Composition with primes and zooms.

diness wrote:

I keep flipping back and forth on this. I think my conclusion is that primes are great when you have a bit more time to work and the leeway to change position. They are also great when I need more light or compactness. The 35mm f2 IS and 100mm L IS macro are great examples. I like the little 24mm IS almost as much as my FD 24mm. I miss the metal and the DOF scale though.

I used to run around with EF 24mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4 USM and 100mm f2.8 USM macro, all with 58mm filters. Nice compact little kit gave up nothing to expensive lenses, worked in the dark, added closer focusing at the wide end and 1:1 macro long. I still got f2.8 or better with nice bokeh in portraits with some of Canon's sharpest lenses in a neat little bag.

Zooms work better when I haven't much time to shoot and/or my ability to move around is limited. I like them for the way I can precisely frame a composition. They're also good when I don't want to switch lenses for dust/moisture reasons i.e. the 24-105mm.

So I guess I like them all. Thoughts?

I feel exactly the same way, and unlike some people on this forum, I don't have endless supplies of money, so its always tought to decide which trade off you're gonna take! My latest hope is to make my kit the 24-105 f4L and 70-200 f4L with the 85mm 1.8 and 35mm f2 is as a small prime set up as well.

I think that would be a great setup. The two zooms cover most of the range for landscaping and walkabout. Get the 35mm f2 IS if you can afford it, and maybe hold out for an 85mm IS if you can wait. I hope they make the 85mm with a 67mm filter.

That 100mm IS macro is a wonderful all around lens. Add the 35mm f2 IS and a 50 STM and you can have a lot of fun for moderate coin. The 35mm IS and 24-105mm also do indoor/outdoor duty really well on vacations.

I actually already have the 24-105, 85, and 70-200. The 35 is the only one left to add! Hoping to soon as I hear great things!