Which one should I buy?

I have a Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 and it's a really nice lens, not amazing but I also got it for $90 so I'm not complaining.

I wouldn't say you'd go wrong with either but neither are particularly impressive, f4.0-5.6 is rather slow for the 50-200 zoom range. Not having a constant aperture will become a headache later on too.
 
I guess the real question I need to answer is will I need something beyond 85mm for video. I'll be doing
some interviews, action shots, some indie film stuff.
 
I would go with the Canon just for the superior reach. I shot with the HVX200 and EX1 for years. an 18-250mm range is roughly what their zoom lenses had. As a result, I've gotten used to having that range of zooms and wanted to be able to stick with it when running and gunning. I got a deal for the 18-55mm Canon kit and the 55-250m telaphoto. That said, I mainly use both zooms for when I want to be super-flexible when shooting. I don't like using them for my film stuff because they are so slow.

For film stuff, I've been putting together a bunch of vintage Nikon primes with Canon adapters. They're much faster than the cheap zooms and I've been able to find a lot of them for really cheap at pawn shops. I plan to shoot most of my stuff on these and only pull the zooms out when I'm in a bind.

christriplet said:
What happens when you lack a constant aperture?
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It's a pain because you zoom in and suddenly the whole image gets darker. If you've lit a scene, you want to be able to have the same exposure all the way through. It's frustrating if you're shooting in a wide (18mm) at f3.5 but, when you move into your mid shot (55m) you're in F4 and in F5.6 for your close-up (85mm). You keep needing more and more light or you have to just shoot at 5.6 the whole time which can be annoying.

I guess the real question I need to answer is will I need something beyond 85mm for video. I'll be doing
some interviews, action shots, some indie film stuff.
Click to expand...

Everyone is different. And 85mm is the equivelant of about a 135mm in a full frame camera so it'll be pretty good for most people's portraits/close-ups. I went ahead and grabbed a 105mm prime because I like to compress the space even more so when I'm shooting a human face a 105mm lets me get some fashion photography style shots. I know some people who will shoot video and only use a 24mm a 35mm for the whole shoot (and just get closer with the 35mm for close-ups). As I said, it really depends on what kind of perspective you like and how much you want to flatten the image.
 
As per usual with a person who just purchased their first HD-DSLR, I have been trying to play catch up and build a small tool bag of essential items. I remembered I had an old Nikon 50mm 1.8 prime I purchased for the Red Rock DIY 35mm adapter so I guess a Nikon to Canon mount will be in order. It's funny the race to gather new stuff for photo and video never seems to end. You save your money for the dvx100b and HD kills SD, you build a 35mm adapter and HD-DSLR kills 35mm adapters. I notice the Canon T3I kit lens is terrible in low light so I'm guessing the $100 Nikon 50mm prime will work about the same as the Canon 50mm Prime people rave about on the forum.

I'm just so torn between the sigma, canon and Rokinon. The Rokinon seems to really leap out because I am reading great feedback with those who are using it with the T2i and T3i. I guess the first priority should be to purchase the Nikon Mount since I have the Nikon 50mm prime. Which mount would work best and be the most cost effective for the Canon T3i? Thanks for helping with your advice by the way.
 
christriplet said:
As per usual with a person who just purchased their first HD-DSLR, I have been trying to play catch up and build a small tool bag of essential items. I remembered I had an old Nikon 50mm 1.8 prime I purchased for the Red Rock DIY 35mm adapter so I guess a Nikon to Canon mount will be in order. It's funny the race to gather new stuff for photo and video never seems to end. You save your money for the dvx100b and HD kills SD, you build a 35mm adapter and HD-DSLR kills 35mm adapters. I notice the Canon T3I kit lens is terrible in low light so I'm guessing the $100 Nikon 50mm prime will work about the same as the Canon 50mm Prime people rave about on the forum.

I'm just so torn between the sigma, canon and Rokinon. The Rokinon seems to really leap out because I am reading great feedback with those who are using it with the T2i and T3i. I guess the first priority should be to purchase the Nikon Mount since I have the Nikon 50mm prime. Which mount would work best and be the most cost effective for the Canon T3i? Thanks for helping with your advice by the way.
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? Other than focal lengths you will never want to use those slow lenses unless you are only filming in the daylight. Basically any lens that is slower than 2.8 you need to look away. The Rokinon 85mm 1.4 is the best lens of the ones you are looking at.
 
If you already have a Nikkon 50mm, then pay $15 for the damn mount and spend all the money you save on another lens. Vision is right in saying that anything above 2.8 isn't worth it. I've got a couple of f2.8s and a few f2s (or f1.8s) and even then I tend to avoid the F2.8s when indoors because I don't like raising the ISO too much. I'd love to have a set of f1.4s but that's really not possible in my price range.

Through the years (so I've been told) most stuff is shot at an F2 or F2.8 (occasionally F4). Aim for F2 and go to 2.8 when you need to save money.

I havn't tried Rokinon but I've heard some really great things about them. You lose image stabilization and auto-focus but you gain a lens that isn't limited to crop sensors which means you can stick it on any future camera you work with.
 
I just purchased the same camera but went the FD route.

I purchased 4 FD lens and the FD to EOS adapter all for under $200.00. I use the camera for video only.

28mm 1.8 15.00
50mm 1.4 45.00
50mm 1.8 25.00
Old vivitar 135mm 2.8 10.00

All of the lens work perfect for what I am using them for (music videos, artist interviews and movies). I love the old Vivitar lens.

The camera came with the 18-55mm lens and I purchased the 50mm 1.8 (125.00). I actually like shooting with the older FD lens better than the newer 50mm 1.8 lens.

Pick up one from Ebay and play with it. For 15-25 you wont lose much and you can turn around and sell them. I was a bit reluctant to use the older FD with an adapter because of what I had read from some "pros" out there about loosing light. Even the sales person made a great argument against it. But while in Bel Air Photo in Westwood Cali I met a Saturday Night Live producer that had a 5d with a FD lens and adapter mounted to it that he uses to shoot some of the SNL footage. Well, nuff said!!!
 
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