When Less is More - the 35mm Pancake

In my personal finances, I try to be a good steward of the resources given to me, since they're technically not my own. This tenant holds true even if in the current economic environment, being a spendthrift is actually rewarded (think GM). With that in mind, Phat Baby Photography shouldn't be any different since business expenditures are really the act of going out and spending my client's money. So with each purchase, I have to ask myself, "Would my clients appreciate me using their money in this way?"

For reasons I won't go into here, Vicky and Stanley's wedding made the need for a 35mm prime lens obvious (at least for wedding photography). Amongst Canon users there are two choices, the 35mm f2 for under $300 and the L series f1.4 for about a grand more. The latter has universally rave reviews and is the staple amongst wedding photographers but for the parent photographer, this is one of the times (the 50mm f1.2 vs f1.4 is another) when less is more. Here's why:

• Weight and size. The 35mm f2 can fit in your shirt pocket and while it's technically not correct, I like to call it a pancake lens (i.e. really flat).
• Price. The f1.4 is a sharper lens but the 35mm f2 is more than adequate for even my professional needs.
• Vignetting. A good lens is usually judged by having little or no light fall off as you get to the corner of the picture. This lens has an almost two-stop light fall off meaning if you looked at the corner of your picture, it would look two stops underexposed compared to the center.

Two-stops is a lot darker as you can get a sense of that from the above photograph (which is actually further darkened in post processing for effect). So here's where it's counter-intuitive, where I zig and everyone else zags. For a wide angle lens that two-stop underexposure is manna from heaven. It'll give you a partial blue sky when it would otherwise be pure white because most cameras over expose a backlit subject. The vignette also suits my photography style, so embrace the cheapo lens (keep the college fund intact) and worry not if your kid drops it on the ground because even if it breaks, at least it didn't cost you $1300.

BTW: I bought the lens locally at Keeble & Shuchat. The 9.25% sales tax coupled with the economy is really hurting local businesses (I actually asked). Jim was incredibly helpful and let me try out both lens (the f1.4 lens was a beauty to behold and touch). You can read all the reviews you want online but that doesn't tell you if the lens is right for you. It's the difference between people telling you it's difficult raising a baby and you realizing that when you've been woken up at 3am for 3 months in a row.