24mm 1.4 vs. 35mm 1.4 CROP

[sarahr_7]

Hi!

So I need some on advice between the 24mm 1.4 and the 35mm 1.4. I have a Canon 70d (1.6 crop) and a 50mm 1.8. I love my nifty fifty, however, I always find myself stepping back. I'd like to get a wider lens that still has portrait capabilities (and maybe be used as a walk around as well). I know the 35mm is THE wide angle portrait for full frame but what about for crop? Will it be too long to even be considered wide? Any help would be MUCH appreciated! Thanks!

[ScottyP]

35mm on a crop is like 56mm on full frame. 24mm is like 38mm.   A 56mm focal length is not at all wide. 

This answer probably does nothing for you if you are not used to shooting with a full frame. 

I would probably go with a 24mm lens rather than a 35mm if I were you, if only because you already have a 50mm lens and the two are fairly close. 

That said, the image quality of the particular two lenses matters. I am not familiar with either but check out side by side image quality comparison on The Digital Picture website. 

I just did, and wide open at f/1.4 the 35mm looks much sharper and has less purple fringing. That image quality answer may invalidate my focal length based suggestion above, though the 24 improves when you stop down. 

[RobertTheFat]

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@ScottyP wrote:

35mm on a crop is like 56mm on full frame. 24mm is like 38mm.   A 56mm focal length is not at all wide. 

This answer probably does nothing for you if you are not used to shooting with a full frame. 

I would probably go with a 24mm lens rather than a 35mm if I were you, if only because you already have a 50mm lens and the two are fairly close. 

That said, the image quality of the particular two lenses matters. I am not familiar with either but check out side by side image quality comparison on The Digital Picture website. 

I just did, and the 35mm looks much much sharper and has less purple fringing. That image quality answer may invalidate my focal length based suggestion above. 

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What she really needs, if she can afford it, is the 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom. There's also an 18-135 that's not bad, isn't there?

[ScottyP]

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@RobertTheFat wrote:

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@ScottyP wrote:

35mm on a crop is like 56mm on full frame. 24mm is like 38mm.   A 56mm focal length is not at all wide. 

This answer probably does nothing for you if you are not used to shooting with a full frame. 

I would probably go with a 24mm lens rather than a 35mm if I were you, if only because you already have a 50mm lens and the two are fairly close. 

That said, the image quality of the particular two lenses matters. I am not familiar with either but check out side by side image quality comparison on The Digital Picture website. 

I just did, and the 35mm looks much much sharper and has less purple fringing. That image quality answer may invalidate my focal length based suggestion above. 

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What she really needs, if she can afford it, is the 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom. There's also an 18-135 that's not bad, isn't there?

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That is a very good answer.  I agree. Also cheaper than the L primes in those lengths and apertures. 

[sarahr_7]

17-55 sounds great as a walkaround but I don't know how it would do as a portrait, probably not very well?

[ScottyP]

I have one I bought when I had a crop body.  I thought it did very well at portraits. If it is background blur/shallow DOF you are judging on (?) it will give a very nice blur at f/2.8 if the background is not super close and if you are fairly close to the subject. 

[RobertTheFat]

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@sarahr_7 wrote:
17-55 sounds great as a walkaround but I don't know how it would do as a portrait, probably not very well?

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I guess my own preference is to go a little bit longer, but remember: a 55mm lens on a crop-frame camera is about like an 85mm lens on a FF, and many consider that to be an ideal portrait length.

The purpose of using a mild telephoto as a portrait lens is to be able to fill the frame without exaggerating the length of the subject's nose. But you don't want the face to look squashed either.

The 17-55 is a nice sharp lens - much better than a low-end kit lens. My wife and I each have one (mine on a 7D, hers on a T2i and now a 7D2), and we've been well satisfied.

[ScottyP]

I think maybe Bob meant to type that 55mm on a crop (not 65mm) X 1.6 is almost the same as 85mm on full frame and that 85mm on ff marks the wide end of the classical 85-135mm portrait range.  Or maybe Bob meant to type 65mm and just prefers 65mm, and he certainly has enough knowledge and experience to know what he likes best. 

And 55mm on a crop is a lot more like classic portrait length than either 24mm or 35mm is.

If you want a bright lens in the 24 to 35mm range like you said because you feel longer lenses are too long, the 17-55 covers it all at a bright f/2.8.  That might be wide for portraits but then again better for body shots. 

If on the other hand you do want a lens in the "classic" portrait range of 85mm to 135mm, that field of view is basically translated in 50mm to 85mm lenses if you are using a crop camera. 

Guidelines and and rules of thumb are just that. If your vision says to think outside the box and you can pull it off then you may be getting creative and unusual shots that stand out from the herd shooting from 85-135. 

[ebiggs1]

B from B,

"...but remember: a 55mm lens on a crop-frame camera is about like an 65mm lens on a FF, ..."

Sarah,

An also remember it will be even closer to a 88mm lens on a FF camera.  

Besides that he is right the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens is by far the better choice for you. Remember it has all the focal lengths you are considering.

[RobertTheFat · Accepted solution]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

B from B,

"...but remember: a 55mm lens on a crop-frame camera is about like an 65mm lens on a FF, ..."

Sarah,

An also remember it will be even closer to a 88mm lens on a FF camera.  

Besides that he is right the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens is by far the better choice for you. Remember it has all the focal lengths you are considering.

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Yeah, I meant to say 85, not 65. (Specifically 88 on a Canon, but Canon's version of the crop factor is slightly larger than the APS-C standard.) It's what I get for posting in the small hours of the morning after staying up to watch the Cubs end their curse.