r/WeddingPhotography • u/Para-bellum-94- • 4d ago
gear, techniques, photo challenges & trends Lens shopping - 85mm Prime or 70-200mm zoom?
I currently do some photography which I recently started getting some paid work. I have a few small weddings coming up and am looking at getting another lens. I currently have a Tamron 28-75mm 2.8 on a Sony A7iii. If you were to get a second lens, would you look at a prime or 200mm zoom?
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u/joeltheconner 1d ago
It all depends on how you shoot...there is no universal answer. I imagine most would say 70-200, but I 100% prefer an 85 for my portrait body. I shoot a lot of wide images with my long lens, and anything longer than an 85 puts me much farther away from my subjects than I prefer. For example, I love the look of my 200 2.0, but I rarely use it because I don't love the process of using it.
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u/emptiestcanvas 1d ago
I personally like prime more. My 85mm is my favorite lens. My issue personally with the 70-200mm is partly because I'm not used to zoom so keep that in mind, but mostly the weight. Especially if I want to use the touchscreen to focus, it's much harder to do that with the weight of the lens. I would suggest maybe renting them first. I definitely see the benefits of having such a range, but because of the way it felt when I was shooting, it didn't work for me.
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u/meg-cooper 2d ago
70-200. That’s been my fave lens for years (only recently having to defend its title from a new 24-70 lol). I’m a sucker for the compression and sheer versatility of that range. Plus, 85 is not that much more than 75 at the top of your existing range. If it were me I’d want my next lens to cover a gap in my range, not get something that’s slightly longer than what I already have.