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Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Zoom Lens
by simoncardwell
I've used the Canon 70-200mm lenses for several years, I'm a professional photographer & I've found it be a standard & essential part of my equipment. I've since upgraded to the 2.8 IS version of this lens, but I used this lens extensively before then.
The first thing about this lens is it's somewhat unorthodox ... appearance, it's very large & a kind of white/grey tone, meaning it stands out very obviously in practically any situation. It is also very heavy, so bear this in mind if you're considering a purchase. This isn't really a walk-around lens, it's a heavy duty professional lens that you can use ruggedly & repeatedly.
This IS (Image Stabilizer) version is a marked improvement on the non-IS, enabling you to handhold the camera in low light or indoor situations for up to an additional 3 stops. I used these lenses a lot at weddings, every church & venue was different, some offering great diffused natural light, others offering practically nothing besides horrible tungsten or florescent artificial light.
My main reason for upgrading to the 2.8 lens was that I simply couldn't get the shutter speeds I needed at f4 to make this lens ultra reliable in indoor situations. If you intend to use it primarily as an outdoor lens or you plan to add flash to your images, this is a much cheaper alternative. But the 2.8 is essential for me.
These lenses hold their value very well, so it is possible to invest in the f4 & consider upgrading to an f2.8 in the future. I've sold lenses for more than I paid for them in the past, particularly if exchange rates vary in the time you own the lenses.
There is no tripod ring included, unlike the 2.8 equivalent, but you can buy one separately easily enough. This level of Canon lenses are all weather sealed, meaning in theory you can get them soaking wet in the rain & they will suffer no ill effects. It's not something I make a habit of, but I've heard of people dropping these lenses in water & they kept on working.
It is very sharp wide open at f4, providing beautiful background blur as one would expect, which I've always considered one of the great advantages of the f4 & f2.8 lenses over their cheaper counterparts, the more you spend, the softer the background blur becomes. I've always felt one of the best uses of these 70-200mm lenses was the range they offer for Portrait Photography, on the shorter end you can shoot at 85mm, which is traditionally one of the classic ranges for a portrait photograph, then in the middle you can shoot at 135mm, another great range for a portrait. Of course you can shoot anywhere in between too, giving you a lot of options to play with.
Image quality is standout on any of the 70-200mm lenses, your pictures will be extremely sharp & will have tremendous clarity. The colour, tone & contrast of your images will be clear throughout.
In addition to portraiture, this lens will serve you well when you can't get too close to your subject (weddings, sports, wildlife). While I wouldn't walk around with this lens, it is very versatile & has multiple uses.
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Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM Zoom Lens
by simoncardwell
This lens is part of my basic set-up for any job, I'm a professional photographer & while maybe it's not an essential lens, it's one I always like to have at hand.
This is an excellent super wide angle lens, great for landscapes, I often use it for wedding photographs that include a venue or large scene as a backdrop. I ... also use it regularly for wide photographs which feature large groups of people.
As with any L Series lens it is large & quite heavy, but no different from any other lens of equivalent build & image quality. This is without a doubt the best & most versatile wide angle lens in the Canon range. It handles very easily & is easy to use.
If you're only going to buy 1 lens, this likely isn't the one for you, it's not a hugely versatile lens & while it has several very distinct uses, it also has limitations - 35mm (the long end of this lens) is approximately what your eyes see. So if you bear that in mind uses for this lens are for your eyeline of wider, so really landscapes & architectural use. If you want a portrait lens you will need something longer.
The focusing is fast & accurate, with excellent ergonomics & build quality meaning the handling is always fast & efficient. The lens is weather sealed, but I always attach a 77mm filter to the front of any lens to protest it further. In my time I have dropped lenses & the filter has acted as a guard meaning I have yet to fatally damage a lens. Without the guard a drop on concrete could ruin this lens (you get a 12 month warranty with any Canon L Series lens as standard.
Not so relevant now as the £ is weaker, but if you're holidaying abroad, particularly in the Far East or North America, you will pick up any lens of this quality far cheaper buying there than here. The Canon warranties are global so it's irrelevant where you bought it.
The lens opens up to 2.8, giving you marvellous quality with beautiful blurred backgrounds, as you would expect with any L Series lens.
Some pro's complain of vignetting on the edge of the image with the L Series zooms, I personally have not experienced any major problems. If you're working on a non-full frame body (any Camera less than the 5D), you would not see any difference regardless.
It comes supplied with a lens hood & a soft pouch (which I personally never use). While this is a fantastic lens, arguably the 17-55mm is equally sharp (not to mention significantly cheaper). If you don't need the 2.8 aperture, there isn't a great deal of point in spending double the money on this lens. The 17-40mm is another alternative option if price is an issue.
Not an ideal walk around lens (unless you like landscapes or photographing buildings), but this is a necessary & valid part of any serious photographer's equipment kit.
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Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Zoom Lens
by simoncardwell
I'm a professional photographer & this is the lens I use the most, it's very versatile & I have it on my camera as my standard lens when I'm working. When the £ was stronger you could pick this up for under £700, at present it'll cost you over £900. Being an L Series Lens, it's the best available Canon zoom lens for the focal ... length.
I find this lens is perfect as you can get fairly wide at the 24mm end, while you can get a nice portrait at the 50-70mm end, making it a good option if you don't want to be changing lenses regularly.
The reason for the cost is primarily the fact that the camera opens up to f2.8, meaning there is a lot of glass in there, making it an expensive bit of kit, but something I couldn't work without. It offers lovely background blur at 2.8 through to 5.6, while retaining sharp detail on the narrower end.
The image quality may be marginally worse than a prime lens, but the ability to shift from wide shots to portraits in a second is more important. Zoom lenses have improved immeasurably in the last ten years, making them a very sensible option these days.
As usual with an L lens the autofocus is crisp, quiet & fast while the manual focus is also very accurate once you've mastered it. It's a heavy lens, so I don't use this as a walkaround lens, it's more of a heavy-duty working lens in my opinion. For the cost too it would only really be worthwhile if you were using it professionally. There are lesser lenses that will do a similar job in some respects, a lens of this calibre definitely delivers a higher quality image, but for a lot of uses you don't need quality this high.
Available light shots are top notch with this lens, while you can shoot wide shots such as groups without needing a lens change. Landscapes are also possible, although a 16-35mm lens may be better. From 50mm to 70mm you can get lovely portraits & you can also shoot reportage with the flexibility to zoom in & out.
This lens is a great all rounder with many uses, it is very expensive but you get what you pay for for definite.
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