Another 85mm f/1.8 or 100mm f/2 thread

I am thinking on one of these two lenses and would like some input from someone that has owned both. Let me give you some ideas where and what/who I'll be shooting.
Local H.S and College gymnasiums. I have court side access so I can get as close as I need to for the shot. Primarily wrestling and basketball are the sports by the way.
My wife and I's kids and grandkids. I will be using the 35 F/2 or 50 f/1.8 indoors most of the time but oudoors the longer reach would be nice.
Also the cameras I use are a 7D and 1DMII so I can usually bump the ISO up a bit to keep from shooting wide open so I can stop the lens if I need to.
Thanks for reading and I hope to get some great feedback.
PS: If you can post a pic or link from either lens SOOC I would appreciate it.

Only you know where you get to stand. So, only you know which mm is best for you. They are very similiar lenses. The 85 is more popular in general. I think many people have in the back of their mind that they will someday get the 100 macro lens and so they do not buy the 100/2.

gasrocks wrote in post #11357796
Only you know where you get to stand. So, only you know which mm is best for you. They are very similiar lenses. The 85 is more popular in general. I think many people have in the back of their mind that they will someday get the 100 macro lens and so they do not buy the 100/2.

+1. I've used them both and now own the 85mm - they are pretty much identical. Just pick the focal length that suits you. For me, I liked the 85mm better - but I use mine for portraits.

Both are awesome. I lie the 85mm a lil more myself.

It's a difficult choice because they're both so close in price/performance. I am going to try out the 85 at a local camera shop and see if that helps. Sure wish they had the 100, but oh well, nothing I can do about that.

These are almost interchangeable.

your safest bet is to toss a coin. perfect twin lenses

I have the 85f1.8 and the Canon 35f2. The shorter focal length of the 85 compared to the 100 seemed better for my indoor use - it is already long on a crop. On a 1D, the 85 will give you the field of view of a 110, and the 100 gives field of view of a 130.
I mainly use the 85 for action and candid photography outside. You need to decide which focal length will work better for you. If the 85 is ever too short, you can crop.
The 85 has very fast focusing. I am not sure if the 100 is as fast or not.

From my understanding the 100 is slightly better with regards to avoiding ca.

Otherwise, much of a muchness, depends which focal length works for you.

If you're courtside, you'll likely find the 100 too long. I use this to shoot low light indoor sports (son's hockey) and I find it performs very well. For hockey, it's perfect standing back about 10-15 rows at the blue line for one side of the ice, it's a bit short for the other side, the 85 would be worse.

Overall, I do find it a bit long on a crop, but it's a great lens for what I need it to do.

SOOC with the 100 f/2, resized in PS for the web.

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

TonyG wrote in post #11361687
If you're courtside, you'll likely find the 100 too long. I use this to shoot low light indoor sports (son's hockey) and I find it performs very well. For hockey, it's perfect standing back about 10-15 rows at the blue line for one side of the ice, it's a bit short for the other side, the 85 would be worse.

Overall, I do find it a bit long on a crop, but it's a great lens for what I need it to do.

SOOC with the 100 f/2, resized in PS for the web.

Thanks for the advice everyone, especially to TonyG for posting the pic also. I think I will be purchasing the 85 later today. With wrestling starting up later this week it should get a good workout.

As soon as I checked B&H Photo's website, I saw they had a used 9+ 85 f/1.8 for $299 so I picked it up. I sure am hoping it's a great copy. Should be here by friday.

Good deal! I picked up my 100m used from KEH for 299, great deal.

Hope you enjoy it!!!

I only got 85mm f1.8 but I can stop it down to f2.0/f2.2 to gain sharpness. For BB, lot of folks use 85mm f1.8. Haven't seen much 100 f2 shots. But then I could be wrong.

TonyG wrote in post #11367756
Good deal! I picked up my 100m used from KEH for 299, great deal.

Hope you enjoy it!!!

Not to go off topic, but from what I hear KEH grades their used equipment very conservatively which is good for us buyers. I've been thinking about selling my 1DMII and getting a 1DS to compliment my 7D. I just wish they had a bigger lens collection to choose from whenever I look at their site.