olddutch Loc: Beloit, Wisconsin

I have used a Sigma 18-250 lens on a 60d and it works for me.. Is there a similar lens for a 5d mk 3 on the market?? thank you.

asiafish Loc: Bakersfield, CA

Anything with a 10X zoom ratio will never give the image quality of a 3X or even a 5X lens, which themselves don't come close to a good prime.

For a 5D3 the 24-105 f/4 (either of the two Canon lenses or the Sigma) is about the widest range I would recommend, with the 24-70s (the f/4 L is particularly nice for its small size, lack of distortion and excellent macro mode) in my opinion a better option.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Canon's 28-300?
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/319784-USA/Canon_9322A002AA_28_300mm_f_3_5_5_6L_IS_USM.html
I agree with asiafish about limiting the range.
A good 3x zoom is always going to perform better than a 10x.
You can't have your cake eat it too.

olddutch Loc: Beloit, Wisconsin

I would guess that is why the 70-200 is so Popular..

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Exactly - there is no free lunch.👍👍👍

cthahn

You are one of the few that understand that. Nikon makes a x83 on a point and shoot camera. Most everyone wants the longest zoom lens they can afford. I use a 35mm and a 105mm prime for 95% of all my photography.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

docdish Loc: Saint Petersburg, FL

The lens you "need" depends on what shots you want and how "perfect" they have to be. There are few substitutes for good glass but it takes a good eye and a better brain to get a "perfect pic". It is funny that people will pay huge $ for a fast prime only to find out almost all lenses do their sharpest work at f8. Pros want perfect images but luckily amateurs can concentrate on having fun.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Just to add - people pay those big $ for fast lenses for several reason including: low available light photography, isolating the subject from the background, and for their often superior bokeh among others. It is true that lenses are often shaper when stoped down a stop or so, but you can't generalize on f8. An f2 might be sharpest at f2.8 or f4 for example - depends on the individual lens.

asiafish Loc: Bakersfield, CA

With high-quality primes there is often no need to stop down for improved image quality. I shoot with Leica, and in most cases stopping down one stop will push the lens to its absolute best performance, which then remains constant as it is stopped down further until diffraction sets in. Even wide-open, those lenses are still close enough to their best that wide-open is a fully usable aperture. Such high quality, wide-open, is difficult to achieve and expensive.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Bull crap. Each lens has its own sweet spot for sharpness. Each FORMAT and sensor site pitch has a different diffraction limiting aperture.

All of my Micro 4/3 lenses are best at f/3.5 to f/5.6. At f/8, diffraction is slightly reducing contrast and sharpness. By f/16, the lenses are very soft. f/22 is unusable.

Canon has some pro lenses that are best used wide open to one stop down.

Arbitrary statements like, "f/8 is great," are misleading.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Me, a 50mm and 105mm, with the 105mm getting almost 95% of the use. BUT... for maybe 2% of situations I come across, having 300mm (also have 70-300mm) will get the job done.

asiafish Loc: Bakersfield, CA

For me it depends on what I'm doing and where I'm going. For travel I usually bring just a 24mm (SLR) or 28mm (rangefinder) and a 50mm, using the wide lens when out and about, the 50 more at night and for indoor settings. For events I'll often use just a 50mm if I'm roving, or a 28 or 35 if something involving a stage and something between 90 and 135 or even 200 if I'm forced to shoot a stage from far away.

I don't even own anything longer than 200mm, and for many years didn't own or need anything longer than 105mm.

I only own one autofocus lens (the Nikon AF-S 58mm f/1.4 G) and don't own a single zoom, though I have in the past with the most recent being the Nikon AF-S 24-120mm f/4 G and before that the Canon 24-70mm f/4 L. Whenever I used the zoom, I found that I could have probably done just as well or better by picking the correct prime and possibly carrying one more with me. My last trip to Korea was entirely shot with a 50mm lens, while my big vacation to the U.K. was with a 28mm, 35mm and 50mm lens kit, with the 35 seeing almost no use and me typically going out with just a single body and lens each day. There was only one instance where I took the 50 and wished I'd brought the 28, and looking back, that one shot would not have been worth carrying a camera bag.

olddutch Loc: Beloit, Wisconsin

I think it is great the information that has been given me on this post. I have spent a lot of years in Machine shops and some guys will not share any secrets.. so all of yours are great and welcomed.
thank you..

twowindsbear

Have you found that diffraction limiting is more f-stop related or is it the actual diameter of the opening? In your example, f16 on a Micro 4/3 lens could be actually 1/32" where on a larger format & longer focal length lens that same diameter, 1/32", could be f64.

Thanks for your experienced reply.