Camera and lens selection help

[Trowski]

I own the 50L, and it is softer than all my other lenses at most apertures. But that's not really the purpose of the lens, the purpose is to be able to shoot at f/1.2 and produce useable results, and that's exactly what it does. There's a bit of a learning curve, but the results you can get with the lens are stunning once you understand how to get the most out of it.

I've used the 85L before, and have seriously considered getting one myself. Again the samples I've seen from this lens are stunning. I need to stop looking at them or I'm afraid I'm going to be $2000 poorer.

However, after saying all that, I would recommend that if you can afford it now or in the near future, you should consider getting the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II. It is my most used lens on my 5DII. The versatility is just amazing, and with f/2.8 you can get some great bokeh, especially at 200mm. The image quality rivals primes, and so unless I want a wider aperture, I just stick to using the 70-200.

Take a look at the lens sample archive on photography on the net for some examples of what each lens is capable of: Photography-on-the.net Lens Sample Photo Archive

Need any bag recommendations?

[btaylor]

+ 1 on the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II - I absolutely love it on my 5D2. It really is one of the best telephoto zooms Canon has released. It's expensive but it's just so damn nice! I occasionally use it with the Canon 2 x extender III and the results are still usable at 400mm - mind you there's definately a loss in image quality.

What about the Sigma 85mm f/1.4? There's been a plethora of great reviews about this lens (so many actually that I ordered it yesterday). I can give some feedback in a few days on how it performs if you like. It's significantly cheaper than the Canon primes (50mm f/1.2L and 85mm f/1.2L) and produces similar results. The autofocus is supposedly much quicker than the Canon 85mm f/1.2L as well, which is the main reason I didn't go for the Canon.

The Canon 85mm f/1.8 is also a great suggestion if your just kicking off your photography.