Lenses

It's been a while since I updated this blog. I became a dad a couple of months ago so haven't really had the time to work on it.

Anyway, I've been thinking of upgrading my kit lens recently and this got me thinking all sorts of things. Initially I was going replace my 18-55 canon kit lens with another canon kit lens, 17-85 IS USM. However, after looking around at prices for a couple of weeks I've noticed that these are going used for about the same as they new or not far off anyway. If I pay a little more I can get my hands on Canon's L series lenses.

I then wondered how Canon L series lenses compared to third party lenses like the Sigma EX series lenses. The Canon L series are usually double the price of the equivalent Sigma lenses, but are they that much better?

Well after some more research I've come to the conclusion that besides the weather sealing of the Canon lenses there's not much between them, not enough for 'most' people to warrant the extra cost. Of course if you are a 'pixel peeper' you may notice the difference, but in the real world these differences are hardly noticeable. Another reason why you may want to pay more for the L series lenses is if you want to blow up your images to A2 or larger, especially for commercial purposes, advertising media, billboard etc. If the latter being the case then you would more than make up for the cost of the lens with a good commission or two.

Another important factor to bear in mind is that people get caught up with the latest DSLR body and forget about lenses. Essentially if there's anything you should be upgrading in your kit bag is glass. You lenses will stick with you for as long you like, while you camera body will probably be updated several times. So in light of this it's worth spending that little bit extra for good quality glass. This leads on to SLR systems; once you start purchasing quality glass you have bought into a system. For example if you purchase a canon body and lenses you can't fit Nikon lenses into them, and if you do decide to change your SLR body to a different brand then you need to be prepared to change all your lenses too.

So what have I been rattling on about:

1. I want to upgrade my lenses
2. I'm questioning my lens choices:
3. how does Canon L glass to Sigma EX glass?
4. is the difference worth it for me?