I have been thinking about a prime for some shallow depth of field use, including portraiture.
I am aware that 50mm is not a classic length for portraits (this is on a full frame 5DIII by the way) but working indoors in confined spaces at times 50mm can be useful.
Anyway, despite lusting after the 85mm f1.2, prices have recently crept up and so before forking out nearly £1,400 on that, I bought the 50mm f1.4 as it is pretty cheap (£220) and worth trying.
Now my dilemma. At f1.4 this lens will achieve very shallow depth of field (e.g. eyes in focus, ears pretty soft) but it is also quite soft overall. I have not carried out micro adjustment. Also autofocus is a bit erratic even in good light. Sharpness improves a lot by f2.8, but if I actually want very shallow depth of field, sharpness would be nice as well!
The attraction of this lens is that it is over £1,100 cheaper than the 85mm f1.2 and a great deal smaller and lighter. However, I don't actually want to compromise image quality and am quite happy to send the 50mm back IF the 85mm will be a big leap forward.
Attached are two examples of a "snap" i.e. not trying to compose anything, just trying the lens across a restaurant table indoors and out. This is my long suffering wife.
Do any of you here have experience of both lenses and hence could proffer some advice on whether a swap would be a smart move. I don't normally photograph people across restaurant tables!
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