85mm 1.8 as a good "Walkl Around Lens"

[IlliniNation]

I need to add to my lens collection for my 7D.

I only have the 28mm 1.8 for indoor shooting.. I am looking for a good walk around lens. Would it be save to state that the 85mm could be in the category of a walk around lens? I basically like to shoot portraits and street shooting

Thanks in Advance!

 

[007peter]

The conventional wisdom would be NO. But my own experience with my own prime collections of ( 35mm f/2 + 50mm f/1.8 + 85mm f/1.8 + 100mm f/2 + 200mm f/2.8 ) would be yes.

In my own experience:

• [Street Candid Shoot] - is best done with 200mm f/2.8 prime or zoom. I often find 85mm f/1.8 too short + and depth of field too great from 32 feet away ( 2 car lengths ). 200mm give me more telephoto compression and better subject to background isolation

• [portrait] indoor + outdoor can be done by 85mm f/1.8. This lens is stunning for portrait works and bokeh is truly creamy. I much prefer using my 85mm f/1.8 over my 100mm f/2 for portrait as I find the latter too tight around the head

• [indoor portrait] my favorite is 50mm f/1.8 over 35mm f/2. 35mm doesn't give enough telephoto compression of backdrops. I find it is necessary to shoot very close to the subject with 35mm f/2 in order to blur out the background. However, shooting close to the subject increase facial distortion. All in all, I wasn't impressed and sold the lens

After owning these primes, I have conclude the single best lens for Street/Portrait is any 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom . One lens does it all. It function well as a sports lens, great for street photography, and deliver outstanding portraits. If the weight/size doesn't bother you, none is better.

I need to add to my lens collection for my 7D.

I only have the 28mm 1.8 for indoor shooting.. I am looking for a good walk around lens. Would it be save to state that the 85mm could be in the category of a walk around lens? I basically like to shoot portraits and street shooting

Thanks in Advance!

 

[biggles267]

thanks for your info. I have tried the 70-200 2.8L and don't enjoy it - it's just too heavy to be fun, plus its size and colour make it stand out a lot on the street.

 

[DVT80111]

Took it out to my kid karate tournament in a gym and regretted.

The effective focal length is like 135mm. Sorry, wrong tool for the job.

I can't even use that for flower because its minimum focal distance is a bit too far.

 

[verbiage]

If by street photography you mean shooting people from the across a (relatively) narrow street, then by all means, get it. Otherwise it's going to be either too long (for close action) or too short (for shots from more than 15 ft away), IMHO.

I've got some reasonably good (for me) shots with this lens on a crop, but they were mostly duo portraits or snaps of a performance in a relatively small auditorium, which captured the expressions on the performers' faces. Outside those "special" circumstances, I didn't have much use for it. Except maybe some "expression shots" that would have the subject's face/head "spill" outside the frame. After keeping it on a 60D for a couple of weeks, and not getting any keepers, it's been moved to a 5D

Here's a duo portrait on a crop, taken from about 8-10 ft away:





(I know, I know, the lighting is kinda bad)

 

[nathanrx]

If you have room to manuever, then yes. I have this lens with a 60d and took it out to photograph people at the beach, pier, and boardwalk. It's my favorite as an outdoor walkaround lens.

 

[Rakumi]

I would not say it is a great walk around lens (unless you have a specific target, flowers or portraits for example), but this lens does compliment the 28mm 1.8 well for a pair combination. I have both lenses and use them for my indoor shooting.
--

Darkness is the monster and your shutter is your sword, aperture your shield and iso your armor. Strike fast with your sword and defend well with your shield and hope your armor holds up.

 

[DonSantos]

I wouldn't call it versatile. It does have some very nice bokeh on a crop. When I had it on a 50d I did feel that I wasn't far enough at times and also wasn't close enough the other times.

On a 5d it feel more "right" for street photography.

 

[Peter Kwok]

My definition of a walk around lens is when you do not have anything specific to shoot, just whatever happens to be interesting. That means flexibility and image quality good enough that you will not regret not having another lens with you.
In that case, I would say a 15-85 IS is probably the best fit.
--
Peter Kwok
http://www.pbase.com/peterkwok
WYSIWYG - If you don't like what you get, try to see differently.

 

[Rakumi]

I wouldn't call it versatile. It does have some very nice bokeh on a crop. When I had it on a 50d I did feel that I wasn't far enough at times and also wasn't close enough the other times.

On a 5d it feel more "right" for street photography.

It would feel pretty nice on a FF body just like 50mm feels pretty good on a crop.
--

Darkness is the monster and your shutter is your sword, aperture your shield and iso your armor. Strike fast with your sword and defend well with your shield and hope your armor holds up.

 

[Fabian628]

I walked japan for 3 weeks, i was using 135mm on a crop body but I know 85mm would have been just perfect (similar to 135mm on full frame). I think if you like street shooting this would be a great lens, you dont need to get too close to people, and be stealthy with such a small lens.

good luck
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41942460@N04/sets/

 

[MysticX]

The 85 can be anything but not a walk around lens. It's just a superb portrait lens which works great for portraits on both crop and FF.

If you ask me what walk around lens I'd choose for the 5D, it would be the 35mm f/2.

For 7D such small, lightweight, fast and capable lens does not exist. Should be about 22mm f/2.

24mm f/1.4 L is too big and bulky but it's the closest match.

In your case I'd struggle to keep the 28/1.8 and buy 2 aditional small primes, maybe the voigtlander 20mm and another prime anything from 50mm to 100mm, fast or macro.

But, if you want to steal single person street portraits, faces, expressions, perhaps you really need a tele zoom. But you'll want to have your "subjects" in direct sunlight in that case, unless you go for the f/2.8 stuff.
--
Click Click ....

 

[balloonchasers]

What is your current lens lineup? If just the 28mm...then I think you need a mid-range zoom with a f-stop in the 2.8 range. But that is just from looking at the pictures you posted in a previous thread to try to get an idea of what you are taking pictures of.

The 85mm would be a great walk around lens because you will find yourself doing a lot of walking backwards trying to get your subjects fully in the frame! LOL

John
--

Feel free to use any of these additional letters to correct the spelling of words found in the above post: a-e-t-n-d-i-o-s-m-l-u-y-h-c If you find any extra letters, please place them here for future use...

 

[Axiom05]

Have you considered the Canon EF-S 60mm macro?

 

[Chez Wimpy]

• [Street Candid Shoot] - is best done with 200mm f/2.8 prime or zoom. I often find 85mm f/1.8 too short + and depth of field too great from 32 feet away ( 2 car lengths ).

32 feet away? :0

http://www.prime-junta.net/pont/Pontification/n_Telephoto_Is_For_Wimps/a_Telephoto_Is_For_Cowards.html

--
-CW

よしよし、今日も生きのいい魂が手に入ったな

 

[Chez Wimpy]

If you ask me what walk around lens I'd choose for the 5D, it would be the 35mm f/2.

I think I agree. I haven't done too much "street" shooting with primes (my streets are indoors!), but the 35/2 on my 5D2 made the biggest (ie smallest) impression on me with its mix of size, useful FOV, and image quality. That said, my favorite street photographer from the digital age used the 24L on the 5D exclusively for a number of years.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/95366015@N00/

The impact of his images (overall) points to a wider FOV and the interaction of the subjects with their surroundings. Tough to photograph, but much more rewarding. If you are shooting people as you would birds, I suppose the 85/1.8 is a good starting point. I find that on crop, the lens is best used for compressing street scenes (shot looking down the avenue) or compressed landscapes, but not much besides that. I had to use it (when my 5D2 was in the shop) during the coming-of-age ceremony in Kurashiki Japan, and the results were not bad at all - but definitely voyeurism of the "falling cherry blossoms + kimono" variety.

For 7D such small, lightweight, fast and capable lens does not exist. Should be about 22mm f/2.

Yes, this range for Canon has been completely ignored.

In your case I'd struggle to keep the 28/1.8 and buy 2 aditional small primes

I personally got tired of the xxD class out-and-about, picked up a used rangefinder (with 40/1.7) and after I got tired of paying for film, the GF1 + 20/1.7. Depending on where you are, that combo is about the same cost as the 85/1.8, and incredibly useful for walkaround.

--
-CW

よしよし、今日も生きのいい魂が手に入ったな

 

[Wayne]

I find that for my 7D my favorite carry lens outdoors is my 17-55mm followed by the 70-200 F/4.0 L

I usually use the 85 for indoor work only....

 

[a-rod_dc]

A 28mm/85mm prime combo is a great walk-around setup (I would prefer a little bit wider but that is no big deal). The 85mm will give you great image quality and shallow DOF (if that is not of interest to you, then go with a good zoom such as the 70-200L f4 for convenience). The 85mm focal length is pretty versatile (just a few steps forward or back to achieve a pretty broad "zoom" range)...don't get hung up on "needing" all focal lengths covered by a different lens because it really isn't necessary. The 85mm can effectively replace anything from around 50mm to 150mm with just a little thought into the composition. It amazes me how many people focus on the shots they might "miss" because of the lens they have on rather than the images they can "get" with the lens they have on.

 

[biggles267]

I'm no expert, but to me, technically, a walk around lens needs to be a zoom since when walking around you will experience a wide range of photos you see and want to get. if you go out with a particular kind of photo in mind (portraits, architecture) you can take a prime. but if by walk around you mean flexible then use a zoom.