Lens dilemma

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wooster

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Hi

I'm off to Bruges for a weekend soon and I was considering my lens choices. I would like to have some festive shots of skating, street life, ice sculptures, buildings and lights: the usual stuff.

I have the 24-105 f4 IS which is nice and a great all rounder but I'm guessing I will want a fair few low light shots of the lights etc. I also have a 24-70 f2.8 ( mk1) but no IS. I also have a 50mm f1.4 which is only really up to scratch from f2 onwards.

While the 50mm will be useful I'm wondering if a wider lens might be of benefit and I'm considering buying either the 35mm f2 IS or the 24mm f2.8. IS.

Of the two I reckon the 35mm would be more useful to me for environmental portraiture but two disadvantages spring to mind:

1.It is pretty close to the 50mm ( though still enough of a difference to be useful I'd say )

2. It's only advantage would be the speed because IQ is pretty similar to the 24-105 at that focal length at f4. While it seems it is better than the 24-70 at 35mm it's not enough to buy it for that reason alone.

The 24mm is significantly better IQ than the 24-105 at 24mm and is quite a radical difference from the 50mm I already have.

To summarise. The 35mm seems the most versatile in terms of using it for environmental stuff but is close to the 50mm in use. The 24mm is an improvement in IQ but might be of limited use.

I'm stuck between the two. Or should I just take my 24-105 with my 50mm for the dark and be happy? Is it really worth buying anything else. If so which focal length would be best.
 
What body are you shooting with - crop or full frame ? Obviously this effects the "focal length" of the image recorded with the lens.

I'd probably take the 50mm and 24-105IS - the 50mm will easily pop in a pocket / small lens case for when needed. The 24-105IS giving you a nice focal range as a 'walk about lens'

Whatever you decide, enjoy yourself
 
Hi andyred. Thanks for the reply.

I'm using full frame. I should have said.

I will definitely take the 24-105. I suppose I'm considering whether or not it would be worth getting my hands on a faster wider prime too though. I am tempted by the 35mm because it is a) 2 stops faster than the 24-105 and b) although only one stop faster, it gives better IQ then the 24-70 f2.8 which I use for portraits at home AND it has IS. I reckon it would be great for environmental stuff.

My main counter argument is that I already get quite good results with the 24-105 at 35mm and also the 35mm is not very far away from my 50mm range.
 
wooster said:
Hi andyred. Thanks for the reply.

I'm using full frame. I should have said.

I will definitely take the 24-105. I suppose I'm considering whether or not it would be worth getting my hands on a faster wider prime too though. I am tempted by the 35mm because it is a) 2 stops faster than the 24-105 and b) although only one stop faster, it gives better IQ then the 24-70 f2.8 which I use for portraits at home AND it has IS. I reckon it would be great for environmental stuff.

My main counter argument is that I already get quite good results with the 24-105 at 35mm and also the 35mm is not very far away from my 50mm range.
Click to expand...

Seems like if you needed an excuse to buy a new lens, you've found one ;) and if you could take it with you on holiday, then all the better.
 
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