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Home: Video University Forums: Digital Photography for Videographers:
Anyone using this lens?

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Shadow
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Mar 22, 2007, 8:08 PM

Post #1 of 34 (1484 views)
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Anyone using this lens?	Can't Post

Canon 70 - 200 f2.8 IS

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/...e=categoryNavigation

Looks like it would be a great lens for shooting throughout the ceremony and reception. I don't care for the price tag, especially since that is USD pricing but it's on my wish list anyway.

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rodovideo
Enthusiast

Mar 22, 2007, 8:18 PM

Post #2 of 34 (1481 views)
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Re: [Shadow] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Someone just recently posted somewhere in here.... that was their choice....

must have been on another forum.... but the person said they like it, it was HEAVY, and it is the lens they used the most. They wished that the "thingy" (that you use to mount onto a tripod,) had a mark on it so that you could accuratly turn & set it for portrait shots...

Look toward the Son, and you will not see the shadows

sample images from RODO PHOTO

Rodo Media BLOG

(This post was edited by rodovideo on Mar 22, 2007, 8:28 PM)

videochicke
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Mar 22, 2007, 8:20 PM

Post #3 of 34 (1481 views)
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Re: [Shadow] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Everyone I know that has that lens loves it. But that lens is very heavy for me--it is 3.5 pounds.
Julie

Sparky
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Mar 22, 2007, 8:31 PM

Post #4 of 34 (1477 views)
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In Reply To

I think by far it's the lens of choice among a lot of photographers. There are also a good number that like to use it for portraits. I pan to use it as much as possible for my seniors this year. And yes ... it's heavy ... and I never use a tripod.

Shadow
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Mar 22, 2007, 8:36 PM

Post #5 of 34 (1475 views)
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Re: [Sparky] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

I didn't realize it was so popular, but it makes sense, it looks like a great lens. I'm used to carrying around an 18lb baby all day so heavy cameras don't really bother me that much.

Ok, something else to save for. I suppose at some point I'll have nothing left to buy?

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Sparky
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Mar 22, 2007, 8:49 PM

Post #6 of 34 (1469 views)
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Re: [Shadow] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

And just a heads up ... it's darned near impossible to find a used one at an acceptable price. I actually find most of them for sale are priced so high that many people just go ahead and buy them new.

Brackish
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Mar 22, 2007, 8:50 PM

Post #7 of 34 (1469 views)
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Re: [Shadow] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hey, nice lighting on your new Avatar.
You change avatars more than I do. Smile

Someone - I think it was here on VU - said that
he let someone "talk them into" getting that
lens and he has regretted it. He brings
it along but use other lenses instead because
of that lens's size and weight, as I recall. He
said the lens just sits in the bag out at the
job site.

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"We'll always show up at the wedding with a gift bag for the bride. Inside we have these incredible fuzzy slippers in the teal of our branding."

Shadow
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Mar 22, 2007, 8:52 PM

Post #8 of 34 (1467 views)
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Re: [Sparky] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Ha ha, you took the thought right out of my head. I was thinking of checking at Henry's outlet for a used one.

I've got a bunch of lenses now, and one good med range zoom 2.8 I'll stick with until I can afford that lens.

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Shadow
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Mar 22, 2007, 8:58 PM

Post #9 of 34 (1466 views)
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Re: [Brackish] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Oh no, how sad! Oh well, I guess everyone has their fav lenses. My main lens is a 2.8 24 - 60mm lens. I have 4 other lenses but use that one the most.

That avatar pic was taken with no flash and the light source is the computer screen. I think his face is slightly underexposed on his left side but that's ok as it hides the sticky bubble-gum mess on his cheek. ;)
I used the cheap 50mm 1.8 canon lens. I see it is really cheap at b&h - only $70US. I paid more locally for it, I think $120 Canadian plus taxes. Still worth it, I really like that cheap lens.

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(This post was edited by Shadow on Mar 22, 2007, 9:39 PM)

Brackish
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Mar 23, 2007, 3:43 AM

Post #10 of 34 (1434 views)
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Re: [Shadow] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

That avatar pic was taken with no flash and the light source is the computer screen. I think his face is slightly underexposed on his left side

Looks okay to me. Looks natural. But I know everyone's got their own preferences about lighting.

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"We'll always show up at the wedding with a gift bag for the bride. Inside we have these incredible fuzzy slippers in the teal of our branding."

Brackish
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Mar 23, 2007, 3:50 AM

Post #11 of 34 (1433 views)
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Re: [Shadow] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

Oh no, how sad! Oh well, I guess everyone has their fav lenses.

Look, Shadow, here it is right here (it's a post by kwshaw):

http://videouniversity.com/...camera%20bag;#321995

Fortunately for my bank account, I have no interest in that particular lens. Too big, too heavy, too white.

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"We'll always show up at the wedding with a gift bag for the bride. Inside we have these incredible fuzzy slippers in the teal of our branding."

(This post was edited by Brackish on Mar 23, 2007, 3:53 AM)

mazzystar
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Mar 23, 2007, 11:51 AM

Post #12 of 34 (1409 views)
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Re: [Shadow] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

i have the non IS version. a couple of hundred cheaper but same great glass and performance. with the IS you get around a stop and a half more.

____
blog

szerangue
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Mar 23, 2007, 2:34 PM

Post #13 of 34 (1389 views)
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Every photographer I ever worked with has this lens, at least most of them... I would love to have it but the cost is prohibitive right now.
Miracle Pictures
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Jenn M
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Mar 26, 2007, 9:27 AM

Post #14 of 34 (1351 views)
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Re: [Shadow] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

I think this was the 2nd lens I purchased, right behind the 24-70 (which I think I'm selling for the 24-105). I like it very much, and as I shoot more church weddings, I think it will become invaluable due to the IS, the 2.8 and the long focal length.

Many photogs also use it for portraits, to get some nice DOF.

Shadow
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Mar 26, 2007, 10:18 AM

Post #15 of 34 (1347 views)
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Re: [Jenn M] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks Jenn

Last night I was shooting a fashion show fundraiser and another photographer there was talking to me about lenses and photography. I was telling him that I wanted the 70 - 200 2.8 IS lens. He says "Oh this one, and pulls it out of his camera bag". **drool** It really would have come in handy last night, but I managed with my other lenses.

One of the camera places rents it out for the weekend for $40 so I might do that at some point. Although I am not sure if I would use a rented lens for a wedding, with my luck I'd get back home and would find there's something wrong with it.

Well enjoy that lens! I can see how it would be really handy shooting a ceremony.

The other lens I looked at was the 100mm 2.8 prime lens. I do like zooms though and the IS is really neat.

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DarrenS
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Mar 26, 2007, 4:44 PM

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Shadow
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Mar 26, 2007, 6:24 PM

Post #17 of 34 (1330 views)
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Re: [DarrenS] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

:) I haven't gone through them yet. Although there's a few on my pbase but only just a few in the "inbox" - at the end.

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Brackish
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Mar 27, 2007, 9:00 PM

Post #18 of 34 (1298 views)
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Re: [Shadow] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Just ran across another user experience with the 70-200 2.8 IS
where he said he had it but never brought it along
because it's too heavy. Said he now has the 70-200 4 IS and
that this is the one he much prefers and brings along.
I guess the 4 is much lighter in weight and less conspicuous - maybe
it's not white. Guess it's suppose to be sharper, too.

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"We'll always show up at the wedding with a gift bag for the bride. Inside we have these incredible fuzzy slippers in the teal of our branding."

Shadow
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Mar 27, 2007, 9:20 PM

Post #19 of 34 (1296 views)
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Re: [Brackish] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

I wonder why they made them white. I would prefer black to match the camera. I wonder if it is done to make people know it is a canon lens.

I saw the 70 - 200 f2.8 sigma used at B&H for $299 if anyone is interested. The grading was 8+ out of 10 I believe.

I won't be buying any more lenses this year, I'd like to rent a couple of the good ones and see what I prefer.

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Brackish
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Mar 27, 2007, 10:25 PM

Post #20 of 34 (1294 views)
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Re: [Shadow] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

I'd like to rent a couple of the good ones and see what I prefer.

The camera shop by me has very limited rentals but they
do rent the 70-200 2.8 IS for $75 for the weekend.

----------------------------------------------
"We'll always show up at the wedding with a gift bag for the bride. Inside we have these incredible fuzzy slippers in the teal of our branding."

Shadow
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Mar 27, 2007, 10:46 PM

Post #21 of 34 (1290 views)
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Re: [Brackish] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Oh I feel lucky then, usually everything here is always more expensive. Vistek rents it for $40 for a weekend. I'll give it a try sometime.

I wish it wasn't white though. It screams "Look at me, I'm a canon L series lens, you want me don't you"

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Brackish
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Mar 28, 2007, 3:07 AM

Post #22 of 34 (1280 views)
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I wish it wasn't white though. It screams "Look at me, I'm a canon L series lens, you want me don't you"

For $40 I might even give it a try. But what happens if someone
steals it? I guess the rental place will want you to pay for it. At least
if you have your own lens and it gets stolen, it could be
covered by insurance.

Why did they have to make it white? So it doesn't get
so hot if you are outdoors using it in the sun? So you
can show off "look what I got"?

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"We'll always show up at the wedding with a gift bag for the bride. Inside we have these incredible fuzzy slippers in the teal of our branding."

Shadow
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Mar 28, 2007, 6:46 PM

Post #23 of 34 (1255 views)
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Re: [DarrenS] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

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Fashion show huh? Where's the pictures damit! Laugh

I'll show you yours if you show me mine. Smile

Here's a few. I was supposed to catch the details as well so there's a few of those shots. I didn't add much of the fashion show yet, but here's what I have on there for now.

They asked 5 photographers to be there which was retarded. So many shots of mine were ruined by someone's flash going into my lens or other flashes going off at the same time. The models moved so quickly that there was hardly any time to get a snap of them when they were doing their pose. The "stage" space was about the size of my living room (I don't have a huge house) so it was pretty crammed with photographers. There was an upstairs but with others shooting from up there I figured I'd stay with the 2 or 3 others on my level.

The lighting was dark but it gave me good practice for shooting in such conditions. I tried various ISO's for the non-flash photos (firedancer). I had a cool photo of the firedancer but someone used flash at that same time (I don't know why because even with the grain the photos take on a totally different element without flash, it ruined the pic. I might try doing some fancy photoshoppin' to see what I can do with the picture.

Regardless of the ruined shots, it was still good fun and I got about 100 pics of the show that I liked.

http://www.pbase.com/...s&view=slideshow

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DarrenS
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Mar 31, 2007, 12:13 AM

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RustyB
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Mar 31, 2007, 2:01 AM

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Re: [Brackish] Anyone using this lens? [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

I'd like to rent a couple of the good ones and see what I prefer.

The camera shop by me has very limited rentals but they
do rent the 70-200 2.8 IS for $75 for the weekend.

I guess this would be an unforseen benefit of shooting Canon instead of Olympus. I sold my Olympus 50-200 f2.8-3.5 ED lens to pay bills, and really could use one this weekend. I doubt too many camera shops are renting Olympus lenses.

the People's Video Collective blog
wedding video and the means of production

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