Which low light/large aperture lens for me?

Got a 5D3, 70-200/F2.8 IS II and the 24-105L. Now looking for something which will make my 5D3 a bit more practical indoors for shooting my kids and doing some portraits. Which would you guys advice?

ps: don't like using flash, and shooting my (not so steady) kids almost all the time, so "sit still" is not an option

Try shooting with good light at 24mm and 35mm on your 24-105L
If you don't mind the perspective distortion on faces caused by being 'too close'
then I recommend the 24L II f1.4 I have it and love it.
If that is too much distortion for a low light prime, I recommend the 35 -f2 IS
I have not use this myself but it is highly regarded by many users here.
It would be a wider angle than the 50L ot 50A f1.2 lenses.
I use both my 24L and 40L indoor quite often. Depending on what I am shooting.
I would much rather get as far from the subject as I can with the 24L
but still achieve a much wider shot that my 50L would be too narrow for.
Like in a bar or restaurant setting.

35L or the sigma 35mm f1.4.

Here is link to an example of the perspective distortion of wide lenses.
While these are extreme examples using portraits only, they are visually accurate.

http://www.mcpactions.​com …07/focallengtha​rticle.jpg

Bought the Sigma 35mm/1.4 ART in the past, but returned it because of focus issues. Are they improved now?

InfiniteDivide wrote in post #16939833
Here is an example of the perspective distortion of wide lenses.
While these are extreme examples using portraits only, they are visually accurate.

The perspective distortion shown in the images which are using the shortest focal lengths is not due to the focal lengths which are being used. It is strictly due to the short camera-subject distances used with the shorter focal lengths.

example images

Please read our "sticky" (found in the General Photography Talk forum) tutorial titled Perspective Control in Images - Focal Length or Distance?.

^ Correct, it did not intend to mis-state the reason for the distortion,
only to provide a visual example of why a long FL many be a better option
if the OP has available working distance.
As always, subject-distance and framing is just as crucial.

I'm in a somewhat similar situation as you OP, I think I'll end up with a 35 1.4, just haven't decided between the canon and sigma yet. I just picked up a 135L, so I'm just needing something on the wide end.

I find the distortion of wide lenses on young kids, the older the person it kind of gets less desirable for more portrait type shots.

my 1 year old at 24mm is often very fun.

I would normally vote for the 50L, but for indoor i would get a 35L or the sigma 35 art.

lapino wrote in post #16939745
ps: don't like using flash, and shooting my (not so steady) kids almost all the time, so "sit still" is not an option

Usually when people say this it's because they don't have a good understanding of how to use flash. The best thing you could ever do for your photography is learn the basics of flash, it opens up so many more doors than any lens could ever do for you.

Read this: http://strobist.blogsp​ot.com/2006/03/lightin​g-101.html

That being said, I'd vote for either a 35 or 50mm prime lens, plus a flash

To answer the question the OP asked, set your 24-105 to 24,35,50, and 85mm. Figure out which focal length works for the type of shots you shoot, then start researching the prime that's the focal length match what you've found you shoot. If you shoot head and shoulder candids of your kids primarily, a 24L would be a horrible fit, despite being a stunning lens. If you primarily frame the whole room with the kid in it, then the 85L despite being a stunning lens you'd find miserable indoors.

Alternatively, go back and find your favorite indoor shots and see what focal length they were taken at.

Now, with all that being said, EverydayGetaway is right on the money that most of the time people say "I don't like using flash" means, "I don't understand flash or I'm not comfortable using a flash". If that's the case, then learn to use a flash. Indoors it's a night and day difference between a properly, well lit shot, and using the average ambient lighting. That all being said, it is obviously much more intrusive and disruptive to use a flash, especially an E-TTL and can make it much harder to get true candids.

If you have Lightroom, you can easily filter your entire catalog by a variety of metadata, including focal length. Go through your favorite images, and see if there's a consistent trend for a focal length range that you use often.

Be mindful that a wider aperture will give you less DOF, which means less room for focus errors, so you'll need to be very precise with focus - that's a tough demand when shooting fast-moving kids in low light.

The 85L is magnificent for posed portraits but focuses slowly. The 85 1.8 is not quite as wide, but focuses faster and more reliably. If you're indoors in small rooms and close quarters, 85mm might be a little too long for comfortable loose shooting.

EverydayGetaway wrote in post #16940328
Usually when people say this it's because they don't have a good understanding of how to use flash. The best thing you could ever do for your photography is learn the basics of flash, it opens up so many more doors than any lens could ever do for you.

Read this: http://strobist.blogsp​ot.com/2006/03/lightin​g-101.html

That being said, I'd vote for either a 35 or 50mm prime lens, plus a flash

+1. Even when using my 50L indoors, I still will use a flash to help fill in the shadows.

lapino wrote in post #16939745
Got a 5D3, 70-200/F2.8 IS II and the 24-105L. Now looking for something which will make my 5D3 a bit more practical indoors for shooting my kids and doing some portraits. Which would you guys advice?

ps: don't like using flash, and shooting my (not so steady) kids almost all the time, so "sit still" is not an option

Heya,

I would think about what you're trying to achieve.

Do you want a F1.4 lens to shoot kids in dark rooms at F1.4? Or do you simply want a lens that is F1.4 for autofocus purposes, but you're planning on stopping down to F2 or F2.8 or even F4 for depth of field purposes? I ask because unless you're standing across the room, a lens with F1.4 at F1.4 in the dark room, even with great autofocus, your depth of field may be an issue for shooting active children, getting only half a face in focus, etc. I shoot an F1.4 lens at F1.4 in the dark rooms of my child, and I have to be very careful with that thin depth of field to get both eyes (using 50mm F1.4 here; I also use 35 F2 IS for this).

Have you simply tried shooting with much higher ISO values? The 5D3 can handle plenty of ISO. Then simply clean up in post and shoot RAW.

Here's a Super Takumar 50mm F1.4 at F1.4 (fully manual lens, no autofocus) with no flash, in a dark room, just window light, shooting at ISO 400:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/nBKQ​TG

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/nkgz​3D

I usually do half body, so the 85/1.8 works well on the 5D3 indoors.

It's worth checking your usual framing range with your 24-105/4.0, because if you can go for the 85, you will be getting distorsion-free portraits with a fast-focusing lens (kids!) at a very good price.

Outdoors I use the 135L.