Prime VS Zooms - ONLY for professional shooting

I guess it depends on personal preference, but I prefer a zoom in the UWA-wide range, such as 17-40 or 16-35 - either of which is capable of professional level results. In the middle range (35 - 135mm), I think with Canon you're best off picking 2 or 3 out of the L primes (35L, 50L, 85L, 135L).
If you feel you need to go longer than that, the 70-200 2.8 IS II is the way to go. I've read that many even traded in their 135L for it, but it also depends on whether or not IS will be useful to you. With many strobes / studio lighting, I guess IS isn't that important and the primes will give you a bigger DoF control and equal or better results than any zoom option canon offers.

K6AZ wrote in post #12890173
This is simply not true. The 50L can be tricky to use wide or nearly wide open but when you learn how to use it leaves the 50/1.4 in the dust.

you totally missed the part where i said i personally do not think that is a statement of opinion not fact... geez. i am aware that it is tricky to use and anyone that does a little research would find that out too. i simply said that in my opinion i dont think its worth the extra cash.

go back and read my post all the way through. its not that long and its clearly not being stated as true facts but more opinion

Brian_R wrote in post #12890975
you totally missed the part where i said i personally do not think that is a statement of opinion not fact... geez. i am aware that it is tricky to use and anyone that does a little research would find that out too. i simply said that in my opinion i dont think its worth the extra cash.

go back and read my post all the way through. its not that long and its clearly not being stated as true facts but more opinion

Really? Did I misread or misquote this part?

The 50/1.4 is just as good

I trimmed your quote for a reason - to specifically dispute this erroneus opinion/statement or whatever else you would like to call it.

its only the internet. i have no intention of arguing whether i was stating opinion or not. i dont understand your need to go out of your way to prove something to someone you dont know and will probably never meet.

its personal preference anyway. you can go waste insane amounts of money on your L glass if you want. but i guess you are THE authority on lenses and anything that isnt expensive is trash to you lol. lol means laugh out loud btw which means im kidding and by no means trying to be rude to you or mean. only kidding. so dont take it so serious its only the internet

Brian_R wrote in post #12891108
its only the internet. i have no intention of arguing whether i was stating opinion or not. i dont understand your need to go out of your way to prove something to someone you dont know and will probably never meet.

its personal preference anyway. you can go waste insane amounts of money on your L glass if you want. but i guess you are THE authority on lenses and anything that isnt expensive is trash to you lol. lol means laugh out loud btw which means im kidding and by no means trying to be rude to you or mean. only kidding. so dont take it so serious its only the internet

Your last two posts are some of the most hilarious posts I've read in a while. First, you make a definitive statement that the 50/1.4 is 'just as good' as the 50L and when challenged launch into insults and the common internet agitator response of 'hey it's just the internet don't take it personal'.

At this point I'm going to consider your purpose here to be disingenuous but for the benefit of others the 50/1.4 has some serious AF issues. When AF isn't an issue it's a decent lens but can't match the 50L in color, contrast, and especially bokeh.

im glad i entertained you. i dont care if you think my opinion is a joke. i stand by my opinion that for the money the 50L is not worth it. i was happy with my experience with the f1.4 and i would more than likely get sigma since i agree that the AF of the EF 50 1.4 is not that great. i did not insult you at all. i merely made a friendly comment joking that you are the one and only expert. if you want to twist all my posts against me that is fine. unlike other random people on the internet i will not get irritated by your attempts to anger me by attacking my opinion.

And one more thing - this thread was posted in the context of professional use. Professional use means more than just IQ, it also means reliability. For a pro the last thing he needs is for the AF to die on a 50mm prime in the middle of a shoot. The Canon 50/1.4 has had serious issues with this for years.

K6AZ wrote in post #12891223
And one more thing - this thread was posted in the context of professional use. Professional use means more than just IQ, it also means reliability. For a pro the last thing he needs is for the AF to die on a 50mm prime in the middle of a shoot. The Canon 50/1.4 has had serious issues with this for years.

duh lol you already said that in an earlier post i even agreed with you. was it that important to post it twice? just wondering. i agree with you that the canon 50 1.4 isnt reliable. maybe instead you should also mention that sigma has a 50 1.4 that is possibly more reliable lens. i only suggest it as an option to look at as a way to save money since it is possible to take professional pictures without professional glass although if you are really trying to help the original poster i would suggest the zeiss 50 considering it may also have excellent IQ and reliability although you get into the issue of MF over AF. you honestly dont seem to make constructive advice in this thread and instead just waste your time proving people's opinions as wrong facts on the internet

My opinion is that a long zoom and a short zoom are essential lens for any professional photographer. I think you must get the zooms first and then build purchase primes that fit your needs. Too many rush out to grab primes thinking they are going to take it to another level. Primes definately are sharper. But most would be better served with great zooms and learning better lighting techniques, especially for portrait work. A 70-200 f/2.8(is) is an invaluable lens for portrait work.

We have a lot of glass and we use it a ton. We have 2 shooters and we do weddings so thats why some of the duplication in focal legnths. We love what the primes can do,and we use them a lot, but nothing beats the versatility of a great zoom. versatility and lighting wins in my opinion.

Grab a 70-200 and a 24-70 and build from there

umphotography wrote in post #12891279
My opinion is that a long zoom and a short zoom are essential lens for any professional photographer. I think you must get the zooms first and then build purchase primes that fit your needs. Too many rush out to grab primes thinking they are going to take it to another level. Primes definately are sharper. But most would be better served with great zooms and learning better lighting techniques, especially for portrait work.

Grab a 70-200 and a 24-70 and build from there

I think he already has the lighting thing down. Looking at your work I would say get some primes.

K6AZ wrote in post #12890173
This is simply not true. The 50L can be tricky to use wide or nearly wide open but when you learn how to use it leaves the 50/1.4 in the dust.

+1 the only similarity is they are both 50's

Primes good.
Zooms good.
Choice good.

Seriously anyone shooting professionally should know what kind of lens they need to get the shots they are being paid to take. They should know whether the versatility of a zoom or the faster apertures of a prime will be more essential. And they should also know that both zooms are primes of the digital era are sharp enough.

RPCrowe wrote in post #12887529
The 70-200mm f/4L IS or the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS ii are two of the best lenses in the Canon line. I chose the f/4L IS model because of the lighter weight...

I shoot with a 7D camera...

IMAGE LINK: http://rpcrowe.smugmug​.com …LJM#1244320241_​7kTXJ-A-LB

IMAGE LINK: http://rpcrowe.smugmug​.com …LJM#1244840976_​GPhDr-A-LB

IMAGE LINK: http://rpcrowe.smugmug​.com …LJM#1244551055_​ox8GE-A-LB

IMAGE LINK: http://rpcrowe.smugmug​.com …LJM#1245211231_​aEf5x-A-LB

Those are all beautiful shots. Nice work.

george_popovici wrote in post #12886130
Hi,
my name is George and I'm a professional photographer. I'm new here because before I use only the nikon's stuff. So I quit all my equipment and now I have 5DmkII new from one week ago. Very happy. So I use on my old equipment only primes, I shoot a lot of portraits, fashion ... I don't have any idea how is the canon lens primes or zooms, and for this I need to help in this way. How can I make a new post for you to vote for a prime or zoom? Maybe the admin can help me.
Thank you,
George

You can see my work here: www.georgepopovici.ro

I just checked out your site. Excellent work!

Looking at your website, the vast majority of your work seems to be stopped down with deep DOF. I would just go with a great set of zooms honestly if I were in your shoes. Canon 24-105L and 70-200 F/2.8 IS II. And then throw in another prime in there. Canon has arguably the best set of AF primes on the market, so choose any that suits your focal length preference. But for the majority of your work, you'll probably be quite happy with the zooms. And on a 5Dmk2, even the 70-200 will give you some really shallow DOF at F/2.8.