Sigma 35mm f1.4....?!!

mrk said:
Yeah but you have a case full of lenses of which you use a couple of times :p

Along with headphones and various other gadgets. Self confessed might I add!
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Ha, cameras are tools and I use it all, light stands included when required. Even the Sigma 70-200 I use twice a year and it serves a purpose. In every shoot, I pretty much go through and use almost all my lenses. Even the 45/TS at times, there are ones that gets used less, like the 135L or the 100L, that's not because I don't like the lens, it's because the job wasn't required its uses.

So, all this time I simply felt the 85/1.2's focus speed is perfectly fine and the 1.8 wasn't required. The only time I actually used the 1.8 was because I haven't used it in a while and wanted to give it a chance to do something.

BTW, when people say 85/1.2's focus is slow, it is slow getting from one extreme to the other. So if you had it focused to infinity and suddenly you see something close to you, then it may take longer than you are used to. But if you are focusing a crowd, and you are shooting the same style in the space and the same crowd, the focusing between each is quite quick and very accurate. If it sucked I would've sold it, got the money back and got a 1.4 and pocket the difference. At the end of the day, business is business.

Headphones are a luxury and different, I don't use them much because I don't need to keep the music down, I live on my own so between the feeling of having your own cinema with 5.1 surround sound or having trap your head in a headband and having to pause the movie just to grab a drink in the fridge. I'd pick the former every time.
 
I think you've delved too deeply into what is really just a light discussion!

My opinion of lenses hasn't changed for a number of years now. I think people should buy whatever they want but personally I feel it's most sensible to buy lenses that will get regular use or if it's semi regular then that lens should be unique in that a cheaper alternative just isn't available that does the same or more. The 17-40L (example), there isn't a cheaper lens that is weather sealed, covers a good focal range and lightweight for exploring in often strong weather conditions.
 
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Like I said, you got to try it, not just in the shop but in a shoot. Reading it about what other say is one thing, but this is a lens unlike anything else I have in the bag.
 
It is indeedy a grand lens. It is very hard to describe it compared to other lenses. You have things like the super fast focusing primes like 50mm Sigma and the nifty fifty. Then you'll have the slow, sloppy focusing of the 100L which hunts like a mofo in low light. The 35L is snappy but not the fastest, but the 85L has a smooth, slow focus. As Ray says, if you're focusing from infinity to near or vice versa, it seems like an age to focus and you WILL miss that shot. However, you rapidly get used to how it works and end up positioning yourself in advance, waiting for the shot(s) you know are coming.

It really is nothing like any other lens I own and really does feel like it's got it's own personality.

This weekend I shall be learning to love my new 70-200 if it's not all miserable and rainy :D
 
I can't wait to view my images taken with this lens! If I get the 85l I may sell the 24 70 as during my trip to Vietnam it was not used much. The 16 35 got the most use and I'm surprised as I nearly left it home
 
jonneymendoza said:
I can't wait to view my images taken with this lens! If I get the 85l I may sell the 24 70 as during my trip to Vietnam it was not used much. The 16 35 got the most use and I'm surprised as I nearly left it home
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Yeah, my plan when I got my mortgage sorted was to get the 24-70 and 70-200 but I know I prefer the 35L & 85L for specific looks, and the 70-200 F4 I had prior to the 2.8 was used on bright days, but now I've got that bit more wiggle room for all sorts of uses. I really can't think why I'd need the 24-34 range. If desperately needed, I have the Sigma 12-24 that I rarely touch. Now I get to keep a wodge of dosh to buy other pretty things instead of the 24-70 :D
 
ElDude said:
Yeah, my plan when I got my mortgage sorted was to get the 24-70 and 70-200 but I know I prefer the 35L & 85L for specific looks, and the 70-200 F4 I had prior to the 2.8 was used on bright days, but now I've got that bit more wiggle room for all sorts of uses. I really can't think why I'd need the 24-34 range. If desperately needed, I have the Sigma 12-24 that I rarely touch. Now I get to keep a wodge of dosh to buy other pretty things instead of the 24-70 :D
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85L is great and it would compliment a 70-200.

the 70-200 is sensational for varied tele shoot and portrait work but yhe 85L would for me anyway only be used as a portrait lens.

Because the focus is slow too you cant really use it as a sports lens. Plus i love my 70-200 and i would never sell it as it was the first L lens i ever bought hehe.

it holds a special meaning in my life haha.

Just bought one of the vsco film pp filters for lightroom too so that should help me speed up PPing the images from Vietnam!

I was close to buying a 85L along with the sigma but i resisted hehe as although i have the funds to buy it, i told myself i will only spend max 1k on new photography gear.

I still need to order a new mains powered strobe light and softbox for studio work as part of my 1k budget :)
 
I really want to find someone local to me who owns this lens so I can compare it to my leica summicron in terms of how I'd use it.
 
You'll have an extra stop to play with, you can focus closer, and it'll probably be sharper. You'll probably end up using it less as it's so huge compared to the Summicron. :p
 
GTRacer said:
You'll have an extra stop to play with, you can focus closer, and it'll probably be sharper. You'll probably end up using it less as it's so huge compared to the Summicron. :p
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Quite possibly yeah. Not sure about the sharpness though, as on the edges it'll slaughter my summicron, but at the centre the summicron is insanely sharp. The lens only weighs 170g though and its probably less than 5cm tall...
 
James J said:
Quite possibly yeah. Not sure about the sharpness though, as on the edges it'll slaughter my summicron, but at the centre the summicron is insanely sharp. The lens only weighs 170g though and its probably less than 5cm tall...
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Yeah they'll probably be about even in the centre. On the size, I'm actually speaking a bit from experience - I had a Voigtlander 35/1.2II to accompany my 35/2 UC-Hex (which is a wonderful little lens that's right up there with Leica's own 35s). The Voigtlander was sharper, could focus closer, had that 1.2 aperture... but I still kept going for the 35/2 since I rarely needed that extra stop (nearly two stops actually) and the size just wasn't worth it for me. It'll be different with the Sigma since you'll be using a bigger body anyway, but there's something really nice about having a camera that's small enough for you to sling on your shoulder and forget about it.
 
mrk said:
Wherever is cheapest :p Don't think prices have shifted recently either though.

Some 35mm shots from yesterday:

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Such a good walkabout wide angle lens for this kind of thing.
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Loved this post, but these two shots in particular... Well, I have just clicked the buy button as I have a project in mind for this lens, it will be great for what I want to do!!... thanks for sharing these images, great work mrk!
 
Most welcome!

I'm happy to post more recent ones if people are interested of course :)
 
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