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If only owning 1 L lens, which one: 35mm 1.4 ii, 24-70 2.8 ii, or 50mm 1.2?

Started Dec 6, 2017 | Discussions thread
flatpicknut
flatpicknut Contributing Member • Posts: 693
Re: If only owning 1 L lens, which one: 35mm 1.4 ii, 24-70 2.8 ii, or 50mm 1.2?

I love my 24-70 f/2.8L II. 24mm on a full frame is nicely wide, 70 mm lets me blur backgrounds for decent separation, and f/2.8 handles most of the low-light situations I'm in. Your 24-105, though, is actually more flexible with its longer reach, but at some loss of sharpness and low-light performance. Only you can decide which works better for you (and since you're considering the 24-70, it sounds like you might not be satisfied with the 24-105?).

It would be hard to argue against the 35mm, based on what you said.

You say you like the 35mm range and mostly shoot people - how about a different option, something like the 135mm f/2.0L or the new 85mm f/1.4L IS (or similar lenses in the Tamron and Sigma families)? Unless you're only shooting groups, I would think that any of these longer lenses would be an exciting addition for your kit. (Speaking of Tamron, for the price of the Canon 35mm 1.4 ii, you could buy the Tamron 85 mm f/1.8 AND 35mm f/1.8, both with IS and weather resistance and get both a good 35mm lens as well as a good portrait lens.)

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Doug Brock

 flatpicknut's gear list:flatpicknut's gear list
Canon EOS 5D Mark III Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Samyang 14mm F2.8 ED AS IF UMC Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8L II USM Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM +8 more
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