Friday, May 29, 2009

the "Holy Trinity of Canon Lens": the 35mm, 85mm f/1.2, 135mm f/2


So when I got my first serious camera, a Canon Rebel XT, I didn't know which lens to invest in. I mean who could blame me, do you know how many lenses are out there for the Canon SLR series? Anyways, I did my research and stumble upon a small inexpensive lens people call the 'fantastic plastic'. This was the 50mm EF f/1.8 of course. So since then for 2 years, I've been shooting with this lens trying to master it.

I gotta say, I've hit the learning curve on it pretty hard. And now that I have some extra cash laying around, I thought I invest into a new lens, something a little pricier that has a little more range.

Of course, before diving into something that cost more than 5 bucks, I feel you should always do a little research. I talked to my brother, who is a huge photography enthusiast like me, and he recommend 3 lenses which he and other people have deemed the "Holy Trinity of Canon Lens". i.e. 35mm, 85mm f/1.2, 135mm f/2

The 35mm f/1.4-2/0

Now for this lens depending on which f-stop you want, the price can range greatly. For the f/1.4, amazon range it from $950-$1500 and for f/2.0, amazon range it from $230-$300. So is f/1.4 and f/2.0 difference really worth $1200? One thing for sure, the f/1.4 has a red ring and the first thing you should learn from lens is when it has a red ring, it's a damn serious lens. You don't see many amateur walking around with those kind of lens usually. As for what this lens can do... you can check out some sample here. Honestly, I think with the 50mm f/1.8, I pretty much can come up with the same shots.

The 85mm f/1.2

This lens cost about 350-400. It's dept-of-field seem much better than of the 50 mm for sure. Although close to the 50 mm I think the quality of its shot is much crisper. I am considering upgrading to this one, it's not too steep of a investment and can provide me something better to use for the wedding I got line up in July. Some sample shots can be found here.

The 135mm f/2

This lens ranges from $1000 - $1200. Also one of the lens I am considering to upgrade to as well. Although at $1000 it is a little steep. But what specs does it have? Check some sample here.

5 comments:

  1. I am on that "research" process, thank you for the info.

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  2. under the heading 35mm 1.4 you have a picture of the 16-35mm lens, and you keep mentioning and showing a picture of the 85mm f1.2 when you're talking about the 85mm f1.8, which is the one you list the price for and which you have.

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  3. Doesn't make sense. Wrong price and description

    ReplyDelete
  4. The pic of the 35L is the wrong lens and your price for the 85L is off by about $1,600 to the low side.

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