24L, 35L, or 50L?? (On a 40d)

I'm looking for a fast lens primarily for lowlight shooting. I've got pretty much of the entire focal range I shoot covered with my existing lenses (see signature), but I'd like something with a wide aperture.
I'm probably staying with a crop body for a while, but will end up with a 5d at some undetermined (and NOT urgent!) point.
It may sound strange, but I'm not overly concerned about focal length.
I started out with the intention of getting the 50L (1.2) because of the extra half stop, but got a bit spooked by the negative comments regarding potential focus issues, etc. So, that started me on an investigation and consideration of the other two lenses. I am not interested in the 85L.

Sooo....I'm wondering which lens has the best reputation for consistency, bokeh, IQ, etc. And I realize that there are differences when the lenses are used on different bodies. So, I'd like to narrow down my question to the results with a 40d (1.6 crop).
Thanks much!

Since you don't really care about FL, you might be better served with rummaging through the lens archive and comparing photos that way. I was back-n-forth between the 24 & 35 until I decided on getting the 24L. But for me, the FL mattered because I wanted something wide enough for low-light indoors, thus the 24 was my choice.

Here's a photo that I took (of no real photographic value other than) to try and show the bokeh.

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I have personally fallen in love with the 5D and 35L combo---- it is killer. I have heard that the 24L is not as sharp as the 35L --- but that is hearsay.

jwcdds wrote in post #7002146
Since you don't really care about FL, you might be better served with rummaging through the lens archive and comparing photos that way.

Thanks for your quick response. And thanks much for the sample shots! Nice.

By the way, you and I think alike--I already spent about an hour going through the lens archives!! It helped, but many of the shots seem to be with 5d's.

Take your 24-105 out and zoom to each of the focal lengths you're interested in on the 40D. My 50L on the 40D body feels very tight whereas my 35L feels more regular on my 40D and a nice neutral focal length on my Mk3.

The thing I love about the 50L is it's creamy bokeh, the 35L is beautiful but the 50L just has that extra something in its pictures. Here's two samples from my 50L + Mk3, one of our cat and the other of my girlfriend and her old dog.

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Try starting with an EF 35/2, or 28/1.8. Did you say you know you need wide? Then 35 or 50 is not really wide on a 1.6x crop.

Did someone mention cats? (24L)

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gasrocks wrote in post #7002222
Try starting with an EF 35/2, or 28/1.8. Did you say you know you need wide? Then 35 or 50 is not really wide on a 1.6x crop.

I don't need wide...I just don't want to go past 50. Or down to the 14!
I don't think I'm gonna start out with anything....I'm hoping to get some ideas from this thread and hope for the best!! (Once I buy a piece of equipment, I'm basically "done" thinking about it!! Then I look back and think about all the research I did.....)
Thanks.

Not sure if 24L @ f/8 was what sml is looking for. But good shot of the group. I especially like front row, 5th kid in starting from the right. The black-sheep kid who turned his back on you.

smcclelland wrote in post #7002220
The thing I love about the 50L is it's creamy bokeh

Yes....that is extremely appealing to me!
However, have you had any problems with backfocusing as mentioned on a couple of the threads about the 50L in this forum?

sml wrote in post #7002527
Yes....that is extremely appealing to me!
However, have you had any problems with backfocusing as mentioned on a couple of the threads about the 50L in this forum?

I don't have any back focus issues with my copy, there is the focus shift problem but in real world shooting it's not entirely visible to me. The shot of our cat was at f2 right up at MFD which is the danger zone of the 50L with focus on her eye. I find under real shooting conditions that the shift often falls within the shallow DOF so it's not as bad as others have had.

I could probably shoot charts and numbers all day, do focus tests day in and day out with the 50L and agonize over focus shift or front/back focus issues if there were any but I don't see a need for that unless my photos are suffering from a serious side effect.

Here's some samples from when I was testing the lens. Focus was on 2nd battery from the right.

f4 @ MFD - http://farm4.static.fl​ickr.com …14770100_dc2b9b​483a_o.jpg
f2.8 @ MFD http://farm4.static.fl​ickr.com …13930577_84846d​5839_o.jpg - here you can actually see a slight bit of focus shift, 2nd battery from the left appears sharper than the focused battery.
f2 @ MFD - http://farm4.static.fl​ickr.com …14761274_83901b​50f2_o.jpg

Guess I have trouble imaging someone saying any prime from 14 to 50 is OK.

jwcdds wrote in post #7002430
Not sure if 24L @ f/8 was what sml is looking for. But good shot of the group. I especially like front row, 5th kid in starting from the right. The black-sheep kid who turned his back on you.

Just posted it so he could see what it'll do on a 40D with high ISO and low light.

That kid is a problem child all the time, not just in photos....

gasrocks wrote in post #7002757
Guess I have trouble imaging someone saying any prime from 14 to 50 is OK.

I don't understand why you have trouble "imaging" this---the idea is to have a lowlight capability. I already have all the focal lengths covered with my zooms. I just want something in case I'm in a situation where I may need a wider aperture, for example.
Also, I have found, in my experience, that I can usually get an image that I like with almost any focal length that happens to be on my camera at any given time.
That doesn't sound too unusual, does it?
And, actually, I said I was looking at the 24, 35, or 50--NOT the 14 or 85.

If focal length is no real issue then I'd say 35L. Focus shift was a problem in almost every shot when I had the 50L (although I was consistently shooting in the danger zone - f2-f2.8 at close range) and I didn't feel it was in the same league as the 85L when it came to clarity wide open. The 24L is a nice lens & is slightly more flexible as a walkaround on a 40D, but the 35L is the best of the bunch and edges the 35L on IQ.


Phil