70D EF vs EF-S

[TheSlicingEdge]

I have heard that canon ef-s lenses will be the only lenses compatible with the 70D. I have heard the opposite.  Can I put a EF lens on my 70D?  Will it degrade the quality.  I am trying to get a telephoto lens to shoot airplanes with.  I can only find EF 70-300 but I would like a 300mm. Is the 50mm difference a lot? 

[ALwin]

EF lenses can be mounted on EF-S bodies, on the other hand the reverse is not always possible.

 

The reason for it is that EF-S lenses can have a protrusion that makes the rear end of the lens go more into the reflex mirror chamber of the camera body.  This protrusion can interfere with the operation of the reflex mirror in an EF body (e.g.  Canon 5D mk III).  Cropped sensor bodies like the Canon 70D have a smaller reflex mirror.

 

Besides this reason, there is another reason why you might not want to use EF-S lenses on an EF body.  EF-S lenses are designed to be used with cropped sensor cameras (e.g. Canon 70D), so their image circle is smaller.  On Full Frame bodies (e.g. Canon 5D mk III) it can cause heavy vignetting.

[TheSlicingEdge]

11 minutes ago, ALwin said:

EF lenses can be mounted on EF-S bodies, on the other hand the reverse is not always possible.

 

The reason for it is that EF-S lenses can have a protrusion that makes the rear end of the lens go more into the reflex mirror chamber of the camera body.  This protrusion can interfere with the operation of the reflex mirror in an EF body (e.g.  Canon 5D mk III).  Cropped sensor bodies like the Canon 70D have a smaller reflex mirror.

 

Besides this reason, there is another reason why you might not want to use EF-S lenses on an EF body.  EF-S lenses are designed to be used with cropped sensor cameras (e.g. Canon 70D), so their image circle is smaller.  On Full Frame bodies (e.g. Canon 5D mk III) it can cause heavy vignetting.

So should I buy a EF-S 250mm or EF 300mm

[Belgarathian]

2 minutes ago, TheSlicingEdge said:

So should I buy a EF-S 250mm or EF 300mm

Read a review and see which glass is sharper, or faster. Since you have a 70D it'll work with both. 

 

Things to consider would be that if you're planning a body upgrade to full frame then you'll want to go with the EF 300mm. - The EF 300mm is probably a better bit of glass too, given that the EF-S lenses tend to be entry level for enthusiasts. 

[ALwin]

Just now, TheSlicingEdge said:

So should I buy a EF-S 250mm or EF 300mm

Your 70D has a crop factor of about 1.6.  At the 250mm end of the lens you will get the same field of view as if you have a 400mm lens mounted on a Canon 5D mk III.

 

With a 300mm lens on a 70D, you will have the same field of view as if a 480mm lens was mounted on a 5D mk III.

 

The angular field of view difference between 250mm and 300mm is approximately 1 degree.  Depending on the distance your subject is from the camera, that ~1 degree angle difference can either mean a very small difference field of view or a large difference.

[ALwin]

2 minutes ago, Belgarathian said:

The EF 300mm is probably a better bit of glass too, given that the EF-S lenses tend to be entry level for enthusiasts.

That's not entirely correct.  There are EF-S lenses that perform just as well as their EF equivalent counterparts, the only difference is they are specially designed for the cropped sensor body.

 

When it comes to lenses, cheap telephoto lenses with variable aperture tend to be between low-middle part of the quality spectrum, regardless of whether they are EF or EF-S.

[Belgarathian]

1 minute ago, ALwin said:

That's not entirely correct.  There are EF-S lenses that perform just as well as their EF equivalent counterparts, the only difference is they are specially designed for the cropped sensor body.

 

When it comes to lenses, cheap telephoto lenses with variable aperture tend to be between low-middle part of the quality spectrum, regardless of whether they are EF or EF-S.

You're right... there are some good EF-S lenses, but equally.... EF-S 18-300 which is currently a paper weight on my desk, or the EF-S 17-85 IS USM that came with my 50D so many years ago that I sold first chance I got due to low clarity (possibly an issue with my model, but I'm pretty sure is just a characteristic of this lens based on reviews). 

[ALwin]

OK here is a lens I just found that might interest the OP.

 

A Canon 200mm f/2.8 prime telephoto lens.  It's a L series lens.  The price is just under $800.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/129190-USA/Canon_2529A004AA_Telephoto_EF_200mm_f_2_8L.html

 

OK it doesn't have VR but a 200mm prime for this price is a steal.  Normally fast aperture fixed focal length telephoto lenses tend to be on the expensive side.  Nikon's fast aperture 200mm prime costs over $5000.

[TheSlicingEdge]

16 minutes ago, ALwin said:

21 minutes ago, ALwin said:

Your 70D has a crop factor of about 1.6.  At the 250mm end of the lens you will get the same field of view as if you have a 400mm lens mounted on a Canon 5D mk III.

 

With a 300mm lens on a 70D, you will have the same field of view as if a 480mm lens was mounted on a 5D mk III.

 

The angular field of view difference between 250mm and 300mm is approximately 1 degree.  Depending on the distance your subject is from the camera, that ~1 degree angle difference can either mean a very small difference field of view or a large difference.

 

I plan on buying the EF-S 55-250 just because it has an STM motor.  You think it will be sufficient to zoom in to an airplane 4000ft or so. 

[TheSlicingEdge]

2 minutes ago, ALwin said:

OK here is a lens I just found that might interest the OP.

 

A Canon 200mm f/2.8 prime telephoto lens.  It's a L series lens.  The price is just under $800.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/129190-USA/Canon_2529A004AA_Telephoto_EF_200mm_f_2_8L.html

 

OK it doesn't have VR but a 200mm prime for this price is a steal.  Normally fast aperture fixed focal length telephoto lenses tend to be on the expensive side.  Nikon's fast aperture 200mm prime costs over $5000.

Sorry should have listed my budget.  I only have about $308 you think it is a really good idea to save more.  How much more is the quality going to increase. Could an amateur tell. 

 

[ALwin]

Just now, TheSlicingEdge said:

I plan on buying the EF-S 55-250 just because it has an STM motor.  You think it will be sufficient to zoom in to an airplane 4000ft or so. 

4000 ft? That's approximately 1.3km away, a pretty far distance.  I don't think even my 400mm lens would be able to zoom in that far to get a decent photo of an airplane at that distance, at least for the composition I would try to capture.

[TheSlicingEdge]

3 minutes ago, ALwin said:

4000 ft? That's approximately 1.3km away, a pretty far distance.  I don't think even my 400mm lens would be able to zoom in that far to get a decent photo of an airplane at that distance, at least for the composition I would try to capture.

Capture?  You mean record? 

[ALwin]

6 minutes ago, TheSlicingEdge said:

Sorry should have listed my budget.  I only have about $308 you think it is a really good idea to save more.  How much more is the quality going to increase. Could an amateur tell. 

 

Honestly, you'd need to pixel peep to see very significant differences, or have the keen eye of an experienced photographer.  The more noticeable differences might be stuff like color fringing and chromatic aberration, which can be corrected in post.

 

But for what you want to do and the distance you are thinking of photographing... it might be worth it to save up and invest in a better and longer lens.  It all depends on what you want.

 

Choosing a lens is a personal preference, I know skilled photographers who get away with using cheap lenses and people who take crap photos with expensive gear.

 

Skill and experience counts more than the gear.

 

[TheSlicingEdge]

4 minutes ago, ALwin said:

4000 ft? That's approximately 1.3km away, a pretty far distance.  I don't think even my 400mm lens would be able to zoom in that far to get a decent photo of an airplane at that distance, at least for the composition I would try to capture.

I spot from diffrent angles...  There is a spot that I love that is 2500-3000 ft keep in mind ik shooting a double decker aircraft one of the biggest 

 

[ALwin]

13 minutes ago, TheSlicingEdge said:

I spot from diffrent angles...  There is a spot that I love that is 2500-3000 ft keep in mind ik shooting a double decker aircraft one of the biggest

I didn't say it wasn't doable with a 250mm or 300mm lens for such distances.  It's just that the plane my appear small in the straight-out-of-the-camera image that you may need to crop and do a bit of enlargement during the post processing stage of the photo.  But the 70D is a 20MP camera, so you might have enough resolution to spare to do some cropping and enlargement.

 

And the Airbus A380 is a pretty large plane.  So yeah, a 250-300mm lens could be enough.

[TheSlicingEdge]

Yea...  I'm now thinking about a this lens I can get a $200rebate from canon and I don't have to pay taxes.  Is it worth breaking the budget and going in debt.  Is the only difference between this and others price.  http://www.adorama.com/CA70300ISNU.html

[ALwin]

4 minutes ago, TheSlicingEdge said:

Yea...  I'm now thinking about a this lens I can get a $200rebate from canon and I don't have to pay taxes.  Is it worth breaking the budget and going in debt.  Is the only difference between this and others price.  http://www.adorama.com/CA70300ISNU.html

Isn't this the same 70-300 lens you were considering in your original post?  Was there another 70-300 lens that was cheaper?

 

Anyway, the lens you buy is your personal choice.  Buy the one you feel comfortable buying.  There are lots of online reviews about each lens.

[TheSlicingEdge]

6 minutes ago, ALwin said:

Isn't this the same 70-300 lens you were considering in your original post?  Was there another 70-300 lens that was cheaper?

I was just scrolling through Amazon and might have seen a 70-300 for 300

 

[ALwin]

1 minute ago, TheSlicingEdge said:

I was just scrolling through Amazon and might have seen a 70-300 for 300

 

A Sigma or Tamron version maybe.  They tend to be cheaper.

[ALwin]

Here is my final advice for tonight.  Look at various reviews about the lenses you a interested in buying.  There are well written detailed ones, don't look for just video reviews.

 

After that visit Flickr.  You can search on Flickr by camera model and I think also lens model, maybe by the keywords or tags.  Look at the photos people take using those lenses.  These show real world examples.  Test charts and example images on review websites do not always reflect real world usage of the equipment.  Review websites tend to put the equipment through tests to check the performance of the equipment to see what their faults are in extreme situations, where the flaws become apparent.

 

An analogy of what I mean: one computer might have a benchmark score of 5000, another 10000.  But if the average user only wants to use the computer for browsing the web, checking emails or writing documents, does it matter which computer is used?