prime or zoom again

I was looking for a 24-70 to accompany my sigma 35, but i can imagine using the zoom more for its flexibility, and the 24-70 mk ii is said to match prime lenses sharpness wise. I also imagine changing lenses could be depressing if doing it very often. Taking pictures often done many times with different focal length to get different angle and perspective.

Manybe keeping one prime with f1.4 or 1.8 for shallow dof. I really need some advice.

I have found, personally, that a cheaper super fast 50mm prime will meet your shallow DOF or super low light needs, and the rest is zoom. Honestly, I hardly ever even use my 50 1.4 anymore, to get it as sharp as the 17-55 wide open you have to stop it down to the same aperture (2.8), and the AF is slower, and the framing options fewer. The 17-55 and 70-300L cover 99.9% of what I use my camera for.

ICarumba wrote in post #16306503
I was looking for a 24-70 to accompany my sigma 35, but i can imagine using the zoom more for its flexibility, and the 24-70 mk ii is said to match prime lenses sharpness wise. I also imagine changing lenses could be depressing if doing it very often. Taking pictures often done many times with different focal length to get different angle and perspective.

Manybe keeping one prime with f1.4 or 1.8 for shallow dof. I really need some advice.

buy a standard zoom like 24-70L II or 24-105L and go out and shoot. if you need others lenses you'll figure it out and you won't have to ask. no one here can tell you what you need.

nice picture ed

i'm wandering how often you put on that 35mm? you have 3 lenses covering 35mm fl.

ICarumba wrote in post #16306553
nice picture ed

i'm wandering how often you put on that 35mm? you have 3 lenses covering 35mm fl.

almost all of these were shot with the 35 f2 IS. I could only carry one lens when we climbed the tower. it was the one I chose.

http://erader.zenfolio​.com/p811832836

also, I use the prime for a low light walkaround or whenever I want a break for my zooms. it's my only stabilized short lens.

ed rader wrote in post #16306524
buy a standard zoom like 24-70L II or 24-105L and go out and shoot. if you need others lenses you'll figure it out and you won't have to ask. no one here can tell you what you need.

This needs to be put in BIG BOLD TEXT somewhere prominent, like below the site banner.

elleana, i see you also have sigma 35mm. do you take your zoom more often than your primes? how does your zoom compared with sharpness of your primes?

I feel the 35mm Sigma slightly edges the 24-70 II, but only at pixel peeper levels. For me its a question of flexibility vs aperture - if I'm going to be street shooting or similar in low light, I'll take the 35mm Sigma (that said though 35mm is a pretty versatile focal length too) but otherwise I like the 24-70 II at 24 for ghetto landscapes and at 70 for ghetto portaits.

If I had to do my lens purchasing again I might have gone with the 24-105, but at the time I got my 24-70 II the bandwagon was going full speed ahead and I just /had/ to get on..

ICarumba wrote in post #16306503
I also imagine changing lenses could be depressing if doing it very often.
I guess it could be depressing to any person who gets depressed very easily by something like this. I know it is not depressing to me...

Manybe keeping one prime with f1.4 or 1.8 for shallow dof.

I use mostly three primes and rarely use zooms. It all depends what you do. Probably 80% of my photos are at apertures f/2.2 or bigger so a zoom (for FF) just doesn't have that at all. The lighter weight is just a very nice bonus to me.

Experience is generally the best teacher for what lenses you need. Buying lenses on a whim or someone somewhere recommends this or that, you'll end up spending more money than you want and ultimately have lenses that spend most of their time in your camera bag. This I know...as in 'been there, done that'.

Perhaps it was GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) or plain old greed, but I ended up with 6 L lenses and an EF 85 f1.8 - for portraits. My basic plan was overlapping-range zoom lenses and 3 primes for their outstanding clarity. I fortunately sold one of the L zooms 3 months after buying it as it's range was fully covered by my other zooms. 15 months later, I unloaded the 200 f2.8L and 85 f1.8 due to lack of use. I think I took less than 100 frames with the 2 of them, combined!

Bottom line, what do you need? Fast lenses for low light work? A long tele for birding? What do you shoot mostly? That's where to start. What works for me may work for you, maybe not. At present, I have 3 overlapping range zooms covering everything from 16mm to 200mm, and the 135L for it's jaw dropping results. Of the 4, the 24-105 f4L is mounted for perhaps 60-70% of all my shots.

same conflict here. especially as I am building towards bigger weddings with more details, i really like to essentially "create art" and have fun with my Sigma 35mm. But as the workflow goes, zooms are unmatched, especially with the mkii 24-70, which is almost as sharp as primes. I'd rather go without missing a shot, then create a few amazing ones then having to deal with unsatisfied customers.

only thing i'm conflicted on is that by having my sigma 35 on another body, I lose the telephoto range of a 70-200..

Buy a cheap 50-300 lens, shoot for a month of so, then figure out where most of your focal length is. You will know if you need a zoom or primes.

Yes, prime lens is for pixel geek, zoom lens is for photography geek. I think i should stop caring about how sharp my image is and start caring about composition and how to make beautiful pictures. And imo its easier to do with a zoom lens attached in my camera

ICarumba wrote in post #16313591
Yes, prime lens is for pixel geek, zoom lens is for photography geek. I think i should stop caring about how sharp my image is and start caring about composition and how to make beautiful pictures. And imo its easier to do with a zoom lens attached in my camera

I would stay cheap with the zooms like the 24-105 for the times you need flexibility, and for other times, primes kick butt. If I'm doing a somewhat formal event, landscapes, zoom for sure. When getting the flashed group shot matters, zoom!

Around town, a prime or two. You focus a lot more on composition once you start to see through primes. I find that shots are generally more pleasing with primes of a similar focal range. Quality vs quantity.

ICarumba wrote in post #16313591
Yes, prime lens is for pixel geek, zoom lens is for photography geek. I think i should stop caring about how sharp my image is and start caring about composition and how to make beautiful pictures. And imo its easier to do with a zoom lens attached in my camera

This! I need to worry more about getting great shots and less about my equipment.

I just sold my 28mm 1.8 prime because I never had any luck using it. I shot some pics of friends and family at parties and it was a pain to walk over and around people to frame a shot. I didn't care for the blotchy bokeh it produced either.I have more luck with my 15-85mm and a flash but I may try a prime again someday.