Why should I buy the 85 1.8?? Already have 24-105

I've got around $500 burning a hole in my pocket. Current setup is 50d with 10-22 and 24-105L.

Besides low light ability, what reasons can you give me for why I should purchase the 85 1.8 lens?

I've done alot of research and it sounds like this one delivers tremendous bang for the buck.

I obviously don't have a telephoto in my setup (sold the 75-300IS recently) and am willing to wait for a bit for my kids to get older (read: start participating in sports/school events).

An option besides getting the 85 would be to use the $$ on a good tripod/head (Feisol?).

Thoughts anyone? I'm just not sure what the incremental benefits are for the 85 given I've already got a solid walk-around lens in the 24-105L.

Interested in getting some feedback. Thanks in advance.

Aside from lowlight, which you mentioned, it offers much more selective focus (thin DOF) which is often desirable in isolating subjects from the background and/or foreground. The term "pop" is often associated with this use of very shallow DOF.

I just bought a 24-105L a week ago.. then just bought the 85 1.8 today. I wanted the 85 1.8 for low light and the DOF.. I'm just hoping it's as sharp as the 24-105. I'm selling my 50mm 1.8, sick of the slow/inaccurate focus. Also the 85 1.8 will give you "stop motion" in low light that the 24-105 can't at F4 even with IS.

It's just such a nice portrait lens, and since your walkaround only goes down to f/4 you are definitely going to see a difference in your subject isolation (certainly when the background isn't very far away). It's built well, it's light and compact, and it's inexpensive.

It's also optional, so if you aren't feeling any lack of portrait ability on your 24-105 don't give into pressure just for the sake of it.

This is my 2 year old son and I've sort of consolidated my own lens collection around shots of him. Because he's either indoors or not very far away from me, my 50/1.4 and 85/1.8 are my portrait lenses and my 17-55/2.8 is my all-around workhorse (including nice portraits in its own right). This is the 85/1.8 at f/1.8 -- it's in a bookstore, and at f/4 on your 24-105 the background would be much sharper (and potentially distracting).

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bohdank wrote in post #9623202
Aside from lowlight, which you mentioned, it offers much more selective focus (thin DOF) which is often desirable in isolating subjects from the background and/or foreground. The term "pop" is often associated with this use of very shallow DOF.

I'll drink to that! 85 1.8 is a nice little package...

Fast Focus for sports and large aperture for low light gyms.

This thread just caught my eye. I was at a high school basketball game last night and ended up chatting with the photographer from the local paper. He had two cameras, one with an easily recognized 70-200 f2.8 being used with a flash, and another shorter length lens without flash. Turns out he was using the 85 1.8. Showed me the lcd image and histograms from several shots which looked pretty good. Said it typically worked very well for him.

The 85/1.8 is also very, very, very sharp at wide apertures. Probably my next lens purchase - that or the 100/2 (after 3x pocketwizards, a couple of flashes, a nice ballhead/tripod combo, l-bracket, etc, etc).

The 85mm is fantastic (I have one and love it) but I would pick a 70-200 L lens first, for the versatility. But if you don't shoot past 105mm much, then I suppose it's not that important to have and the 85mm has it's advantages.

The 85mm will be my next purchase. I'm getting it for indoor sports but it will work well for portraits too. I have the 24-105 and I really like it, but not indoors. It's sharp, the focal length works well for me, and the IS is nice to have.......but it's obviously limited in what it can do because of the aperture. Because I have a crop body (7D) the 85 will be a little too long for some situations so I will be keeping the 24-105.

jerokaz wrote in post #9624264
Fast Focus for sports and large aperture for low light gyms.

+1. My favorite lens in dim high school gyms where the 24-105/4L would be "useless".

I just received my new 85mm 1.8 today and it is unbelievable. I took 5 pictures of my kids and dogs and wondered how I ever got by without it. The backround blur is just beautiful.

Funny part is I bought it for indoor sports like BB and Volleyball.

Cuz you can never have too many lenses. Haha I love my 85 1.8. Its great for performances and sports. I have gotting my best from my 85. You wont regret it! What do you like shooting?

A fast prime and a slower zoom are two different lenses. I started my prime binge because I couldn't get indoor, low light shots without a flash with a 4.0 lens. DOF is not very good with the 24-105L. Both lenses have their purpose and the 85 1.8 is a great compliment to your existing lens.