Sigma dirty thirty vs Nikon nifty fifty?

[Morganw42]

In addition to my 18-55 vr kit lens and 70-300vr I'd like to add a fast prime for my upcoming trip. In a perfect world I'd take the sigy hands down. But I don't know how much extra money I'll be able to squirrel away between now and Oct. for more camera gear. I want a handheld lens for indoor and night shooting (think mnsshp). Is the f1.4 so much faster than the f1.8 to merit being almost four times as expensive or can I use the f1.8 for decent night shooting?

 

[ukcatfan]

It comes down more to the usefulness of the focal length than the aperture difference. I believe that 30mm is better inside rides, but I am not willing to shell out the $400+, so I use a 50mm.

 

[Suburbanmom]

I used my nifty 50 at the MVMCP. Since you mentioned mnsshp, I thought I would share a few that I took during the parade and my thoughts about it. I found the Fifty to be adequate. I was shooting with a Nikon D50 then, and I'm sure I hiked my ISO up to 1600. I know I did a little post process on some of these (but not all...I'm sure you can which ones), which included a little sky burning to take care of the noise. I may have run some of them through Noiseware as well.

I did not burn the sky for this one, because I know it's not all noise...some of those flakes are snow.

I too would prefer the Thirty, but overall was happy with what the Nifty 50 gave me. With regards to the parade, the most difficult thing was waiting for the characters to be in exactly the right place for a picture. With the narrow focal length and no zoom, sometimes the characters were on top of me before I knew it.

 

[donaldduck1967]

You can use a f1.8 handheld but it's going ot be very tight when you shoot parades. What camera ar eyou shooting with?

 

[Morganw42]

I'm shooting with a D80, so I'm a little limited with my iso. I haven't done much night shooting to experiment with my camera@ 1600 but will do so soon.

 

[donaldduck1967]

I'm shooting with a D80, so I'm a little limited with my iso. I haven't done much night shooting to experiment with my camera@ 1600 but will do so soon.

Half way thru Spectro I took the 50mm off and used the 18/105vr and bumped up the ISO. I don't remember what ISO I used, i'll have to look at the pics.

 

[Gdad]

Have you considered the new Nikon 35mm f1.8 AF-S? I expect by October they will be more available.

I always found 50mm to be not wide enough on a DX camera.

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

Have you considered the new Nikon 35mm f1.8 AF-S? I expect by October they will be more available.

I always found 50mm to be not wide enough on a DX camera.

Amazon has one left right now (sold by Cameta.) Of course they want $150 more than anyone else, though...

 

[annnewjerz]

I like Jeff's idea. If that doesn't happen though because they are out of stock or you just aren't interested---here's my 2 cents.

I have both the 50mm f/1.8 and the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 and can definitely say that I like the Sigma much more. That being said though, I also love the 50mm f/1.8 and if I couldn't have afforded to buy the Sigma, I would have been happy with it for everyday use around my house (haven't taken either to Disney yet so can't comment on how these lenses would do there).

One thing you might want to consider---if you are worried the Sigma 30 is out of your budget, but are also worried the Nikon 50 is going to be a little too tight for indoor rides, parades, etc. maybe you could buy the 50 and rent the 30 for the duration of your trip. This way, you'll have the focal length that's more useful for Disney, but still have a nice inexpensive lens that provides a shallow DOF for your normal shooting while not on vacation.

Good luck and happy shopping!!

Ann

 

[zackiedawg]

Here's a few samples that might help you, that I took when I bought my Sigma 30 F1.4. I have a 50mm F1.7, which would be near identical to your Nikon F1.8 (it's the Minolta version of a nifty fifty!). Ignore the subject and style of the shots - I was intentionally testing a few things, so I had a dark room with minimal lighting, ISO at 100, and the camera on a tripod at a fixed focus point...it's not the most exciting subject matter and it is dark!

First off, the difference in focal length/width between the two, at the same aperture:

50mm F1.7:

30mm F1.7:

Now, the difference between the above shot at F1.7, and the same shot at F1.4:

There was no difference in lighting, or in white balance - that's just more of the natural windowlight from another room being picked up by the extra sensitivity. It happens to be a bluer light, that just wasn't quite getting picked up at F1.7. With the same shutter speed, you can see roughly how much more sensitive F1.4 is than F1.7 - it's not huge, but when you need just that little extra ounce, it's there. Note that at F1.4, the lens is slightly softer than at F1.7 - not bad at all, but slightly softer - and of course the much shallower DOF at those wide open apertures! What I particularly like on the Sigma is how quickly it sharpens at even F1.7, F1.8, or F2.0...I compared the very acclaimed and very sharp Minolta 50mm F1.7 lens at F2.0 against the Sigma 30mm at F2.0, and the Sigma was incrementally sharper.

I definitely think the focal length is much more usable though...it was the main reason after a year of the 50mm F1.7, I decided to bump up to the Sigma 30. Price-wise, with some shopping around, it can be found for the $350 range shipped (I got mine from Abe'sofMaine with a discount code...there are others in that price but it's up to you to decide the trustworthiness of the seller!). There's one in Nikon mount on Ebay for $349 as of my last check, though I didn't check out the seller ratings.

Hope that helps!

 

[GrillMouster]

I'm with the others who said that the usefulness of focal length is probably more of a factor than the difference between f/1.4 and f/1.8. With a film SLR and a full-fram DSLR 50mm focal length is fantastic. However, on a crop body the 50mm is effectively 75mm (Nikon) or 80mm (Canon), which is too limiting. On a crop body I prefer the 35mm.

 

[Morganw42]

Thanks for all of the input everybody! Don't stop posting, I just wanted to voice my appreciation. I don't like to be the negligent post starter that never thanks his responders.

 

[scoot241]

I've not shot with a 50mm lens on my XSi, but I bought the Sigma 30mm because it was the closest thing to a 50mm equivalent. I first shot with an old film SLR, and 50mm was the focal length I used the most. The lens was a 50mm f/1.4, so the Sigma is as close to an exact replacement as you can get on the XSi.

The pictures I've taken with the Sigma so far are great (they'd be even better with a better photographer behind the camera, but I'm getting there...):

 

[Morganw42]

When Jeff speaks I tend to listen, so I ordered the 35 f1.8. It's still on backorder, which I new going into the purchase. Now I find myself somewhat apprehensive about some complaints I've read about irregular bokah from this lens. I was wondering if anybody here has the lens yet and can let me know how their bokah is rendering. I still like the potential upside for the lens enough to keep the order. I'm just being a spaz until this thing ships....

 

[oregondaddyof2]

I just got the lens today, and did not have much time to go shoot with it... I am a noob when it comes to the language, so not sure how much help I can be... I actually posted this exact question a few days ago asking if the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 would be a good lens, and I remember Jeff giving the same advice "Have you looked at the 35mm f/1.8?" I went, I looked, I loved, I bought it (Of course my local shop had 1 in stock ... I like what I have seen so far, and I am anxious to try some night shots with it. I have a D60,a nd it seems to work great. I will try to play around tomorrow and maybe post a few pics with it.

 

[kaffinito]

Arrgghhh! Why oh why did I have to read this post! My NAS was under control nicely, and now I want more....

 

[Steve's Girl]

I have both. The biggest difference is in the focal length. I will post some comparison shots of Spectro. The first set is taken with the Sigma 30 1.4

The next set is taken with the 50 1.8 standing in roughly the same location

Hopefully this will help with seeing the focal length difference.

 

[Gdad]

When Jeff speaks I tend to listen, so I ordered the 35 f1.8.

I remember Jeff giving the same advice "Have you looked at the 35mm f/1.8?"

Wow- I'm flattered.

Now if I could just get the wife and kids to listen to me...

All kidding aside- There is a nice sample image thread on that lens going HERE. I think the bokeh is pleasing.

 

[handicap18]

That 35mm looks real nice. I wish they had come out with it a year and a half ago though.