Regrets from those who went all-prime?

*EDIT* - Be advise, I finally did go all-prime after all, and this thread was bumped at post #30 asking how it went.

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For those who shoot only primes...any regrets? How much of a compromise did going all prime require of you?

I'm considering selling both my 17-40L & 24-70L to fund either the Zeiss 21 or Canon 24II TS-E. My only real fear is that I'm going to hate myself when I need or want to travel light.

Then again... this is only a hobby for me, after all.

how often do you use those lenses right now? you could always just lock them away and shoot with just your primes for awhile.

if it bothers you too much to switch then you have your answer. If you are shooting things that require a wider perspective it might be a little tricky.. I don't know if I would just straight get RID of both of them You already have the 85L, which I don't know how that thing isn't glued to your camera, the 35L is nice, too, from what I have seen especially on the 5D series. It looks like you have gotten some really fun effects from your 17-40, wouldn't give that one up if I were you!

Will you miss the 17mm?

With the Zeiss 21, you won't miss the 17-40 all that much. The 24-70 on the other hand..

I can't answer your original question, but I can tell you this: When I travel I rely on zooms 90% of the time. The workhorses are the 16-35 on my 5DII and the 70-200/II on my 7D. With those two zooms and cameras I get coverage from 16-320mm (in 35mm equivalent) with only a minor gap around 60mm. They're both f/2.8 and weather sealed. When I don't travel and can afford to bring more lenses I typically use my primes on the 5DII while the 70-200 stays on the 7D. For portraits, family photos and landscape photography (when not traveling) I almost exclusively use the 5DII with primes.

Yeah, I dunno - it seems like my 24-70 has been fantastic for light out-of-town travel. Our trip to Europe and NYC were good examples. Otherwise, I seriously do not even pick it up.

The 17-40, on the other hand, has been angelic for me. But the Zeiss wouldn't make me lose too much on the wide end.

I just wanted to hear if those who made the switch really regretted it.

i like them because they're nice and fast.... but dont like the fact that i constantly have to change them

7Ddame wrote in post #10198617
It looks like you have gotten some really fun effects from your 17-40, wouldn't give that one up if I were you!

Thanks for this comment, except the reminder only makes my decision even more difficult! I have enjoyed 17mm, that's for sure. 21mm is awfully close, but 24mm...not so much.

can't you rent the thing first ? haha

it seems like a hard choice - test it before leaping in? and stuff holds its value so well if you are dying to go back after you've taken the plunge you can probably come out not too beat up.

7Ddame wrote in post #10199089
can't you rent the thing first ? haha

it seems like a hard choice - test it before leaping in? and stuff holds its value so well if you are dying to go back after you've taken the plunge you can probably come out not too beat up.

I should have mentioned this in my first post. I do plan on renting both the 21 and the 24TSE before I sell anything at all. Good advice though, for sure.

depends on what your doing really. Alot of portraits and things like that I could see all primes but things like motorsports your going to need some zooms so you dont have to swap lenses

I'd replace those two lenses with a 24L....if I were going to do it. My 24-70 is fantastic.

no regrets. i got me a second body so i have a semi-wide and portrait prime at the same time without changing lenses

If it weren't for needing a normal-range zoom for studio photography, I'd have an all-prime lineup.

f/2.8 often doesn't give me the subject isolation and low-light advantages of primes, so most of my lineup is primes. No regrets, at all.

Just get both...

I've had the three main zooms. 17-40, 24-70, 70-200 2.8
and now I have a 17-40 still. 35L, 85L, 135L

for my purpose I like the primes more. I like large aptertures. The primes give a certain look and pop that the zooms could never do