35 vs 50 Walkaround

Tough, tough call! Seeing as it's a family trip, my first choice is just the 24-105. But to answer the original question regarding primes: 24mm and 50mm will do what you need. It'll be challenging using just two focal lengths, but that was the pair I carried throughout Italy a few years ago, and it was a ton of fun! But that was then....

Now, my travel set up is the 16-35mm f/4 and my 50L. Maybe throw the 100L in if expecting cool bugs or fauna.

I say purchase the 16-35 f/4.

Sigma Black Friday special is on..... 50mm is $100 off

https://www.sigmaphoto​.com/lp/black-friday-2015

50mm all day every day!

If you don't already have a 50mm, the new STM is a dandy. Absolutely no point in hauling around a beastly Sigma or 1.2L.

Hope this makes it easier for you

msowsun wrote in post #17789873
I assume you shooting with a Full Frame camera..

Personally I would take the 24-105 but, if you want just two primes, then I would suggest the 24 ART and a 50 ART.

Or he could split the difference and go with just a 35mm. These threads are a effort in futility. Ask 50 people and there will be fifty different answers. I never ask what lenses I should take on a trip. I take the lenses I WANT to take and learn from the experience.

Thank you everyone for you input!

I pulled the trigger on the 50mm. Think I'm going to rock the 24mm and the 50mm. That being said I'm bringing the 24-105 as well but giving it to my dad for him to use it primarily.

Thanks and all the best

nice job the 50 art is spectacular and i wish i owned it. squeeze out a bit more cash and pickup the canon 135 f/2 and you will have a stellar setup. I know, I know but there is always one more lens you need to get

I still get all twisted up when going on trips. I'de go with the 50 as I'm naturally a 50 shooter.... however on vacation, I brought a bunch of lenses, 12, 24-70 f4, 55 f1.8, 105 f2.5, 200 f5.

sorry to muddy up your decision, have an upcoming grand canyon trip, and the zoom is staying home! 12,24,55,105,200.

Personally, I would just take the 24-105L and 40mm pancake, plus the 150-600 only if you are planning on taking a whale watching excursion. The 24-105L will serve your landscape needs, since you will probably be stopping down to f/8 or narrower anyway, and the pancake gives you a nice low profile lens if you want to walk around completely unencumbered.

For our next Hawaii visit (been there 3 times), from my current kit I would probably take my 5D3 + 24-105L, 7D2 + 70-200 f/4 IS + 1.4x TC (for whale watching) and 40mm pancake. We've been whale watching many times, and you can get away with 200mm on a crop body as the whales are quite close at times. The TC adds a little more reach if needed without adding much weight. Sometimes 400mm on a crop can be useful for whale watching, but it's a trade off with the added weight and space in the camera bag. I've used both the 70-200 f/4 IS and 100-400L for whale watching on different trips. I rarely had a need for an ultra wide angle lens there -- just a few instances in Volcanoes National Park -- so I would probably leave the 16-35 f/4 IS at home.

Regarding your original question of 35mm vs 50mm I will choose neither of those. Based on the lenses you already have.

As many have said the 25-105L is a 'do-it-all' zoom.
I myself enjoy AF primes. With your gear list I would take the 40mm and the 85mm
If I was certain I would want to 'pull some distance closer' I would take the 150-600mm instead of the 85mm.
But ONLY if I had a purpose for that long range.


Tavel light. The 40mm and 85mm with give you two strikingly different kinds of photos, with available subject separation.
While the zoom will give you many more options, but alway have a larger DOF.
It is convenient to not swap lenses, but many photos will look similar.

This summer I went to Itly, France and Ireland.
I took my 24L and 50L and the 24mm was my most used lens but far. I wanted a thin DOF and low light shots.
There were many days I regretted not getting the 16-35L f4
I wanted even wider, not more reach.

icculus479 wrote in post #17790362
Sigma Black Friday special is on..... 50mm is $100 off

https://www.sigmaphoto​.com/lp/black-friday-2015

^ Is anyone else offset by the ISO noise in that photos of the champagne glasses?
The bokeh circles are nice, but the green noise in-between them should have been cleaned up.

between the two personally I'd pick 35mm for sure, last weekend I shot a wedding almost entirely with the 35L II alone, 85L II covered a few candid shots during reception, while the 24-105L and 70-200 2.8 IS II never even get a chance to come out of the bag, not even once.

Family trips I take the 24-105mm f/4.

I'll also take my EOS-M & 22mm f/2 for the casual camera and for anything low(ish) lighting.