Weekend Fun with New Lenses

I’m in the market for a new lens, but I don’t know which one I want. Do I get a fixed lens or a zoom lens? L series, non-L series? f1.2 or f1.4, or 24-70 or 24-105?

Since I have zero experience with any lenses outside of the one my camera came with, I decided to rent a couple that I’ve been eyeing to give them a spin. After a lot of researching, I narrowed down my decision to these four:

Fixed

• EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM: $1,499
• EF 50mm f/1.4 USM: $375.00

Zoom

• EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM: $1,599
• EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM: $953.75

This weekend I tested out the two fixed lenses. On Saturday I took some shots with the 1.2, which may as well be made out of $1,500 in gold because that sucker is heav-ey. I assume this has to do with the fact that it’s made out of the highest quality glass Canon produces…and perhaps a tanker…or maybe it’s that there are several additional larger lenses in it.

After heaving it off the table and attaching it to my camera, I took a few shots. Pretty much immediately I was like a giddy teenager on my first date. Being able to set my f-stop down to 1.2 after being confined to 4.0 (with my kit lens) for all of these years is so flippin’ exciting!

So the first set that you’re seeing are all taken on Saturday with the 1.2 lens. I got together with my dear friends Amy, Marius (and their baby, Mathias), and John. We enjoyed brunch at Universal Cafe on an outdoor table basking in the morning light.

Afterwards while walking along the sidewalk a friendly little poodle greeted a curious Mathias. They both seemed to enjoy each other’s company and I think the poodle sensed Mathias’ interest in him as he kept running back to Mathias after greeting everyone else in our party.

While sitting on the sidewalk Mathias found all sorts of interesting items of which to entertain himself—like a bottle cap or the blades of grass growing between the cracks.

All of these are taken in the shade on a very sunny day, which is some of the best lighting for photography.

We then drove to the Marina to do a little hike along Crissy Field. We plopped Mathias in the park among these pseudo-dandelions (I’m not sure what type of flower they are) where Mathias was overly ecstatic by John showing him how to pop the top off of them.

The major challenge with these photos is that they are taken in the middle of the day with the bright sun overhead casting shadows across Mathias’ face. Not the best lighting for portrait photography.

After snapping the top off of dozens of flowers, we walked along the beach where Mathias was even more excited about the sand.

Before heading back to the car, we stopped by a cafe to grab some smoothies and snacks. That was Saturday.

On Sunday I switched to the 1.4.

While the 1.4 may not be made out of gold (so much lighter!), I feel like it works just as beautifully. To be honest, other than the weight and size, I didn’t notice that huge of a difference in the shots I was able to take with it. In some respects, it almost felt easier to get the shot I wanted with the 1.4. Here are some photos from Sunday with that lens.

Bumbles and Mo were fairly patient models that afternoon, while Clyde was more interested in running up and down the jungle gym for some strenuous exercise than posing for me.

We then had lunch with our friend Mars and his girlfriend at the tasty vegan Mexican restaurant Gracias Madre. We sat at the outdoor tables and I took a photo of Alex and he took one of me before our friends arrived.

On our walk home we saw this adorable old couple holding hands while walking down the street and with my camera hanging around my neck I, of course, had to document it.

My final thoughts:

I realize that comparing the two is somewhat like comparing apples to oranges because they’re taken in different locations, with different subjects and very different lighting. However, I think it’s still possible to get a general idea of whether the 1.4 will be sufficient considering the $1,100 cost difference with the 1.2 and, right now, I’m not sold that the 1.2 is worth it.

Lastly, the first ten minutes of playing with the fixed lens was quite the adjustment (pun totally intended), but by the end of the weekend I had it down. It just takes a lot more effort to move your body to the right place…and sometimes when time is of the essence it can be a problem. That’s why both of these lenses are best suited for portraits where your subject isn’t moving a whole lot. The exception is food shots 😦 I know! Boo on that! The depth of field causes too much blur for the areas outside of the focus for my liking. So I don’t think either of these would work well for food photos, but maybe I just didn’t play around with them enough to figure it out.

Based on the outcomes of the photos, I’m pretty sure that I’d be perfectly happy with the 1.4 and saving myself $1,100.

Next weekend I’m testing the zoom lenses to see if I like them better and hopefully then I’ll know exactly which one I want to buy…but realistically, I know won’t be the case and I’ll probably be torn between two of them.