Help me decide! FF WA Primes

Digital_Clarity

Digital_Clarity

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Dave
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Hello all,

Struggling to decide what I want to swap my 24-70 for... Not too keen on the weight and size of the lens and am looking for primes to push me, creatively and technically. Looking to swap the zoom for 3 primes covering similar focal lengths...

Decided I want:

Canon 85mm f/1.8 - Universally applauded it seems, can't justify the f1.4 L. PURCHASED!
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 - Deeply regret selling my Canon f1.4, although on further investigation is seems the Sigma has better build quality. BOUGHT NEW!
Undecided on the wide angle though:

Canon 20mm - Very mixed reviews, mostly negative.
Canon 24mm - f1.4 way out of my league
Canon 24mm - Either the f1.8 OR f2.8 version?
Canon 28mm - Again, either the f1.8 or f2.8 version!

Please help me rule out some options on the WA front, I don't seem to be getting anywhere! Any experiences or info about those would be appreciated.

Many thanks,

Dave
 
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Your bang on about the 85mm, you wont ever regret getting it.

As for the wide end, I wouldn't be looking at canon unless I could afford the 24mm 1.4, I would be looking at Zeiss, the 28mm distagon T is apparently a cracker.
 
85mm is a real cracker. But for UWAs I'd probably pick 17-40mm if you can't afford 24L or 17mm TSE. The other lenses are very so-so particularly on full frame. see photozone.de reviews for more info.
 
Too slow, spent too long on Nikon cafe tonight!

There is one lens you must simply look at at least...as Ian says, Zeiss, but I would suggest either the 21 or the 25...21 for preference.
 
Can we try the sub-£1000 price bracket :D I was thinking around the £300 mark.

Ian, pretty sure I'll be getting one of those 85mm's. Like the isea of the zeiss but way out of my price bracket.
Daugirdas, the point of my lens change is to get away from heavy L zooms, would rather get my hands on a light prime.
Simon, had a look at both... Mmm, nice. Just need some kind of long lost recently deceased relative!
Esen, would love to play around with the TS lenses but yes it's a little expensive given my budget.

Thanks all, any more suggestions on the non-L primes?
 
Tamron 17-35mm if you can go for a zoom.

When i tested it against the 17-40, it was a TOUCH worse in the corners, but in every other respect just as good as the Canon.

Plenty wide anyway....
4276175386_306c174837.jpg
 
Dave - are you sure you need primes that wide? I'd be tempted to go with 17-40 for UWA, and 35L. I'm in the same boat as you :)
 
daugirdas said:
85mm is a real cracker. But for UWAs I'd probably pick 17-40mm if you can't afford 24L or 17mm TSE. The other lenses are very so-so particularly on full frame. see photozone.de reviews for more info.
Click to expand...

As he said ^

17-40 is such a versatile focal length, damn wide up to a regular normal FL, weathersealed, light and sharp, and cheap. It is NOT heavy either.
 
Well I was out at Dunham Massey a few days ago when the snow was thick(er), and after getting home and looking at exif data approx 50% of my photos were taken at 24mm. I think if I had 35 I'd miss the wide option.

Very reluctant to go with zooms, partly because of cost, mostly because I want something light, cheaper, sharp and preferably with a large max aperture. EDIT: just seen your post Trench, thanks for the input on the 17-40. I'll do a bit of research...


Swaying towards the 24 f1.8, any thoughts on that one??
 
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Your photography style may differ, but for me, I'm usually stopped down for more depth of field at the shorter focal lengths: landscapes or perspective shots. This is why I think a 17-40 would be ideal rather than wider apertures. Are you sure that your 50% were also wide open?
 
No when shooting landscapes I almost always stop down, I just want to have the low light option since I've sold all my flashguns!

Having 1.8 on a WA isn't as critical as on the 85mm for example, I'm just trying to avoid the zoom as it's too expensive. Looking for £300 at the most really.
 
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