Z250SA wrote:
ZE21, 35L, 50L, 85L and 135L is my present lineup of primes. Of these I feel that the ZE21, 50L and 135L has most personality. Would NOT loose any of them. I love the field of view of the 85, though. But as Iīm cropped right now, the 135L will give the 85mm view when I go FF (probably with the 5D3, as 7D turns out to be a must have of BIF reasons).
You should not be affraid of the 50L. I find it very satisfying for landscape work AND wide open it has The Magic.
Got my ZE21 only a few days ago. Unfortunatly it makes the Līs a bit pale....Show more →
On a FF, I think you'll find that the 50 has less personality than the others. I agree though, don't be afraid of the 50L. It's a little quirky, but it can produce fantastic results if you know how to use it, and f/1.2 is magical. The 50L has significantly better bokeh than the 50 1.4. I think that's the real reason to get the L over the very nice 50 1.4.
I don't think the 35L would be redundant for you given that it is much faster than your 17-40. 35mm is a very nice, general purpose focal length on a 5D.
The 85L I is a nice option if you want to save about $500. The 85L is certainly an amazing portrait lens. But it's much more specialized than the 35L and 50L/50 1.4.
I haven't owned a 135L, but I did own the 200 2.8 L, which is very similar. Both lenses are super sharp. The 135L is an optical gem, but the focal length isn't for everyone. I feel like a lot of folks say they love its IQ but just don't use it very much. You see much less of that sentiment with the 35/50/85.
I took it to mean character, i.e., a unique feel to the images produced. Since the 35L, 50L, 85L, and 135L all have fantastic bokeh, I think the "personality" to which Z250SA is referring must mostly be a function of the field of view.
35 L no question..but these lenses are seriously need specific..you *could* shoot landscapes with an 85/135/35/24 mm lens and you *could* shoot candids with the same ones..you need to figure out which will make your shooting easier for you,,
ace97302 wrote:
I took it to mean character, i.e., a unique feel to the images produced. Since the 35L, 50L, 85L, and 135L all have fantastic bokeh, I think the "personality" to which Z250SA is referring must mostly be a function of the field of view.
Funny. Any "unique feel" comes from the photographer, not choosing a certain brand and model of lens - with very few exceptions.
gdanmitchell wrote:
Funny. Any "unique feel" comes from the photographer, not choosing a certain brand and model of lens - with very few exceptions.
Every lens has itīs characteristics sprung from the choises of compromises made in the design. For any particular photog these are experienced as strengths and shortcomings. Then we add a sensor, PP, and an observer to the equation with the resulting mess of opinions that fuels internet forums. QED.
Furthermore, if a scertain lens design require stringent precision and accuracy in manufacturing, and the economists demand a larger production than the QC can manage, we get lenses where the individual lens has itīs own strengths and shortcomings.
The 50L might just be a good example of both aspects. So, no, itīs not the field of view I find so pleasing with my copy of the 50L (combined with my 450D, substandard PP, and personal taste). It might be a combination of the bokeh, colour rendering and "unsharp sharpness" that can make the magic for me.
The ZE21 is just so utterly amazing, a clearness of colour combined with very well managed abberations that apparently produces a spectacular feeling of sharp presence. Just MHO, ofcourse.
Zooms, OTOH, are multiple personalities which makes it much more difficult to harvest the individual strengths of the lens.
the TS-E 45 & 90 both have different characterists than any other Canon lenses, so if this is your goal, look into them too. they are also both cheaper than all but one of the L's that you are thinking about, but certainly L-quality in every way.
Of all the lenses you are contemplating and will contemplate in the future, the one which you will probably end up keeping is the 35L. It is a sublime lens that dwarfs all of the wide angle zooms.
The learning curve with the 24, 35, and 135 is probably the most straight forward.