Best start up lenses for Canon 7D

[Gatlin]

About to buy I Canon 7D body. I have another $1200/$1500 in my budget. I would like to shoot music videos, some short films, and still have the ability to do some nice still shots. With that said I don’t know if used or new lenses is the way to go? And maybe I should get 1 really great professional all around lens or should I go with 2 or 3 different decent lenses? Let me know what you all think & recommend!

Naming a couple specific brand/mm lenses that can work would be great!

 

– GB

[brunerww]

Hi Gatlin, Conrgats onthe new camera! As a former Canon still/video shooter – I would start with an all-around fast pro lens such as a used or refurbed Canon 24-70 2.8L.  Next I would save up for a Tokina 11-16 2.8 for wides and interiors.  After that, a used Canon 70-300 2.8L for telephoto work.  A lot of money, but you'll have the 11-300mm range pretty much covered  –  and all with top quality glass.

 

Good luck with your decision,

 

Bill

Hybrid Camera Revolution

 

 

 

 

 

 

[robvile]

I know that everyone has their own preferred style of shooting so another quick list is a set of prime lenses (which is how I film 95% of the time);

 

24mm (completely optional)

35mm

40mm (completely optional)

50mm

80mm

120mm

 

If you can only do 3 primes, 35mm, 50mm, and 80mm

 

shoot for an fstop between 1.4 and 4.6 if you can so low light conditions shouldn't be a huge issue when you keep your ISO low. 

 

Make sure you pay attention to the Glass as well; Cine lenses are fantastic, but also usually PL mount, and your 7D is EOS-EF. Make sure what ever you do purchase will fit on the camera body with an adjuster in worst case senario without hitting the glass inside.

[youtubeforbusiness.tv]

Hi GB I have to agree 50/50 with Bill and Rob, I would probably split the difference. Having done more than 10 music videos the bulk of what you shoot seems to be low light and a prime lens will give you significantly better colour and low light ability.   And the other thing that nobody tells you is just how different two or three stops of light can make the image look; one will be beautiful the other will be mud.  So I've tried to shoot whole sections of band videos using one lens or lenses at similar f stops and moving my position not changing lenses

Concidering the budget the first 2 Lenses I would buy is the Canon nifty 50 f1.8 and then the 24mm f2.8 with that sorted get the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 (I've hired this and It's the next purchase on my list).   My reasoning is the main issue you'll face with a 7d is the crop sensor (to explain) with the 24mm fitted to get the whole of a 8m/26ft wide stage you'll need to be 11m/33ft back from the front edge of the stage. While I understand that the three lenses listed would be your whole budget so would just one 24-70mm f/2.8L besides the crop sensor in the 7d will make the 50mm look like an 80mm, a 24 like a 38mm etc.

 

If your unsure which way to go get the nifty 50 f1.8 you always use that and then hire 2/3 lenses for a weekend go to a few gigs a see what makes you happy.

Just my 2cents ~ pete

[shaynewillis]

Well, the 7D is a great camera, but it does very little to help the beginner.

[Joseph]

I know this is an older thread with the exception of what appears to be spam… but I'm bored so thought I would chime in anyway… 🙂

 

First off, ALL lenses are a compromise in one way or another. Primes are crisp, fast and affordable for the most part but lack the versatility of zooms. Zooms are more expensive, slower but make up for it in ease of use and versatility. "L" lenses are expensive but well built and  have generally superior quality to non "L" lenses, but they're not THAT much better in sharpness. There is some very good non-L glass out there. The "L" lens discussion could fill pages so I won't digress.

 

You have to find the balance that's right for you, your project and your budget. Consider renting lenses before you buy to make sure you like what you buy before shelling out your cash.

 

But to answer your question a bit better, consider a 50mm 1.8 II. It's the best bang for your buck lens you can put on your camera.

 

The 24-105L is an f4 so it needs a bit more light but it's a very useful zoom range on a high quality, well built lens. This is a kit len on the 5d so you might be able to find one used for a reasonable price. You won't get super wide on an APS-C, though, so you may consider adding a wide, short zoom, to fill in under 24 mm. Generally, short zoom ranges give better results than super zooms. 

 

Personally, I've got a T3i with 18-55 and 55-250 EF-S lenses and the 50 1.8. They may not be "pro" quality but I use the best production values possible and color grade in post to bring out the best in my video. I use the 50mm the most and the zooms as needed. Do some youtube searches, you can find some really good looking stuff shot with these lenses.

 

[Anonymous]

Seems like a logical selection of glass.  Thanks for sharing.  As I understand it, shooting on a cropped sensor (7D) camera with a 50mm prime lens is the equivalent of shooting with a 35mm on a full-frame camera?  Am I undersatanding this correctly?  I have a 50mm (1.4) prime and a 24-70 zoom.  What would be the  next logical lens to add to my kit for shooting videos such as this: https://vimeo.com/36258512

 

Thanks, in advance, for your advice.

[Author]

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