Lens for travel.

[silvernoy]

will be heading to Swiss/Germany in dec and i was thinking about getting a second hand lens to bring along my travels.

currently i have a sigma 17-70 C on my canon 1100d along with my tripod and remote.

currently considering either a wide angle (10-22) or prime (50mm f1.4)..
i take both landscape and portraits.

will be going along with my family but hope to do some nice individual shots for myself.

please advice me on whether i should get a lens and if yes, which type.

 

[SkyStrike]

With that budget, you can afford a EF-S 10-18 AND a EF 50 f1.8.

Individual shot??? You mean selfie??

Lens choices are pretty much up to individual preferences, you need to know what you want to achieve first before asking about the lenses.

 

[macVince]

Since you are already using the 17-70, you might want to consider buying the EF-S 10-18mm IS STM which is only about $350 to photograph some Swiss landscapes. The lens is light & small; you won't need much space in the camera bag to carry it.

In Dec, the weather could be severe at times, especially if you're up at the mountain top; you might want to ensure your family and yourself have adequate headgears, winter jackets, gloves and good (waterproof) shoes/boots. Uniqlo's Heat-Tech inner wear & socks can really help too. Keep your camera warm with extra batteries or they might malfunction if exposed too long out in the cold. The mountain top temperature could easily reach minus 15-20 deg C with strong winds as shown below for example; so be well equipped. Enjoy your trip.


Jungfraujoch by mac.Vince, on Flickr


Glacier Paradise Viewpoint by mac.Vince, on Flickr

 

[silvernoy]

With that budget, you can afford a EF-S 10-18 AND a EF 50 f1.8.

Individual shot??? You mean selfie??


Lens choices are pretty much up to individual preferences, you need to know what you want to achieve first before asking about the lenses.

not selfie but like portrait shots?
i somehow feel that f2.8 does not give me enough blur in the background..
and i feel that my 17mm is not wide enough at times to take landscape..

Since you are already using the 17-70, you might want to consider buying the EF-S 10-18mm IS STM which is only about $350 to photograph some Swiss landscapes. The lens is light & small; you won't need much space in the camera bag to carry it.

In Dec, the weather could be severe at times, especially if you're up at the mountain top; you might want to ensure your family and yourself have adequate headgears, winter jackets, gloves and good (waterproof) shoes/boots. Uniqlo's Heat-Tech inner wear & socks can really help too. Keep your camera warm with extra batteries or they might malfunction if exposed too long out in the cold. The mountain top temperature could easily reach minus 15-20 deg C with strong winds as shown below for example; so be well equipped. Enjoy your trip.


Jungfraujoch by mac.Vince, on Flickr


Glacier Paradise Viewpoint by mac.Vince, on Flickr

i was also considering that winter in europe causes the day to be dark fast so maybe the 10-22 with a higher aperture will be better for the low light condition?
i will look into getting those gears to keep warm.
thanks for your advice!

 

[SkyStrike]

not selfie but like portrait shots?
i somehow feel that f2.8 does not give me enough blur in the background..
and i feel that my 17mm is not wide enough at times to take landscape..

i was also considering that winter in europe causes the day to be dark fast so maybe the 10-22 with a higher aperture will be better for the low light condition?
i will look into getting those gears to keep warm.
thanks for your advice!

For those individual portraits shot, if you are intending to take together with the surroundings, an ultra wide would be nice. But do take note of the distortion as well. Also, on UWA, the human subject tends to be very small if you want to capture the whole landscape scene. If that's what you want, it's fine..

I'm assuming that you are referring to shooting at 17mm f2.8 and not enough background blur? If so, you may also want to take note that there are things other than aperture that affects the blur. It's the focal length. At wider focal length, you will get alot of DOF. You might want to play around with zooming in abit more. Let's say 50-70mm, and walk some steps back and try shooting that frame again, you will find that the background is more blurred.

Generally for portraits, I'll recommend anything longer than 35mm (which is aprox 25mm on crop). And this also depends on the kind of portraits you want to shoot. Full body, 1/2 body, head and shoulders, head shot or environmental portrait. These may also affect your decision.

Personally when I'm using 50mm on crop, It will be 1/2 body or tighter. It's may be hard to shoot full body with it because of the amount of space required.



For the larger aperture for low light condition, if you are shooting landscape, I don't think you will be shooting at wide open. Personally, f3.5 and f4.5 is no diff to me... I believe the 10-18 is a lot lighter as well.

 

[brapodam]

not selfie but like portrait shots?
i somehow feel that f2.8 does not give me enough blur in the background..
and i feel that my 17mm is not wide enough at times to take landscape..




i was also considering that winter in europe causes the day to be dark fast so maybe the 10-22 with a higher aperture will be better for the low light condition?
i will look into getting those gears to keep warm.
thanks for your advice!

Many factors affect background blur. If everything else is the same, the following will provide more background blur:
-Larger aperture
-Longer focal length
-Larger distance between subject and background
-Shorter distance between subject and lens

For low light condition, IS will be a lot more useful than large aperture for handheld landscapes. f3.5 and f4.5 also not much of a difference. Honestly, if you have no reasons for favouring USM over STM and no need for focus distance scale, 10-18 is a better option compared to 10-22. For the price difference, I just don't think it's worth it. I own a 10-22, but I've seen shots from the 10-18 and I think they are comparable.

 

[silvernoy]

For those individual portraits shot, if you are intending to take together with the surroundings, an ultra wide would be nice. But do take note of the distortion as well. Also, on UWA, the human subject tends to be very small if you want to capture the whole landscape scene. If that's what you want, it's fine..

I'm assuming that you are referring to shooting at 17mm f2.8 and not enough background blur? If so, you may also want to take note that there are things other than aperture that affects the blur. It's the focal length. At wider focal length, you will get alot of DOF. You might want to play around with zooming in abit more. Let's say 50-70mm, and walk some steps back and try shooting that frame again, you will find that the background is more blurred.

Generally for portraits, I'll recommend anything longer than 35mm (which is aprox 25mm on crop). And this also depends on the kind of portraits you want to shoot. Full body, 1/2 body, head and shoulders, head shot or environmental portrait. These may also affect your decision.

Personally when I'm using 50mm on crop, It will be 1/2 body or tighter. It's may be hard to shoot full body with it because of the amount of space required.



For the larger aperture for low light condition, if you are shooting landscape, I don't think you will be shooting at wide open. Personally, f3.5 and f4.5 is no diff to me... I believe the 10-18 is a lot lighter as well.

i tend to shoot more full body portraits.
so maybe i should consider a 35mm?
the thing about my 17-70 is that it is not constant aperture. the max hits f4 at 70mm..
hmm.. sounds like the 10-18mm is the way to go..

Many factors affect background blur. If everything else is the same, the following will provide more background blur:
-Larger aperture
-Longer focal length
-Larger distance between subject and background
-Shorter distance between subject and lens

For low light condition, IS will be a lot more useful than large aperture for handheld landscapes. f3.5 and f4.5 also not much of a difference. Honestly, if you have no reasons for favouring USM over STM and no need for focus distance scale, 10-18 is a better option compared to 10-22. For the price difference, I just don't think it's worth it. I own a 10-22, but I've seen shots from the 10-18 and I think they are comparable.

i'm guessing my technique is not quite up to standard yet.
will keep working on it!
between STM and USM, which do you find better personally?

 

[voice123]

if you rich USM
not so rich STM

 

[SilentSeth]

if you rich USM
not so rich STM

They serve different purposes.

USM = ultra sonic AF motor / ring. Means it's fast, silent, and allow full time manual focus override.

STM = stepping AF motor. Useful for those who shoot video using DSLR and want continuous AF like camcorders.. Also fast and silent (i forgot if it also support full time manual focus override or not..)

If you want to compare which one is faster / more silent / or want to know more, try to google.

 

[SkyStrike]

i tend to shoot more full body portraits.
so maybe i should consider a 35mm?
the thing about my 17-70 is that it is not constant aperture. the max hits f4 at 70mm..
hmm.. sounds like the 10-18mm is the way to go..

i'm guessing my technique is not quite up to standard yet.
will keep working on it!
between STM and USM, which do you find better personally?

I'm not sure if I'm interpreting it correctly.. there's nothing wrong about shooting portraits variable aperture lens. Even if the max is f4 or f5.6. If you are concerned about the iso, start considering playing with flash.

I really suggest that you rent out the lenses you are thinking of before you buy anything.. esp noting that the 35mm isn't what I consider a cheap lens.

Usm vs stm... does it matter? Both still auto focuses at a reasonable speed.

 

[Shizuma]

hello
you are going to a nice place
and you want to blur out the background?

 

[shierwin]

hello
you are going to a nice place
and you want to blur out the background?

... and with a white background, do you need "blur"?

 

[brapodam]

They serve different purposes.

USM = ultra sonic AF motor / ring. Means it's fast, silent, and allow full time manual focus override.

STM = stepping AF motor. Useful for those who shoot video using DSLR and want continuous AF like camcorders.. Also fast and silent (i forgot if it also support full time manual focus override or not..)

If you want to compare which one is faster / more silent / or want to know more, try to google.

STM has full time manual focus override also. But STM can be annoying because once the camera goes into idle mode (meter off), the lens will lose its focus (viewfinder will be blur) until the meter comes on again. Not too much an issue with ultra wides, but with, say 18-135 zoomed to 135mm, you will probably need some time to get your bearings as to where the camera is pointing at, unless you have a habit of tapping the shutter halfway before putting it to your eye.

@TS
Since you have a zoom, I can just share a bit on how I use them. I like to use only the extreme ends and move my feet. For instance, if I am using a 18-135 lens, I'll either use 18mm or 135mm. Let's say I want to isolate a subject. I'll use 135mm because that's the max tele compression I can achieve. The more tele compression you have, the less background blur you need to use to isolate your subject, because there will be less distractions in your frame. I find longer focal lengths more useful in isolating subjects than shorter focal lengths with larger aperture. So I zoom in to 135mm and move myself to achieve the composition I want (usually, fill the frame with the subject). If I cannot move far back enough, then I zoom out until my subject fills the frame. I don't like to just stand in one spot and use the "in-between" focal lengths; I use the extreme ends on the range of the zoom.

 

[silvernoy]

if you rich USM
not so rich STM

not so rich..

They serve different purposes.

USM = ultra sonic AF motor / ring. Means it's fast, silent, and allow full time manual focus override.

STM = stepping AF motor. Useful for those who shoot video using DSLR and want continuous AF like camcorders.. Also fast and silent (i forgot if it also support full time manual focus override or not..)

If you want to compare which one is faster / more silent / or want to know more, try to google.

it seems USM is faster but STM is more silent..
better for video?
may try my hands on a video log for the trip.

I'm not sure if I'm interpreting it correctly.. there's nothing wrong about shooting portraits variable aperture lens. Even if the max is f4 or f5.6. If you are concerned about the iso, start considering playing with flash.

I really suggest that you rent out the lenses you are thinking of before you buy anything.. esp noting that the 35mm isn't what I consider a cheap lens.

Usm vs stm... does it matter? Both still auto focuses at a reasonable speed.

hello
you are going to a nice place
and you want to blur out the background?

even with a nice background, sometimes blurring the background with the focus on the person would have a very nice effect?
i don't know but that's how i see it.

... and with a white background, do you need "blur"?

a white background for all of germany and swiss? really?

STM has full time manual focus override also. But STM can be annoying because once the camera goes into idle mode (meter off), the lens will lose its focus (viewfinder will be blur) until the meter comes on again. Not too much an issue with ultra wides, but with, say 18-135 zoomed to 135mm, you will probably need some time to get your bearings as to where the camera is pointing at, unless you have a habit of tapping the shutter halfway before putting it to your eye.

@TS
Since you have a zoom, I can just share a bit on how I use them. I like to use only the extreme ends and move my feet. For instance, if I am using a 18-135 lens, I'll either use 18mm or 135mm. Let's say I want to isolate a subject. I'll use 135mm because that's the max tele compression I can achieve. The more tele compression you have, the less background blur you need to use to isolate your subject, because there will be less distractions in your frame. I find longer focal lengths more useful in isolating subjects than shorter focal lengths with larger aperture. So I zoom in to 135mm and move myself to achieve the composition I want (usually, fill the frame with the subject). If I cannot move far back enough, then I zoom out until my subject fills the frame. I don't like to just stand in one spot and use the "in-between" focal lengths; I use the extreme ends on the range of the zoom.

thanks for the tip!
will try that out when i am taking with my zoom.

 

[Shizuma]

There are some classic EF USMs which are vintage but not too expensive
EF 28-105 USM 3.5-4.5 Mark 1 or Mark 2 is good(the aperture value is extremely important. There is a f4-5.6 USM which is CRAP.)

Full Time Manual overrides possible
Distance Window
true Super Silent USM (not micro motor USM like 50/1.4 crap)
Metal Mount and Solid construction (not plasticky)

I suspect Canon discontinued this line because too good already, nobody want to buy L lenses after that. Also, the 3.5-4.5 28-105 is 3.5 up to 70mm range, meaning it has wider aperture than 24-105 over a focal range (28-70)

 

[Octarine]

Didn't know that still pictures / landscapes come with sound nowadays so that focusing must be so silent.
Beside this: does it make any difference in practice whether the lens is focused within 0.2s or shorter? I strongly suggest getting rid of this feeling that 'higher price / fancy features' are good for images - unless you know exactly how / when / why you need this feature. For landscape shots like that even the kit lens with IS and AF micro motor is good enough.