Lens dilemma, Is the 30mm f/1.4 for me?

PGD

PGD

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Phil
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I’m another one struggling to decide which lens to spend on this Christmas


What got me thinking was the other day when I was trying to get some wedding shots in a low light room, but I couldn’t get anything of the people without loads of motion blur ruining every shot! That was with my canon a Speedlite 430EX flash attached too which I thought would do the trick.

So working with low light would be good.

Main uses for the lens would be similar in and out door captures at parties, meals that sort of thing. I guess a bit of a walk about lens
Car shows (I’m a petrol head too) so static car shots and their various details.
Basically the best replacement lens I can get for my buck

The Sigma 30mm f/1.4 has my attention at the moment and seems to get good reviews (this thread with plenty of pretty images is tempting too). But I cant help thinking I’d miss the zoom capability though, as I’ve never been without the option before. And sometimes you just don’t have the time to move your feet. Note: I came to think about a 30mm after pondering about the crop factor, which could make a good old ‘nifty fifty’ a little too long?

So would the 30mm Sigma do the job, or should I look at higher f numbers with greater zoom? :thinking:

Current kit is Canon 400D, canon 70-300mm IS f/4, and the afore mentioned standard 18-55mm lens.


Thanks for reading and I appreciate your thoughts/advice :)
 
I have both a 30mm f1.4 and a 50mm f1.4. For low light photography they are both great. I started off with the 50mm but found that I needed something a little wider when shooting in smaller cramped spaces so I invested in the 30mm.

I suppose if you have the money then a decent 17-50mm or 24-70mm might so the job for you and give you more flexibility but if low light is your primary concern then you can't beat a good f1.4 lens.
 
-Rob- said:
I suppose if you have the money then a decent 17-50mm or 24-70mm might so the job for you and give you more flexibility but if low light is your primary concern then you can't beat a good f1.4 lens.
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Cheers Rob, that was my fear with the 50 too. Any recomendations for a decent 17-50mm for me to look into?

Oh I forgot to mention too, budget is around £400 :thumbs:
 
I too have the Sigma 30 and Nikon 50 1.4, although the 30 is a cracking lens, I suffer with overexposure with mine (never used to on the D60 mind) when wide open and/or with flash, which means I have to try and remember to put -0.7EV on before shooting.
 
From personal experience the 30mm 1.4 is fantastic indoors. 2 stops quicker than a 2.8 zoom. There's not usually too much room to zoom with anyway so i find the 30 on a crop perfect.

If you really can't do without a zoom then the only good option (again imo) would be the Tamron 17-50 2.8. I had one for a couple of years and for the money it's hard to knock. My personal opinion though is that although as sharp as own brand top end glass the latter scores better in both contrast, colour & AF speed. Always better to pay that bit more in the first place but the Tamron is a good bit of kit.
 
A few examples of the Tamron and 400D combination:

StephRAWS_0127.jpg


StephsWedding196.jpg


Steph_0206.jpg
 
They look fantastic to me... I think I'm swaying towards the tamron at the moment. I think I'd end up using it more than the fixed 30mm
 
The 30mm f1.4 is lovely and I wouldn't be without mine but with a speedlight you should surely be able to use a high enough shutter speed to reduce motion blur?
 
Was going to say something similar. Problem in Av is that the shutter can dip well below anything hand holdable. A good happy medium to start with in manual is 800 iso, f4 & 1/60. Let your flash using E-TTL do the rest ;)

If you want to save your batteries open up your aperture a stop.
 
My Siggy 30mm is a fab lens. In the centre it is sharp wide open, and gets really sharp by f/2.8. The corner sharpness lags behind but this is not so important. The bokeh is very nice indeed. The only real issue with these lenses is that they tend to front focus. On a body with Micro Focus Adjust (like 50D/7D) it can easily be sorted but on older bodies many shots will be out of focus when AF is used wide-open.

See my linky for further info.

30mm is much better suited to a crop sensor for general use than 50mm.
 
Orville said:
My Siggy 30mm is a fab lens. In the centre it is sharp wide open, and gets really sharp by f/2.8. The corner sharpness lags behind but this is not so important. The bokeh is very nice indeed. The only real issue with these lenses is that they tend to front focus. On a body with Micro Focus Adjust (like 50D/7D) it can easily be sorted but on older bodies many shots will be out of focus when AF is used wide-open.

See my linky for further info.
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Already read that, cheers Orville :thumbs:

I guess I dont have this 'micro focus adjust' then :shrug:. So if the lens does turn out to do this is it a case of putting up with it, or pack it off for adjustment?

What does 'AF used wide open' mean too?
 
f you've got £400, get yourself a tamron 17-50 2.8, and a 50mm 1.8... even new that's a total of about £330 :) great combination, and the tamron 17-50 is daaamn good image quality, packs a punch waaay above its price range.
 
PGD said:
Already read that, cheers Orville :thumbs:

I guess I dont have this 'micro focus adjust' then :shrug:. So if the lens does turn out to do this is it a case of putting up with it, or pack it off for adjustment?

What does 'AF used wide open' mean too?
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Some people report AF (Auto Focus) does not need adjustment, but I tried 2 copies from two different stores and they both needed +9 to +10 adjustment on a 7D. I guess this may just be the way these lenses operate on my particular camera.

So long as you buy a UK sourced lens Sigma will recalibrate it for you should it have problems. I have read several stories about people sending Sigma UK both thier lens and camera body, who then adjusted it perform perfectly. The easiest way to be sure it will work fine with your body is to try on out in Jessops or Jacobs stores. Alternatively if you buy online, you can return it within 10days under Distance Trading laws for a complete refund if you are not 100% happy.

I should also add that my much more expensive Canon 17-55mm F/2.8 IS also front focuses, so it is not just Sigmas.
 
I brought my Sigma 30mm 1.4 for exactly the same reason - interior low light shots in church, used mine on a 30D with 550EX. The problem I had with this lens was the very narrow depth of field at 1.4. great for single portraits, not so good for couples. Personally I prefer the Sigma 28mm f1.8 Macro. It suits my style of photography better and I would say that my 28mm copy is sharper too .
 
I knew I'd end up wanting both of them :lol:

But I think I'm going to go with the 17-50mm first and see if I still pine for the 1.4 at a later date.

With the front focus issues I've read about maybe it be wise to buy from a UK seller, or is it only the 1.4 that have the front focus issue? Either way it could pay to buy from the UK so it (maybe the body too) can be sent for adjustment. A wise move?

So where to buy from?

Found this one so far from warehouseexpress I think its the right one :thinking:
 
The thing is, with f1.4 depth of field is narrow. I've seen people shoot at f1.4, produce out of focus or soft shots and blame the lens but it's usually operator error, like their head and arms moving slightly forward or back as they press the shutter button.

I'm not saying all people complaining of front / back or whatever focus here are to blame, but some people out there are.

If you're shooting at f1.4 the chances are that any movement of the subject or camera is going to produce a soft or misfocussed looking result.
 
the nifty fifty is a great lens - BUT it is just too close on a crop body for me

i'm still undecided about what lens to buy, the tamron gets good write ups and is over half the price of the canon efs 17-55 2.8

but them primes look great too - god damn it :bang:
 
As well as the Sigma 30mm, I also own the EFS 17-55mm. The 17-55 is a very sharp lens. Build quality is ok, but not up to it's £700-£800 price tag plus you also must pay extra for a lens hood. The 17-55 is currently the best walkabout zoom lens available for a crop sensor. When I purchased mine there was nothing else available which offered f/2.8 and IS, but if the Tamron VC was around I would have chosen that lens instead. IQ on the Canon is probably slightly better, USM focus will be slightly faster, and build quality seems similar (good but not GOOD). A few slightly's are not worth almost double the price IMO so get the Tamron if you need a fast zoom with IS/VC on a budget.

I also think the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 and 17-55 f/2.8 (substitute Tamron 17-50 if needs be) complement each other really well. The range of the zoom is very handy and IS works well in low light for stationary subjects, but I often found myself using excessively high ISO's and switching IS off to freeze motion. In this area the 30mm f/1.4 takes over. In the real world, 4x brighter is superior to 4-stop IS, especially for wide lenses where camera shake is not so noticeable. I also find the 30mm to be sharper than the 17-55mm at the same apertures. I have owned a lot of lenses in the past few years, but my 3 keepers are (in order of preference):- Canon 70-200mm F/4L IS, Sigma 30mm F/1.4, Canon 17-55mm F/2.8 IS. The fourth choice would have been my 24-105mm F/4L IS, had I not sold it because the 17-55mm had more practical range and IQ on a crop. I also liked the 100-400L, but never used it enough.

edit: In your situation I would replace the 18-55mm with a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 VC. You will see noticeable benefits in all areas. If you feel the need buy a super fast lens later, you can supplement your kit with the Sigma 30mm. I cannot recommend the Canon 17-55mm because it is overpriced by ~£200.
 
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