This lens regularly sits around $439. I started to post this last night when Amazon had it for this price, but it sold out before I could finish my post. For Amazon, this would be the cheapest it's been since a third-party seller had it at this price several years ago (ref. CamelCamelCamel). I bought this lens specifically for indoor candid portraits.
B&H now has it at this price, though, so act now if you're interested.
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hammer45
Wears Parachute Pants
posted: Dec. 9, 2012 @ 1:12p
How does this compare to the recent 50mm 1.4 deal we just had?
drupha
Cranky Member
posted: Dec. 9, 2012 @ 1:33p
hammer45 said: How does this compare to the recent 50mm 1.4 deal we just had?
I can't speak about the quality of this lens in particular, but in general, a 30mm is more useful in indoor settings because you can be closer to your subjects. With a 50mm, you often have to get some distance, which can be difficult in close quarters.
jtallon
Member
posted: Dec. 9, 2012 @ 1:47p
Nice find - I bit and ordered one. Thanks!
jumpfroggy
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Dec. 9, 2012 @ 10:25p
drupha said: hammer45 said: How does this compare to the recent 50mm 1.4 deal we just had? I can't speak about the quality of this lens in particular, but in general, a 30mm is more useful in indoor settings because you can be closer to your subjects. With a 50mm, you often have to get some distance, which can be difficult in close quarters. I initially got the (cheap) Canon 50mm 1.8 on my 1.6 crop body (T2i) for low-light indoor shooting. I found it not useful, I'd have to keep running away from the shot to account for the zoom.
I got a sigma 28mm 1.8 instead, much better. That works out to about a 50mm equivalent, which is not really wide but workable. Useful for most indoor shots, as long as you can walk up to the shot & don't need to zoom in from afar.
So if you're looking for indoor, I'd think this 30mm would be preferable to the 50mm deal.
Hoogineer
Geeky member
posted: Dec. 9, 2012 @ 11:01p
hammer45 said: How does this compare to the recent 50mm 1.4 deal we just had? The short answer is that, if you have a crop (APS-C), 30mm is more flexible for indoor / close-quarters shooting than 50mm. 30mm on a crop (e.g., T2i, T3i, T4i, 60d, 7d) is approximately equivalent to a 50mm on a full-frame body (e.g., 5d Mark II/III, 6d).
To get a better idea of what the two field of view look like, go here and scroll down to "Angle of View". The 50mm on a f/f body and the 30mm on a crop body would look like the picture on the left. 50mm on a crop body would look like the picture on the right. Most people will tell you that the wider field of view is more useful.
To me, 50mm on a crop body just doesn't seem that useful. While 30mm is narrower than what I typically shoot, that's mostly due to how slow the 18-55mm kit lens is. I think 30mm will be just fine, and f/1.4 will allow me to shoot some nice low-light photos without the flash. (A Speedlight might not be a bad alternative to the faster prime lens.)
35mm f1.4 has just been released (or is about to be released?) at a substantially higher price point($799). Must be thinning out the inventory on the older model.... new model has been getting lots of positive press.
Hoogineer
Geeky member
posted: Dec. 10, 2012 @ 1:05p
MacandCheese said: 35mm f1.4 has just been released (or is about to be released?) at a substantially higher price point($799). Must be thinning out the inventory on the older model.... new model has been getting lots of positive press. That's too narrow (and too rich) for me. The only lens I'd consider over this one is the Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM, which is another $100 right now. If it were within $25 of the Sigma 30mm price, though, I'd probably jump on it (and for sure if it were less). I realize I'm risking receiving a lens with a front-/back-focusing issue. If the focus is good, though, it definitely will be worth the price.
The main purpose of this lens is to serve as a 50mm-f/f-equivalent on a crop body. 50mm on a 35mm film camera (with 35mm being the sensor size of full-frame cameras) has been the de-facto standard lens for years. One of the aforementioned reviews complained about this 30mm lens being too narrow for a f/f body, but this lens wouldn't make a ton of sense on a f/f body anyway.
Hoogineer
Geeky member
posted: Dec. 10, 2012 @ 1:20p
faradhim said: Review is somewhat less encouraging...
I just wanted to let interested parties know that my lens finally arrived today and I have been very pleased with it so far. I took a lot of shots of my son this evening and will be using one of them for our Christmas card. The narrow DoF of this lens contributes to some very nice bokeh, which I wasn't able to achieve with either of the two kit lenses (18-55, 55-250) that I own. AF performance isn't bad; it's substantially better than either kit lens. Build quality is _much_ better than either of those, and I definitely appreciate FTM.
I also think the focus accuracy is just fine. I tested it on a receipt and it looks good enough to me. I definitely feel good about the purchase.
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