Confused about lens choices for high end camera package

[dwilliams]

Hi all

I'm looking at upgrading from a compact (Sony RX100) to a high end camera like the Canon EOS 5D Mark 3. My reason is that my purpose over the longer term is to take photos of a quality high enough for professional work and I don't feel the RX100 provides me with the tools I need to achieve it. I also understand that having the best equipment is no guarantee of taking great shots if you never learn how to use it properly).

My question is if I'm spending over $7,000 on camera body and housing (already have pair of z240 strobes) what should I be considering in terms of lenses for the package that will allow me to make the most of the capabilities of the camera. When looking through camera stores I notice there is a huge price difference with lenses starting from $400 going to $3000. Also, can I achieve versatility through wet lenses without sacrificing anything in the way of quality or should I buy several lenses for the camera and stick to shooting a specific type of shot each dive.

regards
Dave

 

[Paulmal]

Cannon has some High quality glass in there professional series lenses, denoted with a red band around the lens and a price tag to boot. I would say they are worth it for both the prime and zoom lenses but especially they zooms as they don't preform as well as primes.

 

[mjh]

There are many opinions but you end up with: a wide angle lens like the Tokina 10-17mm, a macro lens like the Canon 2.8 60mm or 100mm and a zoom lens for "don't know what you will see" like the Sigma 17-70mm. But there are many good primes and your fins make the best zoom gear. Check the Lens Charts for the housing you are interested in as they will guide you to what is supported.

 

[mhosts]

Generally speaking, I've always encouraged people to spend $$ on the lenses vs the camera body if you have a set budget.

Most of the time, the bundled lenses that come with some of the Canon DSLR's are just OK. Fixed lenses will also provide better quality images but at the sacrifice of zoom. A good start would be a 50 or 100mm macro. You can get some very very nice shots with those.

Also look into the cost of the port for your housing. You'd be surprised how much those will set you back (sometimes as much as the lens itself).

 

[elan]

Whats the point of using 10-17mm lens on a 35mm camera?

Do not they have ports for full frame lenses like 14-16 mil?
Just asking.

There are many opinions but you end up with: a wide angle lens like the Tokina 10-17mm, a macro lens like the Canon 2.8 60mm or 100mm and a zoom lens for "don't know what you will see" like the Sigma 17-70mm. But there are many good primes and your fins make the best zoom gear. Check the Lens Charts for the housing you are interested in as they will guide you to what is supported.

 

[elan]

It looks like they are getting the lowest possible model of the body anyways.

My sister bought 5D recently and the kit lens was a 24-70L series lens.

Generally speaking, I've always encouraged people to spend $$ on the lenses vs the camera body if you have a set budget.

Most of the time, the bundled lenses that come with some of the Canon DSLR's are just OK. Fixed lenses will also provide better quality images but at the sacrifice of zoom. A good start would be a 50 or 100mm macro. You can get some very very nice shots with those.

Also look into the cost of the port for your housing. You'd be surprised how much those will set you back (sometimes as much as the lens itself).

 

[elan]

Get L series lenses. They will be at least 1.5k each for a zoom but a good lense is also an investment.

Hi all

I'm looking at upgrading from a compact (Sony RX100) to a high end camera like the Canon EOS 5D Mark 3. My reason is that my purpose over the longer term is to take photos of a quality high enough for professional work and I don't feel the RX100 provides me with the tools I need to achieve it. I also understand that having the best equipment is no guarantee of taking great shots if you never learn how to use it properly).

My question is if I'm spending over $7,000 on camera body and housing (already have pair of z240 strobes) what should I be considering in terms of lenses for the package that will allow me to make the most of the capabilities of the camera. When looking through camera stores I notice there is a huge price difference with lenses starting from $400 going to $3000. Also, can I achieve versatility through wet lenses without sacrificing anything in the way of quality or should I buy several lenses for the camera and stick to shooting a specific type of shot each dive.

regards
Dave

 

[bvanant]

For wide angle stuff on a full frame body, I would start with the 8-15 ($1400). Great lens. The tokina 10-17 is a cropped sensor lens, not appropriate for the 5DIII. I would also take a look at the Canon 16-35 ($1500) instead depending on what you are interested in shooting. For macro, I would recommend either the Tamron 60 or the Canon 100 macro lens. Avoid zooms with very large ranges, they will not be the best for what you are interested in. The other wide angle lens that I hear good things about is the Canon 14 but I have not shot it so I have no direct comparison.
Cheers
Bill

 

[mjh]

whoops, was not paying attention to fact it's full frame.

 

[PatW]

I am in the Nikon system. As mentioned above, the very nice Tokina 10-17 fisheye is a cropped sensor lens. The Sigma 17-70 is also a cropped sensor lens.

Something you need to be careful about. You want to make sure that the housing you select has a ports, focus gears and/or zoom gears for the lenses you intend to use. I have a Nauticam housing and it is good with having support for cropped sensor lenses and macro lenses. But the selection for the full frame lenses is much smaller. Selecting the right combination of camera, lenses, housing, ports and gears can sometimes feel like looking to fill an inside straight in poker.