Is a mid-range lens a good idea to add to a landscape photography kit?

fotognome wrote:

I haven't done this type of photography before and wanted to put a kit together...

I’ve got a Canon EF 16-35 f/4 L for wide angle.
And a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L for telephoto.

I was wondering if it would be helpful to have something in the mid-range.

It depends on how you see the world and where and what the landscape is. The English Lake District looks wonderful through a 50mm lens, but it's a miniature landscape in a lot of ways.

I’ve got a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4, would that do?

Try it. You already have it and the lens itself will tell you better than anyone here.

Or, would a mid-range zoom like the 24-70 f/2.8 L II be better? (I know you don’t need f/2.8 but I could use it for other things.

Possibly.  It's expensive and the f/4 is less expensive and easier to carry, but it's still pretty big compared to your 50mm.  I don't find the gap between 50mm and 70mm is worth filling, and the gap between 35mm and 50mm isn't that big either.

One other reason I’m perhaps cautious about using the 50mm f/1.4 is that the extending barrel when it focuses is meant to be very fragile so it might not like filters screwed onto it. My filters are 82mm so I’ll have a 58mm-82mm step-up ring hanging off the end of it. With that hanging off the end, it might not like getting jostled.

58mm round filters aren't that expensive and will let you use the lens hood that protects the mechanism as well as shading the lens.  The lens should be OK on a tripod with a rectangular filter system as long as you don't walk around carrying the camera with the system attached.

Thanks, all, for the advice. I'll use the 50mm, then.

I bought an 82mm set of Kase magnetic filters. (I don't own an 82mm lens but thought I might one day...)

But the idea would be to keep the step-up rings and magnetic lens caps on the 3 lenses (the 16-35, the 70-300 and the 50) at all times and, then, simply throw on a magnetic ND or CPL filter when needed.

I was just hesitant about having a 58-82mm step-up ring on the end of the 50mm (as it would protrude a fair bit) and bumping around in my backpack if the focus barrel is supposed to be so fragile.

I'll stop being so precious and just use it and enjoy, I guess. I bought the lens second hand. I think it would be no more than 5 or 6 years old.