My Favorite Lens is a… Canon 60D? by Bart J Zoni

Can a “Crop Body” be the ultimate lens accessory for full-frame shooters?

The world is going full-frame crazy with new and exciting entries from Nikon and Canon hitting the market. After “going full-frame,” however, it’s always hard to decide where to spend the rest of that photography budget and build a nice kit.

Sure!  Lenses can last a lifetime and even the best digital body will only last a few years before it’s time to upgrade or set it on fire.

Ultimately, lenses provide the heart and soul of an image, while the camera body is kind of best when it goes unnoticed. Getting the best lenses within your budget is always a good approach.

So, we all make tough choices. Primes or zooms? Do you want that wide maximum aperture or more coverage in focal length? Should you buy one glorious  “L” or top of the line Nikkor lens or multiple lenses at the same price for more variety? As I started assembling my kit for the full frame Canon 5D Mark II, it hit me… I’d get a whole lot more from my lenses if I had a crop body, too. (And I was pretty sure the 5D wouldn’t be mad at me) BAM!

So I headed to Unique and snagged a Canon 60D– which has an APS-C sized sensor with1.6x crop factor. Now each lens in my kit has a dual use. BAM!

A quick example:

The EF 24mm f/1.4L is a fast and wickedly sharp wide-angle on a full-frame  body, while providing a nice wide-normal (38mm) when used on a crop body. To get an f/1.4 lens in that same 35mm-50mm range for full-frame  would cost anywhere from $500-$1400. Ouch!

A great use of budget:

Let’s look at a real practical example. Let’s say you are a “prime lens” fanatic and you have a nice little “trinity” of fast lenses, the EF 24mm f/1.4, the EF 50mm f/1.2, and the EF 135mm f/2.  You even got fancy and bought a 1.4x extender for your 135L. You spent roughly $4,000 on glass. Then you spent $1,000.00 on a 60D. Here’s the math:

 But look at the choices you now have in terms of equivalent 35mm field of view and maximum aperture – with only 3 lenses in your bag:

 You would need to spend $15,200.00 on lenses alone to have the same focal length/aperture choices for a full-frame body on its own. That’s a 24L, 25L, 50L, 85L, 135L, 1.4x Extender, 200/2.8L and 300/2.8L! What are you going to carry all these lenses in? Are you going to hit the gym now?

Having an APC-C body really does give you a lot of choice and flexibility as to how you will use your lenses. And even the entry-level bodies in the $400-700 range are featuring sensors and image quality that was only a dream just a few years back. The choice can make a lot of sense!

But What About Low Light?

One of the reasons we love full-frame camera bodies is the excellent low-light capability – low noise at high ISOs. In reality, with advances in sensor technology, the best APS-C bodies are only a stop or two behind their big brothers in terms of noise. I believe that by using a dual-body setup, I’ve been able to save for faster glass and shoot at lower ISOs. To put this into perspective  – the EXIF data from my last 20,000 photos show an ISO over 1600 on the 60D only for 149 frames. Less than 1%.  Not enough to worry about in most cases.

Final Thoughts

An APS-C body really is an excellent “accessory” for full-frame shooters that provides you with a wider range of creative choices with the lenses that you have and allows you to focus your budget on Glass is where it’s at. The lenses you choose can be with you for a lifetime – why not do something to get the most out of them?

Summary: Adding an APS-C Crop Body to a Full-Frame kit

PROS:

• Adds new use to your current lenses
• Allows you to consolidate your “glass” budget
• May allow you to purchase faster glass
• Gives you ability to use the two-body-kung-fu-style shooting technique
• You’ll end up using the APS-C body when compact size is important

CONS:

• Loss of full-frame benefits with APS-C body, i.e. low-noise with high ISO
• Too many choices may stifle creativity
• If you’re happy with your rig, it may not be helpful or necessary

Bart can be found at:

Twitter: @TheLeicaBoss

E-mail: [email protected] Online: www.leica-boss.com