Zack Birlew
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2006
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- Location
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- www.babsdoproductions.com
Hi, everybody, I've been gathering and testing some interesting lens options over the years and plan to start selling many things off to focus my tool set down to a few different styles. However, after coming across a nice copy of a Canon EF 50mm 2.5 Macro, I realized that I didn't actually have more than a few EF lenses in general.
I've always liked Nikon lenses and starting with my Nikon D90 in film school, I eventually traded up to a Canon 5D Mark II with a Canon 28-135mm USM for photography and general AF use with a Nikon adapter to use my Nikons for filmmaking with plans to move up to a RED One with Nikon mount at some point. Eventually, the DSMC1 series came out and everything switched to native EF mounts as many complained about the RED One's lack of EF support save for a few third-party options.
So, it's surprising that, after all this time, there doesn't seem to be an EF lens guide like there is for Contax Zeiss, Minolta, etc., am I missing something or does a guide need to be put together for these newly retro lenses? Well, if so, I'd like to at least throw in my two cents on the two EF lenses I do have.
Canon 50mm 2.5 Macro USM - Many reviews state the usual things people would expect of a macro lens with an F2.5 aperture, it focuses close, it's sharp, but it's not as fast as F1.4 lenses, all of these are true of the 2.5 Macro but that's perfectly fine! For filmmakers, F2.5 is quite bright and very practical and the sharpness of the 2.5 Macro more than makes up for the slower aperture. On that same point, the sharpness may not be everybody's cup of tea and some complain that the optical sharpness comes at the cost of bokeh which could be considered "harsh" by some but I can see this being negligible to the overall images this lens produces which are fantastic and quite colorful! My one personal complaint is that the lens suffers from the usual macro lens problem, they focus close, sure, but they either focus way too quickly or way too slowly and this is on the speedier side which could make rack focusing and precise focusing a little fiddly. Other than that, this is my main EF 50mm for a reason and after seeing how this lens performs, I don't feel the need to upgrade to the faster F1.4, 1.2, or even the F1.0!
Canon 28-135mm 3.5-5.6 IS USM - I knew when I got my Canon 5D Mark II, I would need a general use zoom lens for basic family and travel photography and positive reviews led me to the Canon 28-135 IS USM. I've done so many trips with this lens, made most of my stock footage clips on Pond5 with it, filmed segments of "The Review" with it and it still keeps on kicking! Knowing what I know now, I can see that the 28-135 doesn't win any awards for wide open performance compared to various prime lenses but I have yet to find an all-in-one zoom lens from any manufacturer that can provide everything this lens does. Admittedly, for my tastes, I do find the focal range a bit limited as I do love a good super zoom lens like my Tamron 28-300 or the Nikon 28-300 AF-S but aside from that note of preference, the optical quality of the 28-135 can really fill in for having just a 50mm prime by matching with the Canon colors and overall great consistent performance across the zoom range. My copy does have some slow AF performance moments here and there and it doesn't work for video which is fine as, with one flip of the switch, it will work just fine for manual focusing. As a kit lens, I have heard that the 24-105 F4 L-series zoom is the superior lens of the two but the 28-135 doesn't fall too far behind and its range covers the main filming focal lengths better, which I see as a feature despite any added AF or sharpness qualities in the newer lens. The only thing holding this lens back, I feel, is the age of my 5D Mark II as I can see using this lens on a newer camera and getting much better results by simply being able to stop down to F5.6 at all times with a modern ISO boost to give it all the edge it needs to stand along more modern prime lenses. While it may be a little slow, again, remembering that filmmakers mostly light their scenes, this F3.5 zoom is perfectly capable of producing great images.
I've always liked Nikon lenses and starting with my Nikon D90 in film school, I eventually traded up to a Canon 5D Mark II with a Canon 28-135mm USM for photography and general AF use with a Nikon adapter to use my Nikons for filmmaking with plans to move up to a RED One with Nikon mount at some point. Eventually, the DSMC1 series came out and everything switched to native EF mounts as many complained about the RED One's lack of EF support save for a few third-party options.
So, it's surprising that, after all this time, there doesn't seem to be an EF lens guide like there is for Contax Zeiss, Minolta, etc., am I missing something or does a guide need to be put together for these newly retro lenses? Well, if so, I'd like to at least throw in my two cents on the two EF lenses I do have.
Canon 50mm 2.5 Macro USM - Many reviews state the usual things people would expect of a macro lens with an F2.5 aperture, it focuses close, it's sharp, but it's not as fast as F1.4 lenses, all of these are true of the 2.5 Macro but that's perfectly fine! For filmmakers, F2.5 is quite bright and very practical and the sharpness of the 2.5 Macro more than makes up for the slower aperture. On that same point, the sharpness may not be everybody's cup of tea and some complain that the optical sharpness comes at the cost of bokeh which could be considered "harsh" by some but I can see this being negligible to the overall images this lens produces which are fantastic and quite colorful! My one personal complaint is that the lens suffers from the usual macro lens problem, they focus close, sure, but they either focus way too quickly or way too slowly and this is on the speedier side which could make rack focusing and precise focusing a little fiddly. Other than that, this is my main EF 50mm for a reason and after seeing how this lens performs, I don't feel the need to upgrade to the faster F1.4, 1.2, or even the F1.0!
Canon 28-135mm 3.5-5.6 IS USM - I knew when I got my Canon 5D Mark II, I would need a general use zoom lens for basic family and travel photography and positive reviews led me to the Canon 28-135 IS USM. I've done so many trips with this lens, made most of my stock footage clips on Pond5 with it, filmed segments of "The Review" with it and it still keeps on kicking! Knowing what I know now, I can see that the 28-135 doesn't win any awards for wide open performance compared to various prime lenses but I have yet to find an all-in-one zoom lens from any manufacturer that can provide everything this lens does. Admittedly, for my tastes, I do find the focal range a bit limited as I do love a good super zoom lens like my Tamron 28-300 or the Nikon 28-300 AF-S but aside from that note of preference, the optical quality of the 28-135 can really fill in for having just a 50mm prime by matching with the Canon colors and overall great consistent performance across the zoom range. My copy does have some slow AF performance moments here and there and it doesn't work for video which is fine as, with one flip of the switch, it will work just fine for manual focusing. As a kit lens, I have heard that the 24-105 F4 L-series zoom is the superior lens of the two but the 28-135 doesn't fall too far behind and its range covers the main filming focal lengths better, which I see as a feature despite any added AF or sharpness qualities in the newer lens. The only thing holding this lens back, I feel, is the age of my 5D Mark II as I can see using this lens on a newer camera and getting much better results by simply being able to stop down to F5.6 at all times with a modern ISO boost to give it all the edge it needs to stand along more modern prime lenses. While it may be a little slow, again, remembering that filmmakers mostly light their scenes, this F3.5 zoom is perfectly capable of producing great images.
