34604
    ennuipoet
    Participant

    It’s objective reality. While the lab tests may hold true that the images are demonstrably better at high megapixel and full frame cameras, will you actually see the difference? Probably not. The gear you mention is not the cheap kit lens that Canon puts out today, but older better built gear. (My opinion only, I’ve shot on both but never at full frame high megpix.) At some point in time, if you can afford it, go for the L glass, but it sounds like you’ve solid gear now.

    #34605
    CauseISaidSo
    Participant

    The list of caveats to this opinion is a mile long: I don’t have a full-frame or high-resolution camera (30D), I probably don’t have the sharpest eye when looking at the subtlies of photos (CA, sharpness and the like), and I don’t own nor have any experience with any prime lenses.

    Given that, I own one non-L (EF-S 10-22mm) and two L lenses (EF 2.8 24-70mm and EF 2.8 IS 70-200mm). I also used another non-L for quite a while, the EF 28-135mm kit lens that came with the camera (I’ve since given that to my son). Aside from the wider aperatures, L glass looks to be a bit sharper, feels a lot sturdier in construction and is better insolated from the elements, but the non-L glass is otherwise perfectly fine.

    I doubt any of this info is useful to you for this specific question, but there it is just in case.

    #34606
    nobigdeal
    Participant

    I have one L lens, 70-200L f4. There is a huge difference in IQ compared to any other glass I own or have owned, except the 50mm 1.4 which is as good as any L lens. I have a couple aftermarket lenses, Tamron 17-50 f2.8 and a Sigma 24-70 f2.8 that both work OK on the 40d but the flaws become highly noticeable on the higher resolution 50d. I can only imagine on a 21mp camera how bad it would be.

    #34607
    chupathingie
    Participant

    huh… color me shocked. At 100mm there is very little difference between the 24-105 L and the 75-300. 75-300 on the left, 24-105 L on the right. Apologies for the slightly soft focus on the 24-105 L sample, but I’m beat and not going out to retake it (immediate future is shower, food, bed)… I was expecting some noticeable CA on the 75-300mm at the least, since it’s so obvious in astrophotos.

    #34608
    LeicaLens
    Participant

    NoBigDeal
    That Ef50mm 1.4 is the lens I am thinking of going for, so that’s good to hear. I don’t really want to bang out 180,000 yen for the F1.2, or 400,000 yen for a secondhand F1.0. The F1.4 version seems like the best deal.
    The F1.8 is dirt cheap, but I have heard mixed reviews of it.

    chupathingie
    That’s an interesting contrast. The right picture (with the L lens) is a bit soft, isn’t it? I take it that it’s not always like that?

    ennuipoet
    That’s pretty much my take on it. And as CauseISaidSo said, some of the difference is in the build rather than glass. The gold-band EF lenses seem decent in that regard, way better than the kit lenses, so they have that going for them.
    Incidentally, I read the EF85mm 1.8 is actually sharper than the 1.2 L equivalent.

    With regard to a FF camera, I am not in any rush, and my budget will probably only extend to a 5D MkI, but next year, when they release the 5D MkIII, a secondhand MkII may be within range. It all depends on whether I can hide enough money from ‘er Indoors.

    #34609
    chupathingie
    Participant

    No, it’s not soft at all… pretty sure I had the auto focus points set incorrectly. I wanted the center zone only, but I’m beat… I really should do this whole thing over when the brain works. I should be in bed, was on the way when the phone rang and I got to drive 150 miles to fix stuff. Oh well. It’s O.T.

    #34610
    CauseISaidSo
    Participant

    Incidentally, I read the EF85mm 1.8 is actually sharper than the 1.2 L equivalent.

    I’ve heard that, too. I’ve also heard the same thing about the 50mm 1.4 vs 1.2. If I remember right, people were complaining that with the 1.2 they had to stop back to 1.4 anyway to get a sharp shot so it wasn’t worth the extra cost. And people with the 1.4 were pretty pleased with it.

    It’s been a while, so I’m not sure exactly where I read it. It may have been from reviews on B&H, or it may have been here: http://www.the-digital-picture.com.

    #34611
    LeicaLens
    Participant

    Incidentally, I read the EF85mm 1.8 is actually sharper than the 1.2 L equivalent.

    I’ve heard that, too. I’ve also heard the same thing about the 50mm 1.4 vs 1.2. If I remember right, people were complaining that with the 1.2 they had to stop back to 1.4 anyway to get a sharp shot so it wasn’t worth the extra cost. And people with the 1.4 were pretty pleased with it.

    It’s been a while, so I’m not sure exactly where I read it. It may have been from reviews on B&H, or it may have been here: http://www.the-digital-picture.com.

    Then it might be time for me to dig behind my sofa cushions for spare change and get myself a new lens 😀

    Anyway, I’m off to put on my scary clown outfit and invade chupathingie‘s dreams.

    #34612
    chupathingie
    Participant

    Ahhh, I was wondering who to thank for the Clown Pie. It was very good, if a bit funny tasting.

    OK, after reading all the comments I’m going to try a solid comparison this weekend when I have time for a proper setup and shoot at varying stops after getting a tight manual focus.

    They just won’t leave me be at work after hours, they called AGAIN after midnight last night. Payday’s gonna be sweet, I’ll be so tired I’ll pass out at the bar 1/2 way into my first beer.

    #34613
    orionid
    Participant

    Payday’s gonna be sweet, I’ll be so tired I’ll pass out at the bar 1/2 way into my first beer.

    If only you knew what I meant by Wednesday mornings at Trotters.

    You’d be surprised at how much a love of beer and music can rejuvenate oneself.

    /One of the local bars in Saratoga disguises itself as a horse crowd bar, but is actually the navy bar. All of their drink specials are based around the navy site schedule. Mids (seven consecutive days from 10pm to 8 am) ends on a wednesday morning, so Trotters has $1 drafts and 25-cent wings starting at 7:30 am on wednesdays. And their juke box is hard to beat.

    #34614
    chupathingie
    Participant

    There was a rather rustic place 25 years ago that sat back off a bend in the road all by it’s lonesome that all the prototype students and instructors would wind up at. I wonder if it’s the same place…

    #34615
    orionid
    Participant

    Trotters is downtown on the same street as most of the rest of the bars. But your description sounds fitting for either Dolphin’s cove or the Mill Rock, both of which have been there for forever. The cove went through a demographic shift about 4 years ago, resulting in a huge riot, and is now the trailer park bar. Mill Rock is more of the out-in-the-sticks-but-one-step-better-than-a-trailer redneck bar.

    #34616
    chupathingie
    Participant

    ok, looked them up from satellite view… it was Mill Rock. And I notice they’ve ‘shopped Knolls out now, it was hi-rez a few weeks ago. It’s even been removed from Google’s search… now it points to the facility in Schenectady, with no reference to the plant at all.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 23 total)
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