how important is the 85mm lens?

R

randomname

Well-known member
Right now, I have a nikkor 85mm 1.8 and canon's 100mm 2.8L and I can't really decide if I should hold on to the 85mm (I shoot on a t2I). I like having the faster lens if I need it, but money is pretty tight right now, would I be making a mistake if my lens set has a gap in it from 50 to 100mm?
 
randomname said:
Right now, I have a nikkor 85mm 1.8 and canon's 100mm 2.8L and I can't really decide if I should hold on to the 85mm (I shoot on a t2I). I like having the faster lens if I need it, but money is pretty tight right now, would I be making a mistake if my lens set has a gap in it from 50 to 100mm?
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lol


I never use a lens past 55mm and I have made a lot of money doing my job ( Music Videos ).

I eventually will get something ( zoom ) probably the 24-105mm , if you need the money sell. Those kind of ranges do not work at all for the kind of work I do.
 
randomname said:
Right now, I have a nikkor 85mm 1.8 and canon's 100mm 2.8L and I can't really decide if I should hold on to the 85mm (I shoot on a t2I). I like having the faster lens if I need it, but money is pretty tight right now, would I be making a mistake if my lens set has a gap in it from 50 to 100mm?
Click to expand...

depends on whether or not it's important to you. sell the one you don't use/need as much as the other.
 
Stepping for a self plug here but I'm selling a nikkor 75-150mm f3.5 zoom and you might want to consider it.
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=214182
Even if you don't want my zoom consider using any zoom for what you are doing.
ie shooting around the 85mm mark, especially if you are doing closeups for narrative.

I was the same as you with an 85mm prime but moving the tripod every time I wanted to adjust the framing became a pain so I switched over to a zoom.
The manual nikon 75-150mm f3.5 is inexpensive ($70) and super super sharp. I've used it a lot from 75-100 like a variable prime lens.
Only selling because I'm now shooting closeups with a rare nikkor 50-135/3.5

Whichever option you go for, you might find that any aperture wider than f4 the dof gets too shallow for an actor to move in without drifting out of focus.
Wide apertures like 1.8 are not necessarily great for video at these focal lengths. 1.8 is more for portrait stills when ~ 85mm
 
IMO you dont need an 85 and a 100

Id probably keep the faster one unless it has another drawback like a sloppy focus ring

S
 
85mm is a very nice focal length but all 85mm lenses has a poor near limit. If you want to get close either a 50mm lens or a macro lens is a better choice.

But to get a compressed framing you have to go longer than 50mm and then everything from 85mm and up will get you there.
 
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