I need some input from previous owners of 35L and 50L lenses.

Hey All!

Thinking of breaking the bank soon on a prime L lens. I mainly shoot portraits and still life and want a great lens for bokeh, compression, color rendition, etc. Yeah an L lens.

Does the 35L too wide on a 5D2? I guess I can crop in the computer if that's the case right?

I can't decide between the 50 or the 35 so if you, previous owners out there can share your experience I will appreciate it. Bokeh is a most for me as I'm addicted to it.

Thanks!

**EDIT**

Can't afford the 85L right now. I have the 85 1.8

-Erik

50 and 85 should be your considerations

I think it depends which F/L you tend to use/like more..
for me that is definitely 50mm(vs 35mm), so I will be puting my $ towards a 50L..someday..
Had a 35L. great lens. but sold it and havent missed it since. now if I sold my Sigma 50, I know I would have to replace it ASAP..
If you find 50 and 85 are most used, get the 50L and Sigma 85...(I personally dont care for the 85L, but only used one for a week...)

I tend to upgrade whichever lens(es) is on my camera(s) most. and 50mm is definitely my favorite F/L..
YMMV

that depends on what kind of portraits you shoot? Head, shoulder shots, street style with surrounds environment?

Since you already have the 85mm f/1.8, what do you think of the focal length? Is it too tight for you? If so, then the 50 and 35 will make sense in here. If you think the 85mm is not tight enough, then go 100 or 135.

I have the 50L. If you are looking for a razor sharp prime, the 50L will disappoint you for sure. The lens is excellent with its bokeh when shooting wide open. In terms of sharpness, there aren't lots of differences between the L and the 50 f/1.4. Build quality of the 50L is amazing, IMO it is almost the best in the market for 50, tard behind the Zeiss.

I don't have the 35L, but It is one of the best prime that Canon ever made according to lots of reviews and comment from users. It is definitely sharper than the 50L and lots of other prime in the market. With f/1.4, you will still get excellent bokeh.

For my shooting, 50L. All comes down to your own shooting preference. You can't go wrong with either.

thestone11 wrote in post #14855570
Since you already have the 85mm f/1.8, what do you think of the focal length? Is it too tight for you?

Yeah is too tight, I only use it for head shots and thing like that.

Since the 50mm is on my camera the most, I think I'm going with that one.

Thanks guys.

erikfig wrote in post #14856801
Yeah is too tight, I only use it for head shots and thing like that.

Since the 50mm is on my camera the most, I think I'm going with that one.

Thanks guys.

I'm not sure if your aware of the very well known issues of backfocus due to focus shift. If you tend to shoot within the 5 foot range you'll be prone to this major problem. If you shoot further away from your subject the "problem" will hide itself as the dof increases due to camera/subject distance.

If you shoot wideopen all of the time you'll have less issues with the lens. This is where its critical to get a good copy to get extremely sharp images.

Its not an easy task finding a perfectly focusing 50L that is not prone to focus shift.

Dont even consider a sigma 50 if your a bokeh junkie. A high percentage of people ditch the lens in the buy/sell forums for a reason. At least the 50L is a calculated misfocus unlike the erratic AF of the sigmadud 50mm.

AlanU wrote in post #14856842
I'm not sure if your aware of the very well known issues of backfocus due to focus shift. If you tend to shoot within the 5 foot range you'll be prone to this major problem. If you shoot further away from your subject the "problem" will hide itself as the dof increases due to camera/subject distance.

If you shoot wideopen all of the time you'll have less issues with the lens. This is where its critical to get a good copy to get extremely sharp images.

Its not an easy task finding a perfectly focusing 50L that is not prone to focus shift.

Dont even consider a sigma 50 if your a bokeh junkie. A high percentage of people ditch the lens in the buy/sell forums for a reason. At least the 50L is a calculated misfocus unlike the erratic AF of the sigmadud 50mm.

Thank you Alan! Great things to consider before my purchase...

Got em all.... Rarely use 50... Soft... Maybe a hair, but it isn't wide or tele......

35L and a Full Frame WHOEVER said that was a great combo was right... For general use its great and the only short prime I carry all the time.

Portaits? 85L Forget the rest. No comparison to the 50.... Its the BEST. Period.... You need that one first....

For the record, have a 24L I use on crop cameras to get 35mm... I Never use it on a full frame.

Mark H

35L is really and 'environmental' portrait lens on full frame. It's going to give you context for where the person was. It's up to you if you want that.

Well if it's bokeh you're after, the 50L's rendering is blissful. The softness is only pertinent to pixel peepers unless you get a really wonky copy. 35mm would be better suited for wider portraits that are framed to show more context and more of the environment I think.

Using a 50L I'd be concerned if you get that perfect money shot and you end up having the ears in focus instead of the eyes!!! blow that up in a large print and you'll be disappointed. This is how critical clients can be when looking at prints. At least prints you can hide some of the focus issues.

Bokeh is important but the balance of shallow dof missing the shot can be a concern.

I appreciate the 35L as a semi wide angle prime for a FF. I do prefer 24mm on a full frame though. Everyone is different in their preferences in FL.

All I say is hunt real hard for a perfect 50L. The canon 50 f/1.4 is a decent piece of glass that lands the shots with accurate AF and decent bokeh. Alot of people are not as critical as a photographer so they careless if you have a redring 50mm or a consumer grade f/1.4.

If you want bokeh the 85 f/1.8 delivers incredible bokeh. Sure the 85Lmk2 makes creamy backgrounds but the 85 f/1.8 is not far off.....i own both so I appreciate the f/1.8!!

AlanU wrote in post #14857064
Using a 50L I'd be concerned if you get that perfect money shot and you end up having the ears in focus instead of the eyes!!! blow that up in a large print and you'll be disappointed. This is how critical clients can be when looking at prints. At least prints you can hide some of the focus issues.

Bokeh is important but the balance of shallow dof missing the shot can be a concern.

I appreciate the 35L as a semi wide angle prime for a FF. I do prefer 24mm on a full frame though. Everyone is different in their preferences in FL.

All I say is hunt real hard for a perfect 50L. The canon 50 f/1.4 is a decent piece of glass that lands the shots with accurate AF and decent bokeh. Alot of people are not as critical as a photographer so they careless if you have a redring 50mm or a consumer grade f/1.4.

If you want bokeh the 85 f/1.8 delivers incredible bokeh. Sure the 85Lmk2 makes creamy backgrounds but the 85 f/1.8 is not far off.....i own both so I appreciate the f/1.8!!

Agreed. I will use both this weekend, the 1.2 and the 1.4 If the image is pretty close, that I think it will. I will get the 1.4 and save a ton of money. I'm not a full time photographer so 1.4 looks more realistic to me at this point. We'll see

AlanU wrote in post #14856842
Dont even consider a sigma 50 if your a bokeh junkie. A high percentage of people ditch the lens in the buy/sell forums for a reason. At least the 50L is a calculated misfocus unlike the erratic AF of the sigmadud 50mm.

cybertwaddle.

"A high percentage of people"? C'mon, define some parameters here to back up this massive claim.

My sigmalux is consistent - sounds as consistent at misfocusing as your 50L.

As others have said already, it comes down to focal length!

I owned the 35L for some time, and it is a superb lens, probably the best prime Canon makes (no weather sealing is it's only drawback, IMO). It's sharp, has nice AF speed, beautiful color rendition; images from this lens sing! But, 35mm FOV didn't work with my vision, so I hopped up to 50mm, which is my "sweet spot" focal length. Currently, I shoot the 50L, and while it has it's quirks (focus shift, though it's easy to work around), it is simply awesome. It has weather sealing, fairly quick AF speed, gorgeous bokeh, practically flare-proof, and has an uncanny ability to lock focus in near darkness where other lenses will hunt and hunt.

**Note that the focus shift may interfere with your style of photography (if you shoot stopped down, in the "danger zone" MFD to ~6-10' range), so it'd be prudent to maybe rent the lens for a bit and see if you'll be hampered by it.

AlanU is bitter about the 50L, as he insists on demonstrating in every single 50L-related thread. No one will disagree with him regarding the known focus shift of the 50L; what most 50L OWNERS will disagree with Alan on is just how little it will affect your photography once you get to know it.

Alan, while you hunt for your mythical unicorn 50L, those of us shooting with the lens will enjoy the fantastic results it delivers.