5d w/ 17-40L & 85mm f1.8 users

I am thinking this will make a great combo. Any other 5d'ers with this same setup? Will I be lacking anything on the wide end with f4 being my minimum f stop?

(I was either going to rock the 17-40L or the 35mm f2 with the 85mm f1.8 )

f/4 is fine for wide angle as usually you stop down to get everything in focus. And with the 5D being as good as it is at high ISO, you can get faster shutter speeds. You don't even need that fast of shutter speed at that wide of an angle. I had the 5D 17-40, 85 and 135L as my set up for a while and it was pretty darn good.

Or conversely, wide angle is where you need the widest apertures in order to highlight your subject and throw the background oof. Obviously unimportant for landscapes, but for people...

bakatari wrote in post #9810024
I am thinking this will make a great combo.

No one can really give you advice without knowing the intended subjects for the lenses.

mmmmm... i own both and loved it.

It's a great combo for me cause i used the 17-40L for city pictures and the 85mm 1.8 for people.

as for you? it depends on what you wanna shoot

Great combo. I love the 17-40 for land/city scapes and usually use it stopped down. Teh 85mm is good for portraits and has great bokeh and AF speed. I prefer the 135mm f2 or even the 200mm f2.8 for portraits though the latter sometimes has a weird compression with eyes for some reason.

I own both of these...

The way I see it f/4 is just fine for a wide angle. You aren't going to miss the extra stop because you'll be able to handhold at a slower shutter speed because of the wide angle, or just bump up the ISO. A little noise reduction in post will help too. I just can't justify the extra ~900 bucks for the 16-35 and one stop more. I would never have a lens setup that didn't include a wide angle...you just never know when you will need it but when you do, it will be comforting to know that it's within reach if needed.

85 is awesome. Especially on FF. I liked it on a crop and LOVE it on the 5D. It's my workhorse and plan on upgrading to the L sooner than later.

Hope this helps!

I own both and they are lovely !

I have both and love them on the 5D. The 85mm was good on 1.6x bodies but it is really sweet on the 5D and I can't lay out the dough for a 85L.

If you want faster wide angle lenses, there's more than just the 16-35L. 28 1.8, or as the OP mentioned, the 35 2. Both of these are at least 2 stops faster than the 17-40L. Again, if you're shooting people and not landscapes, you may wish for more than f4. But if landscapes is the purpose, then yeah go for the 17-40L.

Had that setup for a short while, didn't like it as I'd rather have a fast wide prime and a zoom for a telephoto

f/4 is an inconvenience but not a huge issue at 17-40mm and ISO3200

The 17-40 with the 5D is a fine combination but to me it is probable best outdoor as i would regularly stop it down for the depth of field. It is somewhat lacklustre indoor unless you are going to use your flash with it. It's performance wide open is so so.

If I was buying again and looking for a wide angled zoom then the 16-35 II would have been my preference. Don't get me wrong I love the 17-40 to bits but not quite an indoor lens which by the way it never pretended to be. Larger aperture of the 16-35 would make it more versatile but comes at a cost. Money.

Unless you are shooting people and shutter speed is an issue, the 17-40 can be handheld in virtually any lighting condition where there is actually light, imo.

I've taken shots of street scenes at night, church exteriors at night, handholding the 17-40 at 1/15sec with excellent results. I'm not the steadiest person, either. I do pixel peep so excellent means excellent

bakatari wrote in post #9810024
I am thinking this will make a great combo. Any other 5d'ers with this same setup? Will I be lacking anything on the wide end with f4 being my minimum f stop?

(I was either going to rock the 17-40L or the 35mm f2 with the 85mm f1.8 )

17-40 is great on 5D. And I don't think you need to worry about f4 as you will be using it stopped down most of the time.