Which zoom for 5D MK II?

konicaman

konicaman

konicaman
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Just got myself a 5D MK II. I mainly use prime lenses, but I need a small zoom for shooting receptions and a little press related stuff.

I already have the 28-90mm that came as a kit lens on most film EOS's but the quality (though amazing for the prize label) is not quite good enough.

Buying L-glass is out of the question at the moment - the camera strained my wallet more than enough for the time being.

I have been considering Canon 28-135 but I am not sure how sharp this is and it certainly has problems with flare. Also on the list is Tamron 28-75 which seems to be very sharp (and 2.8!) but it has no vibration control.

Any thoughts on these lenses or a good alternative would be highly appreciated. I have a price range of app. 3-400 £
 
I've owned the 28-135. It's a nice lens, but the 24-105 L outclasses it with a large margin. If I were you I'd save up for the latter one.
 
Hi
do you find pictures from 5DII noisy? my canon shows color noise even at iso 800 if you zoom a picture. Is it a common issue or my camera need to be fixed?
thx
Eugene
 
The 28-135IS is not a bad lens. It has it's imperfections (one of which you've identified) but it isn't nearly as bad as it's somewhat spotty reputation suggests. It is quite usable with the hood on to (mostly) control flare, especially when stopped down. It is a cut above the 28-90, but not in the same league as the various L options. The 5DmkII will magnify all it's faults, though. Non-L full-frame mid-range zooms are very thin on the ground. The Tamron 28-75/f2.8 is said to have quality control and corner shapness problems. The Sigma 24-70/f2.8 is as large and heavy as the equivalent L and still expensive, though not as expensive.

I'd say the 28-135 is about as good as you'll get short of L-series prices. [EDIT] It is not small, though. [/EDIT]

...Mike
 
Last edited:
smile said:
Hi
do you find pictures from 5DII noisy? my canon shows color noise even at iso 800 if you zoom a picture. Is it a common issue or my camera need to be fixed?
thx
Eugene
Click to expand...

If you take a photo of the blue sky with ISO 800 you will see noise. Take a smaller sensor and you will see noise even at ISO 100 or 200.
 
I have one zoom and that's the 17-40. It's my standard walk around lens with the 5D. Must say that a 50mm is the longest lens I carry around normally.

I heard a lot of good comments about the Tamron 28-75/f2.8
 
smile said:
Hi
do you find pictures from 5DII noisy? my canon shows color noise even at iso 800 if you zoom a picture. Is it a common issue or my camera need to be fixed?
thx
Eugene
Click to expand...

I only notice a slight amount of color noise at 1600 when pixel peeping; there seems to be a slight "grainyness" at 800 but what I would call real color noise us not visible until 3200.
 
Yes the 24-105 surely is on the wish list - at a later time 🙄
Just need something cheaper that I can sell when I am ready for a piece of L-glass.

As for the quality control, I know that this can be a problem both with Tamron and Sigma. I have a Tamron 17-50 for my 550D - works fine, guess I was lucky with that one.
 
konicaman said:
I only notice a slight amount of color noise at 1600 when pixel peeping; there seems to be a slight "grainyness" at 800 but what I would call real color noise us not visible until 3200.
Click to expand...
that is really strange. may be this is because of the lens
 
I'd go for the Tamron 28-75 if I were you. I was very happy with mine on a 1D; it is cheap, small, light, and f/2.8. If the corners may be a bit iffy on full-format... well, so are the corners of Canon's own battlehip-sized 24-70 f/2.8L! I've had one of those, too, on a 5D mk 1.

Realistically I find myself shooting at f/8 most of the time anyway (within the normal zoom range on a 1Ds 2) , so who cares about the corners wide open?

** Edit: The 28-75 is basically the big brother of the 17-50... with similar pros and cons. You already know what you are getting, in other words.
 
I would buy a canon L zoom if you can afford one. I have a Sigma 24-60 ex dg and its decent aside from resolution etc, the colour balance is muddier than the L lenses I own. I too am on the lookout for a mid range Canon L zoom and will wait until the 24-70 L replacement which might not be too far away. That lens is too heavy and I hope the replacement is a tough lighter. The 24-105 appeals a little but without 2.8 it can be hard to isolate subjects. Even with 2.8 at the wider end it is marginal. Right now I am largely sticking to primes.
 
Don't let the 24-105 charm you too much. It's big as hell and distortion and smearing is the norm at the wide end. I tried two copies. Sent the second to canon for adjustments. Sold the goddam thing and now only use primes. My thought on zoom is 2x is as much as you can ask for if you want the wide end. Never tried the 17-40 but others seem to like it. I would check that out if I had the need.
 
smile said:
that is really strange. may be this is because of the lens
Click to expand...

The #1 cause of poor noise performance is underexposure. Are you sure you are using the metering correctly? Look at the histograms of your problematic images. Do your highlights fall near the right edge of the histogram? If you underexpose your ISO 800 by one stop, you're going to see noise performance similar to shooting ISO 1600 with correct exposure.

Sharpening, increasing contrast and applying aggressive tone curves will make noise more visible.
 
I'm fond of my Tamron 28-75/2,8 XR DI. IMO it's the lens to get if the 24-70L is either too heavy or too expensive. It's weight, size and "fast" aperture make it the ideal travel companion for the 70-200/4L which shares the same filter size.
 
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