For a true comparison of the 50 and 85, you'd need to get the framing on the images at 7:12ish more similar. Then you'd really see the difference in compression. Also, I wouldn't say getting a 50 or 85 is only a matter of personal preference. If you shoot indoors, the 85mm will be a bit too tight. You'd struggle to get everything you want in the frame, since you have limited space to move back.
The best way to pick a prime would be to shoot on zooms for a while (at least 10,000 shots imo), then check lightroom statistics to see which focal length has the most keepers. This could help beginner photographers save a bit of coin and use it on something they will truly enjoy. Prime lenses are extremely polarizing based on style. Many swear by the 35mm as their desert island lens, their one and only, but I could not bring myself to like it at all. I'm personally like a 28/50 pairing.
That's definitely one way to do it! And for anyone shooting with a kit lens that includes all three focal lengths (like an 18-105 mm f/3.5-5.6), that could be an easy way to figure out which prime lens should be their first purchase! However, I wouldn't recommend going from kit lens to zoom lens THEN to prime lens, as I think learning to shoot portraits with prime is a better place to start, then getting a zoom if weddings will be in the mix. If a photographer isn't ever going to go beyond portraits, I don't think a zoom lens is necessary. But I love using the data to decide which lens to purchase next!
Bravo!!! What a simple and professional way to explain this concept. After watch several videos on UA-cam I found you guys made a fabulous job. Here a new suscriptor from Montreal 🇨🇦
I wonder if jumping from a DSLR mirror camera to an EOS R5 is best before buying a lens for my current DLSR, if I hope to go professional at some point. Ya'll give clear guidance in everything I've seen before and lead me to more questions. I look forward to checking out more of your resources.
If you’re currently using a kit lens, we’d recommend upgrading your lens first, then your camera when you hit the limit of your current body. We have a video later in this series am about when to upgrade your camera body!
Great video, great talk. Not only do I have an f/2.8 35mm, an f/1.8 50mm, and an f/2.0 85mm lens but I also have an f/2.8 28mm and an f/1.4 135mm and they all were less than your two primes! Vintage Manual lenses are the best way to get started.
Now I have some Zoom lens that 2.8 that give me pretty good Boca or blury background. So are those professional lens. I think yes. Although I agree with Primes as more Professional lens, I use zooms for on professional shots.
I think they forgot something. You also need to take into account your cameras crop factor. This can make a 50mm lens more like an 85mm. My Nikon d3500 has a crop factor of 1.53, I need to remember that when I decide to use it.
Hey John! That's totally right! The underlying assumption of the video is that we're talking about using these lenses on full-frame cameras, where the focal lengths are still accurate. If you have a ~1.5 crop factor (like most beginner, crop sensor cameras), then the 3 lenses will be more like ~53 mm, ~75mm, and ~128 mm! We have a video on crop sensor vs. full frame later on in this series!
@4:21 just because you have a blurry background doesnt mean it looks more “professional” it really depends on how you compose your subject with the background. I found that the one who are framing their subject with the background is more professional than having shot with a lower aperture where they can just point and shoot. And have you tried the RF 28-70 f2 from Canon? It is a game changer. Sold my 35 and 50 mm for that one and done lens, with the exception of 85mm.
Of course! A blurry background by itself doesn't make a photo professional. But you have to admit, when shooting portraits and weddings, all-else-equal, the same exact photo shot with a smooth bokeh and blurry background will look more professional than a "snapshot" with the same overall composition and exposure and content, but without any sort of blurry background. At least, that's how we see it! And no, we only shoot Nikon so we can't speak to any Canon lenses 😁
We don't photograph models, but I imagine our advice would be the same as for other kinds of portraits! Prime lenses are still great, and which one you want will depend on whether you want a wider or more telephoto image.
Thank you for the video. Am planning to travel abroad along with my family in Sydney Australia. So most likely it would be a group shot and taking some iconic tourist spots in the background like opera house. Etc..what would you prefer.? If 50 or 85 the iconic place would be a Blurred
If you're planning to take lots of landscape photos and large group shots, a 35 mm might be best as it's wider focal length will let you get a wider field of view. A 50 mm is often good as a generalist lens or for street photography. Either way, it's the aperture that controls whether or not the background will be blurred or not. Move your aperture to a large f-stop number (like f/16 or f/22) on any lens to have a sharp foreground AND background!
Nice! Sounds like you've used all 3 of the lenses we discussed. We have a 95 mm macro lens, but we don't usually use it for portraits, since its minimum aperture is only 2.8, and we often shoot portraits at f/1.8 for that extra-shallow depth of field (and because of how far away you need to be to shoot portraits with 100mm) 😊 But if it works for you, that's great!
Great video, good insight & y’all have great chemistry. Have the 16-35 GM & 70-200 GM II for the A1 & just copped the F1.2 50 GM last week and it makes those other $2,000+ dollar 2.8 zooms look slow and lazy. Prime Glass is where the action is at. The 50 Prime is the only one to get right now, the 85 F1.2 from Sony is dropping for Christmas 2022 & the F1.2 24mm is coming in 2024. 24/50/85 is the trinity I will build over the next 3 years. The 135 GM might be better than the 85 Prime, but I know that the 85 Prime in 2022 is going to focus so fast and it’s going to be sharp as a tack edge to edge. Never buying old glass. With the A1 you are set for the next decade, because all the GM II glass is made specifically to maximize the A1. 16-35 GM was needed because that is the best zoom for backpacking in terms of IQ & the versatility of moving between 35mm to 16mm really quick. Nobody can touch 16mm at 2.8 on the A1 or A7R4 except for the 14 Prime & 12-24 & both those have front elements that can’t accept screw on filters. When the 16-35 GM II comes next year possibly I’ll get that to upgrade. In 2025 it will be 16-35 GM II / 24 1.2 / 50 1.2 / 70-200 GM II that is what is going to happen
We don't know a ton about Sony lenses, but that sounds like a great plan to me! Nikon is also coming out with an 85 mm f/1.2 sometime in the next year or so, and I'm personally very excited!
Honestly, I already feel like I'm pretty far backed up using the 85 mm 😂 I can't imagine being any further away from our subjects! Although, if you already own a 70-200 mm (see video 3 in this series) for ceremonies and surprise proposals, I'd just use that, rather than buying a prime lens just for super-zoomed in portraits!
Very basically, the color temp will determine how warm (orange/yellow) or how cool (blue) your image looks. Kelvin is just the scale that they use to measure the "warmth" in th image. So 2,000K is very cool, but 12,000 K is very warm!
You're essentially deciding between my preferred shooting style (85 mm on one hip and 35 mm on the other) vs. Sarah's shooting style (50 mm all day)! It all comes down to personal preference, although two cameras can wear on your shoulders and back on long wedding days more than a single camera. It's really whether you love the telephoto + wide look, or want to stick with a generalist that works at any distance!
I have the impression that prime lenses are getting bigger and heavier ('beefier' if you like) and more expensive compared to the older generation ones - Nikon, for example, compare how much smaller their D prime lenses were compared to their current G lenses - in fact, their wide-angle G prime lenses (e.g 24mm 1.8 G) are the size of some of their telephotos instead
I would agree that the G lenses are definitely getting bigger and beefier, but I'd argue they're also getting sharper, nicer, clearer, and overall better as well! Not to mention that these newer lenses have all the electrical components that come with autofocus and advanced metering systems, especially in the mirrorless lenses. We've used a few of the old D lenses before (never owned one though), and they didn't compare to the G primes we've owned. And Sarah's 50 mm f/1.2 S is -- without a doubt -- the nicest prime lens we've ever owned! But it's almost as big as our 70-200 mm f/2.8 😂 So I definitely agree that they keep getting bigger!
I would say a 50 mm would serve as a great generalist lens, unless you find yourself needing a wider field-of-view for full-body shots from just a few feet away, in which case a 35 mm might be a better fit. Good luck!
People don't get prime lens. Primes are just as pro as primes. Think of a zoom as having three or four primes with you. And yes there are times when its fine to zoom in. There are top pros in Canon and Nikon ambassadors that only use zooms.
I'm not sure what you mean by "people don't get prime lenses", although I agree that zoom lenses CAN be just as professional as primes! Our guess is that most people watching this video are considering their FIRST lens after their kit zoom lens, so by comparison a prime will definitely be a more professional lens, especially for portraits 😊 Thanks for watching!
@@hunter.and.sarah.education My mistake I meant to say zooms. People don't get how to go about using zooms. I use the mind set that I have a 24, 28, 35, 50, and a 80 because I use the Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 2x crop factor. Then if I feel like I need to zoom I will. And sometimes I'll just zoom what I think is just right sometimes rooms are small and a pain to work in with a lot of people.
The 50mm lens has a dubious perspective to say the least. The background looks bad, it's weird. For example, if you shoot with a 35mm the background looks very good, with 85mm the same...with 50mm something doesn't look good, probably that's why it's the cheapest and unused lens.
Huh that’s an opinion we’ve never heard before! The 50 mm is actually the most commonly used prime lens, and we love the way it looks. But we’re glad that you know what you like! Very important for any good artist 👍🏻
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
For a true comparison of the 50 and 85, you'd need to get the framing on the images at 7:12ish more similar. Then you'd really see the difference in compression. Also, I wouldn't say getting a 50 or 85 is only a matter of personal preference. If you shoot indoors, the 85mm will be a bit too tight. You'd struggle to get everything you want in the frame, since you have limited space to move back.
Good points!
You guys are so kind and helpful, I really appreciate your effort and guidance. Thank you so very much.
You're very welcome! Glad you found it helpful!
The best way to pick a prime would be to shoot on zooms for a while (at least 10,000 shots imo), then check lightroom statistics to see which focal length has the most keepers. This could help beginner photographers save a bit of coin and use it on something they will truly enjoy. Prime lenses are extremely polarizing based on style. Many swear by the 35mm as their desert island lens, their one and only, but I could not bring myself to like it at all. I'm personally like a 28/50 pairing.
That's definitely one way to do it! And for anyone shooting with a kit lens that includes all three focal lengths (like an 18-105 mm f/3.5-5.6), that could be an easy way to figure out which prime lens should be their first purchase! However, I wouldn't recommend going from kit lens to zoom lens THEN to prime lens, as I think learning to shoot portraits with prime is a better place to start, then getting a zoom if weddings will be in the mix. If a photographer isn't ever going to go beyond portraits, I don't think a zoom lens is necessary. But I love using the data to decide which lens to purchase next!
Bravo!!! What a simple and professional way to explain this concept. After watch several videos on UA-cam I found you guys made a fabulous job. Here a new suscriptor from Montreal 🇨🇦
Awesome, thank you so much!
I wonder if jumping from a DSLR mirror camera to an EOS R5 is best before buying a lens for my current DLSR, if I hope to go professional at some point. Ya'll give clear guidance in everything I've seen before and lead me to more questions. I look forward to checking out more of your resources.
If you’re currently using a kit lens, we’d recommend upgrading your lens first, then your camera when you hit the limit of your current body. We have a video later in this series am about when to upgrade your camera body!
So much practical and explanatory video with clarity in decision making for a portrait lens buy. Thank you .a perfect video.
We're so glad it was helpful! Be sure to join our FB community for more helpful information!
Great video, great talk. Not only do I have an f/2.8 35mm, an f/1.8 50mm, and an f/2.0 85mm lens but I also have an f/2.8 28mm and an f/1.4 135mm and they all were less than your two primes! Vintage Manual lenses are the best way to get started.
Thanks for sharing! Never gone the vintage route before 🤔
Great video! Love the explanation. Keep going on. Cheers from France:)
Thank you!!
Just watched the first video on DSLR vs Mirrorless.. Found it very insightful.. Excited 😁 to watch the rest 🙏
Awesome, thanks Caleb! Glad the video was helpful! Be sure to check out our FB community to continue the conversation past the video!
I love when my subjects pop...figuratively, speaking!
😂
Now I have some Zoom lens that 2.8 that give me pretty good Boca or blury background. So are those professional lens. I think yes. Although I agree with Primes as more Professional lens, I use zooms for on professional shots.
There are of course professional zoom lenses as well! But when starting from a kit lens, we think a prime is the best place to go 👍
I think they forgot something. You also need to take into account your cameras crop factor. This can make a 50mm lens more like an 85mm. My Nikon d3500 has a crop factor of 1.53, I need to remember that when I decide to use it.
Hey John! That's totally right! The underlying assumption of the video is that we're talking about using these lenses on full-frame cameras, where the focal lengths are still accurate. If you have a ~1.5 crop factor (like most beginner, crop sensor cameras), then the 3 lenses will be more like ~53 mm, ~75mm, and ~128 mm! We have a video on crop sensor vs. full frame later on in this series!
@4:21 just because you have a blurry background doesnt mean it looks more “professional” it really depends on how you compose your subject with the background. I found that the one who are framing their subject with the background is more professional than having shot with a lower aperture where they can just point and shoot. And have you tried the RF 28-70 f2 from Canon? It is a game changer. Sold my 35 and 50 mm for that one and done lens, with the exception of 85mm.
Of course! A blurry background by itself doesn't make a photo professional. But you have to admit, when shooting portraits and weddings, all-else-equal, the same exact photo shot with a smooth bokeh and blurry background will look more professional than a "snapshot" with the same overall composition and exposure and content, but without any sort of blurry background. At least, that's how we see it! And no, we only shoot Nikon so we can't speak to any Canon lenses 😁
Hello thank you for providing the information, i want to know what's your take on lenses for model photography. Thanks again.
We don't photograph models, but I imagine our advice would be the same as for other kinds of portraits! Prime lenses are still great, and which one you want will depend on whether you want a wider or more telephoto image.
@@hunter.and.sarah.education Thanks H&S for getting back to me, yes the choice of prime lense would depend on me only.
Thank you for the video. Am planning to travel abroad along with my family in Sydney Australia. So most likely it would be a group shot and taking some iconic tourist spots in the background like opera house. Etc..what would you prefer.? If 50 or 85 the iconic place would be a Blurred
If you're planning to take lots of landscape photos and large group shots, a 35 mm might be best as it's wider focal length will let you get a wider field of view. A 50 mm is often good as a generalist lens or for street photography. Either way, it's the aperture that controls whether or not the background will be blurred or not. Move your aperture to a large f-stop number (like f/16 or f/22) on any lens to have a sharp foreground AND background!
@@hunter.and.sarah.education thank you very much 😊
I love my 50mm, my 35mm for lifestyle was my favorite. I have the 85mm but just got the 100mm macro and that is my new favorite portrait lens.
Nice! Sounds like you've used all 3 of the lenses we discussed. We have a 95 mm macro lens, but we don't usually use it for portraits, since its minimum aperture is only 2.8, and we often shoot portraits at f/1.8 for that extra-shallow depth of field (and because of how far away you need to be to shoot portraits with 100mm) 😊 But if it works for you, that's great!
Great video, good insight & y’all have great chemistry. Have the 16-35 GM & 70-200 GM II for the A1 & just copped the F1.2 50 GM last week and it makes those other $2,000+ dollar 2.8 zooms look slow and lazy. Prime Glass is where the action is at. The 50 Prime is the only one to get right now, the 85 F1.2 from Sony is dropping for Christmas 2022 & the F1.2 24mm is coming in 2024. 24/50/85 is the trinity I will build over the next 3 years. The 135 GM might be better than the 85 Prime, but I know that the 85 Prime in 2022 is going to focus so fast and it’s going to be sharp as a tack edge to edge. Never buying old glass. With the A1 you are set for the next decade, because all the GM II glass is made specifically to maximize the A1. 16-35 GM was needed because that is the best zoom for backpacking in terms of IQ & the versatility of moving between 35mm to 16mm really quick. Nobody can touch 16mm at 2.8 on the A1 or A7R4 except for the 14 Prime & 12-24 & both those have front elements that can’t accept screw on filters. When the 16-35 GM II comes next year possibly I’ll get that to upgrade. In 2025 it will be 16-35 GM II / 24 1.2 / 50 1.2 / 70-200 GM II that is what is going to happen
We don't know a ton about Sony lenses, but that sounds like a great plan to me! Nikon is also coming out with an 85 mm f/1.2 sometime in the next year or so, and I'm personally very excited!
Awesome video and commentary 👌
Thank you! And thanks for leaving us a few comments!
🤩 my wife use 50mm to and i use 35mm & 85mm to... all sigma art 1.4. we are couple photographer! WE LOVE PRIMES
That is too funny! Sounds like our setup isn’t as unique to us as we thought 😂
Awesome video Thanks ♥ 🙌🏼
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching!
I know some portrait photographers like the 135mm focal length. What”s your take on that? Great video by the way.
Honestly, I already feel like I'm pretty far backed up using the 85 mm 😂 I can't imagine being any further away from our subjects! Although, if you already own a 70-200 mm (see video 3 in this series) for ceremonies and surprise proposals, I'd just use that, rather than buying a prime lens just for super-zoomed in portraits!
And thank you! Glad you found it helpful!
Thx a ton.
Liked
You're welcome! We're glad you found the video helpful!
Can u explain Kelvin temperature in photography....plz
Very basically, the color temp will determine how warm (orange/yellow) or how cool (blue) your image looks. Kelvin is just the scale that they use to measure the "warmth" in th image. So 2,000K is very cool, but 12,000 K is very warm!
Im stuck trying to decide between getting the Sony 50mm 1.2 or getting the 35mm 1.4 and the rumoured new 85mm 1.2 GM..
You're essentially deciding between my preferred shooting style (85 mm on one hip and 35 mm on the other) vs. Sarah's shooting style (50 mm all day)! It all comes down to personal preference, although two cameras can wear on your shoulders and back on long wedding days more than a single camera. It's really whether you love the telephoto + wide look, or want to stick with a generalist that works at any distance!
The Dream Prime is 20mm F1.2 When that glass is created...I’m going Tony Montana with the Sony A1
🔥🔥🔥
I have the impression that prime lenses are getting bigger and heavier ('beefier' if you like) and more expensive compared to the older generation ones - Nikon, for example, compare how much smaller their D prime lenses were compared to their current G lenses - in fact, their wide-angle G prime lenses (e.g 24mm 1.8 G) are the size of some of their telephotos instead
I would agree that the G lenses are definitely getting bigger and beefier, but I'd argue they're also getting sharper, nicer, clearer, and overall better as well! Not to mention that these newer lenses have all the electrical components that come with autofocus and advanced metering systems, especially in the mirrorless lenses. We've used a few of the old D lenses before (never owned one though), and they didn't compare to the G primes we've owned. And Sarah's 50 mm f/1.2 S is -- without a doubt -- the nicest prime lens we've ever owned! But it's almost as big as our 70-200 mm f/2.8 😂 So I definitely agree that they keep getting bigger!
I’m a tattoo artist and 99% of the time I take photos couple feet away what you lens you recommend
I would say a 50 mm would serve as a great generalist lens, unless you find yourself needing a wider field-of-view for full-body shots from just a few feet away, in which case a 35 mm might be a better fit. Good luck!
@@hunter.and.sarah.education thank you 🙏
You're welcome
500 Likes complete
Thanks for your help! 👍
People don't get prime lens. Primes are just as pro as primes. Think of a zoom as having three or four primes with you. And yes there are times when its fine to zoom in. There are top pros in Canon and Nikon ambassadors that only use zooms.
I'm not sure what you mean by "people don't get prime lenses", although I agree that zoom lenses CAN be just as professional as primes! Our guess is that most people watching this video are considering their FIRST lens after their kit zoom lens, so by comparison a prime will definitely be a more professional lens, especially for portraits 😊 Thanks for watching!
@@hunter.and.sarah.education My mistake I meant to say zooms.
People don't get how to go about using zooms. I use the mind set that I have a 24, 28, 35, 50, and a 80 because I use the Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 2x crop factor.
Then if I feel like I need to zoom I will. And sometimes I'll just zoom what I think is just right sometimes rooms are small and a pain to work in with a lot of people.
Lovely video! only advise is to make it less obvious that you are reading on the screen :)
Thanks Vladimir! We're definitely working on that 😁 That was only our second video, so hopefully we've gotten better since we posted that one 👍
The 50mm lens has a dubious perspective to say the least. The background looks bad, it's weird. For example, if you shoot with a 35mm the background looks very good, with 85mm the same...with 50mm something doesn't look good, probably that's why it's the cheapest and unused lens.
Huh that’s an opinion we’ve never heard before! The 50 mm is actually the most commonly used prime lens, and we love the way it looks. But we’re glad that you know what you like! Very important for any good artist 👍🏻