new prime lens?

SJD2011

SJD2011

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Sam
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Sadly I dropped my beloved nifty fifty the other day :'( and although it still works (sort of - it doesnt always focus in AF and the images appear a little gritty), I am considering a new prime lens.

I am not sure whether to get another nifty fifty, or go for a 85mm prime? Does anyone have any thoughts?

Or should I not bother with a prime and go for a 17-85 or 24-105?

I already have a 10-20mm, a kit lens, a tamron 70-300 (primarily used for macro until I get a dedicated macro lens) & a 55-250.

At the moment, I mainly do land/sea scapes but am getting more requests to take photos of friends/ family so........(hey, who am i trying to kid, I am just looking for an excuse to buy a new lens!!)

All thoughts welcomed!!
 
Well on a 600D an 85mm prime won't really match either portrait or landscape... And I'd suggest the 15-85 rather than the 17-85 if you are looking at that range.
 
I wouldn't go with a 85 or the 24-105. 15-85 would be much better suited for you. If you want something faster the tamron 17-50 or sigma 17-50 or 17-70.
 
Remember you have a crop sensor, so a 85mm x 1.6 crop frames like a 136mm lens.

Canon 17-55mm f2.8 or 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 would work on your crop sensor, you lose wide angle capabilities of the 24-105mm on a crop.

Canon 50mm f1.4 not a bad option.

17-85mm f3.5-5.6 although an ideal focal range for an lens, the lenses performance is average at best
 
SJD2011 said:
Or should I not bother with a prime and go for a 17-85 or 24-105?

All thoughts welcomed!!
Click to expand...

I think you can do better than the 17-85mm. I found it to have a lot of distortion at the wide end plus some CA and generally ho-hum optical performance. The range, USM and IS are however very nice.

I gave mine to my GF when I bought a Tamron 17-50mm f2.8. I think that the Tamron is far superior.
 
What about either the Samyang 35mm f/1.4 or the Samyang 85mm f/1.4..? Both are manual focus lenses, quite a bit cheaper than Canon's own versions.

I've both of these for my 5D/1.
 
Sam, how much did you use your 50mm and did it do what you wanted, also was there anything you didn't like about it / would like to alter on it ???

If you used it lots, then I'd look to either buy another or use the opportunity to upgrade to a F1.4 model...
 
Thank you all for your input. I had forgotten about the crop factor - i got a little ahead of myself as I am planning to get a full frame soon (well, within the next year!).

I hadnt considered some of these lenses, and am now torn between the canon 15-85 or the tamron 17-50......
 
Your thread title was new prime lens hence I recommended the Siggy 50mm f/1.4 -

If you want a zoom I'd go Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 if you have the dosh, or a bit less pricey the 15-85mm.
 
My biggest issue with Prime lenses, is that once you use them, you can never go back to zooms!

The Sigma 50 1.4 is really, very, very good.

I have tried all the Canon 50's and ended up with the Sigma 1.4

The 50mm should get plenty of use on both FF and crop sensors too.

This entire shoot was done on a 50 1.4:
http://richardgrainger.com.au/story/portraits--rae-johnston/11

I have plenty of samples if you would like to see what it can do - Just shoot me a PM.
 
In your original post, you said you were 'considering a new prime lens.' You are also planning to get a full frame camera soon. People tend to go for primes over zooms for a few reasons. Image quality is generally thought to be better with primes, though the difference is less with some of the newer zooms. Primes are generally faster than zooms, meaning that they can be better in low light and you can be more creative with Depth of Field. Using FF will increase the DoF effects given the same framing as a crop for a given aperture and focal length (more blur / Bokeh).

If creative DoF is where you are headed, then a fast prime would make a lot of sense. But which one? I'd suggest that you take some of your existing zooms, and set the focal length to a fixed amount. Say 35/50/85/135mm force yourself to shoot at the fixed length for a while to see how you get on. To simulate these lengths on FF set at 22/32/53/85 on your crop and try again. You won't be able to simulate the DoF you get with fast glass, but you will be able to see how you get on with framing / individual and groups / Environmental images and the space needed.

Beware if you go down this road, it gets expensive quickly. Personally 35mm and 85mm are the go-to lengths on full frame. I also love the 135L , but its use is curtailed by available space to shoot. I have the 17-40L which works for Landscapes, though I'm trying to force myself to shoot this @ 24mm as I intend to swap this out for a prime some time.
 
If you really are going full frame in the next year forget the EFS lenses, ie

17-55

15-85

17-85

They won't fit!

;)
 
85mm. Especially if you're think of shooting portraits :)
 
Again, thanks all.

Yes, the title of my thread is a new prime lens as I do feel that i want faster glass with a wider aperture. I recently shot a halloween party with my nearly dead nifty fifty whichus what has prompted this thread.

In terms of the zooms, i hired a 18-55 from lfh which i loved.

I raised both options due to a limited budget. If i could, i would buy both a zoom and a prime but i cant so i want to invest my money wisely. I do have more of a lean towards the primes at the moment but wanted to catch general opinion. The last thing i want to do is buy a lens then rarely use it.

Having researched my previous post with the 2 choices i think i will get the sigma 50mm first......but possibly the 85mm.....hmm indesiciveness is a cross i bear.
 
Thanks andyred for your words. I did use my nifty a lot which is why i would like another. It was a lovely crisp lens but i have to say ithought it felt a little plasticky.......but it did give me some lovely shots.
 
If I were buying a 50 again, I think it'd be the Sigma 1.4. I have the Canon 1.4 and 1.8, but the IQ from a borrowed Sigma is better in the corners. The build also feels better than the Canons.
 
plamen_gb said:
Get a nifty fifty again as the only advantage of the 50mm 1.4 is the USM motor
Click to expand...

I don't think that's the whole story.

Points against the f/1.4: The USM in it is probably the worst in Canon's entire range, it's micromotor based. It is still faster and more accurate than the f/1.8 though. It's also a bit fragile, even a slight impact on the front element can damage the focussing internals, so like many people I never take the hood of mine to give it some extra protection.

Points for the f/1.4: This is quite hard for me to explain, but there is something great about the images from this lens that I didn't get with the f/1.8. It's really sharp but somehow forgiving, has lovely tone, and very nice bokeh. The 1.8 is a good lens, very sharp and contrasty, but it lacks the subtlety of the 1.4. I notice this most with portraits.

Most say that the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 is better still, but I've never used one so can't comment.
 
SJD2011 said:
Thanks andyred for your words. I did use my nifty a lot which is why i would like another. It was a lovely crisp lens but i have to say ithought it felt a little plasticky.......but it did give me some lovely shots.
Click to expand...

Then another 50mm lens it is ...

The decision now is do you stick with the F1.8 and cheaper price or if you can afford it upgrade to the F1.4. The next difficult choice is Canon or Sigma if your going this route.
 
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