A telephoto vs prime

[jamesino]

How does the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM compare with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM prime?

Obviously, they are in a completly different category of lenses, but how does image quality and sharpness compare when both are set to the their shortest focal length? Which one is better for portraits?

 

[keith204]

you won't be able to set the 70-200mm to the 50mm focal length. The 70-200 is an incredibly sharp lens, but the 50mm 1.4 is sharper.

Both are terrific lenses.

 

[soylentgreen]

Both lenses are incredibly sharp. The difference is in your shooting style. I prefer a longer working distance with portraiture, so opt for a telphoto-zoom. 24-105 & 70-200. Some prefer primes so they have a collection of the 35mm,50mm,85mm and so on. IQ on most primes are slightly better compared to comparable zooms (unless its an L) due to less elements that the light have to pass thru, but i prefer the veratility of the zoom.