Full frame with primes, want wider than 50mm

Tommydigi wrote in post #11290574
The 28 1.8 is much better then What it gets credit for. ...

BIG +1, esp on FF

I was in a similar situation as yourself when I moved to a full frame setup. I ended up selling my Canon 50 1.4 and picked up a 35 1.4 instead. It was leaps and bound better and I do not regret the upgrade one bit. It is worth every penny over the 50 1.4. And I picked it up brand new for $1100 during last year's black friday sale.

Maybe I had a bad copy of the 50mm but I was never a fan of it. It was soft wide open and didn't sharpen up until F2.0 or so. And the AF was iffy especially in low light and low light was why i wanted a fast prime in the first place.

Good luck with your search.

Interesting comments, Ken. Considering that I really like my 50 1.4, I wonder if you had a bad copy as you said, or is the 35L just that much awesomer?

Yeah, perhaps I did have a bad copy of the 50mm 1.4. My good friend also has a 50mm 1.4 that exhibited the same trait as my old lens. My 35L is on loan with him now while I have his 70-200 2.8 IS version 2. Let's just say that his 50mm will be up for sale shortly and he'll be ordering the 35L in short time.

The 35L just lives up to it's repuation as being a great walkaround lens. I liked it so much that I sold my zooms and picked up it's big brother, the 85L.

My 50 is very sharp, even wide open but the 35 is a better lens as it should be for 4 x the price and double the size and weight.

The best thing about the 24II is that you look at it online, and the price online, and go "nah." Then, you get drunk one night and order it and maybe a couple other lenses in a fit of insanity, and when it/they come... you can't believe you never considered it sooner. The 24II has been attached to my 5DII since I got it. I just took it off last night to get onto something else.

I mean this whole-heartedly -- I could sell off/lose every one of my lenses except the 24II and be fine. It's seriously THAT good.

I am not sure where you are from, but try one out. Seriously - the simplicity is enthralling. A solid build, stout, sharp, fast AF lens is hard to come by - you have a wide angle fast aperture and great sharpness... and life is simple.

s2kennyc wrote in post #11292338
Maybe I had a bad copy of the 50mm but I was never a fan of it. It was soft wide open and didn't sharpen up until F2.0 or so. And the AF was iffy especially in low light and low light was why i wanted a fast prime in the first place

Same here with my canon 50 1.4. It was really soft and had that dreamy look that seems a little bit like a soft focus lens. The 35L is not comparable to the 50 I used to have.

JonK wrote in post #11294005
The best thing about the 24II is that you look at it online, and the price online, and go "nah." Then, you get drunk one night and order it and maybe a couple other lenses in a fit of insanity

Never done this yet, but scared I will in the future

realmike15 wrote in post #11294181
Never done this yet, but scared I will in the future

You will man, you will. And then you will drink again... afterward, in shame... barely clothed... in an alley....

Or it might just be me ahah

Tommydigi wrote in post #11290574
The 28 1.8 is much better then What it gets credit for. I sold it to fund my 24-70 but I was very happy with it.

From what I've seen from the 28/1.8, I also agree. Here's the Canon DSLR group with entries tagged with the 28/1.8...

http://www.flickr.com …s/tags/CanonEF2​8mmf18USM/

dmnelson wrote in post #11290451
Hmm, I have no doubt that the 35L is worth every penny... but the more I think about it the harder it seems to stomach the idea of trading the 50 1.4 for something that costs multiples of what it's worth. It doesn't make a lot of sense to give it up because it offers so much bang for the buck, nor do I relish the idea of owning two focal lengths that are so close together.

I think I might be down to the point of deciding between the cheaper, wider options. Do I want a faster but narrower Canon 28mm f/1.8? Wider but slower Canon 24mm f/2.8? Or get wide and fast with the Sigma 24mm 1.8? I am biased against Sigma in general, but the specs certainly make it tempting.

Great thread. Exact same situation I am in, I have FF with the 100mm Macro, the 50mm 1.4 and looking for a wide lens. I want the 35L, but with the 50, I feel there'll be too much overlap. Thinking that maybe I'll sell my 50 and save for the 35L.

The 28 1.8 is worth a look. ( plus same filter as the 50, 85 and 100 non L macro )

I shot these with the 28 1.8 at F2.

I wish it was 24 1.8 but I only sold mine to fund my 24-70.

Every time I revisit this thread I change my mind. I need to find a local friend with a 35L so I can take it for a real test drive to compare to my 50 1.4.

dmnelson wrote in post #11302603
Every time I revisit this thread I change my mind. I need to find a local friend with a 35L so I can take it for a real test drive to compare to my 50 1.4.

That is a great idea. I realized through researching pictures that I had taken with my 24-70 that 35mm was my favorite focal length and with that result I knew that I wanted a great prime lens in that focal length. I personally think that everyone's favorite focal length deserves the best prime they can afford. What is your favorite focal length.