Lens choice help, please!

I am a part-time/ameatur photographer in Los Angeles. I shoot with a Canon 20D. My everyday lenses are:<br>

<br>

<b>EF 24-35mm f/2.8 L<br>

EF-S 17-85 f/4.0-5.6 IS USM</b><br>

<br>

I tend to do street photography on my own time, and headshots for dollars, all on the side of my full-time job. I've found that I'm not

happy with my current lens stock, though, because 1) the 17-85mm, despite (or because of, ironically?) its image stabilizer never seems

sharp enough, and 2) the 24-35mm is just too wide of a lens for what I need the majority of the time – mostly portrait style

photography.<br>

<br>

<u>So I am trying to decide between two lenses. They are:</u><br>

<b><a href="http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=149&modelid=8503">

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM</a></b> (~$1,200)<br>

<b><a href="http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=152&modelid=12926">

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L II USM</a></b> (~$1,900)<br>

<br>

Obviously, the 24-70mm is a great all-around lens: it is versatile, costs less, and weighs less than the second option, and the additional

f-

stops will be a major improvement over what I've got for the telephoto portion of the lens (the 17-85mm can only do f/5.6 at 85mm).<br>

<br>

But the 85mm is such a sexy lens! I've always been curious what it would be like to stop shooting with a zoom lens, and the 85mm has

such a large aperture (f/1.2!), I could do more night photography at lower ISOs, and capture really nice portrait shots. I notice that most

of

the time I'm shooting at at least 50mm – if not all the way at 85mm – on my 17-85mm, but losing the wide angle functionality is a tough

sell.. And speaking of selling, I will likely sell both of my current lenses to help fund the acquisition of the new one, so that is an

important thing to note: whichever I go for will be my primary lens (my only backup will be an EF 24mm f/2.8 that works, but the AF is

dying--otherwise I'd probably sell it,

too).<br>

<br>

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!<br>

<br>

(I feel like a kid trying to decide between a great, reliable new car, and a sports car that is slightly out of budget, but is oh-so cool and on

the brink of justification!)

How about EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM for $1700? I don't shoot potrait, but when I do, I always use it. I find the

range to be very useful, the f/2.8 produce very nice out-of-focus background, and the IS helps making sharp shots

much easier.

Wait a few weeks and see what is up with Canon's announcements and rebates. There's all sorts of talk about new DSLR lenses, such as a remake of the 24-70, the 24-105 IS and the 100-400 IS.

 

Some of the talk around this site and many other sites is a new 24-70 IS, a new 24-105 2.8 IS, and a faster 100-400. The 100-400 is pretty slow and it's about a 10 years old design, so an updated version would be wonderful.

EF 24-35/2.8 L ? ? ? ? ? ?

EF 20~35/2.8L, perhaps? There was an FD 24~35/3.5L way back, but it was replaced with the FD 20~35/3.5L in the mid-1980s, and that in turn was presumably the ancestor of the EF 20~35/2.8L. Unless it's one that the Canon Camera Museum doesn't know about, there has never been any EF 24~35 zoom.

 

Before you sell or buy anything, why not rent the 85/1.2L (original or II, doesn't matter just for an experiment) for a few days. That will probably show you why purchasing it might not be a sensible way to spend a great deal of money.

If I shoot at enough shutter speed I disable the IS to get more sharpness /Canon 24-105). And the IS does not freeze people moving.

I love my 85mm f/1.2L II for street candids.

Before this I use my 70-200 f/2.8L IS and 28-70 f2.8L

The reasons I love the 85mm so much for street shooting

1) bokeh is awesome

2) Lighting conditions are out of the question

3) small and easy to hand hold even though it becomes heavy after 4 or 5 hours

 

I shoot on the street of NYC BTW

 

samples can be seen here

www.fotki.com/superduper/

Picture #'s 8 through 24 with the exception of 14 and 19 were taken with the 85mm

I have the 24-70 2.8 L and I love it. Bob is right though, wait a bit and see because of rumors of an updated 24-70.. I also

agree that the 85mm 1.2 L is a sexy lens! I want that one myself! If you do headshots it would be a very nice portrait lens.

I think the 24-70 would be a good all round use lens for you though, maybe to replace the 17-85 you are not happy with. Is

there a camera store near by that you could test the lenses on your camera and see which one you fall in love with more?

Lol

Between the two you mention, I would take the 24-70 (for the price and the versatility), but why not an EF 50/1.4

plus EF 85/1.8 (or EF 100/2) ?

On a 20D ( which I use pending the 5D's replacement) I think both your 24-70 and 85 are too long. The 24-70 isn't wide enough at 24 on a crop. From my point of view, 'street' says 50 mm and wider.

 

One of my most used lenses is the 16-35 II. It's light and that range on a crop is most useful, plus its 2.8.

A prime alternate would be the 35L. Fast and near 'normal' on a crop.

I would also wait since new stuff is right around the corner but I would suspect any 2.8 IS lens will be much more

expensive just like the 70-200 2.8 IS and Non IS, they are about $500 different in price. I would suspect the 24-70's would

be in the same range but only time will tell.

For street photography, many people prefer smaller and less obvious and expensive lenses than those you mention. Of

course, this doesn't mean you need to do the same, but I wonder why these particular choices?

 

The 24-70 in particular is a very large, heavy, and bulky lens. In addition, some would want wider coverage than it will

provide at 24mm, which is barely wide at all.

 

If I were using your camera to do street and I wanted to use a zoom I'd take a serious look at the EFS 17-55mm f/2.8 IS.

In many objective terms is seems more suited to this type of photography than the other options you mention, since it

provides: more typical focal length range, excellent image quality, f/2.8, and image stabilization.

 

Keep in mind that your crop sensor body makes these lenses seem "longer" (e.g. - have narrower angles of view) than

they would on traditional film bodies.

 

Dan

How about a 17-40/4L or 24-105/4L in combination with a prime? You can't go wrong with, say, a 50/1.4 or a 85/1.8 even though the L versions are some of the coolest lenses around.

I think the 70-200 is too heavy for street use. The 24 to 105 is a better choice if you want a zoom.

I agree Robert, I have a 24-105 and a 70-200 2.8 and while I like the photo quality of the 70-200 more I would never use it

for street or a walk around lens. that thing just screams look at me.

 

I do like the idea ( I do this most often ) of a 24-105 and a 50 1.4. You can do almost anything with these 2 lenses

I own a 85/1.8 and I've got some very limited experience with a 85/1.2. Be aware that dof is extremely thin wide-open. I would think it takes some experience to tame this beast, and even so you may get a better hit-to-miss ratio when you shoot in controlled circumstances (studio) or when you stop it down. However in capable hands the 85/1.2 is capable of stunning results. I suggest renting and trying it out to see if it works for you before you commit.

 

The 85/1.2 is expensive. For the price of a 85/1.2 you could get a 135/2, a 85/1.8 or 100/2, plus a 50/1.4. Perhaps a collection of primes would give you more flexibility in shooting while still allowing low-light shooting, thin dof, and nice bokeh. Just a thought.

I have the 85 f 1.2 (old version) and it is easily my favorite lens. However, (unlike the new one?) it is super slow to focus and would make for a lousy street lens outside of portraits. Using it at 1.2 takes a tiny bit of practice or just a bunch of backup frames with slightly different focus. The bokeh is amazing.

 

While I love the 85 f 1.2, the new one costs $1,829.95 grey market through BHphoto.com. So honestly my advice to you is get the 85 f 1.8 and the Canon 50D. Sell your 20D and use money you'll have left over for something else.

Thanks so much for all of the responses! Definitely a lot of options to consider. I think I'll mull them over, and definitely

wait for these possibly immanent updated lenses before making a decision.

 

(And for the record, yeah, one of my current lenses is a 20-35mm f/2.8 L)