Bored here at home at the start of a long weekend, drinking some craft beer (Dominion "Candi" Belgian Tripel.... yummmmm). Decided to take portrait shots (on 5D3, hand held) of my girlfriend using each of my lenses wide open, at unique focal lengths (for the zooms). It's interesting to observe how each lens compares in terms of sharpness, clarity, and bokeh. I tried to keep Tiff in frame along w/ some Christmas lights, so perspective isn't maintained, but that wasn't an aim of this session.
Lighting: Phillips Hue LED bulbs, Christmas lights, and some standard overhead track lighting. And my TV was on w/ some screen saver playing, which is helping to create some bokeh.
24L II
Wide open - Canon 24mm f/1.4 L II by M K, on Flickr50L
Wide open - Canon 50mm f/1.2L by M K, on Flickr100L
Wide open - Canon 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro by M K, on Flickr16-35 f/4L IS @ 16mm
Wide open @ 16mm - Canon 16-35mm f/4L IS by M K, on Flickr24-70 f/2.8L II @ 70mm
Wide open @ 70mm - Canon 24-70 f/2.8L II by M K, on Flickr70-200 f/2.8L II IS @ 200mm
Wide open @ 200mm - Canon 70-200 f/2.8L II by M K, on FlickrRankings:
Bokeh:
1) 50L
2) 70-200
3) 100L
4) 24-70
5) 24L
6) 16-35 f/4
50L melts things, 24L is surprisingly nice w/ most rounded balls, 16-35 @ 16mm... what bokeh? (of course I could get better at 35mm) 70-200 compression is awesome. Wide open, everything but the 24L has Stewie football head bokeh.
Sharpness:
1) all but the 50L
2) 50L
Each of the lenses are sharp, and I'd have to give the slight edge to the 24L II in this set of photos. The 50L is detailed, but not as crispy. In day to day use, the 24-70 is a slight cut above the others in this department.
Summary
Obviously the wide angle lenses aren't going to deliver gooey, melty bokeh, but the environmental perspective they deliver can't be overlooked. The 50L... what more can be said that hasn't been said? It liquifies backgrounds and lights, an would be my choice for absolute bokeh creation. The 70-200 is silly too @ 200mm, so go with this if you have the working space.
The 24-70 f/2.8L II, the latest addition to my collection, is one hell of a lens. It's a cut above the others in sharpness, clarity, and versatility. In this session it didn't compare quite as well because it was being shot at ISO 10000 (no IS), so some detail was lost, but most other times I'm just dumbstruck by how stupendous this glass is.
Lastly, Tiffs was a good sport during this session, though she couldn't help but troll me in between shots
Weirdo Tiffs - 24mm f/1.4L II wide open by M K, on Flickr
