Your opinion: sell 35 or 85?

So I need to cull the herd a little bit, and am kind of undecided. First, a little background:

I'm a wedding photographer, and before the switch to the R5 I used to haul 7 or 8 lenses around in a giant Pelican case that weighed 18lbs empty. Those days are long gone thankfully, as I have been enjoying just 5 lenses in a Think Tank Airport Navigator (the half sized one) and it has been so nice. Not only is 5 the number that fit well in the case along with other gear I need, but it has been so nice to just simplify some things and not always be juggling so many lenses. The other day I bought the RF 14-35 f/4 and am loving it so far. My lineup did not include a UWA before now, which I desperately needed. So here are the 6 I now have:

EF 35mm f/1.4L II

RF 50mm f/1.2L

EF 85mm f/14L IS

RF 14-35mm f/4L IS

RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS

RF 70-200 f/2.8L IS
One of the EF lenses should go, both to cover my purchase of the 14-35 and to help facilitate my gradual move to 100% RF. The question is, 35 or 85?

I initially intended to sell the 35. That focal length is currently covered by 3 lenses, while the 85 is covered by 2. That is the most practical thinking I believe.

But I am thinking of selling the 85 instead. What are your thoughts? I think the idea of letting go of the 85 is easier than letting go of the 35 for me.

I welcome your opinions. I realize that lens choice is ultimately down to personal preference, uses and habits, which would be impossible to convey here to strangers. But I would welcome your thoughts and anything I haven't really thought of here.

Sell your 35mm to me 😁

R5D4 wrote:

I welcome your opinions. I realize that lens choice is ultimately down to personal preference, uses and habits, which would be impossible to convey here to strangers. But I would welcome your thoughts and anything I haven't really thought of here

Why is it impossible to convey these things? Some people use a 35 and 85 exclusively and value the unique look of f/1.4 over the convenience of zoom. Sounds like that’s not you? Some people use zooms and take out the fast primes for certain shots where they know they’ll need or want f/1.4. I guess that might be you? If so then you’ll already know that f/2.8 is not a complete replacement for f/1.4 and your new f/4 UW is certainly not a replacement for your 35 f/1.4. Completely different lens in fact.

But I am thinking of selling the 85 instead. What are your thoughts? I think the idea of letting go of the 85 is easier than letting go of the 35 for me.

My thoughts are that a 14-35 f/4 UW has very little to do with either a fast 35 or 85 lens so your question doesn’t make that much sense. You already have 2.8 zooms and fast primes - do you still use and value the primes? If the answer to either is “yes” then that won’t change with the addition of a f/4 UW.

If it was me, however, and I absolutely had to lose one or the other, I’d sooner use the magnificent RF 70-200 f/2.8 for my telephoto needs and hang on to the 35 for narrow DOF environmental portraits and extreme low light.

R5D4 wrote:

So I need to cull the herd a little bit, and am kind of undecided. First, a little background:

I'm a wedding photographer, and before the switch to the R5 I used to haul 7 or 8 lenses around in a giant Pelican case that weighed 18lbs empty. Those days are long gone thankfully, as I have been enjoying just 5 lenses in a Think Tank Airport Navigator (the half sized one) and it has been so nice. Not only is 5 the number that fit well in the case along with other gear I need, but it has been so nice to just simplify some things and not always be juggling so many lenses. The other day I bought the RF 14-35 f/4 and am loving it so far. My lineup did not include a UWA before now, which I desperately needed. So here are the 6 I now have:

EF 35mm f/1.4L II

RF 50mm f/1.2L

EF 85mm f/14L IS

RF 14-35mm f/4L IS

RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS

RF 70-200 f/2.8L IS
One of the EF lenses should go, both to cover my purchase of the 14-35 and to help facilitate my gradual move to 100% RF. The question is, 35 or 85?

I initially intended to sell the 35. That focal length is currently covered by 3 lenses, while the 85 is covered by 2. That is the most practical thinking I believe.

But I am thinking of selling the 85 instead. What are your thoughts? I think the idea of letting go of the 85 is easier than letting go of the 35 for me.

I welcome your opinions. I realize that lens choice is ultimately down to personal preference, uses and habits, which would be impossible to convey here to strangers. But I would welcome your thoughts and anything I haven't really thought of here.

I don't understand why you would need a wide angle zoom for weddings, but that's probably just me as I'm just an amateur.

In my opinion the 50mm f/1.2 (step a bit closer) and 70-200mm f/2.8 (for compression) together cover largely what the 85mm f/1.4 can do. The 50mm is also the better lens compared to the 85mm....

A 35mm f/1.4 is not the most sexy lens, but when the light is low it can be your most important lens as it covers the basic needs. Basic needs are more important sometimes than the most sexy lenses.

The wide angle zoom covers 24mm. This might allow you to sell the 35mm, 85mm and 24-70mm f/2.8 and get the RF 28-70mm f/2.0. Together with the wide angle zoom, the 50mm  and the 70-200mm that's just 4 lenses. Downside: the f/2.0 zoom is heavy.

R5D4 wrote:

I realize that lens choice is ultimately down to personal preference, uses and habits

^ This ^

Know thyself!

Knowing my own preferences, I’d lose the 35, as I’d have it covered by the 24-70 (at a wedding).

R2

I like photographing low light events with a 35 and an 85.  I rarely, if ever, miss having anything else.  I need every stop of light gathering I can get, in those situations.  I also like the DOF control for portraits.  I would never give up either of those lenses, unless I was buying a superior RF version.

Most people are happy with an F2.8 or even and F4 zoom.  I'm weird.  I just like my zooms in the daylight or on a tripod.

Sell both.

35 1.4 is a great lens, but big and in the most cases you won't see the difference with smaller, lighter, cheaper RF 35 1.8.

85 1.4 is a great lens, but you have RF50 1.2 and 70-200 2.8.

Personally I use RF35 1.8 and RF 85 + 85 1.2L II.