Anyone with Both a 35mm Prime and Standard FF Zoom?

I really love my Samyang 35mm. Its my most used lens and I'm even contemplating on whether I really need to upgrade to the 35L in the future.

But one thing is for sure, when I travel or even go out into the city, I don't have the flexibility of an FF standard zoom. I usually bring my 35mm + 85mm, or 35mm + 70-200 (I find I don't use my 70-200 too much).

I've been reading many threads where people said they sold their 24-70/24-105 after getting their 35L, or vice versa.

There were also many 24-70 vs 24-105 threads which I looked at. I couldn't decide, but now since the Tamron version is available, I'm thinking it might be the best time to buy a standard zoom.

Does anybody have both a 35mm prime and a standard zoom in their kit and feel like they can use both? Which (out of the 3 zooms) would you recommend to compliment my Samyang?

I am using both 24-105L and 35L. Both are useful as they have different purposes. The 24-105L is very versatile with a useful range, excellent as a single lens solution when you cannot take too much. I mostly use the 35L for environmental portraits. The 24-105L and 35L can also be paired with the 35L used when a shallower DOF is needed...

I've come close to buying the 35L but decided to hold off for reviews of the 24-70 II - and I had wondered if I'd still crave the 35 or not... so it's something I had been thinking about also, I figure if I was to buy the 35 I might still crave a wide-standard zoom.

It is a good point, that the new 24-70 II might be something worth waiting for.

Nope...looked into the 35 f2 to add to my lineup, but I already have the 16-35L II, can't really justify it.

Thanks for all of the comments. Actually, like some of you mentioned, I've also considered the possibility of getting the 24-70II and using that as my standard zoom, while [maybe] selling my Samyang. But that is only if the new 24-70II is THAT GOOD.

Sebastien, do you find yourself taking both the 24-105mm and the 35L out at the same time, or do you normally leave one or the other at home?

I use crop cameras, but I have the 35f2 and the 24-105L. They have different uses. There are times when I want the f2 and the 35 comes out. This is the case for portraits under low light. F2.8 or F4 aren't fast enough at night in my home.
If I want to travel light, the 35f2 is great for this. There may be times when I need a variety of focal lengths, and the 24-105 zoom works for this.

I have the 24-105 and 35mmf/2. I certainly use much more the 35 because it is light.
Normally I take 24-105 with me when I go to an unknown location.
But to answer your question, I do not carry both of them. If I need faster than 4.0 and know that I will not need tele part at all i just take the 16-35 instead of any of the above.
Cheers,
Nic

I own the 35L, and the 17-40 f4. I did sell my 24-70 after buying the 35, it was very heavy and I rarely used it. The 35 gets more use, I'm a wedding photographer, and it's my go to lens for getting ready shots, wide ceremony shots, group shots, and parts of the reception. The 17-40 comes out for the reception when I want to get wide shots of dancing, and with my off camera flashes, f4 is fast enough. It's handy having the option to zoom to 40mm to grab a tight shot of a couple dancing too.
There is definitely a place for both lenses in my gear bag-each one enables me to get shots I couldn't with the other lens.

I am expecting the 24-70mm II to be a game-changer. If it is as good as I expect it to be, then my Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 ZE will likely be sold. However, having an f/1.4 lens is pretty great, so I might hang on to it anyway. Can't wait for my 24-70mm II to ship!

XxDJCyberLoverxX wrote in post #14659914
Sebastien, do you find yourself taking both the 24-105mm and the 35L out at the same time, or do you normally leave one or the other at home?

I can take both depending on what I am planning to shoot and how many lenses I can take. If I can only take 2 lenses, it could be 24-105 + 35. but I have a few more lenses to choose from. I am preparing my bag for the vacations just now, leaving tomorrow morning, and I am taking 17-40L + 70-200L II + 35L... If I would need to limit myself to 2 lenses, I'd take 35L + 24-105...

As you can see from my sig, I have 3 zooms and 2 primes. The 35L is the lens I used when shooting the grandkids inside. With my old 5D and new 5DIII I can virtually shoot without light. Big plus is the IQ, color and contrast of the 35L are unlike any other lens I've used. Absolutely outstanding.
24-105 is the workhorse for general shooting.

I use both the 35L and brick a good amount.

i just want to add...the 35L is amazing. I switched from the samyang and pretty much forgot about the samyang. The 35L is one of canon's best lenses, and it's pretty impossible to find a flaw with it (IMO).

I dont have the mothership 35, but I do like the 35mm F2. It's a good lens, but I wouldnt use it as a main lens over a zoom. It's just not flexible enough. With a 24-70 and flash, most situations can be handled, and the DOF of 2.8 on a FF is sufficiently good if you need it. I chose the 50 1.2 over the 35 1.4 when it came down to it, and it was an easy choice. I dont feel that the 35 is specialized enough to do one thing very very well, but does everything fairly well. It seems like a direct competitor to the 24-70 in a way, and for me, the zoom is just much more flexible and good enough in low light. I went to the aquarium over the weekend, and there is just no way I could have got a lot of the shots with a prime. Some spots are tight, and you absolutely treasure that 24mm, and some spots you need to zoom past 70, but that's all you have, so that's that.