# What would you choose to complement a 50mm prime?



## Ripley (Dec 17, 2014)

I recently sold my Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS II because it's heavy and bulky and I got tired of lugging it around. I just picked up a Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art, primarily for portraiture. I'm thinking about selling my Canon 24-70mm f2.8 II and replacing it with a couple of f4 zooms to broaden my available focal range.

What would you choose to complement a 50mm prime, and why? 

Thanks in advance for your input, and for playing along!


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## jdramirez (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: Which would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime? 24-70mm f2.8 II or 16-35mm/70-200mm f4 IS*

As long as you don't plan on shooting in lower lights, both f/4 lenses are superb. I'd lean that way personally. And yes I know the 50 can do the low light work...


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## Dylan777 (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: Which would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime? 24-70mm f2.8 II or 16-35mm/70-200mm f4 IS*

Interesting approach ???


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## Ripley (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*

I forgot about the Canon 24-70mm f4 IS! So I threw it in as a third option...


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## bholliman (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*

i voted for the 24-70 2.8 II since its such a superb lens, but later read you are planning to sell yours.

Personally, I really like having F/2.8 zooms, even with faster primes in the same focal range. Much more flexible.


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## Khufu (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*

Meh. I'm a fast prime shooter (well, at 399mm and below...) and love my go-to selection and would probably grab them all again if they disappeared!

24mm f/1.8 Sigma
50mm f/1.4 Sigma
100mm f/2 Canon EF
400mm f/5.6L Canon EF

Lovely 

From the selection you're considering I'd most likely enjoy the UWA to shoot stopped down, I guess. 
Have you considered how cheap, small, awesome and fast Canon's EF 100mm f/2 is? Just throwing that one out there


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## Ryan85 (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*

If you're not wanting fast zooms to save weight id go with the 16-35 F4L IS, either the 24-70 f4 or 24-105 f4 and the 70-200 f4 depending on what you shoot


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## Mr_Canuck (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*

If you're just asking people what they would personally choose, it depends on zoom vs prime. I think in primes, the 100L and the 24/2.8is would be a nice three lens combo with the 50. In zooms, assuming we want lightness and portability, it would be the 16-35/f4 and 70-200/f4 or 70-300L.

Dark horse: the Voigtlander 20/3.5

Overlap: I've tried to go just primes in mid/wide but I find there are enough shooting environments where I want a zoom that I picked up a 24-70L f/4. I'm really liking it. Half the price of the 2.8 or even cheaper, and it's lighter, and renders very nicely. The mini macro feature has been fun to use as well. Great choice if you don't need wider than 24. They're now typically around $800 which is what they should have been from the start.


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## sagittariansrock (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*

I thought a 16-35/2.8 and a 70-200/2.8 would be the ideal companion for a 50/1.4 (on FF) when I first started dSLR photography and hoped to move to FF one day. For crop, the option was simply not there as there was no 10-22/2.8 and 50-150/2.8 to go with a nonexistent 28/1.4 (and the 28/1.8 wasn't that great, but I digress).
However, when I moved to FF I found 24mm was more than sufficient for my regular use (I had 17mm on crop and the extra wide FL range makes a big difference). So I rarely need wider than 24mm, and when I do- I want really wide, like 14mm.
I don't know whether you use FF or APS-C, and my suggestion to go for a 16-35 and 70-200 is based on APS-C (in which case 50/1.4 is a great one for portraits). If FF on the other hand, I would forego the 50mm FL completely and go for a 85mm for portraits, keep the 24-70 and get a 200/2.8 or 135/2 to cover the tele end. But that's me, and you wanted our personal choices.


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## e17paul (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*

I find that for most days out where photography is not the main motive, my 24 IS and 50 serve most purposes. That's a total lens weight of around half a kilo. Your option of the 16-35/4 IS would give more flexibility, and I sometimes wonder if I should consider trading up. It wasn't yet announced when I bought my 24. 

If I'm taking more kit with me then I take the 70-300L. The 70-200/4L is lighter than the 70-300L, but longer when in the bag, and feels no better balanced on my 6D. Either are options, with the choice being extra reach vs. a few hundred extra grams. Both are much lighter than the 70-200/2.8


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## RLPhoto (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*

16-35mm, 50mm, 70-200mm f/4 combo made the perfect travel setup for me. You don't need exact coverage in between the 50mm and you get a a lot more width with the UW.


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## gigabellone (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*

What are you going to shoot with your glass? Do you really need lenses that wide or that long? When it comes to photography, i think that less is more. It sounds good to have lenses that cover a wide range of focal lengths, but this is true only if you use 2 camera bodies. Otherwise, i don't see myself, or any other amateur photographer like me, fumbling with the bag, the camera, the lenses, to get that perfect shot, that would probably be gone when i'm done setting up my gear. The 70-200/2.8 is one of the most wanted Canon lenses in the world, and yet you chose to get rid of it, because you realized that it wasn't the tool you needed for your craft. If you want to be ready to swiftly change your focal length, a 24-105 would be ideal: from wide angle to medium long, without changing lenses. And if you still have your 50/1.4 for when the light is low, or when you want the extra-thin DoF.


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## Joey (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*

How would I compliment a 50mm prime? Well, I might try something like this:

"You're a very nice 50mm prime, aren't you - I love your wide aperture, and your field of view is just peachy!"

Sorry.... couldn't resist...


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## Ryan85 (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*



gigabellone said:


> What are you going to shoot with your glass? Do you really need lenses that wide or that long? When it comes to photography, i think that less is more. It sounds good to have lenses that cover a wide range of focal lengths, but this is true only if you use 2 camera bodies. Otherwise, i don't see myself, or any other amateur photographer like me, fumbling with the bag, the camera, the lenses, to get that perfect shot, that would probably be gone when i'm done setting up my gear. The 70-200/2.8 is one of the most wanted Canon lenses in the world, and yet you chose to get rid of it, because you realized that it wasn't the tool you needed for your craft. If you want to be ready to swiftly change your focal length, a 24-105 would be ideal: from wide angle to medium long, without changing lenses. And if you still have your 50/1.4 for when the light is low, or when you want the extra-thin DoF.



+1


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## Random Orbits (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*



RLPhoto said:


> 16-35mm, 50mm, 70-200mm f/4 combo made the perfect travel setup for me. You don't need exact coverage in between the 50mm and you get a a lot more width with the UW.



+1. Used a similar combo before 24-70 II was available. Gives good focal length range and low light capability.


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## Viggo (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*

I just love the 24-70 mk2, it and a 200mm goes nicely alongside a 50mm. Just don't buy the 50 Art lol :


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## telemaq76 (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*

a 16-35 f4 is and 135 f2 8)


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## martti (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*

In my bag with the 5DIII I had the 24-70 f/2.8 I, the 50 f/1.4 and the dust pump 100-400.
A heavy set but versatile. now I try to pack just the 35mm f/1.4 and the dust pump.
The results are different. My shoulder hurts less. Choices.


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## lintoni (Dec 17, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*



Joey said:


> How would I compliment a 50mm prime? Well, I might try something like this:
> 
> "You're a very nice 50mm prime, aren't you - I love your wide aperture, and your field of view is just peachy!"
> 
> Sorry.... couldn't resist...


 
Beat me to it!

Compliment - a polite expression of praise or admiration.
Complement - a thing that contributes extra features to something else in such a way as to improve or emphasize its quality.


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## Ripley (Dec 18, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*



telemaq76 said:


> a 16-35 f4 is and 135 f2 8)



That's an interesting thought...


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## Ripley (Dec 18, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*



martti said:


> ...and the dust pump 100-400.



ROFL! I got a good laugh out of that one...


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## Ripley (Dec 18, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*



lintoni said:


> Joey said:
> 
> 
> > How would I compliment a 50mm prime? Well, I might try something like this:
> ...



Doh! :-[

Fixed it... 8)


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## LovePhotography (Dec 18, 2014)

A Canon 16-35mm f4 IS and a Canon 70-200mm f4 IS


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## Varg (Dec 18, 2014)

50 prime + 16-35 F4L + 70-200 F4L IS or 70/300 L and a Rokinon/Samyang 14 for astrophotography. That's my perfect landscape/outdoor/backpacking kit. 

Add a 24-105 F4L as a walkaround and you won't need anything else.


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## Ryan85 (Dec 18, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*



Ripley said:


> martti said:
> 
> 
> > ...and the dust pump 100-400.
> ...



+1


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## zlatko (Dec 18, 2014)

If you're tired of lugging a big lens, don't replace it with other big lenses. 16-35mm f4 IS and a Canon 70-200mm f4 IS are still pretty big and have lighter/smaller alternatives, like the 24 f/2.8 IS and the 100 f2.8L IS — depending on what you shoot. As with every "which lens?" question, the answer depends on what you shoot. Just broadening your available focal length range is like buying more clothing or shoes — sometimes it makes perfect sense and other times it just creates more clutter.


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## adhocphotographer (Dec 18, 2014)

If i had only a 50mm prime, i would probably buy a camera to go with it! 

Seriously, if i wanted range 16-35 + 70-200. 50 fits in the middle... although, personally i would get 24-70 and 70-200 as i am not a 50mm fan too much!


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## Marsu42 (Dec 18, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*



RLPhoto said:


> 16-35mm, 50mm, 70-200mm f/4 combo made the perfect travel setup for me.



I'd switch the 70-200 with the 70-300 unless you a) positively insist upon having f4 @200mm and not f4.5 or b) are desperate for constant aperture of the internal zoom (= longer packing length)


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## Arctic Photo (Dec 18, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*



Joey said:


> How would I compliment a 50mm prime? Well, I might try something like this:
> 
> "You're a very nice 50mm prime, aren't you - I love your wide aperture, and your field of view is just peachy!"
> 
> Sorry.... couldn't resist...



Perfect! You made my day.


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## tayassu (Dec 18, 2014)

I would go for the 16-35/70-200 solution, because I love UWA and tele and you have got the 35-70mm "gap" covered by the 50mm. 
You could think about buying a 70-300L instead of the 200mm, as I often find 200mm to be too short on FF and I absolutely love my 70-300L. These three lenses would actually be my favorite travel setup.


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## Ripley (Dec 19, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*



Marsu42 said:


> RLPhoto said:
> 
> 
> > 16-35mm, 50mm, 70-200mm f/4 combo made the perfect travel setup for me.
> ...



My understanding is that the 70-300mm L doesn't have as good IQ as the 70-200mm L IS wide open. I'm not too concerned about f4 versus f4.5 or 200mm versus 300mm, I would just want the best IQ of the two.


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## wickidwombat (Dec 19, 2014)

none of your options

probably tamron 15-30 f2.8 VC and 135 f2L


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## Marsu42 (Dec 19, 2014)

*Re: What would you choose to compliment a 50mm prime?*



Ripley said:


> My understanding is that the 70-300mm L doesn't have as good IQ as the 70-200mm L IS wide open. I'm not too concerned about f4 versus f4.5 or 200mm versus 300mm, I would just want the best IQ of the two.



I didn't use both, but looking at the tdp chart's I'd say it depends on the focal length and the individual copy of your lens - there's always a lot of variation. If your are set upon pixel peeping (I'm not saying there's something wrong with it) the internal zoom might be calibrated better, ymmv.

However, the 70-300L is one of the most underestimated lenses for this very reason. When it was released, the opinions were "Well, you'll get similar test chart iq from a much cheaper lens", but over the last years this has turned around and it's considered to be a very good lens with an excellent sharpness/bokeh/price/weight/bulk tradeoff. That's why I'd recommend at least testing both in a shop in your own hands and getting the feel, then comparing some non-test chart shots.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=738&Camera=453&Sample=1&FLI=1&API=0&LensComp=404&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=2&APIComp=0


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