Full frame with primes, want wider than 50mm

this is exactly the same situation im in too! how funny! on my recently acquired 5dc ive only got a canon 85, 50 1.4 and 1.8 and the 50 1.4 always seems to miss focus or be soft or something... anyway after looking through a whole lot of my shots i really feel they're 'photojournalistic' in style and im about to pull the trigger on a noisy 35 2! i dont have the money for the 35 1.4, i think if i did it would be cemented and welded to the body flange

I shoot a 24mm f/2.8, and I also use the 50mm f/1.8 II and 100mm f/2.8 Macro. I like the 24mm f/2.8. It's sharp enough and it's really quite wide on a full frame camera--wide enough to make 'interesting' shots, while not being so wide that I can't use it for more general photography.

It's not as sharp, contrasty or as good in the colour department as the 24mm f/1.4L II, but really for the price difference it's not too bad. Given a choice I'd certainly upgrade to the L lens. It's not in my budget.

One of the best things about the 24mm f/2.8 is its size. I can easily pocket it and take it with me anywhere. If I'm bringing my camera, I always have the 24mm and 50mm f/1.8 II along minimum. I hardly notice that I'm carrying either lens.

I think your biggest consideration here is focal length. The 24mm is really quite wide on a 5D. You may prefer a 35mm. You may prefer a 28mm. I think you should buy the best lens that you feel you can afford in the focal length that you like best. I selected 24mm because I like to be able to take very wide feeling shots if I get close to something, but I also want the lens to not be completely distorted too. The 24mm filled the bill for me.

david lacey wrote in post #11303543
I personally think that everyone's favorite focal length deserves the best prime they can afford.

This is a little bit of a tangent, but I absolutely agree with that statement. I am contemplating a 50mm f/1.2L purchase in the future, because 50mm is the focal length for me. Put your money where you are most comfortable. A 50mm f/1.2 would live on my camera. But that's just me.

Dillan_K wrote in post #11304147
This is a little bit of a tangent, but I absolutely agree with that statement. I am contemplating a 50mm f/1.2L purchase in the future, because 50mm is the focal length for me. Put your money where you are most comfortable. A 50mm f/1.2 would live on my camera. But that's just me.

I thought the same way so I got a 50 L. Nice lens but I was getting better photos or at least equal with my 1.4. The 35 is a better lens but I too am not sure 35 is a focal length I like.

What is my favorite focal length? That's a tough question to answer. Right now my "favorite" is 50mm, but that's because I currently own a 50 1.4 and I'm a sucker for shallow DOF. If I looked at the overall trends from my past photos I don't know whether that would be true, because I have had this lens a relatively small amount of the time that I've owned a DSLR. I do enjoy the 50 but I often find myself wishing the FOV weren't quite so narrow.