Add 35 1.4L + 135L or 70-200 IS II

With all the great prices this holiday season Id like to add to my set up. Id like to shoot portraits, family gatherings, etc. What I currently have suits that nicely. I hear the 35L is a great lens, very sharp and would like to try this lens out. But on top of that my daughter is in sports and I would like to compliment my tools to shoot that as well. She plays volleyball and basketball so I was thinking I could go with 135L as Ive seen lots of users with success with that lens. But was also thinking I could get the versatility of a zoom lens. Im guessing Ill be using this lens more indoors for those shoots and was wondering if the 2.8 will affect the shots. Im guessing not but wanted to hear your thoughts.

70-200 IS II for sure....

I just had to decide between a 35L + 50L, or a 70-200 IS II. I just place the order for the 70-200 about an
hour ago. $2074 new at B&H, no tax, free shipping!

The 70-200 is certainly handier for sports, presuming you have a body that will be acceptable to ISO6400 or so. Once I moved from a 1D3 to a 1D4 I stopped using primes for indoor sports and started using the 24-70 and 70-200.

That said, the convenience of the zoom will be less critical if you are stalking just one athlete at a time and not shooting the whole team.

135mm is good for volleyball, and OK for basketball but often a bit long. You could shoot the 24-70 along with the 135L for basketball and have it covered OK.

Basically, shooting with primes for indoor sports means that the pace of your work will be slower. Sometimes you will be set up for guard play with the 135mm lens, and then there will be a turnover and a layup while you are stuck with too long of a focal length to shoot it. A zoom means you can shoot more action from each position as it developes.

But tracking one kid for a whole season, this may not matter too much. You will still get a bunch of nice shots even using primes.

For that price I am finding a 70-200 2.8 IS II hard to resist. Of your options I believe the 70-200 is a better choice since you have good lenses on the wide end. To me the real issue with the 70-200 is the size and weight. If your comfortable with that even the Non IS 2.8 version ( which is only about $1200) will work great for sports and maybe something to consider.

I have no experience with the 135 but my opinion is based on the fact that you have good lenses at the wide end so whatever you do I would focus more on the tele end.

Portraits/family gatherings, 35 + 135, IMO. I don't have any experience shooting sports, so no comment from me there. Owning all of the lenses in question, I use my 35L the most - but again, I don't do sports.

The 70-200 F2.8 IS II is just hands down an outstanding lens. With what you have, it's what I would go with, sell the 55-250. I also have all of three. The question is going to be whether the extra stop on the 135 would be needed with indoor sports.

85mm f1.8 and bunch of lighting (can be just manual hot shoe flashes). Without that most shots I see don't look that nice.

if you didn't have the Sigma 30, I might say to go for the 35L and 135L, but you have a decent lens in the 30mm range.

So, get the 70-200 II. I just ordered from Amazon for $1970...almost impossible to pass up that price on that particular lens. I cant imagine it dropping any lower in the near future.

mannetti21 wrote in post #13460574
if you didn't have the Sigma 30, I might say to go for the 35L and 135L, but you have a decent lens in the 30mm range.

So, get the 70-200 II. I just ordered from Amazon for $1970...almost impossible to pass up that price on that particular lens. I cant imagine it dropping any lower in the near future.

when was it 1970? see it at 2070 now

john_galt wrote in post #13460676
when was it 1970? see it at 2070 now

Last I checked it was $2074...I played around with the items viewed/owned/recommend​ed on my account and got the lens to come up in my Gold Box offers, therefore taking off an additional %5 from the $2074 price.

I just bought one too from amazon for $1970 without tax and free shipping. Now I have a 70-200 f4 is and 70-200 f2.8 is ii. What should I do? I might keep them both.

How do you get it in the gold box?

Sign in to your account and there is a gold box on the top of the screen. Click on it and you should see it there. If not just give amazon a call I am sure you can get it at the price. Good luck.

Awesome. Seems like the 70-200 IS II is the no brainer choice and can handle everything Ill be throwing at it. Im not concerned with the weight too much as ive lugged around the brick so long with no issues. I plan to sell my xsi set up shortly so hopefully ill be able to recoup some costs there. Thanks for your input everyone.