Canon 70D best budget auto focus lense for recording?

[Evoly]

Hey there!

After watching Linus's video about the Canon XA 20 i was about to buy the consumer version of it (LF G30) for around 1200€. But then i saw a comparison between Camcorders and DLSR cams and i was like "The heck?". 

 

Now i did end up ordering a Canon 70D and have around 450€ budget left for a lense. The lense should definitly have auto focus since ill use it on a tripod to film myself working on stuff but it also shouldn't kill the posibility to make great photos. I dont know which distance i need so i would prefer a zoom. I don't need that much of a zoom to be honest ~125mm should be the max i guess.

Can you guys recommend something from this list?

 

• EF 50mm 1:1.8 II - 107€
• EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II - 169€
• EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM - 212€
• EF 40mm f/2.8 STM - 204€
• EF 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 III USM - 279€
• EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM - 284€
• EF-S 17-85mm 1:4-5.6 IS USM - 315€
• EF 50mm 1:1.4 USM - 319€
• EF 85mm 1:1.8 USM - 349€
• EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM - 429€
• EF-S 60mm 1:2.8 Makro USM - 433€
• EF 100mm 1:2 USM - 445€
• EF 28mm 1:1.8 USM - 455€

Since i can choose between the 70D solo for 1000€ and the 70D + EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM (212€) for 1099€ i guess that could be interesting but i have no idea if it will be enough.

[Prastupok]

Hey there!

After watching Linus's video about the Canon XA 20 i was about to buy the consumer version of it (LF G30) for around 1200€. But then i saw a comparison between Camcorders and DLSR cams and i was like "The heck?". 

 

Now i did end up ordering a Canon 70D and have around 450€ budget left for a lense. The lense should definitly have auto focus since ill use it on a tripod to film myself working on stuff but it also shouldn't kill the posibility to make great photos. I dont know which distance i need so i would prefer a zoom. I don't need that much of a zoom to be honest ~125mm should be the max i guess.

Can you guys recommend something from this list?

 

• EF 50mm 1:1.8 II - 107€
• EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II - 169€
• EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM - 212€
• EF 40mm f/2.8 STM - 204€
• EF-M 22mm f/2 STM - 213€
• EF 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 III USM - 279€
• EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM - 284€
• EF-S 17-85mm 1:4-5.6 IS USM - 315€
• EF 50mm 1:1.4 USM - 319€
• EF 85mm 1:1.8 USM - 349€
• EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM - 429€
• EF-S 60mm 1:2.8 Makro USM - 433€
• EF 100mm 1:2 USM - 445€
• EF 28mm 1:1.8 USM - 455€

Since i can choose between the 70D solo for 1000€ and the 70D + EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM (212€) for 1099€ i guess that could be interesting but i have no idea if it will be enough.

 

If you don't have a 50mm prime, get it. It is a must have in my bag, regardless of what I'm shooting.

 

@Evoly

[SeanAngelo]

i would go with the "nifty fifty" 1.8 II, getting the 1.4 version isn't that much of a difference, you could always "zoom" with your feet/tripod.

[Evoly]

I'm not sure if you guys did read my edit. Found the advertisement with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM included. Would that do the deal? If i understand it right it has a 18-55mm zoom amd the lower noice motor. I currently have no idea what the other stuff is doing there but i guess it shoud be fine. 

[Prastupok]

I'm not sure if you guys did read my edit. Found the advertisement with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM included. Would that do the deal? If i understand it right it has a 18-55mm zoom amd the lower noice motor. I currently have no idea what the other stuff is doing there but i guess it shoud be fine. 

Having a zoom lens is nice, but having a Prime 50mm is a necessity. I would choose a 50mm prime over a zoom lens every day of the week.

 

@Evoly 

[Evoly]

Is there any video out there that does explain it? 5cm doesnt sound that much to me. I dont really understand the difference between a lense that can also be 5cm and a lense that always is 5cm zoomed. @Prastupok

[Prastupok]

Is there any video out there that does explain it? 5cm doesnt sound that much to me. I dont really understand the difference between a lense that can also be 5cm and a lense that always is 5cm zoomed. @Prastupok

 

@Evoly

 

Zooms aren't as good as prime... the glass isn't built for one specific focal length.

 

[Bsmith]

@Evoly

i would go for a lensv with a STM motor for the auto focusing in it, these are very quiet and i'm most certain of these that they allow continous focussing when shooting video, with your budget i would go for the 40mm STM lens

 

and things like 50mm, don't stand for the size they get longer or the size they are(hell i have a 40mm pancake lens(1-5cm thick) and 50mm normal lens(+/-10cm thick)) but stand for the focal length(that's a link to proper explanaition) which simply said, allows you to play with the distance between the camera and subject, a lower focal length(like 40mm) most of the time means a wider angle, which is better for close-up shots.

[Evoly]

Wow the amount of information is just unreal >.<. Why does a prime lense need a motor if we talk about hte 40mm STM lense? I actually thought about going for the bundle with the 18-55mm STM lense and a seperat 50mm prime lense. I also would like to know how the canon 70d deals with artificial light. I mean softboxes have the same light so i would be pretty confused if that should be a problem but the flickering on the smartphone cams did just annoy me. Ofc. i wont compare a Smartphone cam to a DLSR one. 

[Prastupok]

Wow the amount of information is just unreal >.<. Why does a prime lense need a motor if we talk about hte 40mm STM lense? I actually thought about going for the bundle with the 18-55mm STM lense and a seperat 50mm prime lense. I also would like to know how the canon 70d deals with artificial light. I mean softboxes have the same light so i would be pretty confused if that should be a problem but the flickering on the smartphone cams did just annoy me. Ofc. i wont compare a Smartphone cam to a DLSR one. 

 

Autofocus. You'll be hard-pressed to find an automatic zoom SLR lens.

 

Any of these lenses have the controls to compensate for the lighting.

 

I still say you'd be happier with a 50mm than a 40, it's much faster.

[bob345]

Canons lenses with the stm motors are by far the best for video auto focus wise. They are literally silent and have very fast and acurate af. Ifd you are filming yourself, like @Bsmith said, the 40mm stm is a great option as it has a f 2.8 aperture and a very useful close to standard focal distance.

[Prastupok]

Canons lenses with the stm motors are by far the best for video auto focus wise. They are literally silent and have very fast and acurate af. Ifd you are filming yourself, like @Bsmith said, the 40mm stm is a great option as it has a f 2.8 aperture and a very useful close to standard focal distance.

 

@bob345 But you will need more light with that f/2.8, that's why I was staying away from it for a beginner.

[Evoly]

Well after seeing a video that shows the differenes between zoom and prime ill definitly go for prime. Under the aspect that if i have to show something closer i tend to move it to the camera itself im naturaly a prime guy. In the video above that very not asiatic sounding, asian guy (i love that dude oô) sayd that 50mm looks pretty realistic. If i now put the requirements on the desk i just need this:

 

• Prime
• STM
• Autofocus

I have no idea if Autofocus has to be on lenses again due to the fact that it is on the D70 but anyways. The next question is, tele, wide angle ... which of these "types" is the best? From a editing perspective i would say 16:9 on 1080p sounds like wide angle is required.

 

Another question is how important is the 1.8 / 1.4 / 1.2 thingy to video recording?

 

After a quick check due to the basic requirements i could just come up with these (ill keep looking):

 

Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 STM 

Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM

 

And ofc. the EF 50mm 1:1.8 II but that isn't STM i guess due to the comments below it. Something about a "high" background noise if you use the AF.

[Prastupok]

Well after seeing a video that shows the differenes between zoom and prime ill definitly go for prime. Under the aspect that if i have to show something closer i tend to move it to the camera itself im naturaly a prime guy. In the video above that very not asiatic sounding, asian guy (i love that dude oô) sayd that 50mm looks pretty realistic. If i now put the requirements on the desk i just need this:

 

• Prime
• STM
• Autofocus

I have no idea if Autofocus has to be on lenses again due to the fact that it is on the D70 but anyways. The next question is, tele, wide angle ... which of these "types" is the best? From a editing perspective i would say 16:9 on 1080p sounds like wide angle is required.

 

Another question is how important is the 1.8 / 1.4 / 1.2 thingy to video recording?

 

It's the f-stop. The amount of light that it will let in, the lower the number, the wider the aperture.

 

Something no one on here has mentioned is that the 70D is an APS-C sensor, so 50mm prime will be ~37mm. A 40 will be lower than that even. 

[Bsmith]

@Evoly was talking about the motor since that is that part which does the auto focus and might make noise, which ruins video's/content, the 70D will deal pretty well with softboxes etc, since the biggest part of it get's done by the lens you use(lens is more important then body rule applies)

and don't worry, all lenses with STM in the same, only one type of mm(like xxmm, not xx-xxx mm) are prime and ALL lenses form canon for sale have autofocus.

the 1.8/1.4/1.2, are the F-stops, easy said light control(aperture, diafragma whatever) lower=more light, that's basiclly it.

 

 

@Prastupok like OP said, he will be using softboxes, which should deal with all problems, if im not mistaken

[bob345]

@bob345 But you will need more light with that f/2.8, that's why I was staying away from it for a beginner.

i personally own a 50mm 1.8 and i have to say that i rarely find myself shooting with it wide open. Another thing it ad is the af motor on the canon 50mm 1.8 is VERY noisy and it likes to focus hunt allot which is why i would not recommend it for video work. The stm lenses af motor is literally inaudible.  

[Prastupok]

@Evoly was talking about the motor since that is that part which does the auto focus and might make noise, which ruins video's/content, the 70D will deal pretty well with softboxes etc, since the biggest part of it get's done by the lens you use(lens is more important then body rule applies)

and don't worry, all lenses with STM in the same, only one type of mm(like xxmm, not xx-xxx mm) are prime and ALL lenses form canon for sale have autofocus.

the 1.8/1.4/1.2, are the F-stops, easy said light control(aperture, diafragma whatever) lower=more light, that's basiclly it.

 

 

@Prastupok like OP said, he will be using softboxes, which should deal with all problems, if im not mistaken

@Bsmith

 

If you OP is doing any real video recording, he shouldn't be using the internal microphones anyway.

 

But the f/1.8 50 is silent, I have it myself. You don't want to get too wide, and you have to take into consideration that the camera is a crop sensor.

[Prastupok]

i personally own a 50mm 1.8 and i have to say that i rarely find myself shooting with it wide open. Another thing it ad is the af motor on the canon 50mm 1.8 is VERY noisy and it likes to focus hunt allot which is why i would not recommend it for video work. The stm lenses af motor is literally inaudible.  

 

Never once have I had a noise issue with mine.

[bob345]

It's the f-stop. The amount of light that it will let in, the lower the number, the wider the aperture.

 

Something no one on here has mentioned is that the 70D is an APS-C sensor, so 50mm prime will be ~37mm. A 40 will be lower than that even. 

actually its the other way around. the 70 d has a crop factor of 1.6x like most of canons aps-c cameras. A 50mm focal length is roughly equivalent to a 80mm on a crop sensor camera.

[Prastupok]

actually its the other way around. the 70 d has a crop factor of 1.6x like most of canons aps-c cameras. A 50mm focal length is roughly equivalent to a 80mm on a crop sensor camera.

 

Indeed, BUT in order to shoot at a similar DoF, you need to adjust for it. 

 

@bob345

 

I mean that as in you'll have to shoot further out to get the same shot you would on full-frame.

[bob345]

@Evoly, im going to upload a video for you to show you the difference between the 50mm 1.8 af and a stm af system. there is s HUGE difference.

[Prastupok]

@Evoly, im going to upload a video for you to show you the difference between the 50mm 1.8 af and a stm af system. there is s HUGE difference.

 

To note though, if you are recording, you should invest in a good hotshoe mic.

[Evoly]

I definitly dont use softboxes. They would kill my room in terms of there light output. Here is a picture that explains it a bit. Ofc. there is missing the anti static mat and the smartphone doesnt really show of the amount of light. Its pretty decent to be honst but if it comes to the confidence i would go for a 1.8 lense. If it makes no difference for the auto focus i would actually go with the ...

 

edit: oh wow i failed. There is just the 100€ "noisy" 1:8 50mm that i can buy at my retailer.

 

The lighting isnt perfect but for the start it should work. If it comes to mic i will go with a rode smartlav+ for the start. 

 

http://imgur.com/a/dJpqQ

 

I could also buy a Canon Speedlite 430EX II later on to have enother light source if i can enable it permanently but i guess that would be overkill on metallic stuff.

[Prastupok]

I definitly dont use softboxes. They would kill my room in terms of there light output. Here is a picture that explains it a bit. Ofc. there is missing the anti static mat and the smartphone doesnt really show of the amount of light. Its pretty decent to be honst but if it comes to the confidence i would go for a 1.8 lense. If it makes no difference for the auto focus i would actually go with the Canon EF 50mm 1:1.4 USM if you guys thing that it could work. 

 

The lighting isnt perfect but for the start it should work. If it comes to mic i will go with a rode smartlav+ for the start. 

 

http://imgur.com/a/dJpqQ

 

I could also buy a Canon Speedlite 430EX II later on to have enother light source if i can enable it permanently but i guess that would be overkill on metallic stuff.

 

For beginning, you definitely don't need a f/1.4

 

TBH the 40 or 50 will be great for you. I'm just partial to the 50 myself.

 

You could then use the rest of the budget on a good flash. I swear by these honestly. http://www.paulcbuff.com/b400.php

[bob345]

@Evoly Here is a quick comparison i made.