New lens for my CANON 7D!! Any tips?

[Crackhead]

Hey,

I have a Canon 7D + 15-85mm 3,5- 5,6 lens.

Im not excatly sure wich lens are most "ideal" for my crop 7D.

Im thinking about buying Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM Canon.

Any tips?

[RichardTaylor]

It all depends on what you want to use your new lens for.
The lens you have now is fine for hand held general purpose good light shooting and shooting static subjects in poor light when using a tripod.

What do you want to shoot with your new lens?

[Crackhead]

Hey Richard,

Mainly on children and portrait photography. Do you think i should buy Sigma 50mm lens?

Thanks in advance

Chris

[RichardTaylor]

I don't own that lens. The 50mm & F1.4 is great.

From just reading a review and user posts over at Fred Miranda;
Quality control appears to be a bit of a problem. If you get a good it is great. If you don;t then................

Personally If was in the market for such a lens I would be looking at the Canon 50mm F1.4 (I don't own one)

[ElCapitan]

I havent used the Canon 50mm f/1.4, but I have used the Nikon version (I shoot Canon, but was at a worksop where I used the Nikon). I'd imagine that the Canon version would be just as good or better. I highly recommend it for portraits. You have to move to get the shot you want, but it is highly worth it as the lens is incredibly sharp and fast.

If you want a zoom lens, and money isn't too tight, the 24-105mm f/4L is a good all purpose lens, and if you can go higher, the 24-70 f/2.8L.

[inkista]

I use the 24-105 f/4L IS USM. It's a terrific lens, but for portraits or available light work of moving subjects, I'd say a fast prime would be a better tool. I tend to team my 24-105L with my 135/2L a lot, and of the two, the 135L sees the heavier use.

The "Sigmaluxes" aka the 30/1.4 HSM and 50/1.4 HSM have good reputations--if you get a good one, they'll be very sharp, with smooth pleasing bokeh. Most folks who have one are pretty happy they do. I find the character a little boring, though, and being the nutjob I am, I'd say if you can manually focus without any trouble, get yourself a Contax/Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 and an adapter ring, but that would be only for fellow nutjobs.

My main question to you is: are you sure 50mm is what you want? Are you sure you don't want the EF 85/1.8 USM or the Sigma 30/1.4 HSM instead? Some folks find 50mm to be a little long on a crop body when working in tight, and an 85/1.8 can get you more blur and more distance if you tend to hang back a little.

Have you analyzed the EXIF on the images you've taken with the 15-85 to see what focal lengths you tend to "hang" around for portraits?

[Crackhead]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the tips. Sigma 50mm have indeed some errors, but is there any quality difference between canon and sigma 50mm?? the price is almost the same.

El capitan: in january, i will definitely buy canon 24-70mm, and sell my 15-85mm

Inkista: you make some really good points there, I tend to take portrait at 85mm. But my understanding, u suggest not buying 50mm on crop camera? why? :S

[hieu1004]

Originally Posted by Crackhead

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the tips. Sigma 50mm have indeed some errors, but is there any quality difference between canon and sigma 50mm?? the price is almost the same.

El capitan: in january, i will definitely buy canon 24-70mm, and sell my 15-85mm

Inkista: you make some really good points there, I tend to take portrait at 85mm. But my understanding, u suggest not buying 50mm on crop camera? why? :S

If you get a good Sigma copy, it will be of better quality than the Canon 1.4 equivalent, in terms of color, sharpness, bokeh.

You have a 7D, which has micro-adjust, so go ahead and get the Sigma. If there is a little focus issues, you can sort that out with your micro-adjust. My Sigma 30mm front focused a little out of the box, but MA fixed it and now it NEVER leaves my 7D.

BTW: a 50mm is a great portrait length for a crop camera like yours. However, a set up of a 30/35mm and a 85mm is ideal if you go with primes (they are different enough). I hardly ever touch my 50mm since it is too close to my 85mm.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by Crackhead

... but is there any quality difference between canon and sigma 50mm?? the price is almost the same.

The Sigma's generally considered optically better, but it's more expensive ($500 vs. $350) and a lot larger. It's a much newer design. For some folks it's worth it, for others it's not. You may not want to be that conspicuous if you're streetshooting with it.

Inkista: you make some really good points there, I tend to take portrait at 85mm. But my understanding, u suggest not buying 50mm on crop camera? why? :S

No, I'm not saying don't buy a 50mm. I'm saying, a 50mm isn't the best fit for everyone, depending on how you envision using the lens, and what body you're shooting with. And that given the price of the Sigma 50/1.4, there are other options that you want to consider as well.

If you shoot portraits mostly at 85mm, then the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM might be a better fit for you than a 50mm f/1.4. Which focal lengths work for a given photographer has a lot to do with personal preferences of framing and working distance. Which is why what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another. While reading reviews might get you into the frame of mind that you have to find the best lens ever, what you really need to do is find the lens that's the best fit for you and what you want to shoot.

(And if money's no object, then there's the middle lens in the Holy Trinity of L Primes: the 85mm f/1.2L USM; the other two are the 35mm f/1.4L USM and the 135 f/2L USM).

The other lens you may want to consider, since 85mm is the max. end of your zoom, would be the EF 100mm f/2 USM (not to be confused with the 100mm macro lenses). It and the 85/1.8 are near-twins. If when you shoot at 85, you wish you could zoom in just a little bit more, then maybe the 100 will fit better.