Question from a newbie who jumped the gun

steve_ · 15-09-2011 10:12PM #1

Hi guys i recently jumped feet first into the world of photography and DSLR's. I got a second hand 5d mark ii with the 24-105mm kit lens. The main question i have is in relation to the lens itself. I sold on the 5d mark ii as it was a pro body and for a beginner like me it was over kill, not to mention it broke the bank. Thankfully i sold it on and didnt lose any money on it.

I kept the lens simply because everywhere i read that its good to invest in decent glass. So i held onto it. Now the thing is im buying a 600d which is ideal for me as i reckon ill be doing just as much video work as i will be taking photos not to mention the price point is right up my alley. The guy im buying the 600d off is also selling the 18-135mm kit lens to accompany the 600d.

Do you guys think i should sell on the 24-105mm L lens and buy the 18-135mm? Is there a substantial difference between these lens?...... bearing in mind im a beginner. I could sell the L lens and re coop some money, but if the 18-135 is a stinker then id rather keep the L lens.

Any help would be very much welcome. Cheers guys

Promac · 15-09-2011 10:18PM

Short answer - phuck no!

Keep the L lens. The 18-135 is a good lens for a starter but that 24-105 is a good lens and well worth keeping and blows the other one out of the water. If it was me, I'd have kept the 5dii as well but too late now!

ThOnda · 15-09-2011 10:24PM

Keep the L lens! You can always degrade the image quality in processing, but you cannot make it better (well...).
Any newer body will meter and capture image in excellent quality, so don't downgrade professional lens, that creates the image. Camera only records the data.

steve_ · 15-09-2011 10:25PM

Thanks promac. Yeah i know the 5d mk ii is a beast but i just couldnt afford to keep it, not at the moment anyways. But my mind is a ease now, iv a decent entry level camera that will show me the ropes and teach me the basics. I think i will keep the L lens, i can always use it on future bodies especially if i go full frame. The reason i posted the question was to get advice. My untrained eye wouldnt be able to tell the difference between pics shot on the ef-s or the L lens. So to me the only thing separating the two is price, 1000 for the L glass and about 200 for the 18-135. Obviously iv looked into to the technical aspects of both lens but i mean in simple every situations for me as a beginner, will i really see a difference?

steve_ · 15-09-2011 10:30PM

Cheers Thonda for your input. Being swayed towards the L lens for sure

Promac · 15-09-2011 10:35PM

If you took a load of pictures with both lenses you'd like a lot more of the ones from the 24-105. Later, when you develop more of a an eye for it you'll be able to say why exactly you like them better. If you can afford it, keep it. You'll thank yourself in a few months.

steve_ · 15-09-2011 10:50PM

Excellent cheers guys, ill stick with the L lens. Thanks for the advice. I would be nice to have a shoutbox in some of the forums so questions like this could be answered quickly instead of starting threads

Promac · 15-09-2011 11:26PM

No worries Steve - and if it wasn't for threads like this there'd be no point in the forums in the first place!

Gumbo · 16-09-2011 07:55AM

steve_ wrote: »

Hi guys i recently jumped feet first into the world of photography and DSLR's. I got a second hand 5d mark ii with the 24-105mm kit lens. The main question i have is in relation to the lens itself. I sold on the 5d mark ii as it was a pro body and for a beginner like me it was over kill, not to mention it broke the bank. Thankfully i sold it on and didnt lose any money on it.

I kept the lens simply because everywhere i read that its good to invest in decent glass. So i held onto it. Now the thing is im buying a 600d which is ideal for me as i reckon ill be doing just as much video work as i will be taking photos not to mention the price point is right up my alley. The guy im buying the 600d off is also selling the 18-135mm kit lens to accompany the 600d.

Do you guys think i should sell on the 24-105mm L lens and buy the 18-135mm? Is there a substantial difference between these lens?...... bearing in mind im a beginner. I could sell the L lens and re coop some money, but if the 18-135 is a stinker then id rather keep the L lens.

Any help would be very much welcome. Cheers guys

Keep me in mind if selling the 18-135 lens as i just bought a body and have no lens

PopeBuckfastXVI · 16-09-2011 10:03AM

Maybe pick up an 18-55 kit lens for cheap so you have something on the wider end?

dirtyghettokid · 16-09-2011 10:13AM

PopeBuckfastXVI wrote: »

Maybe pick up an 18-55 kit lens for cheap so you have something on the wider end?

THIS. you will definitely want something a bit wider.
the 24-105mm is an awesome lens and still produces awesome pics on a crop sensor camera... but you will want to get something a bit wider. i would suggest looking at a 10-20mm wide angle crop sensor lens to get at some stage. they are not too expensive. but no, don't get rid of the L lens! you never know - you may want to get another full frame body one day and that lens will be invaluable!

Promac · 16-09-2011 10:44AM

If you feel short on wide-end and are still strapped, go for the sigma 10-20mm. A little gamble on quality but they get great reviews.

tommycahir · 16-09-2011 11:16AM

kceire wrote: »

Keep me in mind if selling the 18-135 lens as i just bought a body and have no lens

Again another person here who wouldn't mid an upgrade from my kit 18-55 and 55-250 to having a 18-135 available.

Keep me in mind if you want to sell on the 18-135

@kceire
I am located in Ballon, Carlow also so if you want to borrow any of my lenses to try out before diving in and purchasing one drop me a PM and I am sure we could organise something.

Ooops wrong person

Promac · 16-09-2011 07:11PM

Tommy, if you're around dublin any time head to george's street and check out the camera exchange - it's just up the street from george's arcade, on the other side of the road. They trade in second hand stuff and I got a 18-135 in there cheap a while back. They'll even take the kit 18-55 as a trade in.

steve_ · 16-09-2011 07:26PM

tommycahir wrote: »

Again another person here who wouldn't mid an upgrade from my kit 18-55 and 55-250 to having a 18-135 available.

Hey Tommy the guy i bought my 600d off still has the 18-135mm for sale currently a offer has been accepted for 180 on the lens and its marked as sold, but the 600d i bought was also marked as sold before i even picked it up so the deal on the lens may fall through. Really nice guy to deal with so he was. You could sell you other lens later to claw back some of the money from buying the 18-135

http://www.adverts.ie/lenses/canon-ef-s-18-135mm-f3-5-5-6-is-lens/958590

Just keep an eye on it, it may be already gone but like i said it was marked as sold before i collected so it will have to be relisted if the deal falls through.

Was talking to a friend today who's an editor for a magazine. He has a contact in Canon who can get me items at cost so im getting a 50mm 1.2 L now soon for a very very reasonable price.

17-09-2011 06:24PM

I shoot with a 17-85 IS USM and have no complaints. I used a 24-105 for about three or four days a couple of weeks ago, and while I had it, i thought i may aswell try it out and give it a good run around.

Now, I'll probably upgrade to the 24-105 sooner or later, for the better build quality and the weather-proofing, but as far as Image quality goes, I wasn't really seeing a huge difference to be honest.

Now, people love to complain about quality control, so I suppose it's possible I have a great copy of the 17-85 and had a bad copy of the 24-105, but to be honest, aside from less chromatic abberation in the image, I didn't really see anything to get excited about.

So, OP, My advice to you is to try and get a lend of the lens off someone and see if you like it. See if you know anyone (or even a boardsie) who may let you borrow theirs for half an hour, and go for a little walk with both lenses. Compare the photos when you get home and see if the difference in quality is really all it's made out to be?

I expected a lot more from the 24-105 (all I ever read about is how amazing L lenses are) but didn't see the big deal. That's all just my own personal opinion, though.

challengemaster · 17-09-2011 06:52PM

You'd be absolutely crazy to sell the L lens to get a crappier one tbh, especially because you'll only end up probably buying it again at a later stage and losing out on money that way

Crazy World · 06-10-2011 10:17PM

I'd love to have that contact in cannon

steve_ · 06-10-2011 11:50PM

Crazy World wrote: »

I'd love to have that contact in cannon

aye i got jammy with that one alright.

I kept the L-lens in the end and am loving it to be honest, the 600d is great also. Its a bit light and cheap feeling but the feature set is solid. Pretty happy with my beginners kit if i do say so myself.

Question from a newbie who jumped the gun

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