photography ramblings

CANON L SERIES LENSES ARE NOT DESIGNED FOR CROP SENSOR CAMERAS

5/2/2017

As much as I love my Canon photography equipment, and would never change to anything other photography brand (even if I had to start all over again) the one thing that annoys me is the fact the professional spec L series lenses are designed for Canon’s full frame line up and not crop sensor cameras.

I appreciate you can use the L series lenses on crop sensor cameras but because of the crop factor the effective focal length changes, resulting in some pretty crazy (and a lot of the time useless) focal lengths – especially when it comes to zoom lenses. Let me explain………..

16mm – 35mm zoom lens

A 16mm – 35mm is a fantastic focal length for landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes, and the 16mm – 35mm f4L IS lens is an amazing lens (check out this review) but if you put it on a crop sensor camera the effective focal length becomes 25.6mm – 56mm. At 25.6mm the short end is still considered wide, and can be used for landscapes/seascapes/cityscapes but the rest of the focal range is a little too long and effectively wasted for wide angle photography.

Another issues is that whilst 25.6mm is wide, it is not 16mm ultra-wide – and there are times when I want a wide field of view to get as much in the frame possible, and this focal length won’t cut it.

There is an EF-S lens with an effective focal length of 16mm – 35mm, the Canon 10mm – 22mm f3.5 and whilst it too is a very good lens (check out this review) it is not an L series lens. This lens isn’t as tough, durable and robust as an L series lens and the image quality isn’t as good either. Okay, this lens is significantly less than the Canon 16mm – 35mm f4L IS lens but it should be as the two lenses are miles apart.

I have read reviews about the Canon 10mm – 22mm lens stating is “an L series lens without the red ring” but this simply isn’t true. I own both lenses and I can assure you the 16mm – 35mm f4L IS lens blows this out the water. As much as I love my Canon 10mm – 22mm and use it on my travels when I want to travel light with my crop sensor camera, the build quality and the image quality isn’t up there with the L series lenses. If you are going to buy a Canon 10mm – 22mm on the basis it is an “L series lens without the red ring designed for crop sensor cameras” I would suggest you get down your local camera shop and directly compare it to the Canon 16mm – 35mm lenses before parting with your hard earned money.

Canon 10mm - 22mm

Canon 16mm - 35mm f4L IS

Focal Length – Full frame/APS-C:- N/A/16mm – 35.2mm/ Aperture:- 3.5 22/4.5 - 29/ Min focus:- 9.4”/ Dimensions:- 3.31” x 3.54”/ Weight:- 13.6oz/ Image stabilization:- No/ Price (approx.) $USD/£ GBP:- $600.00/£420.00

The Canon 10mm - 22mm is available from Adorama, Amazon (US), eBay, Amazon (UK)

Focal Length – Full frame/APS-C:- 16mm - 35mm/ 25.6mm - 42mm/ Aperture:- 4 - 22/ Min focus:- 11"/ Dimensions:- 3.25" x 4.44"/ Weight:- 21.7 oz/ Image stabilization:- Yes/ Price (approx.) $USD/£ GBP:- $1,000.00/£820.00

The Canon 16mm - 35mm f4L IS is available from Adorama, Amazon (US), eBay, Amazon (UK)

24mm – 70mm zoom lens

A 24mm – 70mm zoom lens is an excellent lens for portraits, and my Canon 24mm – 70mm f2.8L lens (read review here) is my workhorse for portrait assignments. When I go travelling I take one of my crop sensor cameras to try and keep the weight down a bit, as well as for ‘loss’ purposes. I obviously wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to any of my cameras but if the worst were going to happen I would prefer my (cheaper) crop sensor camera were pinched or damaged than my full frame camera. When I go travelling I also like to take portrait shots but my Canon 24mm – 70m f2.8L is not the best tool for this.

If I put my 24mm – 70mm on my crop sensor camera the effective focal range becomes 38.4mm – 112mm. I know this covers the 50mm and 85mm focal lengths, both of which are popular with portrait photographers but I prefer to shoot portraits at wider focal lengths and typically use 28mm or 35mm, neither of which are covered when using my crop sensor camera.

One of the advantages shooting with shorter focal lengths is the ability to get nice and close to the model/subject so you can direct them for an engaging shot, and also include some background to tell the story of what is going on. At longer focal lengths it is not always possible to include some of the (what I consider) all important background.

I really like the 24mm – 70mm focal length, especially the shorter and wider end but it’s not possible to get this using a crop sensor camera. In order to get the effective 24mm – 70mm focal length you need a 15mm – 44mm lens and there are no such L series lenses like this.

The Canon 24mm - 70mm f2.8L is available from Adorama, Amazon (US), eBay,Amazon (UK)

24mm – 105mm zoom lens

The 24mm – 105mm is a great lens for travel. On a full frame camera this lens covers the popular 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 70mm, 85mm and 100mm focal lengths, which makes it a versatile lens you can use for many different subjects.

The 28mm wide end the field of view is plenty big enough to get awesome wide landscape/cityscape and seascape shots and the long end is a nice length of some standard tele style shots, and the focal lengths in between are ideal for everything else.

A 24mm – 105mm Put it on a crop sensor and it becomes 38.4mm – 168mm. This obviously has more reach at the long end, which may or may not be of benefit to you. The 24mm wide end is lost, and whilst you can capture landscapes/cityscapes/seascapes using a 38mm lens it is far from wide, and you’re not going to get much in the frame.

To get an effective 24mm – 105mm lens on a crop sensor camera you would need a 15mm – 65.6mm zoom lens and there definitely aren’t any of these about.

The Canon 24mm - 105mm f4L lens is available from Adorama, Amazon (US), eBay, Amazon (UK)

Canon have tried to plug the gap with various EF-S lenses that work on crop sensor cameras only, and whilst these lenses are good they are not L series lenses. All L series lenses are made using the best materials and the best optics, and are just awesome lenses. There are times I prefer to use my crop sensor camera, and when I do I either have to use the series lenses have and ‘make do’ with crazy focal lengths or use on of the EF-S only lenses and deal with the inferior images these lenses capture. If only Canon would make L series lenses for crop sensor cameras with the popular focal lengths.

Honest and unbiased Canon lens reviews

Below are some links to various Canon lens reviews that may be of interest. If you are planning to buy a new Canon lens don't part with your hard earned cash until you have read the following honest and unbiased reviews from a long term user. The reviews aren't full of technical jargon, and give an account of what it is actually like to live with the lenses on a daily basis.

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