Canon 35mm f2 prime - any good??

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Andy
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I used to have a 'nifty 50' prime that I liked, but it was a little too long for most things I used it for. I also had a 28mm f2.8 that was a better focal length but was very slow to focus and a bit soft. This was on a 40d body

How does the 35mm f2 compare to these two primes for focussing speed and sharpness?

Any opinions welcome :-)

Cheers

Andy
 
here's a couple of reviews you might find interesting:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-35mm-f-2.0-Lens-Review.aspx

http://www.lenstip.com/11.1-Lens_review-Canon_EF_35_mm_f_2.0.html

and a comparison of sharpness:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=0&API=0&LensComp=105

looks like the 50 1.8 is sharper wide open than the 35 f/2... especially in the corners.

i imagine focus speed is a bit quicker, but nothing ground breaking, but i have no personal experience.

another lens which comes recommended for crop cameras is the Sigma 30 1.4

which seems to be about equal to the nifty wide open.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...Comp=105&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&Lens=405

review:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Sigma-30mm-f-1.4-EX-DC-HSM-Lens-Review.aspx

http://www.lenstip.com/190.1-Lens_review-Sigma_30_mm_f_1.4_EX_DC_HSM.html
 
I had the 35/2.. it's not a bad lens and very cheap, but the Sigma 30/1.4 is much much nicer on my 7D. If the 35/2 had USM it would be much better off.
 
Cheers guys, didn't know about the sigma 30. Definitely worth a look

A 30 to 35 mm on a crop body is roughly comparable to a 50mm on a FF body right?
 
I got a Canon 28mm f/1.8 USM before xmas and it's absolutley brilliant, can't see a better alternative without spending over £1k. Unless you look at the Sigma 30mm f/1.4, which I decided against based on some people saying it was slow to focus. The Canon is lightning fast and sharp from f/2 upwards.
 
Faster and more accurate, over xmas I had a ridiculous amount of keepers, so much so that I'm still processing my NYE pics!

I'd go as far as to say 90% of the pics taken with it are useable, whereas with the 50 1.8 it's more like 60%. Daresay it may be even higher on a better camera with better AF system (or a better photographer :lol: )

Oh and noise wise, it's so quiet I had to turn the autofocus confirm beep back on so I knew when I could shoot :lol:
 
I think I have similar success rate with the 50 1.8 so it's good to hear you think the 28 is better. Probably has a lot to do with the depth of field though.

Silent focusing is important to me I often shoot acoustic nights and with the 50 the noise is quite noticeable.

Do you not have an AF lock indicator thing in your viewfinder? AF lock beeps drive me mad!
 
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