35mm vs 28mm + 50mm

ajedproduction

ajedproduction

I have a canon 28mm 2.8 and 50mm 1.8 at the moment. The 50 is great but the 28 isnt very impressive. Its okay and its good for when I need to go wider, but 2.8 struggles a bit in low light To gove me good looking images and the images can look a bit dull. Im considering selling both and buying the Samyang 35mm 1.4 which I hear is a fantastic lens. The fov is in between the 28 and 50, if I need to go wider i have a Samyang 14mm 2.8 and if I need to zoom in a bit more I have a Sigma 70 300 which isnt great for portraits so My next investment will probably be the 85mm 1.8

What do you think is more useful for general filmmaking, 28 + 50 or just a 35?

My body is the 550d but I will be upgrading to a 5d mkii next year so it must be ef lenses only.

I do short films, documentary, music videos and im starting to do some photography aswell. Autofocus doesnt really matter to me.
 
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As far as I've seen the Samyang 35mm and an 85mm 1.8 are the way to go. Also, keep the 50mm 1.8, I wouldn't think it was worth selling for how well it works. Those 3 are great budget friendly units to get you through quite a few projects until you build up revenue for better glass.
Just my 2cents.
 
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Ditto on getting an 85mm. When you switch to a full-frame, all your lenses are going to look more zoomed-out than they did on the 550d.

When you go lower than 35mm, you'll find it harder to find lenses with wide apertures as wide-angle lenses generally start to exhibit sharpness and aberration issues below f2.8 or f3.5. Quality wide-angle lenses with large apertures are pretty expensive.
 
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I shoot full frame and primarily use my 35, 50 and 85mm lenses. I have a Sigma 28mm f2.8 that I would use more if it was a better lens. My plans include the Canon 24mm f1.4L II and the Canon 135mm f2.0L. 35, 50 and 85 will get you most of where you need to be. If the 35mm f1.4L is in your budget, I can not recommend it enough, it is the lens that I use most in tight shots. The 50mm f1.2L is a beautiful piece of kit. If you want standard length in low light, you will be amazed at how much more light this thing gathers than the 50mm f1.8. The same is true for the 85mm f1.2L II VS the 85mm f1.8.

If you are pinching pennies, the 85mm f1.8 is still a really good lens. If you can't afford the $1500 for the 35mm f1.4L, I would recommend the Canon 28mm f1.8 USM at $510. These are the new through Canon prices, I'm sure that you can find them cheaper, especially if you are willing to buy used. The 28 won't give you the same look as the 35, but you can shoot in tighter spaces with it and think that it will be a better lens for the price. You could go with the 35mm f2 for $320, but I always go with the best glass that I can get and I like really fast glass. Plus, the f1.8 maximum aperture of the 28mm matches what you have with your Nifty 50 and the 85mm that you are looking at.
 
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The 50mm 1.4 and the 28mm 1.8 and the 85mm 1.8 lenses are all nice lenses. I do think that I probably prefer the look of a 24mm focal length to a 28mm focal length. For me, I suspect, if you want to go wide, the wider the better...to a point. Though I haven't heard or read any reviews for it, I'd probably love to have the Canon 24mm 1.4 L II. But it's just not in my tax bracket.

Like Kai suggests in one of the videos below, if you already have a 50mm and a 28mm, you don't really need a 35mm. Still, seems like 35mm lenses are something of a buzz these days, and I, for one, sort of have a hankering to get one, too, though I suspect that I won't.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X17Tba_azxQ

And because of watching the following video, that Sigma 35mm is looking and sounding pretty attractive. Looks like it's around 899 US dollars, which is hefty, but better than most Canon L lenses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edJStBgM6GQ&list=UUuw8B6Uv0cMWtV5vbNpeH_A&index=1

And of course I'm in the 85mm chorus/fan club. I love the 85mm focal length and I love my Canon 85mm 1.8. And since it seems most indie filmmakers love their shallow depth of field and bokeh, seems like 85mm ought to be a great tool in your tool box.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIFZzq6D3dw&list=UUuw8B6Uv0cMWtV5vbNpeH_A&index=1

^Beautiful video singing the virtues of a beautiful lens.



P.S. Because you're going to be getting the Mark II, and though I suppose you're not interested in getting it (the filter) anyway, Philip Bloom found that Mosaic Engineering's anti-moire filter had edge softness with the 24mm prime lens wide open. For some reason, that wasn't a problem with his 24-70mm zoom, though. And it wasn't a problem with a 35mm prime lens. He didn't test a 28mm. But Andrew Reid seems(?) to suggest that it's only a problem with lens wider than 28mm. So does that mean that a 28mm works fine with it?

Philip Bloom: Moire and Aliasing no more?! A solution for the 5DmkII. Full review now up!

EOSHD: Canon 5D Mark II – Mosaic Engineering VAF-5D2 anti-aliasing filter review

I bring it up only because it could possibly affect a person's lens choices, if they wanted to use that filter.

And I believe that filmmakers like Gonzo, for example, do not use the filter with their 5DIIs and get along just fine without it. =)
 
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