I've got fast prime fever!

Ok folks, I've got this urge to pick up a fast prime. The thing is, I don't absolutely NEED one. I have a 35/2 IS, as well as two of the best zooms made, the 24-70 II and the 70-200 II. But with the two-fer lens sale, I can pick one up a new one for basically the price of a refurb, and I'm looking for a UWA zoom anyway.

It seems like if I had to choose one, the 35/1.4 II would be it, because it seems to me like the 85mm and 135mm would be a bit more specialized.

Any thoughts? My shooting is also in a bit of a rut and I hope the F1.4 will get me thinking in different ways.

What 2-fer sale?

Bassat wrote in post #18340115
What 2-fer sale?

Canon has a MIR going for 3 more days. Basically you get up to $150 off each lens if you buy two. With the rebate, and if you do the CPW street price deal, the price comes to pretty close to a refurb.

Details here:

http://www.canonpricew​atch.com …ebate-up-to-150-per-lens/

35 f1.4 + 85 f1.2

or

50 f1.2 + 135 f2

or do what most sane people would do....
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buy all 4, 2fer x2

Nothing there I can use.

Haha.. Charlie, that will be a while. No way I can justify 4 primes at this time.

To those who have experience with the 35/1.4 II and the 35/2 IS, we're you able to live without the IS? The IS on my 35/2 is great, but I've never missed not having it on my 24-70, so I suspect it will be ok?

I have both, have not missed the IS yet. Debated whether I should get the 35L2 since I already had the 35 IS, was mostly wanting it for the increased blur at f1.4. Some guys posted some photos that seemed to show not much blur difference between f1.4 and f2. But I got it anyway and in my use I definitely notice more blur, so I like that. The surprise was the colors which are obviously better than the 35 IS. And at 1.4 it's as sharp as any other lens I have at any aperture. I have a 6D

Relax! As you said, you have the range covered at 2.8 with your MkII brothers

Why do you need a bigger aperture and how much bigger?

At 200 you can get the 2.8 it saves some weight. I wouldn't buy it. There is a 200 f2.0 but let's keep it serious...

At 135 you get 1 stop (big deal...) and a better bokeh. Unless you shoot full body portraits all the time and I don't, I wouldn't buy it

At 85 the f1.2 is an overkill. Portraits with sharp eylashes and blurry nosetips don't appeal to me. The f1.8 is ok, has some problems, but at 1 1/3 stop less than the f2.8, I am not gonna spend the (little) money it costs. A close call though...

At 50 a f1.2 read the comments about the 85 f1.2. A well priced f1.4 (a Sigma Art?) gets you two stops, bokeh maybe less weight... O yeah! It's on my list.

At 35 a f1.4 read the comments about the 50 f1.4. O yeah! But if you have the f2.0... it is a tough sell.

At 24 an f1.4... Other than astro on a FF I don't know what I would do with such beast. Shallow DOF on a 24?

The honest proposition is the EF 16-35 f4. It is on the top of my list!

The EF 11-24 is in my bucket list...

Bottom line (for me, anyway) the two MkII brothers are the best remedy for GAS. I find very difficult to justify buying anything in their range, especially since I have not bought the two top lenses in my list, the EF 16-35 f4 and the Ef 100-400 MkII. That will be a while...

In the meantime, I am renting the 100-400 for my son's MSc graduation, I hope that I might justify it for permanent duty, so I can write a grant proposal to my wife...

Scrumhalf wrote in post #18340303
Haha.. Charlie, that will be a while. No way I can justify 4 primes at this time.

To those who have experience with the 35/1.4 II and the 35/2 IS, we're you able to live without the IS? The IS on my 35/2 is great, but I've never missed not having it on my 24-70, so I suspect it will be ok?

if you have younger kids, and or dont feel like working for your shots, 35 is ridiculously easy to use. 50 is tougher to use, but has so much more blur and total imagery is spectacular.

I have a young baby and a fairly large family, so 50mm is a bit difficult to work with especially group shots. 35 is much more practical, and thus I use it more often than 50 nowadays, but if I'm on my own, then I'de prefer 50 more. if you cant wing both, I'de get the 50 stm on top of the 35ii. As good as the zooms are, the prime perspective is very nice to have. it really makes you focus your photography, should you stray a little with zooms. Typically, I'll use my primes over zooms unless I have a lot of baby responsibilities.

Scrumhalf wrote in post #18340112
Ok folks, I've got this urge to pick up a fast prime. The thing is, I don't absolutely NEED one. I have a 35/2 IS, as well as two of the best zooms made, the 24-70 II and the 70-200 II. But with the two-fer lens sale, I can pick one up a new one for basically the price of a refurb, and I'm looking for a UWA zoom anyway.

It seems like if I had to choose one, the 35/1.4 II would be it, because it seems to me like the 85mm and 135mm would be a bit more specialized.

Any thoughts? My shooting is also in a bit of a rut and I hope the F1.4 will get me thinking in different ways.

I think the rut may be 35mm. I find it pedestrian
Break a rut with a different focal length.
The only reason to get the 35LII is to shoot it at 1.4. I traded up from the 35f2 to the Sigma Art to the 35LII, and have kept it for months.

Take two teleconverters and call me in the morning!

Thanks guys! Lots of good advice here! Mike, I've got a 1.4X III already! Ain't no teleconverter gonna cure this!

Think outside the box and get out of your rut by getting some old vintage glass, adapters, and shoot full manual wide open! Tons of fast primes out there for way less than new modern lenses. Zeiss Jena, Meyer-Optik, Helios, Takumar, Yashica, the list goes on and on. I've seen some really creative results from these lenses.
Have fun without breaking the bank!

wyntastr wrote in post #18340401
Think outside the box and get out of your rut by getting some old vintage glass, adapters, and shoot full manual wide open! Tons of fast primes out there for way less than new modern lenses. Zeiss Jena, Meyer-Optik, Helios, Takumar, Yashica, the list goes on and on. I've seen some really creative results from these lenses.
Have fun without breaking the bank!

I agree with the above, I like to try different technique and hardware. Not everything is about clarity, focus, sharpness, rendering and bokeh.

In my very short expereince with photography, I have discovered that the most important thing is light. Rest is all secondary. You can get a $2000 prime and still shoot cats on the couch, baby in the stroller and bookshelves with it. Which is great if it makes one happy, but it doesn't require exceptional gear.

You can easily try different things, just use one lens everytime you go out. Just take one with you, it will force you to be more creative and excercise your imagination.

Good luck, if the prime is on its way, I will be checking your takes in the sample thread

I am a fan of primes, the viewfinder is brighter and lighter than most zooms. The 35L should be in just about every pro shooter bag along with a 70-200/2.8 in whatever version. The 50L and 85L are very special and I love using them but they're not for everyone. As the phrase goes, the right tool for the job.