Big Time Help needed in purchase of Prime Lens

[MG_1806]

I’m in the hunt for a prime lens but as of now I’m completely confused. The more I’m reading the reviews of various lenses the more I’m getting confused. I'm hoping that this thread will give me enough dope to finalize the lens.

Prime usage that I’m looking from this prime are as follows (Not in any order).
1) Good night shots.
2) Portraits.
3) Some Landscape shots including flowers & all.
4) Abstract

Other than this lens should produce very sharp (At present both my lens lacks sharpness) images. Bokeh should be creamy & smooth & not harsh.
From the past few days I have gone through the reviews of many lenses this is what I have shortlisted in order.
1) Canon 50mm f1.4 – My fav but see the negative below – Around 20K
2) Sigma 30mm f1.4 – Not sure how it will perform on canon mount. Mixed reports. – Around 20K
3) Sigma 50mm f1.4 – Pricey, around 100$ more than Canon counterpart – Around 26k
4) Canon 50mm f1.8 II – Need a long term lens and this one is pretty flimsy. If the first generation was still available in market then would have definitely bought it – Around 5k

Other than this I have also checked Canon 85mm f1.8 (I like this one a lot but for 1.6x crop this doesn’t go well for my requirement), Canon 35mm f/2 & Canon 24mm f1.8.

Reasons why I want to for 50mm f1.4 over f1.8
Positives over 50mm f1.8:
1) Fast AF
2) Full Manual Control
3) Better low light performance
4) Better bokeh
5) Better build quality

Cons:
1) Old Lens
2) Possibility of getting defective piece. Some copy not very sharp.
3) Many users complaining of AF motor going kaput within 6 months of purchase.

The third point is where it’s getting all wrong for me else I’m going for this lens. What if my piece also stops working in 6months to 1year. I don’t mind spending 3 times over the f1.8 but I need a lens which will last for a very very long time and I handles lens in a rough way.

I’m open to suggestion from fellow “thePin” members based on their usage & vast experience. Also I’m open to any other lens suggestion(Can be non -prime lens) other than the one mentioned above but it should fulfill my requirements. I’m not in a hurry to buy this lens & can also stretch my budget to a certain extent if I find the lens worthwhile. Btw for everyone here I own a Canon 350D.

@Aryan-As promised I'm here with my new thread in a day;).

[Aryan]

So, the thread is finally here. Good going MG. :)

From the requirements that you have mentioned, I would strongly suggest a 50mm f1.4, if you can afford the price. It would serve you good for LOVELY portraits, landscapes and every other usage that you have in mind. However, if you think spending 20 odd K is a little too much for a 50mm lens, then get the 50mm f1.8 II.

I have been using the f1.8 II for quite some time now, and neither the mount nor the lens itself has shown any signs of defect or damage. Rough usage or not - any piece of equipment should be dealt with care. :)

Apart from that, I have not used a 85mm lens, so I cannot really comment on it's quality, nor the actual usage. However, if you have a budget of 20k+, then do consider getting the Canon 100mm f2.8 USM macro. It is one heck of a lens. Macro shots are sharp, and normal shots are lovely, with creamy bokeh at f2.8. :D

P.S: The 50mm lens is a must have for ANY photographer, I believe. The 50mm f1.4 does give better quality pictures (IQ, bokeh, sharpness, etc.), but at a cost. I, for one am not really in favor of spending 20k odd for a 50mm lens, just for that move from f1.8 to f1.4.

Also, I have always used Canon lenses, so pardon me if you do not find me mentioning about any other lens made by any other manufacturer, but Canon. :)

:)

All the best for your hunt MG, and do let us know which one you manage to get, finally. :)

[MG_1806]

Apart from that, I have not used a 85mm lens, so I cannot really comment on it's quality, nor the actual usage.

Whatever I have read this is a very good one. But with 1.6x crop it effectively becomes 135mm so I'm neither here nor there


However, if you have a budget of 20k+, then do consider getting the Canon 100mm f2.8 USM macro. It is one heck of a lens. Macro shots are sharp, and normal shots are lovely, with creamy bokeh at f2.8. :D

I knew this will come from your end:p.So my immediate question to you is how good is this for low light photography?I personally didn't checked any reviews.And as of now it seems portraits will be my last requirement from this lens(Will be required only to capture xBhp posers:p).


I, for one am not really in favor of spending 20k odd for a 50mm lens, just for that move from f1.8 to f1.4.

I don't want to break 3 50mm 1.8 in three years & hence shying away from that lens.As mentioned the earlier generation one had metal mount & was more sturdier than present generation one.

One more thing I'm strict grey market buyer so can you let me know the price of 50mm f1.4 in Delhi grey market?

[Aryan]

1. The 100mm f2.8 macro lens is tremendous - both for macro as well as low light photography. It has an ultrasonic motor, so, focusing is fast and accurate. :) If you do visit Delhi sometime in the near future, take my 100mm for a few shots. Try it out, and I am darn sure you will fall in love with it.

Like you mentioned, at 160mm (1.6x crop factor APS-C), it won't really be a good portrait lens per se, but at times I have used it to shoot portraits and I just LOVE the glass for what it is - sheer quality. :) Also note has it has FTM enabled, just in case you want to fine-tune your shots (read macros). ;)

2. The 50mm f1.8 II lens is pretty cheap quality wise, agreed, but I am sure you won't really throw it around to test it's sturdy nature. I have been using one since the past some-time now, and although I don't use my equipments roughly, but I have put it through severe usage nonetheless, and it has held on in a lovely way. However, your experience with the f1.8 II might just be different.

3. I am also a whole-hearted gray market buyer MG! :D I have bought my lenses and filters from gray market, although the body (EOS 400D) was bought from an official Canon dealer. The 50mm f1.8 II, when I bought it, cost me Rs.3.5k odd!! :D But, since you are more inclined towards the 50mm f1.4 lens, I'll enquire and post the price by tomorrow. :)

The last I had enquired about the Canon EF 50mm f1.4 lens was little more than a month back, and the price which I was quoted was Rs.16,200/- (gray market). :)

[powerslave]

From the samples I've seen and reviews I've heard, the 85 f/1.8 is one of Canon's sharpest lenses, sharper than many Ls.

I would love to own that but since you know what FL you want, I would say the 50mm f/1.4.

Another lesser know gem of a lens is the Canon 60mm f/2.8 macro. You might want to check that out. Its f/2.8, so it may be a con for night photog, but you'll be surprised by the results from this lens.

I am not sure, but I've heard some reviews about the AF mechanism getting screwed on the 50mm f/1.4 after about a year's use. You may want to check that out.

[nelson_sanjoy]

Canon 50 f/1.8 - Its the best VFM lens till date. Dont expect accurate lowlight AF , sturdy build but again I am owning mine for more than a year and have no problems . If you want a better 50mm I would go for Sigma 50 f/1.4 - its compared with Canon 50mm L f/1.2 for its superior IQ and bookeh in near dark situations.

Canon 85mm f/1.8 USM - It goes head to head with Canon 50mm f/1.4 . It is also considered to be very good lens for portraits but is overshadowed by its big brother Canon 85mm L f/1.2 USM.

Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM - Another brilliant lens probably better among all the lens discussed since macro primes are considered to be sharpest and it really is very sharp. It has internal ,silent USM.I love it as a portrait lens also eventough its 100mm and becomes 160mm with cropped sensor - infact I have seen people calling Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM the best portrait lens .

Since your inclinaion is towards Wide - Normal lens its hard for a prime lens to satisfy but still with all your requirements I see Sigma 50mm f/1.4 to be closest else Canon 50mm f/1.8 for 1/4th the price.

And did you mention non-prime lenses also ??? Then I would suggest 2 Tamrons within your budget. Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and 28-75 / 2.8 - both equally good but the first one would give you more of wideangle and is a strict cropped sensor lens while the second one is a beautiful portrait lens for FF - I have it :).

[Psycho_McCrazy]

as your requirements are good night shots, I can safely assume that the zooms are out of the bag in an instant. the fastest and most expensive zooms are 2.8 which is a full two stops slower than the good primes.

if you want to do general walkaround photography, the 50 mm on a 1.6x crop body might be a bit too long, but it will be awesome for portraits and all.

the canon 28/1.8 can act as a walkaround prime (equi focal length is something around 45), but it is not really sharp wide open. It is kenrockwell approved (http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/00-new-today.htm) though. (scroll down to 2nd July news).

the canon 35/2 is also a good option, being around 56mm equi length. Even wide open it is decently sharp in the centre of the frame (the part that be used on a crop body), as can be seen here (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=122) (the crops are from a full frame shot, and the corners are not so good, but should be better on a crop). Stopped down it is a razor.

there is an even better 35mm/1.4 L prime, but that is way too expensive IMO. same for the 24mm 1.4 L II, very very expensive. Very Very Sharp yes, but expensive as (hel)L

you mention landscapes including flowers, and while longer focal lengths would allow individual flower shots easily, they might not be so useful for landscapes. Would therefore recommend you to stick to the 28 or the 35 length lenses as walkaround ones.

The Sigma 30 mm 1.4 is sort of the perfect walkaround 'fifty' for the croppers, but then again it hasn't caught up, and theres always chances issues with the third party lenses.

As for the canon 50 1.4 it is supposed to be a real good lens, but where have you heard that its motor goes kaput? If it wasn't for this apprehension, you may go ahead and buy it in an instant. The other con of it being an old lens is no issue at all. The 50/1.4 design is so perfect, that it is very difficult to improve upon it.
The sigma 50/1.4 has improvements wide open, but then again it is not as good across the frame when stopped down. (this however is a full frame issue (http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/widget/Fullscreen.ashx?reviews=23,25&fullscreen=true&av=1,1&fl=50,50&vis=VisualiserSharpnessMTF,VisualiserSharpnessMTF&stack=horizontal&lock=&config=/lensreviews/widget/LensReviewConfiguration.xml%3F3)) use the sliders at the bottom to stop down to 5.6
And while the new Nikon 50AF-S1.4 is better than the canon across the frame at wide open conditions, it cannot match the canon lens performance in the center of the frame at f2.0-f4 (here I am talking full frame (http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/widget/Fullscreen.ashx?reviews=25,52&fullscreen=true&av=1,1&fl=50,50&vis=VisualiserSharpnessMTF,VisualiserSharpnessMTF&stack=horizontal&lock=&config=/lensreviews/widget/LensReviewConfiguration.xml%3F3) again, crop is more or less matched (http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/widget/Fullscreen.ashx?reviews=24,53&fullscreen=true&av=1,1&fl=50,50&vis=VisualiserSharpnessMTF,VisualiserSharpnessMTF&stack=horizontal&lock=&config=/lensreviews/widget/LensReviewConfiguration.xml%3F3).)

[MG_1806]

If you do visit Delhi sometime in the near future, take my 100mm for a few shots. Try it out, and I am darn sure you will fall in love with it.

Thanks for the offer.I will surely like to try it out.One of the biggest disadvantage that I have here is that no one has proper DSLR lens in xBhp Mumbai/Pune group:(. Also I don't myself coming to Delhi for another 6 odd months.


But, since you are more inclined towards the 50mm f1.4 lens, I'll enquire and post the price by tomorrow. :).

Please check the price of Canon 28mm f1.8 too.I'm not in a hurry.Please take your own time:).For now Rs16,200 sounds ok to me.

From the samples I've seen and reviews I've heard, the 85 f/1.8 is one of Canon's sharpest lenses, sharper than many Ls.

Yes its the lens to go for.Everything is perfect just that the focal length is not ideal for my kind of usage but it will act as a decent zoom also.


Another lesser know gem of a lens is the Canon 60mm f/2.8 macro. You might want to check that out. Its f/2.8, so it may be a con for night photog, but you'll be surprised by the results from this lens.

60mm is a nice lens.Let me dig more.


Since your inclinaion is towards Wide - Normal lens its hard for a prime lens to satisfy but still with all your requirements I see Sigma 50mm f/1.4 to be closest else Canon 50mm f/1.8 for 1/4th the price.

Somehow I'm not able to convince myself for the extra 6k to be paid for Sigma 50mm f1.4 over its Canon counterpart.Let's see.


Then I would suggest 2 Tamrons within your budget. Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and 28-75 / 2.8 - both equally good but the first one would give you more of wideangle and is a strict cropped sensor lens while the second one is a beautiful portrait lens for FF - I have it :).
Thanks for the suggestion.Let me check both the lenses.


if you want to do general walkaround photography, the 50 mm on a 1.6x crop body might be a bit too long, but it will be awesome for portraits and all.

the canon 28/1.8 can act as a walkaround prime (equi focal length is something around 45), but it is not really sharp wide open. It is kenrockwell approved (http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/00-new-today.htm) though. (scroll down to 2nd July news).

Never looked at 28mm f1.8 with such deep interest but now it seems it has come into my top 3 list.If I go for this one then half of the credit will be yours.


there is an even better 35mm/1.4 L prime, but that is way too expensive IMO. same for the 24mm 1.4 L II, very very expensive. Very Very Sharp yes, but expensive as (hel)L

Don't have the budget of L for the moment:(.


you mention landscapes including flowers, and while longer focal lengths would allow individual flower shots easily, they might not be so useful for landscapes. Would therefore recommend you to stick to the 28 or the 35 length lenses as walkaround ones.

This is the reason why I'm looking into the 28mm closely.


The Sigma 30 mm 1.4 is sort of the perfect walkaround 'fifty' for the croppers, but then again it hasn't caught up, and theres always chances issues with the third party lenses.

For Canon mount the reviews are not that great.


As for the canon 50 1.4 it is supposed to be a real good lens, but where have you heard that its motor goes kaput? If it wasn't for this apprehension, you may go ahead and buy it in an instant. The other con of it being an old lens is no issue at all. The 50/1.4 design is so perfect, that it is very difficult to improve upon it.
The sigma 50/1.4 has improvements wide open, but then again it is not as good across the frame when stopped down. (this however is a full frame issue (http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/widget/Fullscreen.ashx?reviews=23,25&fullscreen=true&av=1,1&fl=50,50&vis=VisualiserSharpnessMTF,VisualiserSharpnessMTF&stack=horizontal&lock=&config=/lensreviews/widget/LensReviewConfiguration.xml%3F3)) use the sliders at the bottom to stop down to 5.6

In fredmiranda & even in flickr group.That is the only reason which is stopping me from buying this lens as I will go the grey market way.

It seems no one here has come across the Canon 50mm f1.4 personally:(.

[Aryan]

I am sure MG is more confused than ever, now. :D I haven't heard about any problems of problems with the motor of the 50 f1.4. Do keep this into consideration MG. Spending close to 20k will not really be worth it if the motor goes kaput in an year's time!

The 85mm f1.8 would have been a great buy, if not for the APS-C bodies that we use. :o If you have any other lenses in mind, do let us know. :)

EDIT:

MG, I had used the 50mm f1.4 personally when I went to get the 50mm f1.8 lens. I found the 50mm f1.4 substantially better than the 1.8 model (quite obviously). In build quality, bokeh quality and almost everything else has a better feel to it while using the 50mm f1.4 lens. On the contrary, the f1.8 II almost feels like a toy infront of the 50mm f1.4.

But, this motor going kaput problems sound too much of a doubt to shell out Rs.15-20k into it. The 28mm f1.8 (effectively 44mm f1.8) sounds good to me too, if you are not too much inclined to get the 50mm f1.8 II. :)

[Vicky]

A faster lens is not always the answer for low light photography.. most large aperture lenses are pretty soft at their max apertures... also, when you use big apertures like f/1.4 in low light conditions, it comes with its inherent drawback of very thin DOF... which may not always be desirable..

I suggest this alternative route to upgrade entire focal length range for similar money rather than just spending it on one fixed FL lens...

Sell Canon 18-55 - 4k
Sell Tamrom 70-300 - 7k

Add from your budget - 22k

total in hand - 33k

Buy Tamron 17-50 2.8 - 13k
Buy Canon 55-250 IS - 11k
Buy 430EX Flash - 9k

total spending - 33k

This way, you have completely upgraded your optics.... right from 18mm to 250mm.

The 430ex will add a new dimension to your low light photography with its bounce & tilt capability:)

Jut my 2cents

[MG_1806]

@Aryan-As requested can you check the price of both lenses in Delhi grey market.Also it will be great if you can get the price of 10-22mm also.

@Vicky-A whole new dimension to my topic.Never thought that way but the 22K part is a bit dicey.As of now I don't extend beyond 15K unless & until I find that I'm getting everything that I want by spending more.

I'm planning to purchase the lens in the month of August so I have exactly one month to test the limits of my current lens and decide what to do.

P.S:Sunny has suggested to go for 10-22mm which anyways will be next purchase after the current one.

Boy o Boy am I confused or what:rolleyes:

[Aryan]

@MG: I tried calling my gray market contact (:p), but the phone seems to be switched off. May be the shop is closed today. I'll try again on Monday.

As for the 10-22mm, yes it is one heck of a lens, and the field of view of the said glass is truly amazing. What Vicky has suggested also makes sense to me, but since you are primarily concerned about getting a prime, so, that leaves you with few choices, namely, the 50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.8 and 28mm f1.8. :)

[shutterbug]

Thats quite a different suggestion from Vicky! Sounds good!
Mg, any reason you stick to grey for lens purchase?

[Aryan]

Thats quite a different suggestion from Vicky! Sounds good!
Mg, any reason you stick to grey for lens purchase?
Price difference ofcourse!

For example, I got the Canon EF 100mm f2.8 USM Macro lens for Rs.24k or thereabouts, whereas at that time, the price of the same lens from an authorized Canon showroom was Rs.38k!

[KrishnenduKes]

If you plan to stick to APSC sensors for the next 5-10 odd years, which is what it looks like, then I think that you should seriously consider Vicky's 2 cents. If not, then I maybe putting in my 2 cents in a while. :) But it is difficult to beat what Vicky just said. It will actually add a new dimension to your photographic parameters and let you do a lot more.

[shutterbug]

Ken da, exactly! As Vicky said, you are gettin glass that s poweful from 17 to 250mm in away!
Aryan, I know its much cheaper. But wouldnt the presence of a warrany alleviate the fear of lens af going kaput?

[Aryan]

@Shutterbug: Ofcourse a warranty is a warranty - nothing can beat that. Touchwood, EVERYTHING that I have got till date from 'gray market' has worked like a charm. :) Moreover, the 'gray market' does give you a 20 odd day "warranty" to get the stuff replaced if there is any problem. But, I haven't found ANY problems whatsoever. :)

[KrishnenduKes]

@Shutterbug: Ofcourse a warranty is a warranty - nothing can beat that. :)

You handle your stuff with kid gloves. Very lovingly. But a lot of us put our equipment through a lot of stress. MG might be looking at some very durable stuff. Plastic mounts for him might not fit his bill seeing his usage.