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Archive 2005 · Which one would you pick?

  
 
moondigger
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Which one would you pick?


I think rycelover's rant is way off base.

Nobody is recommending alternatives to the choices he asked for because we want to confuse him. We're trying to be helpful. Your opinion of what's helpful is to just answer his question outright -- which of those two lenses should he buy?

What would happen if everybody simply gave him an answer? He'd probably be back in a month asking followup questions that would lead him to the answers we're giving him now.

I've been doing photography for almost 20 years, and have been answering questions about technique, gear, etc on the internet for the past 12 years, including working as a moderator at one of the biggest photography sites on the web. I'm answering the question he asked in the best way I know how -- trying to head off the nearly inevitable mistakes people tend to make when purchasing gear. I have made plenty of mistakes myself in the past 20 years and would have appreciated it if somebody at least tried to warn me ahead of time.

FWIW, I did answer his question, and defended the performance of the 24-85 lens. But then it occurred to me that maybe he should look at his situation a different way.

In the end, I actually gave him advice about photography specific to his current situation. What did your post accomplish?



Jan 25, 2005 at 04:26 PM
lovcom
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Which one would you pick?


Rycelover,

All the responses here are valuable. Nobody put you in charge as editor.

He asked a question, he gets varied views, varied angles, and varied opinions.

That is the way this site works. Nobody was trying to mess with him.

Calm down Rycelover, and I think you need to come to the realization that not choosing from the list of lenses brought forth by the original poster is okay, and helpful, and is a valid response and is an answer.

We offer OUR approach because he brought it to OUR attention and therefore he wants OUR ideas on his question.

Thanks,
Dan



Jan 25, 2005 at 05:14 PM
fhammond
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Which one would you pick?


Sailaire,

I've used the 24-85mm lens on both a 20D and on a 1D Mark II. I didn't think I was going to use it much - it was a spur-of-the-moment buy - but it's actually one of my favorite lenses. It's light, the quality is fine and the focus is fast. On a recent trip to Paris, I had the 1D2, several L-series lenses and the 24-85mm. I used the 24-85mm almost exclusively. Walking all day, I just couldn't imagine wanting to carry a heavy lens and a heavy body for what amounted to holiday snapshots. Another option for me would have been a small prime lens but that wouldn't have been nearly as flexible. The 28-135mm would have ok but heavier and not as wide. The slower speed matters less because modern digital cameras have such great high ISO performance and crop factor reduces the issue of edge quality.

Recently, my wife used our 20D in Australia with the 24-85mm and loved it. Printing up to 8.5. x 11 was great and, frankly, at that size, I couldn't see any difference between the 24-85mm and the 24-70mm. I think your decision to get the 20D and a good-but-not-great lens is much better than the other way around (the 20D is a big advance over the 300D). "good" and "great" are very subjective too. Ignoring price, It would be hard to argue that a 20D is not always better than a 300D but, at least in several situations for me, the 24-85mm has been better than the 24-70mm L.

Good luck,
fh




Jan 25, 2005 at 05:47 PM
MJHsurfin
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Which one would you pick?


G'Day Sailaire,

I would also steer you towards the Canon 24-85 USM. It is the "everyday" lens that practically lives on my 10D. Sure - I would prefer it to be the 17-85 IS EF-S ( damn you Canon & your EF-S !! ) but with an equivilent FL of 38-135 it is almost perfect for a general purpose lens.

Those that call this lens a dog are being pretty harsh....I really have a hard time picking the images from this lens versus my 17-40 f4L & 70-200 f4L for general photography - it is not until shooting wide open or really squeezing for utmost quality on large prints that the difference is noticable. Plus it is a lot lighter & smaller than my 2 "L's" & the 10D less grip with 24-85 is a top travel setup. The 24-85 also won't block the pop-up flash like the 17-40 will ( 20D might be different due to higher flash position ?? )

I have also owned the 28-105 f3.5-4.5 USM II & 28-135 IS & would rate these & the 24-85 virtually identically in image quality & build. They are not the usual "cheap" consumer lens - they are the next level up & great value for money.

For the 1.6 crop DSLR though I found 28mm just not wide enough, the extra 4mm is a BIG difference !! Plus the 1.6 crop of the 10D really eliminates most of the gremlins of this lens - mainly edge softness on FF ( film in my case )
So the 24-85 USM is the only one that remains from the 3......

Good luck with your choice - Mike H.



Jan 25, 2005 at 10:21 PM
rycelover
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Which one would you pick?


This will be my last response on this subject in this thread. For those who feel that the varied responses have been helpful to the OP, good for you, I'm happy you feel that way. I don't. Why don't we agree to disagree and call it a day? No one wins in these flame wars. My apologies to the OP for butting in.

Michael.



Jan 25, 2005 at 11:11 PM
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