Which lens??

[rickp1]

Hey guys and gals,
I'm doing a bit of research for a really fast lens and I've come across the Canon 50mm 1.8 and the 85mm 1.8 USM. which would you recommend?
By the way I'm using a Canon 50D.

thanks
R.

[Seltzer]

What are you looking to use it for? They are both decent inexpensive lenses but the 50mm is less. The 85mm you would just have to be further away from your subject. But that goes along with that sometimes you can't get close enough for the framing to work with the 50mm. These are both prime lenses so you have to move rather than zooming in and out so just think about that and how much room you have to maneuver when you are looking at what to get.

[rickp1]

Hey seltzer,
I'm wanting a fast and good lowlight lens. I would pretty much use it for portraits. I also have a 17-55mm f2.8, so I want to make sure I don't get something I alredy have that can do the same job.

I dont mind moving back and forth to adjust the zoom. This isn't for professional purposes at all.

R.

[inkista]

REALLY fast?

Well, if you've got $4k to spend, there's the discontinued EF 50mm f/1.0L USM.

But assuming a budget, and no need for autofocus, the following three candidates are really fast lenses for relatively reasonable amounts of money:

Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 (an SC and/or AI version will probably be better optically, but slightly more expensive). I found a pre-AI, non-coated one for less than $200. Just be sure having a (very mildly) radioactive lens doesn't give you the willies.

Minolta Rokkor 58mm f/1.2. Problem is, this one requires mount hacking, not just an adapter ring, to get onto EOS, but it's apparently king of the adapted bargain f/1.2s.

Olympus OM 55mm f/1.2. (The 50/1.2 is of later design, but again, will be more expensive. I got my 50/1.2 for about $300, but current prices have moved a bit upwards from there).

If you're willing to give up some speed for image quality/sharpness, the Contax-Yashica mount Zeiss Planar 50mm f/1.4 is considered by some to be the best 50mm ever made, but others would say the 50/1.7 version is a better bargain.

Be aware that unless you need the speed, bang-for-buck will typically go to the slower lenses. Lenses do not perform at their best wide open, so if you do pick up an f/1.2 lens, don't expect it to be as sharp as, say, an f/1.8 or f/2 lens is, wide open. That's the same story with the CZ 50s: if you don't need f/1.4, the 1.7 is a better bargain. Ditto with the Canon 50/1.0, 50/1.2, 50/1.4, and 50/1.8.

Realistically, you'll probably want to stay with the Canons. Autofocus and wide open metering are nice things to have. Both of those lenses are great, but I'd recommend if this is your first prime, that you either go for the 50/1.8 because it's so damn cheap and so is good as a training lens and once you don't need it, it becomes a great trashable travel lens or street shooter or poor man's macro toy. Alternatively, you could use something like ExposurePlot (former Focalplot) to see what focal lengths you sit at, if any.

A 50 can be too long on a crop body, let alone an 85. The 50 gets recommended so much because it's so inexpensive, and because it's normal: if you look through the viewfinder, and have your other eye open, the views will match. But 50 also meant a specific field of view on a film camera, and on a crop camera, that same field of view is more closely approximated by ~30mm, so some crop shooters are more comfortable with a 28mm or 35mm prime lens.

With the Canon primes, I'd put them mostly in three groups: The Ls, the USMs, and the non-USMs. Cost-wise, the L primes are mostly four-figures. You're probably interested in the USMs (28/1.8, 50/1.4, 85/1.8, 100/2) or the non-USMs (28/2.8, 35/2, 50/1.8, 135/2.8 soft focus). [I'm assuming you want portrait length, and not wider than 28mm].

The USMs will autofocus faster and have better build quality, but the image quality of all the 50 and longer primes will not disappoint, and the 28s and 35s on a crop body will be just fine (corner performance weakens on a full-frame).

[CaptainNH]

I have both the 50 & the 85 f/1.8 and love them both on my 50D.

Both are great "bang for buck" lenses - sharp and fast - the only thing that lets them down (or at least will let them down over time) is build quality. But that's not going to be an issue for a good few years.

The 50 - I use this mainly for more creative stuff where I'm looking for narrow DoF.

I LOVE the 85 - I once shot a whole wedding reception on it. The reception was mainly candle-lit and I wanted to capture the mood that this brought about - on a 50D, the 85 is effectively a 135 and made a great fast telephoto - especially for the price!!!

Though I'd dearly love a 5DII for the quality, there's great advantage in using a good crop body - it saves you $1000s in glass - turning my 70-200 + 2x converter into an effective 600mm f/5.6 L lens. The real thing would cost me close to $13,000. - sorry for the off topic trip

[rickp1]

so do you guys think I'm not doubling up by already having the 17-55mm f2.8? that's my convern?

R.

[inkista]

I think once you get it and shoot with it, and see the differences between prime and zoom shooting that you'll understand the overlap doesn't matter quite that much, given how differently a prime lens handles--it's not just the aperture and focal length, it's also the size and weight and how primes force you to think, compositionally. Besides, the 50/1.8 is about as cheap as you can get new lens-wise.

[nathanbarlow]

remember that on a 50D, you have a 1.6 crop factor. So a 50mm becomes more of a 80mm lens. And the 80, more like 120 or 130mm . . . DoF is still the same as the lens spec though. (as it is a crop factor)

I find that my 50mm is awesome, but sometimes I want it to be a 50mm. So I've decided my next lens is going to be a 28mm, which is roughly a 50mm length. But has the DoF and perspective of a 28mm (aka wide angle)

Just something to consider.

[rickp1]

Actually i need to ask about this 1.6 crop factor. What is that?? I keep reading about it and i dont have a clue what it is. Can anyone explain it to me please.

thanks guys I appreciate the feedback.

R.