Surpising new lens

[michaelb]

(Surprising that is)

I've been thinking about buying the 35L, but I wasn't sure if I'd like this FL in a prime so I picked up the 35 f/2 to see how I would like the FL.....just got it in today and I've got to say I'm very impressed with this little lens.

Its tiny, definitely the smallest lens I own. Makes my Sigma 50 1.4 seem like a monster. Reminds me a bit of my old 50 1.8, but even smaller.

The AF is a little buzzy, but its accurate and fast enough - I wasn't planning on shooting sports with this thing. :D

Based on the mixed reports I've seen about this lens I wasn't sure what to expect optically, but I'm amazed by the sharpness, colors and contrast...even wide open.

Now, I'm not looking at the very edge of the frame, but when I'm shooting wide open I rarely care about the very edge of the frame, but even 1/3 in things look very good.

Bottom line......I think its a keeper.





Here's a few from last night....



5d2, f/2, LR defaults, no other sharpening.....
http://brownphotography.smugmug.com/photos/812919147_reU5A-XL.jpg



5d2, f/2, love the MFD of this little lens....
http://brownphotography.smugmug.com/photos/812903666_dQavC-XL.jpg


5d2, f/2, my wife starting to get frustrated with me... :D ...
http://brownphotography.smugmug.com/photos/812908043_2wEb2-XL.jpg


100% crop from above...
http://brownphotography.smugmug.com/photos/812908752_yTk7s-O.jpg

[michaelb]

f/2 again...
http://brownphotography.smugmug.com/photos/812955199_9cUf6-XL.jpg

[Csae]

Oh....

I've been looking at replacing my 50 1.8 for a while now with a standard prime.

I was looking at the 50 1.4 but i heard mixed on the brokeh/AF, the 35 2.0 doesn't seem like a bad idea either, if i team it up with a 85 1.8 for portraits... its wider so maybe more environmental based shots...

Hmmm

Bah, its just you having nice shots with it, stop selling canon products already!

[Rooz]

(Surprising that is)

I've been thinking about buying the 35L, but I wasn't sure if I'd like this FL in a prime so I picked up the 35 f/2 to see how I would like the FL.....just got it in today and I've got to say I'm very impressed with this little lens.


if you;ve decided you like the focal length, i dont recommend you try a 35L anytime soon. lol

[Nickcanada]

I can't remember, have you ever tried the sigma 30mm 1.4?

[fdexclpl]

I can't remember, have you ever tried the sigma 30mm 1.4?
It would be great to hear a comparison from someone who has used both lenses.

[michaelb]

if you;ve decided you like the focal length, i dont recommend you try a 35L anytime soon. lol

Honestly, this little lens is so good, I have no desire for the 35L.

I wanted a small, wide prime and this fits the bill perfectly. Plus, I rarely shoot wider than f/2 on FF. Even with my Sigma 50 1.4 I rarely shoot wider than f/2 - just don't need to.



I can't remember, have you ever tried the sigma 30mm 1.4?

No, if it was a FF lens I'd be all over it.

I was actually hoping that Sigma would release their own FF 35 f/1.4 instead of the 85f/1.4 that they just announced.

[michaelb]

So fun to be able to shoot this wide with such a tiny lens....

f/8...
http://brownphotography.smugmug.com/photos/814613419_JpMan-XL.jpg

[Nickcanada]

I thought maybe you had tried one pre FF. Distortion looks pretty good considering how wide it is. I get the feeling this lens is going to fit your shooting style really well. How are you finding shooting with a prime? are you missing your zooms when you have it on?

[michaelb]

I thought maybe you had tried one pre FF. Distortion looks pretty good considering how wide it is. I get the feeling this lens is going to fit your shooting style really well. How are you finding shooting with a prime? are you missing your zooms when you have it on?

I still like my zooms, but primes can be really fun; you can do some cool things with 35mm and f/2 (as you know). When I was on vacation recently I used my Sigma 50 for probably 50% of my shots.

We'll see though, the Tamron 28-75 is really nice and might find myself using less primes. The nice thing is that the Tammy is so light that I can bring it and some primes. ;)

[Rasidel Slika]

damn wide open is that sharp? i want one now lol

[drama]

Really cool, I like the sharpness & colors here
If this had USM too, I would definitely pick this up
I am not a fan of the Sigma 30 1.4, the focus issues & bokeh, killed it for me

[jwhite]

(Surprising that is)

I've been thinking about buying the 35L, but I wasn't sure if I'd like this FL in a prime so I picked up the 35 f/2 to see how I would like the FL.....just got it in today and I've got to say I'm very impressed with this little lens.

Its tiny, definitely the smallest lens I own. Makes my Sigma 50 1.4 seem like a monster. Reminds me a bit of my old 50 1.8, but even smaller.

The AF is a little buzzy, but its accurate and fast enough - I wasn't planning on shooting sports with this thing. :D

Based on the mixed reports I've seen about this lens I wasn't sure what to expect optically, but I'm amazed by the sharpness, colors and contrast...even wide open.

Now, I'm not looking at the very edge of the frame, but when I'm shooting wide open I rarely care about the very edge of the frame, but even 1/3 in things look very good.

Bottom line......I think its a keeper.



Wow, I was thinking I'd eventually get the 35 f/1.4L because I didn't think the 2.0 was the best of lenses. This totally changes things. The 2.0 might get to my bag sooner now, since its so cheap!

How is the AF speed? Similar to the 50 f/1.8? Did you try it in any low light type situations?

Jason

[michaelb]

damn wide open is that sharp? i want one now lol

Not sure how the AF will hold up in those dark clubs though Rasidel. :D



...
How is the AF speed? Similar to the 50 f/1.8? Did you try it in any low light type situations?

Jason

The AF reminds me of the 50 1.8 - buzzy, and certainly not USM fast but its plenty fast for my use - I'm not planning on shooting any sports with it. ;)

The build is similar to the 50 1.8, but its even smaller. Actually, that's a plus for me; I can stuff this lens easily into my fleece pocket and I don't even know its there!

[adam75south]

i thought seriously about picking up that lens before the price went up...and i probably would have before that, but it was out of stock everywhere.

[laydros]

I spent a lot of time researching a prime in this range, because I wanted a normal fast prime on crop. In my research (which consisted of other peoples opinions and a few looks at test charts) the Sigma 30/1.4 is by far the best overall lens. The Canon 28/1.8 just isn't as good as it should be for the cost, and the 35/2 lacks edge sharpness, and USM.

However after moving to FF, the Sigma is no longer an option, and the other wide Sigma primes aren't as good (I think most lack HSM also).

I picked up this lens and really like it. 35mm is a nice focal length, I kinda treat it as a normal prime now. If my 24-85 isn't going to cut it, which is often because of the vignetting and the lack of speed and sharpness, the 35 is kinda my kit lens. In fact 35 + 85 makes for a pretty sweet setup on FF.

I think the 35 gets a bad rap, but I think a lot of it is because the Sigma is so good for not much more money. The corners aren't very sharp wide open, but like Michael said, typically if I am shooting wide open I don't care about the corners. It is plenty sharp in the center. The build in my opinion is much better than the 50/1.8 II. I has a metal mount, a real distance window, more heft, and the focusing ring is much more useful, and fully disengages in auto focus. You don't get full time manual focus, but it doesn't hurt the lens at all to spin the ring in auto, where doing that on the 50/1.8 (or the kit lens) will wear out the motor.

I don't like the 5 blade aperture, leading to pentagonal bokeh like the 50/1.8, and I miss USM. At least it is pretty fast and a spin of the focus ring won't break anything. If I don't mind manual focus I'm likely to carry my Nikkor 35/2 instead to get the better bokeh, but the Canon is a nice lens, especially for the size and price. If you want a crop normal and don't see FF in the near future, get the Sigma, otherwise get this.

[michaelb]

....The build in my opinion is much better than the 50/1.8 II. I has a metal mount, a real distance window, more heft, and the focusing ring is much more useful, and fully disengages in auto focus. You don't get full time manual focus, but it doesn't hurt the lens at all to spin the ring in auto, where doing that on the 50/1.8 (or the kit lens) will wear out the motor..



I was playing with it last night and I must partially retract what I said about the build; its much better than the 50 1.8 II, more like the Canon 50 1.4. Its so tiny though, love the size and minimal weight.