I had been toying with the idea of buying a smaller take-along camera to travel with instead of my 5DMk2. I kept coming back to the fact that the 5D2 has a 21MP full frame sensor, and I have a nice selection of lenses. So what would I gain by buying an S110 or G1X or whatever except for a small size? Very little.
So I bought the Canon 40mm f2.8 pancake lens and took it with me to Pikes Peak and Denver this past weekend to try it out. What a great little combo! I won't pretend that the 5D2 is as easy to carry around as smaller-sensored cameras, but when mated to the pancake lens, it's a dream to carry. One reaches the conclusion pretty fast that it's the lenses (the 24-105 was my walking-around lens) that add a lot of the bulk to your outfit and make it front-heavy and harder to carry.
So if you're thinking of buying a small camera to carry around, get the 40mm pancake lens for $200 or less, and you'll keep your large sensor and versatility of your 5D.
Even I see the advantage of having a 40 mm pancake lens to avoid bulky lens size and weight, I don't mind taking a couple of lenses with me on a trip to be flexible in my compositions. If at some point in my life weight becomes an issue or I find myself limited with gear size, I would rather go for a nice smaller rangefinder FF Leica camera with a base set of lenses for this camera.
I'm glad you like the 40, but I find it a bit too limited. Although I don't own the 24-105 IS, that seems a more useful single lens to take on trips. My favorite is the 16-35II.
To keep down weight, bulk, and potential value lost (if damaged, lost or stolen), my solution was to use the 60D with 15-85, with G10 backup, and found that quite good.
My latest solution has been the M4/3 with two zooms, but I'd prefer a better version of the G1X. A reasonably priced crop sensor P&S would be ideal for casual travel and walkaround.
It doesn't help that my 40 is back at Canon for the third time, trying to sort out problems with field flatness and angled plane of focus. So my confidence isn't the highest for this modest little lens.
Jim Grout wrote:
I won't pretend that the 5D2 is as easy to carry around as smaller-sensored cameras, but when mated to the pancake lens, it's a dream to carry. One reaches the conclusion pretty fast that it's the lenses (the 24-105 was my walking-around lens) that add a lot of the bulk to your outfit and make it front-heavy and harder to carry.
Jim G
Glad to hear you enjoy that combo. Can't see myself getting the 40 pancake as I have been enjoying my Voigtlander 40mm for a few years now on the 5D MKII, Doesn't have autofocus but I have come to like the 40mm focal length. Like you say very lightweight combo and enjoyable to carry.
I often used my 5D with a Voigtlander Ultron 40/2 which is very similar to the EF 40/2.8 STM, except it's manual focus, as mentioned above. Now, I use a Fujifilm X100 and Sony RX100 (previously Oly XP-1) for light travel. My "just in case" camera is a little Canon ELPH 310 HS; it's very nice.
Here's some examples of small lenses on large bodies. Oh wait, I got it backwards on the last one. Sorry!
Jim Grout wrote:
I had been toying with the idea of buying a smaller take-along camera to travel with instead of my 5DMk2. I kept coming back to the fact that the 5D2 has a 21MP full frame sensor, and I have a nice selection of lenses. So what would I gain by buying an S110 or G1X or whatever except for a small size? Very little.
So I bought the Canon 40mm f2.8 pancake lens and took it with me to Pikes Peak and Denver this past weekend to try it out. What a great little combo! I won't pretend that the 5D2 is as easy to carry around as smaller-sensored cameras, but when mated to the pancake lens, it's a dream to carry. One reaches the conclusion pretty fast that it's the lenses (the 24-105 was my walking-around lens) that add a lot of the bulk to your outfit and make it front-heavy and harder to carry.
So if you're thinking of buying a small camera to carry around, get the 40mm pancake lens for $200 or less, and you'll keep your large sensor and versatility of your 5D.
Jim G...Show more →
Much rather my 5D III + 50 f/1.4 combo; plenty small enough for me and I'd much prefer the extra 2 stops than a smaller lens.
jcolwell wrote:
Here's some examples of small lenses on large bodies. Oh wait, I got it backwards on the last one. Sorry!
Jim you got the last one right. It's light to carry. Just imagine the extra weight if you attached a brick (1D series) to it.
But I think you need to reshoot the image with the 5D with a 40mm as the lens portion suffers from a high degree of pixelation, did you use a photoshop pixelation filter to the image before posting.
burningheart wrote:
...the 5D with a 40mm as the lens portion suffers from a high degree of pixelation, did you use a photoshop pixelation filter to the image before posting.
Yes. I used the "Arrgh-squared" pixie filter on a pre-production 5DIII. How did you know?
Sarsfield wrote:
Wow, you have more patience than I . If I had to send a lens back once I'd be PO'd. I can't imagine sending a $180 lens to Canon 3 times...
Canon paid one return postage, and would have done this time, but I was too antsy to get it into the mail yesterday before the label confirm came through. It is a bit irritating, but I've had good service from Canon, and I'm trying to do the right thing. Originally, I didn't want to just dump it back in B&H's lap and ask for another.
It's been an interesting odyssey: first sent in for firmware update and irregular focusing (occasionally missing focus). Second time (after more thorough testing), curvature of field (side focus coming forward) and tilted focus left-to-right. Third time, won't lock on infinity or focus past about 5' -- motor hunting/purring, inaccurate focus closer up (probably firmware malfunction). Poor little thing!!
Yes, it's annoying as well as a curiosity. As the Brits say: in for a penny, in for a pound!
One of my personal indulgence is to strap my old 5dc with an even older 50mm mkI and go roam the streets with it. I sold the 50mm mkI for Sigmalux 50. While the latter has great IQ, I missed the compactness of the old lens.
The combo is still too big for me to carry everywhere. I use a Pana GX1 with 20 1.7 and LV2 EVF as my carry everywhere camera. It fits nicely in a jacket pocket.
Seriously nice combo though. I agree!
It is a bit irritating, but I've had good service from Canon, and I'm trying to do the right thing. Originally, I didn't want to just dump it back in B&H's lap and ask for another.