First fast prime for weddings & portraits

[Mr.Magic]

Hi all!

To set the scene: I've been working with zoom lenses for the past 3 years (24-70 f2.8 and 70-200 f4 IS). I use a 5DmkIII, and as backup a 650D/Rebel. Now, I want to take my photography further, as I absolutely admire the look of photo's taken with a fast prime lens, being f1.2 or f1.4, the nice bokeh, the thin DOF which gets the attention to the subject...

So, I am looking for my first prime lens, which I'll use for weddings and portraits, but I don't know which one. I already have the 50mm f1.8, but the quality isn't perfect, not sharp wide open and no nice bokeh.

Therefore, I'm doubting on following combinations:

- Set with: 35-85-135mm: Get the sigma 35mm f1.4 and maybe canon 85mm f1.8 as well right now, afterwards I can still get the 135mm, or;

- Set with 24/28-50-100mm: Get the canon 50mm f1.4 now, buy canon 100mm macro afterwards, possibly get the 24mm or 28mm later as well.

I don't have a huge budget, so the expensive lenses above 1200 EUR/USD are out for the moment... When I look at which focal lengths I use most, there is no clear winner between 35mm range or 50mm range. 35mm gets used more during preparation, party, the 50mm more during portraits, ceremony, etc.

I want to get out of my comfort zone of shooting with the 24-70, as I use this lens always at f3.5 or f4 due to lack of sharpness at f2.8.

To give you an idea of by whom I'm inspired:
- first of all Lindsay London (http://www.wellhellophotography.com/blog/,
- Trevor Dayley http://www.trevordayleyblog.com/ and
- Jasmine Star http://www.jasminestarblog.com/index.cfm
I know I won't get such results in the beginning, but as they prefer fast primes and shoot these wide open a lot of the time, I believe practising a lot with a prime would help me the most..

Thank you so much for your advice, experiences, comments!

Best regards!

 

[Dylan777]

1. 35 & 85 indoor

2. 50 & 135L indoor(little tight) & outdoor

 

[wysiwtf]

For me, the combination of 35mm and 85mm on two FF-bodies worked absolutely stellar.

Just in case you've got an extra crop-body, that lense setup gives you additional flexibility of ~55mm and ~ 135mm. Maybe worth some considertation.
I mainly used the 35mm for group-shots (3 or more people) and the 85mm for portraits (full body from the distance or upper body/face).

 

[ablearcher]

You already have 24-70 f2.8 so that FL is more or less covered with a fast zoom. For indoor weddings you might benefit from 85mm (decide which one - two Canons and one Sigma) or one of 100mm Canon primes (the macro will add some real benefit for weddings details - rings, etc). For outdoor you will really love the 135L - a bargain price-wise for what you get in terms of IQ. For weddings my 85mm 1.8 gets more use than 135L simply because FL is a bit too much for indoors usually.

However, for weddings, I'd suggest adding 70-200 2.8ISII to your 24-70 f2.8. You can add primes down the road. Add this fast zoom and replace Rebel for 6D - you will be all set.

 

[ablearcher]

For me, the combination of 35mm and 85mm on two FF-bodies worked absolutely stellar.

I use this setup for some of the ceremonies where i do not use flash. Works fine if I have freedom to move around (larger church, etc), but not so much in smaller venues. It still works, but I always try to get at least a few wide shots of the venue, so 24 or 10-22 (on crop)comes quite handy.

 

[Mr.Magic]

Currently, I'm think I made up my mind, thanks to the comments, so I guess the decision is made: I'll go for the Sigma 85mm f1.4, as it gets good reviews (just the AF has to be a good copy). I'll probably also go for the sigma 35mm f1.4.

Why: 35 = general purpose, 85mm = definite portrait range, and also, there is no real 'good budget' 50mm, being the sigma with focus issues, the 50mm 1.4 isn't sharp until f2, and the 50mm 1.2 is very expensive.

Afterwards, I can still get the 100 or 135

 

[sunnyVan]

Sigma 35 is my most frequently used lens. For the number of shots that I'm happy with, it's definitely a great purchase.

I struggled over whether I should get canon 85 1.8 or sigma 85. In the end I went with canon. I wanted the biggest bang for the buck and this canon didn't disappoint. Chart says f4 onward is ideal but I'm not afraid to use 2.5 or even 2. The reason I didn't pick sigma is because it's not one of the new Art series and it's good reason to be concerned. If a new sigma 85 art comes out I may jump in.