First prime?

Beav

Beav

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Hi guys,

about 12 months ago I upgraded to my first full frame DSLR (Canon 6D). With it I got the Canon F4 24-105L IS lens.

Since getting that lens I havn't used my Canon 70-200 F4 (non is) lens so I sold it for just under £300 as it's been collecting dust for a while. (it's the older version f4, non-is).

I'm tempted to use the money to try my first prime lens. I mainly shoot car photos at events indoors and outdoors. I've only ever gone as low as F2.8 when I had a sigma 18-50mm f2.8.

Wondering if to try something in the f1.8 range. I've seen older 85mm lenses can be had for my budget but 85mm is probably a bit to long for car stuff especially in doors.

Any thoughts on lenses to suit? Probably best with something a long the lines of 35mm f1.8 if this is something that exists?

Thanks in advance :)
 
If you have a 18-50mm I suggest using it to decide what focal length suits you best. You can then look at what lenses are available.
 
OK.

Do you have any lenses? If so maybe thinking about what you have and what focal length you like may give you a clue.

Perspective and look could be factors and so could the space you have to take pictures in. A 20mm might be nice and could give you some interesting pictures. A 35mm might be an all round do it all, but may be a bit boring? I don't know. It's really down to the look you want and the framing which the circumstances allow.

35mm is probably my most used focal length but I just take pictures of anything and everything. 20mm or there abouts could be more exciting for cars.
 
I'd look for a 35 f1.8 or maybe a nifty fifty (available for peanuts). If you could afford a little more, a Sigma ART in either focal length would be excellent.
 
I would contemplate one of two
Either a Canon 45mm f2.8 TS-E which would give you the option of some interesting selective focus effects using tilt and also some quite wide angle shots using the shift function.
You could also look at a fisheye , stunning when used in the right place but needs to be used selectively
 
I've got a 5d and 24-105 which I've used for years too. When I've been doing car stuff either in a pit lane or indoors I've noticed very little difference between 24 and 35 in reality so went for a Sigma 35mm Art very recently but haven't been to any car events since getting it to try it out.
 
Been looking at the Canon 35mm EF F2.

I do a bit of a product photography for an online business I have so it should be good for that as well as the car stuff :)
 
You will be a better judge of this than any of us! Have a look through your old images and check the focal lengths you've used most with the zooms, multiplying by the crop factor for the APS-C shots. Many image viewers will give you this information from the metadata. There's no reason not to get a 50/1.8 or similar, as they are so cheap for most systems, including Canon. But for indoor car shoots I suspect that will often be too tight as there may not be enough room to step back. Canon make a 35/2, which like the 50 is a versatile general-purpose prime (maybe the most versatile), but you might want to look at something even wider.
 
If you don't mind focusing manually & setting apertures on the lens you can readily get a huge range of quality prime lenses in an adapted mount.
You should be able to get an adapter 50/1.8, 28/2.8 and a few others for less than the cost of a single AF lens. (Nikon F, PK, M42, OM would all be suitable ranges IIRC)
 
Raincloud said:
Love the cheap 50mm 1.8 myself
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Did think of that as i've never owned a prime before and it's meant to be a lot of lens for the money.

For the amount of photography I do currently i'm struggling to spend £400 on a 35mm f2 IS

Just hope if I went 50mm to try a prime it's wide enough for car stuff on a full frame.

Are you using it on a FF?
 
Beav said:
Did think of that as i've never owned a prime before and it's meant to be a lot of lens for the money.

For the amount of photography I do currently i'm struggling to spend £400 on a 35mm f2 IS

Just hope if I went 50mm to try a prime it's wide enough for car stuff on a full frame.

Are you using it on a FF?
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The FOV you'd get with a 50mm prime would be the same as you get with your 24-105 set to 50mm. So it's easy to judge for yourself if it would be iwde enough for your style of shooting.
Over the years I think I've used everything from fisheyes to moderate telephotos for shooting static cars. Narrower lenses tend to encourage picking out small features (particularly good with vintage cars IMO)
 
Petrochemist said:
The FOV you'd get with a 50mm prime would be the same as you get with your 24-105 set to 50mm. So it's easy to judge for yourself if it would be iwde enough for your style of shooting.
Over the years I think I've used everything from fisheyes to moderate telephotos for shooting static cars. Narrower lenses tend to encourage picking out small features (particularly good with vintage cars IMO)
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This is the answer, as I suggested above.

My slight worry with longer lenses is the assuming you can back up when you do so if it's a well attended thing people could walk between you and the subject plus normal perspectives might not be too exciting. 20/24/28mm could at least be worth a look.
 
Canon 28mm F1.8 or F2.8 IS?

From research the 28mm f1.8 is very soft at 1.8 so people are saying you may aswell go 28mm F2.8 and have the IS
 
Can you Google your way to any 28mm f1.8 pictures? Ultimate sharpness isn't everything and isn't always a good thing so it could be a two in one lens, a bit dreamy perhaps at f1.8 and sharper stopped down.
 
Just ordered an excellent condition Canon EF 28mm F1.8 USM :) I actually sold my 70-200 F4 L lens (non is) for this, lol. Some people may slap me but I wasn't using the 70-200L
 
Beav said:
Canon 28mm F1.8 or F2.8 IS?

From research the 28mm f1.8 is very soft at 1.8 so people are saying you may aswell go 28mm F2.8 and have the IS
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Too late by the sound of it but my money would go on the slower but stabilised option.
 
Nod said:
Too late by the sound of it but my money would go on the slower but stabilised option.
Click to expand...

I did try to find the F2.8 IS version but they seem pretty rare / hard to get hold of in the UK at the minute? MBP had one but the only one they had was listed as faulty
 
Sorry, it seems I'm a bit late to the party! Forget what people have suggested about buying a 50mm lens as, based on years of practical experience, I've found it's almost always the wrong focal length for what you want! Controversial? No, just truthful!

In the short time since asking your question, it seems you've set yourself up with a wide angle lens, which will probably work OK to get that certain look for car photography, but I think you'll probably eventually get a little bit bored with that focal length. What would I suggest as a 'go to' prime lens if I had to choose just one lens and couldn't use a 24-105 L on my 6D?

The Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake lens, that's what. Forget the fact that it looks something like a child's toy, it's capable of producing really sharp photos, and it's a genuinely useful focal length - not too 'tight' like a 50mm often is, but not to loose and remote like a 35mm (and wider) lens. Another good thing... expect to pay around the £100 mark for a used one in good condition with a guarantee from a reputable dealer/shop, or perhaps a bit more for a mint-ish one.

If you're still not convinced that this little gem should be in your camera bag (and let's face it, it should easily fit!) then watch this YouTube vid (it's one of Kai's reviews, so contains some rude words, occasional strong language and 'adult themes' - so it's NSFW and don't watch it if you, or the people with you at the time, are easily offended!) but I think it demonstrates both the lens and the 40mm focal length (on a full frame camera) quite nicely. Hope this is useful. (y)

View: https://youtu.be/2p89smQck44
 
I was just about to suggest the 40mm pancake.
I had the 6D with 24-105L, fantastic all round versatile combo.
However I did have a 50mm prime and found it very good for people shots.
But I did get the 40mm f2.8 pancake and that quickly became my small setup. I could actually fit the camera with that lens in a large coat pocket.
Even at f2.8 it lets in loads of light and you can get pretty close to your subjects too (which is handy in a car show where you want to eliminate distractions) and the closer you get the more background bokeh you get.
If you got a 40mm and 85mm that would be a good setup.
But seeing as you have ordered a 28mm, I'd get the 50mm f1.8 STM (under £100) to give you a little more reach.
 
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