20mm f1.8 for my 7D...

Jean, you'd think that a lens sharp enough for stills would be more than enough for video but it's not the case. If anything I think the sensor is more forgiving in photo mode than video mode in regards to softer lenses. But the Sigma trumps the kit lens at the 20mm range and at 1.8 you are getting shots you wouldn't be able to get with most any lens at 20. Once up in the mid range I think it's very sharp. Also, since it is close focusing you can get some cool odd shots with it too--nice for making people look crazied! The lens isn't small and pretty heavy, just so you know.

BTW, I got the Nikon version and am using a Nikon to EOS $20 adapter in order to have full manual aperture control.
 
jeff krepner said:
Jean, you'd think that a lens sharp enough for stills would be more than enough for video but it's not the case. If anything I think the sensor is more forgiving in photo mode than video mode in regards to softer lenses.
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No, you are very mistaken, and it has been proven empirically. Just ask Barry.
 
The sigma 1.8 20mm is a lens I've very interested in using. I need something wide and something fast for a scene taking place at night inside a car. On paper this looks like the best option for my needs. Anyone familiar with this lens have any thoughts?
 
20mm is still pretty tight for a car depending on what shots you have planned. It would be good for CU or MCU but again maybe you'll be park somewhere and stand back to shoot through the side windows or whatever.
 
I found this test here:

http://vimeo.com/7726038

My 30mm Sigma becomes a 48mm on my 7D...and considering that, in regards to the test above, the 20mm (32mm equiv) looks a decent amount wider than the 38mm equiv in that test...surely it will be noticeable if it were to be compared to my current 30mm...
 
jeff krepner said:
Ok, I'll buy that but certainly better glass yields better pictures (moving or not) to the eye, but I'm sure the charts don't lie.
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In regards to video on DSLRs, lens sharpness should be the last consideration. Good lenses happen to be sharp, but more importantly, they have to reproduce color and contrast well, without noticeable aberrations. As a matter of fact, a rather soft lens could be fantastic for shooting video, if it delivers in all of the other aspects.

I'm not sure how you could've possibly gotten the idea that sharp lenses are somehow even more important for video than for photos. It's simply not logical.
 
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In terms of what you are doing with the lens (low light shooting in bad conditions) I'd say that it would be worth it to rent both the tokina and the sigma and real world test them. I've talked with more than one person who bought the tokina after they tested it against a sigma f1.8 saying that the sharpness of the sigma couldn't stand up to the tokina... Just look at all the threads that the tokina has started and it's not hard to see how many have fallen in love with it. If at the end of the test you find yourself leaning either way buy the lens that will make you happy. It's your kit, do your homework, but get what you want not what anyone else says you should buy. You can always rent what you don't buy and who knows, maybe in a few months with enough work you can own both... Why not (unless your married like me and your wife says No.)?

p.s. lenses are like anything else: If you can put your hands on the model that you will be buying do so, who knows about the qc of anything before they see it?

Hope it helps, just my 2 cents...
 
Jean Dantes said:
Hey guys, I currently own a Sigma 30mm f1.4 (48mm after crop) and use it with my 7D. I wanna go wider and have set my sights on the Sigma 20mm f1.8 (32mm after crop).

I was just wondering, is the 20mm gonna give me a much wider field of view then the 30mm??
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A cheap option would be the 18-55 kit lens which is f/3.5 at the wide end and has the flexibility of being a zoom. It's also dead cheap and very lightweight and has IS.
 
studio1972 said:
A cheap option would be the 18-55 kit lens which is f/3.5 at the wide end and has the flexibility of being a zoom. It's also dead cheap and very lightweight and has IS.
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Looks like you didn't read what he wrote earlier in this thread:

Jean Dantes said:
For those wondering, I need f1.8 because I shoot promo-videos for nightclubs and dance parties - so I am constantly shooting in very, very low light conditions...most of my videos are shot between f1.4 -f1.8 @ ISO800 - ISO1000 (I never go over ISO1000)
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Is it really a pain in the ass to switch from M to AF with the Sigma 20mm?

I'm just going off online reviews. Man, I want this lens so bad. (Or is it badly?)
 
Go to a good photograpy store, take your camera body along with a list of focal lengths and f-stops you want. Have them show you the different lens options. Put them on in store and test them out. Most will let you go outside and shoot.
 
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Jean Dantes said:
I bought this the other day:

http://www.videoguys.com.au/Shop/p/3356/litepanels-micro-on-camera-led-light-lp-micro.html

However, I prefer shooting without it...cause when I use this thing, as opposed to the given lighting in the clubs, it looks like a tacky wedding video lol
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Touche to that. It would definitely ruin the ambient feel. I was thinking more of a mini ringlite or some horizontal flos with some diffussion that create a super soft and pleasing light.
 
Rory_B said:
20mm is still pretty tight for a car depending on what shots you have planned.
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You think so? I find my 18mm is wide enough for my vehicle. Then again this is where ydgmdlu's point of "what's wide enough for one might not be wide enough for another " comes into play.
 
Ian-T said:
You think so? I find my 18mm is wide enough for my vehicle. Then again this is where ydgmdlu's point of "what's wide enough for one might not be wide enough for another " comes into play.
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Very true. I should have prefaced it with depending on the situation. I guess it's probably since I'm so obssessed with my 11-16 tokina now that I finally have gotten my hands on one.
 
Deepfocus88 said:
Is it really a pain in the ass to switch from M to AF with the Sigma 20mm?

I'm just going off online reviews. Man, I want this lens so bad. (Or is it badly?)
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Not really hard at all. Just push the focus ring forward or back to pop in and out of auto focus. Of course I'm using the Nikon version on my Canon so I'm not using auto at all.

Jeff
 
Ian-T said:
You think so? I find my 18mm is wide enough for my vehicle. Then again this is where ydgmdlu's point of "what's wide enough for one might not be wide enough for another " comes into play.
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Interiors of vehicles vary, of course. I use the 70-200 f/2.8 in my stretch. :D
 
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