Upgrade from 70-200 f/4 IS to 70-200 f/2.8 II L or Buy 135/f2

Alexis wrote:

For my next upgrade I was looking at selling my 70-200 f/4 IS and buying a 70-200 f/2.8 II L but that would probably mean an extra investment of the order of £500-£600 for the upgrade. Also I have been put off by the sheer weight and size of the 2.8; someone mentioned the Canon 135/f2 L as an alternative low-light lens to look at - this would cost me almost exactly the same money as the upgrade but that's an extra lens in my kit bag - maybe all I am missing is a nice 50mm and the Canon 50/1.4 can be had for £225 and it's very small in size - what would you people do if you were faced with the same dilemma and had (up to) £600 burning a hole in your pocket?

For portrait I really like the 85+135 combo and currently have 85L II + 135L and Zeiss 135 APO, I also have the 70-200 F2.8 IS II but I only use it for event not for portrait, however, a lot of my pro Wedding friends use the 70-200 2.8 for work, so it's definitely popular wedding lens, I just personally prefer the better Bokeh from the primes and don't need the "flexibility" as I always shoot with multiple bodies.

To me, whether you are getting the 70-200 F2.8 IS II or not, you should still take a look at the 135L, ( or even better, the Zeiss 135 APO if MF is your thing), it works with your 85 very nicely, in a wedding, you probably always want to have a zoom for its flexibility and a few prime when the situation calls for it, and the 85 and the 135 will be that prime in my opinion. To me the 135 is not just for low light and light gathering, it's the Bokeh quality I am going after, you can always up your ISO a little with all the modern camera if that's only for the low light.

As for the 50mm, do yourself a favor and stay away from the EF 50 1.4, pretty much any 50mm lens out there is better than this guy, again, if Bokeh is high on the list, a used Sigma 50 1.4 HSM ( not the latest Art version) can be found in the used market pretty cheap, that will run circle around the 50 EF F1.4, I replaced my EF 50 1.4 with that one as soon as it came out and never look back, I sold it later just because I found I always grab the 85L instead a 50mm, but that's just a personal focal length preference.