New lens for canon 60d

[selo]

I would like to replace my 1.8 50mm. First i wanted to get the 1.4 which is 300eur. The 1.2 is too expensive right now.

A friend advised me to get the sigma 1.4 50mm art. Right now i rented this lens and used it today. Its a great lens and its about 840euro. I love this lens and would like to own one.

However right now I use a 60d and this 50mm will be 80mm equiv. I can't go bigger than 85mm since I shoot inside a lot. I am planning to upgrade to a full frame mainly because I shoot inside and dont have the space to backup a lot.

Is it better, with the knowledge that I will upgrade to a full frame, to get the 85mm rather than the 50mm? Or would you guys just get the lens u need right now? I am planning on buying the follow up for 5d mark iii. Which is expected late this year.

The reason i would prefer the 85mm is that you get more depth (more blurr) vs the 50mm.

85mm for crop sensor is something like 135mm, which is too long.

 

[ronlane]

Welcome. So I take it you are shooting portraits indoors? If that is the case, it would be hard to steer you away from the 85mm. Even if it was too tight for a while. I have not shot the Sigma, so I have no comparison. I have shot with the 85 f/1.8 and I loved it. That is one of my regrets is not getting a used version of that lens when I had the chance.

 

[selo]

Hi, thank you for responding. why do you regret not getting a used one?

I probably get a new one since it is for our business and the VAT will be deductible. Unless I can get a ver cheap one. The sigma is about 700eur excluding VAT. I doubt that i find a good ine for under 600eur.

 

[ronlane]

I regret not getting one at all. There have been times when I would love to have the 85 for portraits but since I didn't have it, I couldn't use it. I had the chance to get that used one for under $400 USD.

 

[Ido]

What are you looking for in a new lens? If it's significantly more light to work with, neither f/1.4 nor f/1.2 will do the trick. You should literally add light to the scene.

 

[beagle100]

depends on the use but the Sigma 50 1.4 is good but if you "need space" for inside shots why not try one of the 30mm 1.4 (original or art)




















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[AndrewCanon6D]

I have never used the Sigma 50mm 1.4, but I have heard great things about it. I think that would be a solid choice.

Everyone will have a different opinion, but personally, I would keep the 50mm f1.8 if you have it and if it is working ok. The Sigma will be built a little bit better than the 1.8 and will be a little bit faster. You would see some difference. But personally, I think you would see a bigger difference if you kept the 50mm 1.8 and then bought a 35mm or an 85mm instead. This would give you more options of focal lengths and more variety in your shooting. You could look at the Canon 35mm f2 or the Canon 85mm f1.8. Sigma has a 1.4 version for both the 35mm and the 85mm but they are more expensive.

Another alternative for your money, instead of buying a faster lens that lets more light in, you could buy an extra flash to create more light.

Like I said, everyone has a different opinion. Hope it works out for you!

 

[AndrewCanon6D]

I regret not getting one at all. There have been times when I would love to have the 85 for portraits but since I didn't have it, I couldn't use it. I had the chance to get that used one for under $400 USD.

Not trying to hijack the thread, but the 85mm f1.8? You can get that one brand new for under $400 USD?

An 85mm prime is my go-to lens for portraits. It is beautiful at that focal length.

 

[ronlane]

@AndrewCanon6D - I didn't remember the exact $ for a new one. The used one that I had the opportunity to buy was closer to $300 and was in great shape.

 

[beagle100]

I regret not getting one at all. There have been times when I would love to have the 85 for portraits but since I didn't have it, I couldn't use it. I had the chance to get that used one for under $400 USD.

Not trying to hijack the thread, but the 85mm f1.8? You can get that one brand new for under $400 USD?

An 85mm prime is my go-to lens for portraits. It is beautiful at that focal length.

yes, that lens is good for portraits and some indoor sports like basketball, you can get it for around $300 (used)

 

[DarkShadow]

How about a brand Spanky smelly new one for $ 369.00 with free expedited shipping. One thing I will not do is buy used glass for a very marginal savings but thats me. Canon EF 85mm f 1.8 USM Lens 2519A003 B H Photo Video

 

[AndrewCanon6D]

How about a brand Spanky smelly new one for $ 369.00 with free expedited shipping. One thing I will not do is buy used glass for a very marginal savings but thats me. Canon EF 85mm f 1.8 USM Lens 2519A003 B H Photo Video

I'm with you. I'm all for saving money, but if the new lens is pretty close to the cost of a used lens then I would much rather spend a little bit extra money to get it new. A lot of times Canon will have a mail-in rebate on their new lenses which will help to cover some of that cost as well.

Even at full price, $370 is a great deal for a brand new 85mm 1.8. It is a fantastic lens.

 

[beagle100]

How about a brand Spanky smelly new one for $ 369.00 with free expedited shipping. One thing I will not do is buy used glass for a very marginal savings but thats me. Canon EF 85mm f 1.8 USM Lens 2519A003 B H Photo Video

I'm with you. I'm all for saving money, but if the new lens is pretty close to the cost of a used lens then I would much rather spend a little bit extra money to get it new. A lot of times Canon will have a mail-in rebate on their new lenses which will help to cover some of that cost as well.

Even at full price, $370 is a great deal for a brand new 85mm 1.8. It is a fantastic lens.

right, looks good but I've not compared used prices for that lens lately

 

[selo]

Hi All,

Thank you for the responses.

We rented the 50mm 1.4 art from sigma and tryed it a few days. It was a big improvement compared to the canon 1.8 50mm. Focus is much faster, blur is much better and it focussed better to the subject. With the 1.8 sometimes the focus point is off. Maybe thats just me.

Since we photograph newborns, we don't want to use flash a lot. We use daylight from outside and we bought a cheap daylight (continues light or w/e its called) for like 100$ from falcon eyes. This helps to get more light. I think if we buy a better one it would help even more. We don't use flash a lot. Although it's not bad for the baby but ussually it bothers the parents a little. Plus we like the pictures better without any flashlight.

With the new lens we would to increase the quality. Since we shoot handheld not with a tripod lens needs to be fast with focussing. I am not sure if i want the 35mm because we want the background to be blurred a lot. The longer the focal length the more background blur u get right? So the 35mm is not a option then?

The 85mm with our crop body will be 136mm eq. This is way too far.. a 50mm is 80mm eq. even this one is a little too far but it is ok for now. I think the best thing to do is to get 50mm and sell it after i buy a full frame camera, then go for the 85mm.

Right now we use, 24-70 from tamron and the 1.8 50mm from canon. We get very nice pictures but there are also a lot of failed pictures. Ussually the focus points fail. We deff want a better prime lens (90% for inside photography).

What we want:
- better blur
- faster lens to decrease amount of failed pictures. This is very important because if the baby cries you will want good pictures at the moment the baby doesn't cry.

Hope i explained the problem correcly, curious about you thoughts...

 

[TCampbell]

If you plan to go full frame that soon (in a few months) then I'd probably go for the 85mm and skip the 50. The 50 you have is most intended to be "affordable". The Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 is the workhorse version (all purpose) and the EF 50mm f/1.2L is really should be thought of as a specialty studio lens but this lens is tricky to use.... fabulous when you get it to do what you want, but more difficult to use than the f/1.4. I don't own it, but everyone I talk to who has it says you cannot be in a hurry when you're using that lens -- given your need for baby portraits... this is lens is probably not for you (that whole "not being in a hurry" thing probably isn't going to meet your needs.)

I think the 50mm art lens would awesome "right now"... but as soon as you switch to full frame that focal length will become a whole lot less useful. In the meantime, you need to figure out how the framing will work with the space you have.

Visit this site: http://www.tawbaware.com/maxlyons/calc.htm

Scroll down to their "Dimensional Field of View" calculator. Punch in the 85mm focal length, the 1.6 crop factor and then punch in the distance that you can use for the camera and it will tell you how much area that lens will capture. Based on the size of the baby, framing, etc. you an decide if the dimensions will fit your needs.