Camera Lens - Spin Off

[Leah]

So Jenn just got a new lens for her camera and I know a few others said that they either have or were getting new lenses as well...

I need help!

Canon 35mm 2.0 vs. Canon 50mm 1.8

Which one???

I'm overwhelmed and my head hurts.

[Amber1279]

I would get the 50mm 1.8 because I need a good low light lens, I have 1 window in my living room. But it depends on what you need.

[luckyme]

I own the 50mm f/1.8. Sometimes I find with my camera (Canon 40D), the lens focal length is too long for my little house. (My camera has a crop factor of 1.6x which means a 50mm lens is more like an 80mm one...) The quality of the photos is terrific, but I do wish I could include a smidge more breathing room in my pictures, rather than being so tightly cropped. (This is not an issue in larger spaces or outside, obviously).

[Shawna]

Either of those lenses will work well in low light with the lower apertures, it's just going to depend on how much space you have and your budget as the 35 2.0 is around $310 and the 50 1.8 is only about $120. My house is pretty small so I have a hard time using my 50 inside in places where I don't have much room to back up but it is a great little lens though. I have the Sigma 30 1.4 that I mostly use indoors but it's pricier than the 35 2.0 at $439. I'm planning on upgrading my 50 to the 50 1.4 soon.

[Leah]

I have an 18-55mm kit lens on my camera right now. So I set it at 50mm and I think that will be a little tight as far as taking photos in my house. I think the 35mm might actually be better.

[Jenn Barrette]

I have both, and for indoors I use the 35 mm hasn't come off my camera. I do like my nifty 50, but it can be too tight for indoors.

[Nettio]

My answer would be neither. :p

If it were me, I'd go with either the Sigma 30 1.4 or the Canon 50 1.4. They are both a little bit more money but not that much more than the Canon 35mm.

Personally I find 50mm on the crop body to be way too much zoom indoors which is why I love my Sigma 30mm. And I actually own a Canon 50 1.8 but I really really hate using it. The build quality of it is terrible - so cheap and plastic compared to other lenses and it doesn't focus nearly as quickly as my Sigma does. It's definitely a case of you get what you pay for.

I don't know if that helps you or not but I did a ton of research before I bought my Sigma a couple of years ago so I too looked at all these lens options but I'm so glad I went with the Sigma. I :wub: it.

[Leah]

My answer would be neither. :p

If it were me, I'd go with either the Sigma 30 1.4 or the Canon 50 1.4. They are both a little bit more money but not that much more than the Canon 35mm.

Personally I find 50mm on the crop body to be way too much zoom indoors which is why I love my Sigma 30mm. And I actually own a Canon 50 1.8 but I really really hate using it. The build quality of it is terrible - so cheap and plastic compared to other lenses and it doesn't focus nearly as quickly as my Sigma does. It's definitely a case of you get what you pay for.

I don't know if that helps you or not but I did a ton of research before I bought my Sigma a couple of years ago so I too looked at all these lens options but I'm so glad I went with the Sigma. I :wub: it.

So something like this Lynnette?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/381615-REG/Sigma_300101_30mm_f_1_4_EX_DC.html

[*Celeste*]

I have the Canon 28mm 1.8 ($484 Amazon), I got it for Christmas and I love it. It's awesome for indoor shots and group shots too. So much wider than my 50. I have the 50mm 1.4 - I bought it after my 50mm 1.8 broke. It is a fantastic lens and I can't say enough about it. I've been walking around with a 50 since I bought an SLR.

[Nettio]

So something like this Lynnette?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/381615-REG/Sigma_300101_30mm_f_1_4_EX_DC.html

Yep, that's the one I have.

[heathergw]

I'm with Lynette and Celeste... I think you'll still need to use a flash with a f/2 indoors... and saving up for a f/1.4 is sooo worth it. When I had upgraded from my 50mm 1.8 to the 1.4, I wish I had done it earlier... it seriously is amazing and I've heard from friends that the Sigma 40mm 1.4 is also really sharp.

[Leah]

Do you buy an extended warranty??

[Angie4b1g]

I have the 50mm 1.4 and the 35mm 2.0 and they're both awesome. I think I like the 50 better, but yes, sometimes I can't back up enough. I also agree that the 50mm 1.8 is meh. It's decent for the price, but I'd rather pay a little more and get a nicer one.

[mummytothree]

Well I have both and I love love my 50mm and it has served me so well, but lately it was just not giving me enough "room" to shoot my two toddlers. So that was my main reason for getting the 35mm.

The 50mm was fine for my 3 older kids that sit still and could follow the direction...scoot back a bit or hold a second while I scoot back. But I was just missing to many shot of my little guys cause the would get to close to me (the lens) or they would not hold for a second or 2 for me to scoot back. :D

If your kids are older and they can give you that extra second or two to re-position your self...save the $$ and get the 50mm. If you have little ones that are fast and on the move...invest the extra $$ in the 35mm.

That's my "professional" opinion!!! :p :D :D :D

[sprauncey1]

But also remember FWIW that getting good focus at 1.4 is HARD!! So even if you get a 1.4, you most likely will be shooting with it at 1.8 to 2.0. Crazy I know but the 1.4 is so hard to have even both eyes of one kiddo in focus. But like someone else said, you get what you pay for in general with lenses, so shooting a 1.4 at 1.8 to 2.0 is better than shooting a 1.8 or a 2.0 at their lowest setting.

I too like the Sigma for ya!
Don't know what to tell you about the warranty though, I've never bought a good lens new (only used).

[sprauncey1]

Oh and one other thing, with the 30 or 35, don't try to take too close of photos of heads, it will distort them and make them look funny. It is more for full body shots. They showed examples of this on Clickin Moms.

[Shawna]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/381615-REG/Sigma_300101_30mm_f_1_4_EX_DC.html

This is the one I have too!

[Leah]

Oh and one other thing, with the 30 or 35, don't try to take too close of photos of heads, it will distort them and make them look funny. It is more for full body shots. They showed examples of this on Clickin Moms.

Oh.

But I like full-frame head shots sometimes. :(

Okay...what about this Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8??

Oh there's just too many!

[mummytothree]

Originally Posted by sprauncey1 View Post
Oh and one other thing, with the 30 or 35, don't try to take too close of photos of heads, it will distort them and make them look funny. It is more for full body shots. They showed examples of this on Clickin Moms.Oh.

But I like full-frame head shots sometimes. :(

Okay...what about this Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8??

Oh there's just too many!

I wouldn't let that deter you from the 35mm. These are all taken with my 35mm and I don't think they look distorted at all :shrug: But of course I'm no professional.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e119/mummytothree/2011-02-15-004.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e119/mummytothree/2011-02-15-005.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e119/mummytothree/2011-02-15-020.jpg

and just for comparison this one is with my 50mm :thumbup:

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e119/mummytothree/2011-01-31-022.jpg

[Leah]

Oh how I love those blurred backgrounds - that's my main reason for wanting a new lens! :)

[nun69]

I have both, and for indoors I use the 35 mm hasn't come off my camera. I do like my nifty 50, but it can be too tight for indoors.

I don't have the 35mm, but ditto.....I would go with the 35 if I had a choice :)

[nun69]

Okay...what about this Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8??

Oh there's just too many!

if I could ge tthis, I would get this before the 50 or 35mm, but that is just me :)

[scrappurple]

I own the 50mm f/1.8. Sometimes I find with my camera (Canon 40D), the lens focal length is too long for my little house. (My camera has a crop factor of 1.6x which means a 50mm lens is more like an 80mm one...) The quality of the photos is terrific, but I do wish I could include a smidge more breathing room in my pictures, rather than being so tightly cropped. (This is not an issue in larger spaces or outside, obviously).

Yep ... What she said. ;)

[sprauncey1]

Oh.

But I like full-frame head shots sometimes. :(

Okay...what about this Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8??

Oh there's just too many!

You can always take more of a partial body shot and then crop later for just the headshot. I'm not saying it is a bad lens, but I just wish I could show you the examples they showed and it is obvious. At wide angles the heads are more egg-heady and as you get longer mm lenses the head evens out and looks more normal. But if you have a small house, you need wider angles to get the action/people shots.

The blurred background will come with the low apertures.

[g8rbeckie]

I LOVE the Sigma 30mm 1.4. It's definitely a better quality lens than the 50mm 1.8. Here's a recent photo I took of the sweet neighbor baby with the Sigma 30mm 1.4!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4102/5442568382_276417d97a.jpg

(shot at f2.2, ISO250, 1/1000 in case anyone cares, LOL!)

[Shawna]

I really do love my 30 1.4 but you do have to be careful of the angle you're shooting at when doing closeups. Otherwise you get the bobblehead effect lol! Here's one of my son just playing around on his 1st day of pre-K where you can see what I mean -

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1205/5142741229_c1e8517cd3_z.jpg
f1.4

and a normal photo -

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5211/5457738400_a64046d4bb_z.jpg
f2.0

[Nettio]

You can always take more of a partial body shot and then crop later for just the headshot. I'm not saying it is a bad lens, but I just wish I could show you the examples they showed and it is obvious. At wide angles the heads are more egg-heady and as you get longer mm lenses the head evens out and looks more normal. But if you have a small house, you need wider angles to get the action/people shots.

The blurred background will come with the low apertures.

Were the examples shot using a full frame camera though? Because a 30-35mm lens on a full frame would be considered a wide angle while on a 1.6 crop body it would act similar to a 50mm "normal" lens.

I'm not a professional photographer so maybe this is wrong, but as I understand it, perspective distortion only has to do with how physically far away from the lens your subject is. So since the 1.6 crop factor provides a little extra zoom, you'd actually be standing a little farther back so the perspective using a 30mm lens on a crop body would be similar to that of a 50mm lens on a full-frame camera. You shouldn't have the same distortion that you would using the 30mm on a full frame. That's why a 30mm lens is considered a "normal" lens on a crop body - because it gives you the perspective that your eye normally sees. Like I said, perhaps that's wrong but that's how I understood the explanations that I saw about it.

I do know that I use my 30mm to shoot both self-portraits and one-armed photos of my DH and I all the time and I haven't noticed any crazy distortion. I do notice it when I've done the same thing using my zoom lens on like 17mm or 24mm though. Either way you can always back up a bit more a then crop in a bit later which would help with any distortion.

There's a great thread here (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=141274) that has a ton of images taken with the Sigma. It should give you a good idea of the types of photos people are getting with it and whether it's a good fit for your style.

And thus ends my sales pitch on the Sigma. :D

[sprauncey1]

I really do love my 30 1.4 but you do have to be careful of the angle you're shooting at when doing closeups. Otherwise you get the bobblehead effect lol! Here's one of my son just playing around on his 1st day of pre-K where you can see what I mean -

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1205/5142741229_c1e8517cd3_z.jpg
f1.4

and a normal photo -

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5211/5457738400_a64046d4bb_z.jpg
f2.0

Thank you Shawna for showing that! It is exactly what I'm talking about. LOL I really wasn't dissing the lens, just wanted to like you warn her of the "different" perspective it sometimes can give. Just have to try different angles or take a step back.