ben waddell photography

So I know its been a reallllly long time since my last post, truthfully I just needed a break to catch up on work and gear up for another grueling semester that includes 24 credits and the dreaded MCAT! I'll also be officially applying for Med Schools in June so it is going to be a very very interesting semester:)

In the mean time, I have simplified my equipment list a little bit, I find that too many lenses and accessories gets in the way of what I'm suppose to be doing, which is taking great pictures... So I've paired things down a bit and I wanted to tell you a little about two beautiful lenses that are affordable and, in my opinion, are every bit as exceptional as their more expensive "L" counterparts.

The first lens is the canon 35mm f/2. It's a little lens with a great focal length and good aperture. I like it because it is very small, and doesn't attract the attention like the 70-200mm behemoth, or the 24-70 L lens that I carry around. This little guy has become my primary lens. I love the focal length, and when I put it on a cropped camera like my 50d it makes for a great lens to use in tight spaces. I find that I enjoy framing my shots with this lens more than any other!

The next lens I want to show you is the 85mm 1.8. Its counterpart in the "L" class, the most expensive canon lens you can buy, is over five times as expensive as this guy, and yet the only discernible differences between the image quality between the two are only observed in controlled tests, the final products between the two lenses are virtually indistinguishable. On a full frame lens like the 5d, the 85mm length is a great lens for portraits. On a cropped camera, like the 20,30,40, 50, and 7d, the focal length really becomes more of a telephoto. Its not so great in small places, but when you are trying to blend into the background in a dark reception hall this lens can get you in close to the action and leaves. I get some of my favorite reception pictures with this lens. It allows me to stay out of the action, but get up close and personal:)

Of course, I use other lenses, like the 50mm 1.8, which is the first lens I recommend anybody to get. The other real benefit to these lenses is that you can get all of them, the 35mm f/2, 50mm 1.8, and 85mm 1.8, for less than $350. In fact the 50mm 1.8 is less than $100! Put these three lenses together, along with a 50d for around $850 used and you can put together a very formidable camera kit for around $1500 bucks! What's even more amazing is that to get better lenses you would have to spend another $4000 to upgrade to the L lenses, and at the end of the day, the image quality you get isn't that much better! Don't get me wrong, the $1600 85mm 1.2 lens is beautiful, and the 50mm 1.2 (I got mine for $1299) is the best lens I've ever owned. But, at the end of the day these cheaper alternatives are awesome, and I highly recommend them!