Where best to spend upto £300 on a lens?

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DTS

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ive asked something like this before.

Ive got around £300 to spend on a new lens but i just cant make my mind up.

Ive had a couple of parties booked lately so could to with something decent, but my kit lens has done well thus far and with help of a speedlite low light isnt really an issue, but i would perhaps like something with a large aperture incase the need arrises.

Personally i like to go out shooting landscape stuff, but i am also considering portaiture in the future, so I'm torn between a 50mm 1.4 or the 85mm 1.8, or the 35mm f2.

I think im pushing more towards the 50mm but just thought id see what others thought.

Cheers in advance
 
I have the 35 f2 and love it for indoors. Just bought the 60 2.8 macro. Saving up for the 85 1.8 or 100f2 now
 
I personally think a 30 or 35mm is more useful than a 50mm on a aps-c camera like yours.
 
plus 1 for the 30 or 35mm for what you want to use it for - my 35f2 was great on my D300. The 50mm f1.4 was not great for indoors unless I wanted a tighter shot.
 
+2. The 35 f/2 is a great little lens and will be far more useful for landscapes than the 50.
 
Will it still be useful for portraiture?
 
For what its worth:

All though i have not used one of these, Sigma do a 30mm 1.4 for aps-c cameras that gets good ratings, better than the canon 35mm f2, which is quite old now, a newer version has just come out with USM and IS, but is around the £800 mark.

If however you do go for a 50mm again Sigmas is often rated better than canons and goes for around £250 second hand, This i have used and still own, love it on my 5D obviously it will give you bit less field of view on your 450d but is a great lens.

I havent used the 85mm 1.8 but i hear its nearly identical and almost as good as the 100mm f2, which i have used extensively, and again is a great portrait lens.

Cheers

Pete
 
Well it will be the equivalent of 50mm on full frame and a lot of people use the Sigma 30mm as a portrait lens. The sigma is pretty soft at the edges (but very sharp in the centre), it's also very large compared to the 35 f/2. The Canon is a better landscape lens by far (sharp to the edges) but the Sigma may just pip it as a portrait lens due to its 1.4 aperture.
 
I've just had a look at the sigma 1.4 and although it seems to be just what I'm looking for, if I were to go full frame in the future it will be no good to me and I would have to replace it. This is the only thing putting me off
 
I'd personally be looking for something around the 20mm mark, no more than 30mm, on a crop sensor it just becomes too long for indoor work.
 
It's very difficult to find a 20-28 mm lens for less than £300 that offers the kind of IQ you get on a similarly priced 35/50/85
 
Sigma 30mm 1.4

Bought it and my 50mm has barely ever been on the camera since.

alternatively - canon 28mm 2.8 can be had for under £200 second hand

both good lenses on crop.

DTS said:
I've just had a look at the sigma 1.4 and although it seems to be just what I'm looking for, if I were to go full frame in the future it will be no good to me and I would have to replace it. This is the only thing putting me off
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true, but buy second hand, and sell on when the time arises. it's no real hardship.
 
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i suppose your right there - il keep my eye out ;)

I'm desperate for my access to the classifieds to come - it will no doubt bankrupt me mind you! :D
 
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So even on a crop sensor you find the 50mm easy to work with overall
 
The 50 isn't ideal on a crop unless you plan on going ff soon i would go with a 28/30/35.
 
I've got all the lenses you mentioned and it really depends on where you plan on shooting. Indoors in a smallish room on a crop body (my 7D) the 35 f2 would give you the best length but for optimum IQ there's not much between the 50 f1.4 and the 85 f1.8. Both give excellent IQ and, with my copies at least, they are a bit better than the 35.

On my 5D3 the 50 1.4 gives me the ultimate IQ at f2 to f2.8 aperture while the 85 and 35 need stopping down to around f3.5 to get the absolute best from them. Overall my 50 gets about as much use as the other 2 put together for indoor shots but the 85 just edges it outdoors.

Shame you're not nearer or you could of come round for a test session of them all to work out which you prefer.
 
Stuart - something like that would be great! Like you say just a shame your so far away!

:(
 
I think I'm going to settle on a sigma 30mm 1.4

Il have a look at used first
 
+1 fr the siggy 30mm, always worth a look!
 
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