50mm vs 30mm? (crop)

Ksanti

Ksanti

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I'm deciding between the two Sigma f/1.4 primes at 30mm and 50mm respectively right now, and I'm not entirely sure which one to go with just yet: The 30mm comes out as 48mm on a canon crop or 45mm on a Nikon crop, i.e. both about as close to a full frame 50mm as you'd get on a crop. I understand 50mm's were hugely popular in 35mm days and often the only lens ever used by a photographer for long times. But nowadays it seems the 50mm is still as popular as ever on crop, coming out as 75-80mm depending on the crop, but the 30mm-ish lenses aren't quite as popular?

I'm not really looking for lens sample photos, but more focal length photos, to see what lens suits what best? I have tried out using an 18-55 at both 30 and 50 to see what the FOV is like, but I'd like to see what each focal length is suited to best :)

Basically; I'm not interested in distortion shots etc. but just the kind of work produced at each length :)

Thanks in advance, hopefully there are a few people who use these lengths enough to be able to get an idea of what they're capable of :)
 
If it were me I'd go for the 30mm as I find it a much more useful focal length on crop.

For examples check out flickr groups Just type in the lens in the search field on the right.

Or the lens archive forum. Look down the list until you find the right lens.
 
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Not /too/ relevant, surely?

I use my dad's D5000 at the moment but am starting my own kit collection, not necessarily Nikon as tbh his lenses aren't really things I'd use much anyway.
 
I started with a 50mm 1.8, as practically everyone recommends them and they're very cheap. Once you've used a fast prime you won't want to use anything else, and the 50mm is quite limiting on a crop body, so if you can only buy one I'd go for the 30!
 
Ksanti said:
Not /too/ relevant, surely?

I use my dad's D5000 at the moment but am starting my own kit collection, not necessarily Nikon as tbh his lenses aren't really things I'd use much anyway.
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I was just going to recommend the nikon 35mm f1.8 which is a brilliant lens and £100 cheaper at least than the two you're considering, so yes it is quite relavent.
 
I have both and used to love my 50mm 1.4 (nikon) so much... finding it just gets neglected for shooting for myself, where I use the 30mm pretty much as a walkabout. Client work I still use the 50mm a fair bit, but keep wanting something a bit longer. Might well swop it out for an 85mm in the near future.
 
Depends what you are shooting! I use a old Nikon 55/1.2 for portraits on a crop camera. For general shooting I would definately go for a 30 - 35mm prime on a crop camera which will give you a far better field of view. The Sigma 30/1.4 already mentioned is incredible and has lovely bokeh and a bit of pop (like that of Zeiss lenses).
 
diggerz said:
I was just going to recommend the nikon 35mm f1.8 which is a brilliant lens and £100 cheaper at least than the two you're considering, so yes it is quite relavent.
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With CA, no AF on my Dad's D5000 and not as good as the Sigma generally.

Besides that, I'm choosing focal length, not lens, as whatever length I go the Sigma's seem to be distinctly better reviewed and preferred by most (excluding dud copies).
 
itsdavedotnet said:
I have both and used to love my 50mm 1.4 (nikon) so much... finding it just gets neglected for shooting for myself, where I use the 30mm pretty much as a walkabout. Client work I still use the 50mm a fair bit, but keep wanting something a bit longer. Might well swop it out for an 85mm in the near future.
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What sort of client work are you talking about?
 
Hmm... Maybe I should get both the 30mm and 50mm Sigma's, put up with using my Dad's D5000 for a bit and then once funds are up again by a better body, seeing as bodies will be improving much, much faster than lenses? Opinions on that?

Or will the D5000 not do the two lenses justice?
 
manualfocus-g said:
There's nothing wrong with the D5000, it's an excellent camera by all accounts :)
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It's not so much the camera's capabilities (except noise, which won't matter too much with primes, and the screen which I can put up with for now) so much as my dad being a little hard to deal with at times, limiting unplanned shooting opportunities somewhat
 
I prefer 50mm on a crop, 30mm is too short for me, and if I had a 85mm I'd probably use that over the 50mm.

I find 50mm on 35mm too short.
 
redddraggon said:
I prefer 50mm on a crop, 30mm is too short for me, and if I had a 85mm I'd probably use that over the 50mm.

I find 50mm on 35mm too short.
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What type of shooting are we talking about? I checked out the DigitalRev Sigma 85mm video and even on a 1D that looks a bit tight for my shooting :S
 
Ksanti said:
With CA, no AF on my Dad's D5000 and not as good as the Sigma generally.
.
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I think you will find that the Nikon 35mm is an AF-S lens and, as such, will have no problems on the D5000. By all accounts it is a very good lens for the price :shrug:
 
diggerz said:
What camera have you got?
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Canon 500D. I did have a Nikon D5000 but wasn't that impressed with it if I'm honest. Image quality was OK but menu system was not nice, it was really fiddly to find your way around. Nicely built though.
 
Tractor Boy said:
I think you will find that the Nikon 35mm is an AF-S lens and, as such, will have no problems on the D5000. By all accounts it is a very good lens for the price :shrug:
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That I misremembered. However both Sigma's are also very good lenses for the money and even disregarding price, spare the odd f/1.2L lens etc. :D

I'll give the Nikon a second look, though it'll take a lot to tempt me away from the Sigma :)
 
Ksanti said:
What type of shooting are we talking about? I checked out the DigitalRev Sigma 85mm video and even on a 1D that looks a bit tight for my shooting :S
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Portraits/Street, sort of thing. On crop 30/35mm is too short for portraits, and too long for landscape type things. If you are happy with a big compromise, OK, get the 35 or 30mm, but it'll never be the best for anything. I'd rather a zoom as a walk around lens, and get a prime to do a job where it'd excel.

I find the 50mm on my F5 an "OK" length, which is probably why in the old days if you were only going to have one lens for everything, it'd be a 50mm. Zoom lenses have come on a lot since the hey day of Henri Cartier-Bresson.

At the end of the day, asking what focal length to buy for a crop is a bit of open question, as it depends what you want to shoot, and different people will have different preferences.
 
what is irelevant is this type of question - without knowing what you want to shoot or what lenses you have now!
 
awp said:
what is irelevant is this type of question - without knowing what you want to shoot or what lenses you have now!
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18-55 nikkor kit
70-300 tamron

Neither of which I like using for anything other than walkabout.

Shooting subject varies dramatically from portraiture, to street photography, to fashion photography to architecture to animals etc. basically anything except UWA landscaping and telephotography.

If I had to narrow it down to one, I'd say fashion photography, however of course I already know the 50mm is more suited to that role, but I was looking to see samples of work as opposed to just finding out what roles they fill, though that question was mostly answered by being reminded of flickr groups; even if there is an awful lot of average photography in those groups to weed through :S
 
I recently bought a 50 mm F1.4 mainly for portrait shots of my children....absolutely love it.
 
I have both the Siggy 30 and 50mm f1.4's.

I think that the 30mm is a little sharper at f1.4 but it all depends upon what field of view you like and what the subject, it's size and the distance to subject are.

For indoor use 50mm on crop may be too long but when shooting at a greater distance or when framing a smaller subject 30mm may be too wide.

Best to buy both :lol:
 
The Nikon 35mm is a great walk-round all rounder.
I use the 50mm1.4 for my baby shots.
I use the 85mm1.8 for my pet shots.
All great lenses!!:)
 
I'd take the 30mm for crop cameras.
50mm is a too long for indoor people shots. My 35mm f1.8 pretty much stays on the camera all the time. Kinda makes me regret paying for the other lenses I own :(
 
I use my 50mm on a crop for people shots and find it fine. Mind they are generally little people I am taking shots of!
 
Old thread bump, I've had exams so I let it die off a bit :S

So how about I get the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 as a general use lens, then depending on what I use more (for non walkabout shots), choose either one of the Sigmas?
 
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