My Top 3 Canon body and lenses

Am I finally writing a blog post about my favorite Canon body and lenses for photography? YES friends, I am!

After two decades in this amazing photography industry, I suppose it’s time. So, here’s to, better late than never!

For now, I will make this short and sweet as to not overwhelm you with an array of technical details, I’ll save that for another post…or maybe a webinar…or the now-familiar Zoom Meetings, Clarity calls, and the like lol!

My Canon Gear must-haves

Canon EOS 5D MarkIV – Canon Body

First up is our canon body, the Canon 5D MarkIV camera body – touch screen (YES!) has been a fabulous upgrade to our previous long-running Canon body, the 5D Mark III’s. What can I say that you might not already know… with 30.1 mega-pixels this full-frame DSLR brings a smile to my face every time I take it out of my camera bag. Paired with the right lens, this camera body can make all of your low-light dream shots come true! But don’t take my word for it, you can view our shots over on our Instagram, and hey, while you’re there let’s be “friends”.

Canon Lenses –

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM Lens

My favorite lens of all time…why? I grew up with this lens! It was always love at first sight, then love at first rental then love at ownership lol! WE have a history and it’s my favorite! I truly missed using it in 2020. It needs to come out a lot more this year!

Obviously, I didn’t grow up with THIS exact lens…I mean I had the original super heavy duty lens, think version 1. Don’t misunderstand, this lens has a weight of it’s own but hey it keeps my left bicep toned and who wouldn’t love that?! Unless you already work out and well I don’t sooo that’s another blog post at a later time.

In all seriousness, when you shoot this lens at about 135mm boy oh boy does the photo happiness begin. It’s sharp, it’s fast – you’ll totally need this if you plan on photographing weddings and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! It’s a MUST and rent it if you have to but I highly encourage you to save your pennies and invest in yourself with the best Canon telephoto lens.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras, White – 3044C002

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 USM Lens

Last but definitely not least, the iconic prime lens, that needs no introduction, the amazing, the fast, light and durable,

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens

This compact prime lens is rarely off my camera. It’s low light capabilities with it’s f/1.2 and sharp focusing speed makes me one happy photographer!

How does this compare to the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4? Well, if I’m honest, it doesn’t. Okay, so I’ll play nice…yes, the f-stops are incredibly close. But the quality, weight, glass, seals literally *all the things* of the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens vs. the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Standard and Medium Telephoto Lens is noticeably different.

I realize I should drop some comparison photos here, so I’ll try to come back or create a post where you can visually see the dramatic difference.

Aside from the solid build of the 50mm 1.2, the color, the bokah the tack sharpness is truly unreal. But in a good way! It looks real!

The 1.4 and dare I even say 1.8 lenses are almost “fake” looking…think hazy, blurry but in a “what is that” kind of way lol. The colors are more muted and yes if you are a great editor in PS or LR you can probably do some tweaking and make your photo shine. But why do that when we all know time is money, and why waste time editing something that can be shot in-camera with a better end result? That’s why my vote is and will always be on the Canon 50mm 1.2 lens. Check it out for yourself or click on the image to order it through our affiliate link – yep…we’ve got those too! 🙂

Your thoughts?

What’s your favorite canon gear?

Are you a mirrorless or DSLR fan?

Leave a comment and perhaps we can chat more about it on our blog or our podcast!