Help with ~30mm Prime lens

Messiah Khan

Messiah Khan

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Alasdair Fowler
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This lens addiction kicks in fast doesn't it? This time im considering a lens for portraits/dark conditions and general landscape type shots. I know that might be asking a lot from a single lens, but I think I can achieve it with a 30-40mm (or thereabouts) lens. Ive seen a few portrait shots on Deviantart, which have a great fov with ~35mm on a 1.6 crop.

for example;
http://hellwoman.deviantart.com/art/Fela-53903414

I also tend to use the mid to long range on my kit lens (18-55mm) for seascapes etc, so the lens should be suitable for this. (And If I need to go even wider then I have the 10-20mm) I also would quite like it to be a fast lens (2.8 or better?) However my slight problem is that I have a D40X, so to autofocus I would need a AF-S/AF-I/HSM lens. The only lens I have found so far is the;

Sigma AF 30mm f/1.4 EX HSM DC

However there are two things putting me off this lens. first off its a DC lens, so wouldn't work on a full frame if I ever went to that (Maybe not entirely realistic, but I really would love a D3 in the future), but more importantly the reviews aren't great. Apparently its a bit on the soft side at the edges, there is slight CA and vignetting.

So does anyone have experience of this lens. Any other suggestions (With or without AF) and are there any Prime lenses about to be released? I would ideally like to have a prime lens, but are there any good performace zooms out there instead?
 
Think about a 28mm - its slightly wider, but not all that much and the options for getting one will be much better
 
Well i've done a bit of research, and it seem the holy grail is the;

Nikon 28mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor

But this also seems very expensive and very hard to get hold of.

My other options include;

Nikon 28mm f/2.8D AF Nikkor
Nikon 35mm f/2D AF Nikkor
Sigma 28mm f1.8 EX DG Aspherical Macro
Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM (The only prime that will AF with my D40X)
Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S Zoom-Nikkor (Ideally want a prime, but its still an option)
Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G AF-S DX
Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC
Sigma 20-40mm f2.8 EX Aspherical DG DF
Sigma 24-60mm f2.8 EX DG Lens
Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 EX Aspherical DG DF

And then there are quite a few other 28mm and 35mm variations as seen on;

http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/lenses.html#28

Anyone got any comments on any of these? With such few options for AF-I/AF-S/HSM im likely to get one that won't AF on my D40X, and wait for that novelty when I upgrade the body.
 
Do the older Nikkor primes meter on the d40?

Not sure that they do. If so, that may be you best choice!

35mm f2 can be had relatively cheaply, it'll be M/f and possibly you'll have to guess at metering but with the landscape stuff that shouldn't be a massive problem as you'll probably be using full manual anyways.
 
You are keen MK.. Very keen, I like a man who can't wait to get his next purchase..(y)
 
Cheers for the suggestion Gandhi.

busterboy said:
You are keen MK.. Very keen, I like a man who can't wait to get his next purchase..(y)
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Oh yeah!(y) I would get bored at work if I couldn't plan my next purchase, lol. I think ive now settled on the Sigma 30mm f1.4 HSM. After reading more reviews it seems the QC is very hit and miss, but if you do get a good one, or you send an iffy one off for calibration, it will be very good. It also has the added bonus of being able to AF on my D40X. Shame its DC though, which has resigned me to sticking with a crop sensor for a while yet. Any one got the 30mm f1.4 hsm? Any comments?
 
^^ Film.

Personally I wouldn't bother with the Sigma 30mm F/1.4 because, as you say, it's both very hit & miss & DC.
 
Joe T said:
I think if you buy a D3 (at £3.5k) the last of your worries will be a £250 lens you purchased sometime ago...
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True, and that is my current thinking. However I don't want to make too big a DC/DX collection, as if I was to get a D3, I would be scraping the money together to get one. I then wouldn't want to have to replace my entire lens collection as well. It might be 'only' £250, but a few of them quickly add up to being a significant investment. At least my 300mm f2.8 will work on full frame. :)

Hoodi said:
^^ Film.

Personally I wouldn't bother with the Sigma 30mm F/1.4 because, as you say, it's both very hit & miss & DC.
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There is that. But i don't use film at the moment, and when I eventually do (Which im sure I will) i hope to use medium format. The other option would have been a Nikon 28mm f1.4, but this seems impossible to get hold of, and when you do its mega money. Also its not AF-S/AF-I/HSM
 
Joe T said:
Agreed that you may not want a huge DX/DC collection, but at least you will be able to use them on D3, albeit at less than 6mp.
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Thats a good point I didn't think of.:clap: Think im probably looking at a D200/D300/D2Xs next though. but one day a D3/D4/D5XsMKIII etc etc will be mine:)
 
I've got an AF 35/2 and it's pretty decent. I'm logging in from a hotel room right now so no samples, but you can find some using the lens search on pbase easily enough.

If you're in good light, you might also want to consider that the depth of field is going to be considerable at 35mm, say 8m at f5.6 and about 24 metres at f8 (if I've done my sums right!) so you don't necessarily need autofocus if you know what you're doing. A lot of classic street photography was done that way.

If you are using it wide, the 35/2 is acceptably sharp at f2 and it's relatively easy to see what's in focus (at least on a D200, not sure what the viewfinder on a D40 is like not having used one) Nikon also do an AIS 35/1.4 which costs rather more than the 35/2, but which has a stellar reputation from the film days and I know some people who like it on digital.
 
I'd agree with Slapo, it is one of the few annoying things about owning the D40 that is making me consider a D80 or D200 in future.
 
zeroeseight said:
I'd agree with Slapo, it is one of the few annoying things about owning the D40 that is making me consider a D80 or D200 in future.
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Well im hoping to get a D200/D300/D2Xs eventually, but thats still someway off yet. Although it makes life a little tricky choosing this new lens, I can't quite justify a new body yet. Even if I sold the D40X (Which I probably wouldn't, as I want to turn it into an IR camera) it would be a significant purchase.

Edit; Ive not actually found the lack of a focus motor to be too much of an issue so far. My main gripe with the D40X is the lack of a AF/MF switch on the camera body.
 
Sigma 20-40mm f2.8 EX Aspherical DG DF

I have this, and have had good results (imo) with it.

Was a bargain when i bought it recently :)

Andy
 
Messiah Khan said:
. Any one got the 30mm f1.4 hsm? Any comments?
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I have had mine for a week or so and absolutely love it from what use it has had so far.

Here are a few examples, click for full size images







I used it taking portraits at a family celebration on Saturday night and it has impressed me no end with it's sharpness :clap:
 
Iceax said:
Sigma 20-40mm f2.8 EX Aspherical DG DF

I have this, and have had good results (imo) with it.

Was a bargain when i bought it recently :)

Andy
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Thank for the suggestion Andy. However that lens isn't fast enough for what im after. I really need it to be f1.8 or faster for the ultra narrow dof, sa well as its low light capability. I also want a Prime lens to force me to use my feet to frame a shot.

stevegreen said:
I have had mine for a week or so and absolutely love it from what use it has had so far.

Here are a few examples, click for full size images

*snip*

I used it taking portraits at a family celebration on Saturday night and it has impressed me no end with it's sharpness :clap:
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Thanks Steve. Nice shots there. I really love that narrow dof with a smooth bokeh. So sharpness seems fine even at the edges? Whats the build quality and feel of the lens like? Im fairly sure im going to get this lens now, just need to wait for the funds.:)
 
Messiah Khan said:
Thanks Steve. Nice shots there. I really love that narrow dof with a smooth bokeh. So sharpness seems fine even at the edges? Whats the build quality and feel of the lens like?
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The narrow DoF is great, though a little tricky to master in certain situations and despite reading about edge sharpness I have not really noticed any issues on mine at least. I did do a focussing test when i had it and it was within a gnats whisker too. Build quality is superb (as it is with all Sigma EX series glass, it comes with a little bag too) and it feels nicely weighted on my 350D with battery grip (y)
 
Well I bought the Sigma 30mm f1.4 HSM on Friday.:D I love it so far. Sharpness seems spot on, and the bokeh is gorgeous. The low light performance is amazing as well. My only problem now is I keep seeing 'light level too high' quite a lot at ISO100 :LOL:. Ive used it a bit this weekend in London, so i'll post some shots up once ive processed them. Can't wait to use it in anger with portrait shots though.:)
 
Love mine, taking a bit of getting used to regards Depth of field or lack of. But its certainly up to producing some cracking images.

1465300232_c070589dcf.jpg


1423414124_426adbdf92.jpg
 
Messiah Khan said:
Well I bought the Sigma 30mm f1.4 HSM on Friday.:D I love it so far. Sharpness seems spot on, and the bokeh is gorgeous. The low light performance is amazing as well. My only problem now is I keep seeing 'light level too high' quite a lot at ISO100 :LOL:. Ive used it a bit this weekend in London, so i'll post some shots up once ive processed them. Can't wait to use it in anger with portrait shots though.:)
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Im after a wide fast prime at the moment and my two main contenders were the sigma 30mm f/1.4 and the sigma 20mm f/1.8. I've decided to go for the 20mm f/1.8, although i haven't bought it yet. Mainly made this decision because i wanted as wide as possible, but also heard the 30mm was soft at the edges anything below F4, which made for ugly bokeh. Experienced this yet?

And yes, i've often found its sometimes impossible to shoot in daylight at 4000 - f/1.8. :razz::LOL:
 
zoidberg said:
Love mine, taking a bit of getting used to regards Depth of field or lack of. But its certainly up to producing some cracking images.

*snip*
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Nice shots there. I think my experiences with dealing with ultra thin dof when shooting macro shots will help me a bit with controlling this lens. Im going to have to force myself to stop down further than f1.4 sometimes though. At the moment I keep saying; "Ive got f1.4, so im damn well going to use it!" :LOL:

alexisonfire said:
Im after a wide fast prime at the moment and my two main contenders were the sigma 30mm f/1.4 and the sigma 20mm f/1.8. I've decided to go for the 20mm f/1.8, although i haven't bought it yet. Mainly made this decision because i wanted as wide as possible, but also heard the 30mm was soft at the edges anything below F4, which made for ugly bokeh. Experienced this yet?

And yes, i've often found its sometimes impossible to shoot in daylight at 4000 - f/1.8. :razz::LOL:
Click to expand...

Aye. I was after a 'general' fast lens, trying to get as close to 50mm with crop as possible. This will allow me to use it for landscapes as well as other things such as portraits. Although 20mm might have been a little better for landscapes (Which I presume is what you want it for), it would be somewhat short for portraits. It would also mean that I had the same length covered twice (With the 10-20mm as well).

As far as softness goes, ive not really tested it properly yet, but from all the images I have shot with it I haven't noticed it at all. The bokeh when wide open is silky smooth, and when the focus is spot on, the centre sharpness seems very very good. I could do with a camera with iso25 now.(y)
 
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