Going from zooms to primes (Suggestions)

I'm in the process of switching over from zooms to primes with my lens kit and am at a stand still. I have/had the Canon 17-40, Sigma 50mm 1.4, and Canon 70-200 f4. I've got a 135 on the way to cover the longer end, and a Sigma 85mm 1.4, but I'm not sure if I'm going to hold on to it. I want to get another lens to cover the wide end (Since I used my 17-40 most out of the 3 lenses that I had) so I was thinking a 35mm. Now it's a matter of keeping the 85 1.4 and getting Canons 35mm (non-L), or swapping the 85mm 1.4 with the Canon 1.8 and getting the Sigma 35mm 1.4.

If I get both the 35mm and the 85mm, then would there be any reason to hold on to my 50mm, or is it too close of a focal length to those two to keep?

Long story short, should I go:
Canon 35mm f2
Sigma 85mm 1.4
Canon 135mm
or
Sigma 35mm 1.4
Canon 85mm 1.8
Canon 135mm

Unless someone has any other suggestions on different lenses?

Thanks a bunch guys,
Nick

Do you think you'll need anything wider than 35mm?

You've already got the Sigma 85, so I would get the Sigma 35 and the 135

Heya,

35 / 85 / 135 (200) are an excellent set for a full frame. If you know you don't care for the FOV of 50mm, then you're good to go. Depending on budget, I'd get the 35mm F2 IS from Canon. Get the Sigma only if you want F1.4 and want to spend more money too. You already have the 85mm F1.4, so I would stay with that. The 135mm will be the game changer.

Very best,

85mm as your shortest lens is a pain imo. Why did you sell the 17-40L if you liked it the most?

I would go for the 35 and 85 first and add a third lens later. But you already bought the 135 so it is not really possible anymore

I went this route, but a little different. My 3 current primes are:

24Lii
50 Pentax super tak
135

I prefer the wideness of the 24, 50 is awesome on ff(will probably upgrade to new sigma 50) and there is a stretch from 50 to 135, but generally most things past 50 the 135 can handle and as a bonus, the 135 is awesome with a 1.4TC.

After switching to faster primes I would never go back. I will probably add a samyang 14 or if sigma ever makes a 16-20 2 I would get that "zoom" but quality prime lenses are worth every bit the small hassle of not having zooms. You will be happy you did this.

So of I were you I would think really hard about saving to keep the sigma 85 and adding a sigma 35 when you can. 1.4 is a dream on a wider lens, if that is absolutely not an option and you have to go to the canon 85, then I would do that to get the 35 1.4.

Good copies of sigma 85mm f1.4 are as good as 135L so I might just do sigma 35mm f1.4 and sigma 85mm f1.4 and buy something else. What you plan to use 135L for?

why restrict yourself to just primes? why not a mix of both?

Glad to hear of another person dumping their zooms for primes.

Lens_pirate probably cried a little.

Heelies to make your foot zooms smoother?

I currently have 24L II / 50 1.4 / 100L but often use my 40 stm not the 50mm
This covers all my needed in a day of shooting and I can carry the whole kit in a small pack.
Wide, 'standard', and long. I don't need a longer length personally, but would get a 300mm if I had to choose a telephoto-prime.

I feel like I am in this same process. Many years ago I started with a 20D along with some decent (non-L zooms). I then moved onto a 50D with the 10-22 and 17-55, both made for crops. Before kids I really only shot landscapes, so when the 6D came out it wasn't too long before I bought one which necessitated selling off my crop lenses.

For a while it was just the 6D and the "kit" 24-105, which I was pretty happy with. But then I rented the 135L and it was like a whole new world opened up. I was worried about going all primes with two kids, but I would rather have a "wow" keeper than 25 decent shots which is what I see as the difference (for me, ymmv) between zooms and primes. With zooms I get more shots, but I tend to like them less than the ones from my primes, and I would say I have tried about every zoom except the 24-70 II or 70-200 II.

So my current kit is my 6D, the 35 f2 IS and the 135L. I actually can get along pretty good with just these two. Eventually I plan to add a 85 and something wider (given that I still love landscape shots when I get a chance). Ideally a good 18-20mm prime would fit what I want, but no such lens exists (yes there is the 20 2.8, the Sigma 20 1.8, etc, but these don't seem up to the quality of the new 24/28/35 non-L primes, let alone the Ls). So In short I am happy with a 35 and 135. Yes I would ideally have four primes, one wider and one between the 35 and 135, but I have yet to find anything that fits my style and budget in those ranges.

Russo09 wrote in post #16627010
Long story short, should I go:
Canon 35mm f2
Sigma 85mm 1.4
Canon 135mm
or
Sigma 35mm 1.4
Canon 85mm 1.8
Canon 135mm

Unless someone has any other suggestions on different lenses?

Thanks a bunch guys,
Nick

The old 35f2 is junk. But since you already own Sigma 85 I'd save a bit more for either Sigma 35 or 35f2 IS.

I have had 2 copies of Canon 85 1.8 and both are nowhere near as good as the Sigma 85 I currently own.

InfiniteDivide wrote in post #16628419
I currently have 24L II / 50 1.4 / 100L but often use my 40 stm not the 50mm
This covers all my needed in a day of shooting and I can carry the whole kit in a small pack.
Wide, 'standard', and long. I don't need a longer length personally, but would get a 300mm if I had to choose a telephoto-prime.

Basically how I feel too. 35mm isn't wide enough for me, I rarely use the 40-50mm range, having a 100mm macro is great for both a tele lens and macro abilities. I also like 200mm as a length too.

I guess my prime kit would be:
24mm
40mm
100mm
200mm

But you just can't replace the usefullness of a quality zoom lens. I could never sell my 70-200L, ever. When faced with which lens to take, I'd love to always have the 24L II, but sometimes having a zoom range is more usefull, like hiking. Less weight is more important then multi lenses and I bring the 8-15L or 24-70L because they are more versitle.

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions guys. I think I'm going to start off with getting the 35 on the wide end, and if I see that I want something wider, I'm going to go with a 24mm. I just wish there was a 24mm mot as expensive as Canons L but on par with sigmas 35. Unless I wanna go really wide and cover that with a rokinon 14mm. I guess as I complete the kit, time will tell. As far as the 85 goes, I'm really going to try to keep the sigma and maybe just save a little more to get the 35. Everything that you guys said has been thought about and taken into account.

So the search for the 35 continues!