i have the 50mm 1.8 and i love it for what it is (a cheap, fast prime), but always hear people saying how this is their walk around lens. i find it's too close for what i look to shoot and stepping back a few feet isn't always an option. does anyone have either of the two lenses listed below? any reason why not to pick up one of these?

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Canon-28mm-Wide-Angle-Cameras/dp/B00009R6WU/sr=8-1/qid=1171045768/ref=pd_bbs_1/105-8463361-7768455?ie=UTF8&s=electronics">28 f1.8</a>

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Canon-35mm-Wide-Angle-Cameras/dp/B00009XVCU/sr=8-3/qid=1171045768/ref=pd_bbs_3/105-8463361-7768455?ie=UTF8&s=electronics">35 f2</a>

85mm 1.2

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/secgeek/333195570/"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/333195570_d56ef5ba55.jpg" alt="Jojo at 1.2" /></a>

35mm 1.4

<img src="http://infosecgeek.smugmug.com/photos/107103133-M.jpg">

Now that my love for primes is growing though, been thinking about the 28mm as my next purchase.

with a full frame a 50mm is a great focal length but on a 1.6 crop sensor it's too long (in my opinion at least).

Also, for the money the 50mm is going to be better than those two. But if I were to get a prime for walking around I'd probably get a 28mm.

<ul><li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-Aspherical-Macro-Aperture-Cameras/dp/B00005RKST/sr=1-19/qid=1171050371/ref=sr_1_19/102-5915178-5952110?ie=UTF8&amp;s=photo">click</a></li></ul>

with the crop factor these are both closer to 50mm.

Now, most of the f2.8 zooms are excellent and some of the slow zooms are very good too. From the point of sharpness, there's no reason not to use a good zoom. If you want a faster aperture, closer focusing, a really big telephoto or maybe lighter wait, get a prime.

I have three Nikon f2.8 zooms (17-35, 17-55 and 70-200) and they're all excellent. Unfortunately they're expensive.

Anyway, the reason people get the 50 is because they're cheap, sharp and blurs the background out well. They make an ok portrait lens on a 1.5 or 1.6x dslr.

and a lot of people get them as well

That's a pretty nice focal length. You might also look at the Sigma 30/1.4.

sigma looks fine, but is about the same price as the canon equivalent.

It was too long for a "normal" lens, and a bit short for portraiture as well. When I switched over to the 1D (1.25x), I went with a 35mm, which I like (I think I'd love this lens a little more on a 5D!). If you like something that's a tad wider than the normal field of view, I'd give the 28mm a shot. I don't know much about the quality, and I wouldn't expect the focusing motor to be particularly great, but if you're shooting relatively still subjects, it should be fine.

There's a comparison on Dgrin.com. I agree that the 50 is not wide enough on a crop camera.<ul><li><a href="http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1291043">http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1291043</a</li></ul>