Rakesh Jacob
Veteran
Just a quick (and simple) comparison between the Sigma 28mm and Canon 50mm. Both are f1.8 and both are dirt cheap. The Canon is about $100 and built like it 
But at a $100 it's hard to complain. The Sigma is heavy, big and built like a tank and at $379 it's worth every penny. Also the Sigma looks damn good on the 7D, it's the perfect size and heft.
The Canon 50mm f1.8 is a must buy in my book. You will not find a better lens at this price point (I don't think there are any other EF lenses at this price) but it is waaaay too cheap to shoot this good. I shot a whole music video with just this lens and it came out great. Focusing is not as hard as it would seem; although it only has a small lip and a short throw to focus with, it pulls surprisingly smoothly and acurately. Also people complain about it's pentagonal bokeh, but if you are wide open the bokeh is fairly smooth and the points of light are nice and round. Once you start stopping down past 2.5 it gets very pentagramy...
The Sigma 28mm f1.8 Macro is my new best friend! I love this lens. It can close focus down to about 2" maybe less! It is so cool to be able to rack focus from a distant object to something just inches away. I find 28mm to be an awesome focal lenght, you get a nice bit of 3 dimmesnionality in you perspective and @ f1.8 you still have shallow DoF for very selective focusing, if that's your thing (I can't lie, I'm a bokeh head). I think it's a really cool look and adds a bit of dramatic punch to otherwise compressed or flatter (spatially speaking) images of longer focal lenghts.
I usually shoot it at f2.2, it's a kinda soft wide open (but still usable).
Here are a couple stills shot wide open comparing the DoF, FoV and close focusing ability. Even though the 28mm is quite wider than the 50mm, it's macro ability really lets you get in there and magnify things. (the object is less than a half inch thick)
28mm @ f1.8, tried to approximate the 50mm's magnification of the object from pic below
50mm @ f1.8, this is the closest I could get to the object with this lens
28mm @ f1.8, this is how close this lens can get. I LOVE IT!
I haven't had a chance to shoot anything good with the Sigma 28mm yet but here's a quick clip. Canon 7D, 24p, 1/50, @ f2.2 I think, don't remember the ISO (looks about 400ish), AWB (sorry, sometimes I forget), tweeked "Neutral" pic setting (contrast and saturation down).
This is the music video I shot with the Canon 50mm f1.8 and the Rebel T1i. It's being submitted to MTV; cross your fingers and send me your positive energy and prayers, I could really use the career bump
But at a $100 it's hard to complain. The Sigma is heavy, big and built like a tank and at $379 it's worth every penny. Also the Sigma looks damn good on the 7D, it's the perfect size and heft.The Canon 50mm f1.8 is a must buy in my book. You will not find a better lens at this price point (I don't think there are any other EF lenses at this price) but it is waaaay too cheap to shoot this good. I shot a whole music video with just this lens and it came out great. Focusing is not as hard as it would seem; although it only has a small lip and a short throw to focus with, it pulls surprisingly smoothly and acurately. Also people complain about it's pentagonal bokeh, but if you are wide open the bokeh is fairly smooth and the points of light are nice and round. Once you start stopping down past 2.5 it gets very pentagramy...
The Sigma 28mm f1.8 Macro is my new best friend! I love this lens. It can close focus down to about 2" maybe less! It is so cool to be able to rack focus from a distant object to something just inches away. I find 28mm to be an awesome focal lenght, you get a nice bit of 3 dimmesnionality in you perspective and @ f1.8 you still have shallow DoF for very selective focusing, if that's your thing (I can't lie, I'm a bokeh head). I think it's a really cool look and adds a bit of dramatic punch to otherwise compressed or flatter (spatially speaking) images of longer focal lenghts.
I usually shoot it at f2.2, it's a kinda soft wide open (but still usable).
Here are a couple stills shot wide open comparing the DoF, FoV and close focusing ability. Even though the 28mm is quite wider than the 50mm, it's macro ability really lets you get in there and magnify things. (the object is less than a half inch thick)
28mm @ f1.8, tried to approximate the 50mm's magnification of the object from pic below
50mm @ f1.8, this is the closest I could get to the object with this lens
28mm @ f1.8, this is how close this lens can get. I LOVE IT!
I haven't had a chance to shoot anything good with the Sigma 28mm yet but here's a quick clip. Canon 7D, 24p, 1/50, @ f2.2 I think, don't remember the ISO (looks about 400ish), AWB (sorry, sometimes I forget), tweeked "Neutral" pic setting (contrast and saturation down).
This is the music video I shot with the Canon 50mm f1.8 and the Rebel T1i. It's being submitted to MTV; cross your fingers and send me your positive energy and prayers, I could really use the career bump
