Sigma 30mm 1.4 Art vs Canon 28mm 1.8

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Justin
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Want an equivalent 50mm for my Canon 600d so looking at these 2 lenses but so many varying reviews on them.

Has anyone had experience with them in the real world, especially the Sigma as all I hear is problems with focusing.
 
Have you considered the Canon 35mm f/2 (mk1)? Considerably cheaper than the Sigma, and better IQ (and more useful focal range IMO) than the Canon 28mm.
 
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No haven't considered that yet will have to look on reviews.

I want a lens that I can use in the evening for inside shots and low light evening shots, would the 35mm f/2 be enough in your mind or will a 1.8/1.4 be necessary?
 
I was in the same predicament a while ago, I looked at loads of reviews of the 35mm f2 (old no IS version) and tired it in store etc etc

Then I tired the 28mm f1.8 that a friend owned and the USM focus motor sold me on it.

I couldn't really pick my between them in iq, obviously the focal lengths are different but for me the extra Af speed of the 28mm was the one to pick. . .

Its plenty sharp for me and I can't really fault the IQ either!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/b_rosendale_imaging/8546448590/in/set-72157632962903781/
 
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I had the original version of tghe Sigma 30mm f1.4 and I thought it was excellent and the only thing I could say against it is that the focus ring felt a bit gritty when manually focusing, apart from that I'd say it's pretty much perfect. I only sold mine when I moved from APS-C to 5D.
 
There's a review of six 35/30mm primes in the current edition of Digital SLR Photography magazine, including MTF sharpness tests on both full-frame and APS-C formats.

Lenses are Canon 35/2 IS, Canon 35/1.4L, Nikon 35/1.4, Samyang 35/1.4, Sigma 30/1.4 Art, Sigma 35/1.4 Art. Sigma 35/1.4 Art is Best Buy, and all the others get a Highly Rated rosette.
 
Think the Sigma 35mm/1.4 is a bit out of budget. Was looking at the Sigma 30/1.4 but scared of all the front focus stories and bad copies.

Now seen the Canon 35/2 with IS USM and think it is worth a look. Like this one as 35mm on 600D is about what I want, as would be 56mm, but not sure if f2 is enough for low light that I want, would the 28/1.8 be better???

Really like the sigma 30mm/1.4 but so many issues on web about problems, exactly what I want but scared about focus issue as £369 is a lot for something that does not focus in low light.
 
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Now seen the Canon 35/2 with IS USM and think it is worth a look. Like this one as 35mm on 600D is about what I want, as would be 56mm, but not sure if f2 is enough for low light that I want, would the 28/1.8 be better???

The difference between f/2 and f/1.8 is very little in practice; it's only 1/3 of a stop.
 
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Think the Sigma 35mm/1.4 is a bit out of budget. Was looking at the Sigma 30/1.4 but scared of all the front focus stories and bad copies.

Now seen the Canon 35/2 with IS USM and think it is worth a look. Like this one as 35mm on 600D is about what I want, as would be 56mm, but not sure if f2 is enough for low light that I want, would the 28/1.8 be better???

Really like the sigma 30mm/1.4 but so many issues on web about problems, exactly what I want but scared about focus issue as £369 is a lot for something that does not focus in low light.

I never had any issue with mine but when I sold it on the new owner did and posted examples on line with focus all over the place. Hoppy may remember that thread as he posted in it. Anyway, I offered to take it back and give a full refund but the buyer kept it intending to practice his technique. Personally I think that there are very probably a lot of Sigma focus issues on the net that are caused by the same thing... user error.
 
Anyone found the new Sigma 30/1.4 art working well on a canon body as Sigma have an offer on until end of Jan where they give you the usb doc free, sounds good but don't want to buy a lens that has major issues with low light focusing. If it is mainly due to user error don't mind learning but there are so many complaints I am not sure it is just that.
 
I never had any issue with mine but when I sold it on the new owner did and posted examples on line with focus all over the place. Hoppy may remember that thread as he posted in it. Anyway, I offered to take it back and give a full refund but the buyer kept it intending to practice his technique. Personally I think that there are very probably a lot of Sigma focus issues on the net that are caused by the same thing... user error.

I had the old version Sigma 30/1.4 and liked it a lot, until I moved to full-frame. I agree that there are way too many rumours around the web about various 'poor copy' issues with all sorts of lenses, and just going by those posted on here, I would say nine out of ten turn out to be user error.

The new Sigma 30/1.4 Art is a totally new lens and if it comes with a free USB Dock then that's cool. One thing I'll say about the Dock though, is when people get one of those they immediately go looking for problems and when that's the case folks usually don't give up until they've found one - real or imagined.
 
had new version of sigma 35 1.4 A and the focus was all over the place. When it was right it was beautiful, returned it out of frustration.
 
Would the 30mm/1.4 be better at shooting children or the 35mm/2.0 IS canon because of the IS?

Friend takes lovely pics with his Canon 35mm/1.4 but they are posed and not in action so is aperture better or IS for say low light inside and normal outside at 2.8 or above, get confused around this area?
 
I have the Sigma 30mm Art and have never had any problems with it. It is a bit soft wide open but I use it for indoor family shots at f/2 and find it good for pairs and groups. Nice bokeh and focuses quietly and quickly although not quite as well as my Canon 50mm 1.4. I did post a few first day test shots on here back in May but don't have the link to hand. I am sure you can find better online anyway. Hope this helps.

J
 
Would the 30mm/1.4 be better at shooting children or the 35mm/2.0 IS canon because of the IS?

Friend takes lovely pics with his Canon 35mm/1.4 but they are posed and not in action so is aperture better or IS for say low light inside and normal outside at 2.8 or above, get confused around this area?

No easy answers to that one. IS will reduce camera shake at longer speeds but will not freeze subject movement blur. Shooting at f/1.4 will get you a decent shutter speed if you push the ISO (possibly a lot) but you'll have a devil of a job tracking them in sharp focus with the depth of field you'll have. Flash is the obvious option.
 
Wouldn't a 18-35mm be the easier option? Only thing which makes me hesitate is without focus micro adjustment or the dock you may find it inconsistent out of the box.
 
The 18-35mm is a bit out of my price range but lovely.
Think it really comes down to 2 lenses -
  1. Canon 35mm F2 IS USM
  2. Sigma 30mm F1.4
So is the IS on the Canon 35mm better or would I get more use out of the Sigma 30mm 1.4 DOF?
 
IS won't help you with motion blur, so low light kids moving about it won't help you the faster aperture of the sigma will allow you a higher shutter speed hence more chance of 'freezing the action'. . .

As has been said though its only 1/3 a stop and IS can be helpful in other areas, mainly video and low light ,more, static subjects. .

DOF wise i suspect they will be much of a muchness as the slightly longer focal length of the 35mm will offset some of its larger DOF…. I'd say you wouldn't notice much if any difference. . .

One other thing to mention is isn't the 35mm IS much bigger than the 30mm? don't know if this is an issue of you?
 
Think it really comes down to 2 lenses -
  1. Canon 35mm F2 IS USM
  2. Sigma 30mm F1.4
As has been said though its only 1/3 a stop and IS can be helpful in other areas, mainly video and low light ,more, static subjects.

Well, in the case of the f/2 vs f/1.4, the difference is actually one whole stop. The IS of the 35mm f/2, however, allows handheld shutter speeds of at least two stops slower than a non-stabilised lens, which actually makes up for the loss of light with the slower aperture of the f/2 and then some.

Image stabilisation isn't generally as well suited to moving subjects though.

In the end, they both are more than capable of low light shooting, but they go about it in just slightly different ways.
 
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Another vote for the 35mm F/2 IS. Ive just got one and its a fantastic lens, especially at the new price. Its much more suable (for me) than my 50mm f1.4 (using a 5DMKIII).

We all know IS wont stop motion blur but id say trying to capture kids running round (for example) at f/1.4 wont get you any more keepers.

The Canon is also smaller and lighter, so even better for taking out to social events (again, IMO), and for the odd video clip IS wins hands down.
 
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