Taking (1x 50mm) or (1x 28/30/35mm + 1x 85mm)

Recent discussions got me thinking about the "standard lens".

Quite a few people had remarks in threads here that they would rather take a 28, 30 or 35 prime plus a 85mm even for a minimal kit. Assuming it's no flash low light and you want the smallest reasonable bag.

I tried on a recent event and it went horribly. 28mm is way too wide for photographing one person and cropping doesn't really work if the light was very low. 85mm is single-person material, and even then without the outfit, and you need to change too frequently and get caught with the wrong lens. I ended up strongly convinced that I should have taken the 50mm. But it was worth trying, now I know. Overall I was doomed anyway since the light was so low that there was never a chance for good pics without a flash, so no harm done.

Anybody else tried and failed or tried and succeeded?

Depends on the event and situation I guess? If it's an event that you are covering, a standard zoom with a body with high iso performance such as a 5D3 may be a better combo imo...

If you are using one body only, then I agree you can't really go wrong with a 50mm on ff.

I wish Canon make a 70 f/2 prime with great optics, price and close focus ability. I like tight shooting but 85 is somewhat too tight for general shooting.