50L or 85L?

Said F it, keeping my zooms and adding one of these primes to a full-frame camera.

Leaning to the 50 I can get the 85mm FL if I slap it on my Rebel.

Already have the 50 1.8 Mk.I on my 5D and love it as a walkaround, thought about stepping into a 50L

Which one and why

i think you should get a 50mm 1.4 first and it should probably serve you very well for walk-around.
You probably wouldn't want to take out a $1000+ lens, just to walk around and put it in your backpack. You probably want to use a $1000+ lens for projects and specific assignment.
That's just my opinion.

85L II is better overall, better sharpness, better built, better focus accuracy(no focus shift stuff happen ever.).

However, people still love 50L, for those who think this is the only focal length they use 90% of the time, or this is the focal length they feel most important to them, or they have abundant cash.
I prefer 85L and get a 50mm 1.4, just because 50mm is also a walk-around focal length for me.

If I did all my work in 50mm range, I would consider 50L regardless of its price.

j-dogg wrote in post #14290671
Which one and why

As an owner of both, I'd say they're far too different in terms of purpose, pros and cons for me to just suggest one or the other.

The 50: Relatively small and light, but focus shifts.
The 85: Quite magical in the output department, but is large, heavy and autofocuses slowly.

Which focal length do you prefer more? What do you shoot? These are pertinent questions to ask yourself.

I own two fantastic zooms and I went with a 85L II.
Why? Because of 85II being sharper overall and has better, yet slower and consistent focus. 50L is a meh lens, it’s ok but for the money, I’d rather add a few more hundred bucks and get the “ooh-aah” bokeh machine

Hi guys,
If you had 85L II and 24L II would you also consider buying 50L for 1300$ or would you rather buy 135L for 1000$ to complete the modified holy trinity? 85 is f/1.2 and 24 is f/1.4 so I'm not sure whether 50L 1.2 is obligatory here as I can walk away a bit from my subject with 85mm and I have two lenses to shoot in low light. And 135L is much faster than 85L in focusing and also focuses in a more reliable way than 50L.

Greetings!

If you like the 50mm focal length, then just get the 50L???

The best lens is the one that you enjoy using....

I have both. The 50L sees a lot more use, it is a very convenient focal length on FF, it focuses fast, and for the way I use it the focus shift issue isn't an issue. I've never once seen it in an image, however I don't use the lens anywhere near it's minimum focus distance. I will say however that the first time I put the 85LII on my camera I was like "whoa, this thing is magic!". Even though I don't use it much, I don't see myself ever getting rid of the 85LII, unless it's to replace it with an upgraded version.

BTW, as far as using the 50L as a "walk around lens", that's pretty much exactly what I use mine for! It's great.

Ok, would you buy a second hand 50L without testing first? Cos' I have such opportunity now. I saw some samples from it but only of static things and focus could have been adjusted in manual mode. So there's a risk I'll get a bad copy

If you like your 50mm FL, then you should get the 50L. For me, 85L does it ! It is sharp at f/1.2, and its bokeh is very smooth! AF is slow in some tricky scenes... Oh, get the precision focus screen and use it with your fast lenses, and you will love them more!

lazy13bones wrote in post #14290803
Hi guys,
If you had 85L II and 24L II would you also consider buying 50L for 1300$ or would you rather buy 135L for 1000$ to complete the modified holy trinity? 85 is f/1.2 and 24 is f/1.4 so I'm not sure whether 50L 1.2 is obligatory here as I can walk away a bit from my subject with 85mm and I have two lenses to shoot in low light. And 135L is much faster than 85L in focusing and also focuses in a more reliable way than 50L.

Greetings!

Yep! I have the 24L II, 50L and 85L II. They are my Holy Trinity of fast primes for my 1D4 (1.3 crop) & 5D2 (FF). All outstanding lenses.

Sir_Loin wrote in post #14290866
Yep! I have the 24L II, 50L and 85L II. They are my Holy Trinity of fast primes for my 1D4 (1.3 crop) & 5D2 (FF). All outstanding lenses.

But you also have some longer zoom lenses. Maybe I don't need such long lenses as 200mm, however I like the perspective and compression from 135mm @ f/2.0
Which one do you use more - 50 or 85mm on FF?

Is there no vote for 135?

lazy13bones wrote in post #14290910
But you also have some longer zoom lenses. Maybe I don't need such long lenses as 200mm, however I like the perspective and compression from 135mm @ f/2.0
Which one do you use more - 50 or 85mm on FF?

I'd say it's pretty even at the frequency of use between the 50 & 85 for me on both bodies. It all depends on what I'm shooting and the end result I was after. Having all three gives me that flexibility. YMMV however.

I am going to replace my 135L with one of these two lenses. The 135L is a great lens and gives awesome bokeh, but this FL is way too restrictive for me.

After reading Photozone.de review on the 50L, I have decided to go for the 85L II.

The 85L II seems to be less frustrating to work with and gives more consistant results. It is also razor sharp wide open.

Ricku wrote in post #14291366
After reading Photozone.de review on the 50L, I have decided to go for the 85L II.

85L II is a great lens fo sure. A bit hefty but also very solid and you feel great holding that beautiful piece of glass. However both 50L and 135L focus faster. I don't know what do you need the lens for. But if you don't mind slower focusing you will enjoy using it very much.

And how do you compare 135L to your 70-200 zoom? Is the picture from a prime @ 2.0 magical as everyone says?
Send me a private message if you want to sell the 135L for a reasonable price