Sigma 35mm 1.4 or canon 85mm 1.8

THC_SsSsSnake

THC_SsSsSnake

THC_SsSsSnake

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only can afford 1 lens at the moment and am torn between these 2.
main interest street and portraits so both can fulfil a need.
some of MRK's 35mm photos of closeup portraits look great yet i thought 35mm is not flattering to that,wonder if cropping gives a good look to a 35mm shot taken further back?
please help me decide which to buy 1st.these would be on a 6D.oh and any propleems with AF on the Sigma as it seems to be a criticism of sigma lenses.?

thanks
 
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A 35mm will let you include more of the environment, an 85mm will be a tighter shot or you need more distance to work with. Nobody can really answer this for you, although the 35mm is a more general use lens than the 85mm so it would probably make sense to get that first. Although what type of portraits are you interested in?

I only find the 35mm AF average myself, for the price point though it's great. The 35L is much more expensive to get more reliable AF but it's not a night and day difference.
 
that is a tough one.. for portraits it should be the 85mm

but having said that my 35mm sigma is glued to my camera most of time since i got it, there is just something "special" about it
 
THC_SsSsSnake said:
Hi Rojin,
not studio portraits more general,i just find faces interesting.
whats your opinion of the canon 35mmf2?
thanks
Click to expand...

I don't think it is bad lens for the money (around £165 second hand), the Sigma is a better lens, and obviously does f1.4! 35mm f2:


Jennie by jj_glos, on Flickr


Jennie by jj_glos, on Flickr

I've actually still got my 35mm f2 as it's a much smaller lens and works nicely on my 7D as a faux 50mm.

Is there any reason you're not considering a 70-200 if portraits are your thing, especially tighter head shots?
 
thanks Rojin,nice shots,no i hadn't considered it just like the idea of a prime fixed .i have the 24-105L is but understand the 85mm 1.8 would be better for that.?
 
if you have th3 24-105, stick it on 35mm with a bit of tape. and use it for a while

then move it to 85mm , and see which you prefer.
 
Paul11 said:
if you have th3 24-105, stick it on 35mm with a bit of tape. and use it for a while

then move it to 85mm , and see which you prefer.
Click to expand...

This ^

Both primes will give you better depth of field control, but the 24-105 isn't too shabby at portraits.
 
Personally, on full frame I prefer 85mm for portraits/headshots. It all depends on what you want to get in shot. 50mm would be better for head & shoulders, 85 I find nice for headshots and 35 is great for getting the subject and surroundings.

Daydream beleiver by Niall Allen, on Flickr <-- that's the 35L

PJ by Niall Allen, on Flickr <-- thats 85L

I actually haven't got a 50mm shot uploaded as I used to use 50mm on crop so it was nearly 85mm.
 
I think 35mm on FF is too wide for portrait work, some times you really have to get the camera stuck in people's faces and if you're doing street photography this may not go down brilliantly with some.

I worked as a photographer in a night club a few years ago, I used a 10-20mm on a crop body for a few nights, and even at the full 20mm I found some people looking uncomfortable with how close I needed to get the lens.

Have you not thought about a 50mm? Something like the Art, or is it out of budget? Saying this as with an 85mm you may find space an issue especially in tighter environments.
 
35 on FF is not what you want for head and shoulder portraits. You can do it but normally its not a contextual environment portrait. Waist up etc. You can get close and get that amazing bokeh at 1.4 but you would be really close and to a lot of people its not what they are used to. It is about the same if not closer than what you are sitting in front of your monitor right now.
 
Thankyou very much guys. I've decided to get both starting with the 85which I ordered just a short time before seeing Paul's post.ive emailed you in trust. as I don't see it in the mm yet,I could cancel my order if we agree a sale. Shan't put any more here as it's not policy.
Thanks all again for your help.
 
replied to your email but to keep stuff in the rules ill stick it in the MM now

edit:

its on there now .
 
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I have no problem shooting portraits on 35mm. Based on context you can frame and compose as you need and to me personally that fl gives a unique look that stands out more than other primes especially for portraits and that's been the case for decade after decade. Most people these days will step up to 50 or 85 though instead but it's all down to what you're used to and the style of your image creation.

There is no such thing as right or wrong here. You want people to see your images how you want them to be seen but you need to know what works for you first before you get to that stage.
 
It's the thing with photography, you don't really know what you like to do until you give it a go!

It was part of the reason I stuck with Canon, the second hand market is so large it is easy to try stuff out and sell on with only postage costs if something doesn't work out. Cheaper than hiring!

The only rule in photography, is that there are no rules. It's a creative process so just do what you like. The only restraints are the terms of a brief you are working to, or if you are trying to please others.
 
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