RF 16 mm f/2.8 or 35 mm f/1.8 for EOS RP user ?

ggasquecc wrote:

Hi there,

I've been using a canon EOS RP since 6 months and I'm very happy with it. I bought it as part of an offer with RF 24-105 STM, RF 50 mm STM and a spare battery. Photography is one of my passion but I'm far to be a "pro" and I'm not ready to spent k€ in gears.

I really enjoy using the RP and I'm thinking of buying a new lens. I spent a lot of time reading reviews and forums, trying to figure out what the best lens is for my needs.

I ended up choosing two prime lenses: the Canon RF 16 mm f/2.8 and the Canon RF 35 mm f/1.8. I want a good quality lens for indoor shooting (mainly portraits of my family or friends) and the RF 50 mm is not wide enough for that. So 35 mm seems perfect for me. But it is 35 mm, a focal length already "covered" by my 24-105. Is the quality gap between 24-105 STM and 35 mm really worth it ?

The 35mm is a great people lens, but if you buy it, your 50mm will probably end up gathering dust. It's not as intimidating as the 24-105mm and quite a bit faster, though that's not always an advantage if you want a group of people in focus.

It is almost impossible to get nice people pictures with the 16mm as it's far too wide for that when you factor in the rectangular projection.  (It's easier to do that with a stereographic projection fisheye.) You would need to view an A3 print from the 16mm from 280mm (11") away to avoid the perspective distortion that will stretch heads in the corners of the image into rugby balls and make people on the edges of a group look very fat. It's a wonderful focal length for dramatic landscapes and architecture, but it takes a lot of learning how to use it. I chose the 16mm, even though I have the better and more versatile EF 16-35mm f/4, which is 3× the price but nowhere near as portable.

I sent the 35mm back as I wanted it for astro and couldn't live with the bird-like stars in the corners. The 16mm isn't as bad, but it wouldn't be my first choice for astro.

On the other side, although it is not a portrait lens, the RF 16 mm will open up new possibilities to me (I've never used such a wide angle), such as landscape or astrophotography.

So please, based on your experience which one would you choose ?

Thanks a lot.