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General discussion

EF vs. EF-S lenses...

by hatfieldnate Dec 16, 2009 9:59PM PST

Just so I'm clear, Canon EF lenses work on cameras with either full frame and APS sensors, while Canon EF-S lenses work only with APS. Is that correct?

If so, I've been looking at the EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM as my first lens purchase along with the eos 7d I'm hoping to purchase, but on the hope that I'll be able to upgrade to a full frame like the 5d mkII in the next few years, is there a similar EF lens you can recommend? I'm looking for something with a FAIRLY wide angle, without really getting that fisheye look to things. And preferably something with a decent range so I can do some simple portraits and such as well, which was what drew me to the 15-85mm.

Thanks for your help. The people on this forum have been a great help in my search for the right hardware.

Discussion is locked

3 Posts
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problems
by kalel33-20416052469708587370302374692233 Dec 17, 2009 2:21AM PST

Yes you are correct, but no, there is no EF lens that is wide on the APS-C bodies and has decent focal range. The closest is the 24-105L, but 24 on a 7D starts out at 38mm, which is much different than 15mm being 24mm.

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Lens equivalents
by hjfok Dec 17, 2009 4:02AM PST

You are correct. The EF-S lens you listed 15-85mm on 7D will have an 35mm equivalent range of 24-136mm. If you are happy with a 24mm equivlent focal range, then the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS will be a decent choice for the 5D Mk II (which is actually pretty good and has an excellent price when you buy it as a package kit lens).
If you like something wider, then the EF-S 10-22mm will be the best you can do with the 7D. For the 5D MkII, the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II is one of the best wide angle zoom, but the EF 14mm f/2.8 L II is even a little bit wider and has slightly better image quality.

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The fact is:
by jump1127 Dec 18, 2009 1:04PM PST

Canon is not the expert on most wide angle lenses, but telephoto lenses. So far, the best wide angle lense is EF 17 TSE ( a tilt shift lense ). The lense has the least distortion and chromatic aberation, comparing to EF 14mm F2.8L II, 24mm F1.4L II, and 24mm F3.5L TSE. But, it's manual focus. Another good wide angle lense is Carl Zeiss 21 ZE.

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