Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site

New Feature: SMS Notification alert

New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist

FM Forums | Canon Forum | Join Upload & Sell

2 end

Archive 2018 · Which lens for quick kids?

streetstheatre
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Which lens for quick kids?

Hello All!

I have spent the past year photographing my child, but he's now up and running about, and I'm not sure I have the right kit for the next few years. I am shooting with a 5dsr. And I have the following lenses:
Sigma 35mm 1.4
Sigma 85mm 1.4
Canon 24-70 2.8ii
Canon 100mm 2.8L
Canon 400mm 5.6

The problem is that working with a toddler moving about is testing the af, and I do want to keep some background separation, so stopping down isn't always a solution.

The sigma 85 has been on my camera for the past year and it's terrific for a static subject. But with the AF in Servo I get almost no keepers. The 35 is great for a moving subject if I set it to f11

The 24-70 is working ok, but I think it's a bit short in focal length, and at 2.8 it's hit and miss in servo. The 100mm is what I'm mostly using, and I'm getting about 70% of my shots in focus at f3.2. If I'm photographing animals then the 400 is perfect, and I can shoot all day knowing that I'll have more or less 100% of the shots in focus at f6.3; but I can't use this lens in a playground...

So my question is: is this a problem I can solve with a different lens? I want the snappy af of the 400 5.6, but a shorter focal length. Is the 70-200 f2.8 the way to go?

Aug 15, 2018 at 07:17 PM

jcolwell
Online
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Which lens for quick kids?

streetstheatre wrote:
Is the 70-200 f2.8 the way to go?

Yes.

Aug 15, 2018 at 07:20 PM

Mar73
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Which lens for quick kids?

How about the Canon 85mm f1.8? But, if you're looking for and excuse to buy the 70-200 go for it.

Marty

Aug 15, 2018 at 07:47 PM

OntheRez
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Which lens for quick kids?

Depending on how far and fast she/he runs, the 24-70 and the 70-200 will cover you. You've got the 24-70 vII which is a superb bit of kit. My second most used lens. V II of the 70-200m f/2.8 is among the the best lenses on the planet. Truthfully, I have a number of lenses all of which get used for specific task(s). If I only got to have two, they would be the 24-70 and 70-200 f/2.8. There's not much you can't do with the pair.

Looking at your list of primes there's one sleeper you might consider: the 200mm f/2.8 L. Still kick myself for letting it go. Of course, it didn't have a zoom's flexibility but took a real fine picture. Also it was light, black, and unobtrusive. There are situations where that would be a real benefit.

Aug 15, 2018 at 08:59 PM

Moonshae
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Which lens for quick kids?

What about a flash rather than another lens? An EX580II can be picked up used for a song. You need to learn a little nuance rather than blasting your subjects with direct flash, but it can work where a faster lens or higher ISO can't help.

Aug 15, 2018 at 09:31 PM

streetstheatre
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Which lens for quick kids?

Moonshae wrote:
What about a flash rather than another lens? An EX580II can be picked up used for a song. You need to learn a little nuance rather than blasting your subjects with direct flash, but it can work where a faster lens or higher ISO can't help.

I have a flash. It's more for outdoor photography. It sounds like a 70-200 might be what I need. Why is that what I need is always expensive?

Aug 15, 2018 at 09:32 PM

adittam
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Which lens for quick kids?

streetstheatre wrote:
I have a flash. It's more for outdoor photography. It sounds like a 70-200 might be what I need. Why is that what I need is always expensive?

You could save a little money by getting the new 70-200 f/4L IS II. Obviously it won't have quite as good subject isolation or be as awesome in low light, but it is a touch less expensive...($1179 street price brand new from authorized dealer)

https://www.cpricewatch.com/product/06612/Canon-EF-70-200mm-f4L-IS-II-USM-price.html

Aug 15, 2018 at 09:41 PM

15Bit
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Which lens for quick kids?

70-200mm f2/8 (or f/4 since you are on FF) is probably what you want. Was my goto lens when junior was little. Totally invaluable. You'll probably use it at 200mm 80% of the time though, so a fixed 200mm f/2.8 wouldn't be a bad idea. And for playing with the other kids, i could have used a 100-400mm too...

Aug 16, 2018 at 12:06 AM

streetstheatre
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Which lens for quick kids?

15Bit wrote:
70-200mm f2/8 (or f/4 since you are on FF) is probably what you want. Was my goto lens when junior was little. Totally invaluable. You'll probably use it at 200mm 80% of the time though, so a fixed 200mm f/2.8 wouldn't be a bad idea. And for playing with the other kids, i could have used a 100-400mm too...

In retrospect, would a 100-400 have been better? I could sell my 400 5.6 to put towards the zoom.

Aug 16, 2018 at 12:09 AM

15Bit
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Which lens for quick kids?

A 100-400mm would have been better for play areas, and outdoor activities like skiing, but at the expense of indoor abilities and general flexibility. So i don't think i would suggest it as an alternative, but as a useful supplement. If you have the 400mm f/5.6 you are essentially covered there, so i would suggest keeping it to complement a 70-200mm of some sort.

A 70-200mm with macro tubes also doubles up quite well as a butterfly and flower lens, for when you get bored of shooting junior and need a diversion in the park...

Aug 16, 2018 at 12:46 AM

artificialyello
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Which lens for quick kids?

Get the 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Mark III and the 1.4x (III) extender and you'll be set for sports tooo... :-))

Aug 16, 2018 at 01:16 AM

darryn patch
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Which lens for quick kids?

Id be looking at your camera if you are concerned about AF

Its the camera that determines the focus speed

Aug 16, 2018 at 03:21 AM

streetstheatre
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Which lens for quick kids?

darryn patch wrote:
Id be looking at your camera if you are concerned about AF

Its the camera that determines the focus speed

I also have a 7dii, which I'm planning to sell, and I don't find that the AF performance is much different to the 5dsr. Not enough of a difference to justify keeping both...

Aug 16, 2018 at 05:43 AM

darryn patch
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Which lens for quick kids?

get a 1 series camera body, I've never heard anyone say focus is too slow on them bodies

Aug 16, 2018 at 05:57 AM

rek101
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Which lens for quick kids?

I'm in agreement with darryn patch. I think it's the body rather than the lenses. Professional sports photographers use that 24 70 2.8 II lens for wider shots. On my 5d III, there's no more reliable focusing lens in servo or single point than the 24 70 2.8 II.

As for which body, I would think anything that didn't have an entry level focus system would be good enough. 5dIII/IV (not 6d or 6dII). 7d II, 80d or 77d (not sl1 or sl2...not sure about t7i).

The last thing I'll say is third party lenses for me tend to be less reliable. I've used the sigma art 35, the tamron 70 200 2.8 g2, and the tamron 35 and 85 1.8 primes. They are all amazing optically, but I sold them to get native lenses. For example, I chose the Canon 35 1.4 v1 over the sigma 35 art even though optically it's not even close because of focus reliability with the Canon. The same has been true for other third party lenses...I just don't fully trust the focus. But of all the third party lenses I've tried, that sigma 35 1.4 was the best when it came to focus reliability.

I think before you mess with lenses, find a Body that focuses accurately and reliably with your 24 70 2.8 II. I think the best option is a used 5D IV or 5DIII depending on budget.

Aug 16, 2018 at 06:03 AM

TeamSpeed
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Which lens for quick kids?

It isn't just the camera that controls AF speed and accuracy. The lens has a pretty large part of it too, between the type of AF motor/ring and the communications that goes back and forth, and the firmware programming.

Sigma lenses will twitch and not turn as fast as some of Canon's best USM lenses. There is a reason Sigma added the docking station to their latest lenses. They have tweaked their AF code quite a bit over time and offered up firmware changes, like on the 150-600.

---

The 24-70 II should not be giving any fits for a kid running around. I wouldn't buy another lens until I had my 5DSr and 24-70 being able to keep him in focus and getting good results. If you cannot do that, getting a new lens isn't going to help the matter any. The 24-70 shouldn't be hit or miss at f2.8, other than possibly being a DOF issue. The 24-70 on a 7D2 has no issues keeping up with professional athletes, for example (with my 14 year shooting that combo at my side on the court), so the 5DSr shouldn't either with a child.

Aug 16, 2018 at 06:40 AM

michi098
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Which lens for quick kids?

It seems to me that your equipment should be able to handle getting good shots of your toddler. I never had any issues getting good shots with a 5DII and the original 24-70 2.8L lens of my kids. Sure, it didn't nail every single shot, but I have tons of great shots with that combo.

Did you ever dig into the menu of your 5DSR and look at all the options for AF? My 5DIV is ridiculously complex but after reading through everything and reading around on the forums I found some settings which work really well.

In the AF menu, do you have 1st image priority set to FOCUS in AI Servo? And the same for the second image? It will wait to fire until perfect focus is achieved rather than firing just to get the shot even when the subject is not in focus. There are tons of tweaks like that which will improve your keeper rate.

Aug 16, 2018 at 09:20 AM

artificialyello
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Which lens for quick kids?

I would assume that you have checked the MFA settings... The 5DsR should be able to cope with a toddler. If not then check this thread out:

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1187247/0

Aug 16, 2018 at 10:40 AM

YnR2
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Which lens for quick kids?

I can’t imagine that you don’t have adequate gear for what you’re trying to accomplish. I’ve got a far worse body with 24-70 f4 and get pretty good shots with it. I use the 100-400 on occasion as well but the 24-70 gets used the majority of the time for kiddos. I definitely see a difference in the AF with 3rd party lenses. I try to use Canon only lenses for that reason.

Aug 16, 2018 at 10:52 AM

streetstheatre
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Which lens for quick kids?

Thanks all for the comments. I have a lot of success with the 24-70, but I was looking for something with a longer focal length, because I have to be quite close with the 24-70. If I'm close with the camera then Mr Toddler wants to play with the camera, rather than whatever else is around! He's a photographer in training

When I said that the AF was struggling, I was more thinking about the speed that the Canon 100 2.8 takes to focus. It's slower than the 400 5.6, and the 100mm is not great for following a child running towards the camera, for example, just because the speed that the glass moves isn't all that quick.

Sounds like I should buy a 70-200. Thanks for all your help.

Aug 16, 2018 at 07:15 PM

1 2 end
FM Forums \| Canon Forum \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 end

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.