HUGE Dilemma

[Adam Adkins]

I have a 5d Mark ii with a 24-105mm lens and a 17-40mm lens. I can either sell the 17-40 and get a 100-400 or I can keep it and have no telephoto. What should I do???? I LOVE the super wide angle the 17 gives me... but I really need a telephoto. The wide angle would REALLY come in handy while storm chasing... but I need something to shoot wildlife!! Is 24mm wide enough?!?! Your comments are GREATLY appreciated!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

I have a 5d Mark ii with a 24-105mm lens and a 17-40mm lens. I can either sell the 17-40 and get a 100-400 or I can keep it and have no telephoto. What should I do???? I LOVE the super wide angle the 17 gives me... but I really need a telephoto. The wide angle would REALLY come in handy while storm chasing... but I need something to shoot wildlife!! Is 24mm wide enough?!?! Your comments are GREATLY appreciated!!!!!!!!!

Depends what you like to shoot! I love superwide -- and if you do too, you'll definitely miss it.

You can do wildlife with the 100-400, but you'll be restricted to certain lighting conditions. Sad to say, most of the wildlife shooters who do it professionally end up getting a 500 f/4, which is like buying a small car (and feels about as heavy lugging around, at that.)

If you're looking to save a bit of money, you could get the 400 5.6L prime. If you're using the 400 for wildlife, you may not need the zoom; unless you're a ninja, most of the time even at 500 you'll wish you had more reach. It doesn't have IS though, which is a downer for something that long.

 

[Adam Adkins]

I haven't storm chased TOO terribly much, but have and will do so OFTEN in the future. How often is a super wide angle REQUIRED when chasing storms?

 

[Robert Edmonds]

I occasionally use my telephoto lens, but I use my wide angle much more than many of the other lenses when storm chasing. Storms are big even a mile or two from the rotation.

 

[Derek Weston]

I haven't storm chased TOO terribly much, but have and will do so OFTEN in the future. How often is a super wide angle REQUIRED when chasing storms?

Depends what sort of shots you like. Go try to find different shots with the different mm lenses. Mike at extremeinstability.com, for example, uses a 10mm quite often in his work. (on a crop censor camera though)

 

[cedwards]

I use my 10-20mm more than anything. with the Xti it is more like 16-32mm.
I have a 75-300mm that I almost never use.

 

[Andrew Ryan]

As others have said, this all depends on what you're shooting. I love prime lenses because they can be really cheap with great optics. That is why I have my 50mm prime on my camera most of the time. Although, when I'm chasing, I use my 10-20mm lens. I don't know what I would do without it.

But it seems that wildlife is more important to you. So go with a good telephoto lens. Alos keep in mind that the lens is the most crucial item in photography. If you can't afford the lenses, then maybe you need to downgrade your camera.

 

[Darren Addy]

I'd have to agree with A.R. here and say that (for your particular wants) a fullframe DSLR is overkill. You could take advantage of the 1.6x focal length multiplier and turn a 200mm lens into a 300mm+ equiv. AND take advantage of the excellent ultrawide zooms out there with an APS-C sensor camera.

Otherwise, take a look at putting manual focus telephotos on your EOS body. There are adapters out there that let you put all kinds of quality glass on your EOS for not a lot of money, as long as you aren't afraid of manual focus and manual exposure settings.

 

[Brett Roberts]

I haven't storm chased TOO terribly much, but have and will do so OFTEN in the future. How often is a super wide angle REQUIRED when chasing storms?

A super wide-angle is by far the most useful lens for chasing, in my experience. In fact, I hardly use anything else.

 

[Bryan Stokes]

Adam,

I've only been chasing for 2 years, but without a doubt, a super-wide lens is what I use 99% of the time. (I only shoot stills, no video) When I chase, I have three bodies locked and loaded. One has a 10-22, the second one has a 24-105, and the third one has a 70-200 2.8 IS. Looking back through my photo library, all of my shots have been with the 10-22 except for a few. (I shoot w/ a crop body)

Bryan

 

[Adam Adkins]

It is definitely a tough decision. I am going to kill myself if I don't have a wide enough angle when chasing (though 24 is pretty wide...), but I really can't afford to have NO telephoto at all. You can check out my site and see the kind of images I shoot (I am 16, and am not really allowed to drive hundreds of miles to chase yet, but I can go anywhere in CO!).
web.me.com/adkinsadam1

 

[Jim Saueressig]

A few of last years best shots would not have happened without my Sigma 10-20mm @ 10mm.





Many good rainbows and aoptics won't fit outside a superwide either.

 

[Bryan Stokes]

Adam,

If you live in Colorado, go with an ultra-wide angle...it will be great for landscapes too!

Bryan

 

[John Wetter]

Let's just say back in 2008 when we had storms, the 12-24mm never left my camera from May until September...

 

[Adam Adkins]

THis shot was taken with regular 17mm on a CROP sensor...