Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 24

Thread: Fast Prime for night shots recommendations

  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Cape Ann Massachusetts
    Posts
    65

    Fast Prime for night shots recommendations

    Hello Everyone,

    This post is an extension to Weewillo's request for lens advice with a 7D.

    I am headed off to Disney next month with the fam. and wanted to add a lens to the ****nal for capturing many nighttime events such as the Spectromagic parade (a parade of lit-up floats) and the Santa parade.
    I would like to not have to depend on my flash for fear of loosing the feel of the parades or light shows.

    I went 2 years ago and just looked up the old pictures to see how I captured the shots before. I was using a T1i with the kit lens (18-55mm f/3.5-5.6) on Program mode. I want to say that I have come along way and will be setting the camera manually this time. Anyway...most of those shots are between 18mm and 30mm with ISO at 1600 or more. Many pictures are not sharp due to the shutter speeds @ 1/4 a second or longer!


    Now my body is a 7D and my primary lens is a 24-70 f/2.8L. I was considering the Canon 50mm f/1.4 and almost pulled the trigger until I read a post that made me go back and check those old picture focal lengths. I am thinking I would be better off with a wider lens. I was looking at the Canon 28mm f/1.8 so I could achieve much faster shutter speeds and/or lower ISO. I know most of you are not fans of the Canon 35mm f/2.0 and I can see why. I also know that a few have the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 and like it. I have a certain comfort level with Canon lenses but will be interested in your responses. I would probably grab one from their refurb. site if possible.

    As always, thanks.
    Brett

  2. #2
    Senior Member neuroanatomist's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Boston, MA
    Posts
    3,836
    Quote Originally Posted by Firephoto View Post
    wanted to add a lens to the ****nal
    WTF? On a family forum, I can see censoring certain words. But what the h-e-double-hockey-sticks is wrong with a noun meaning, "An array of resources available for a certain purpose," that also happens to be the name of a somewhat po****r football team?



    EDIT: Ok, this is just over the ****ing top. What the hell (ok, I can say hell but not **** or ****?) is wrong with "p-o-p-u-l-a-r?" And it censors the embedded links, too, such that clicking on the team logo above, which is supposed to link to the premierleague.com home page for the team, is a dead link because the 'offensive' (?!?) word is part of the URL. Sheesh.
    Last edited by neuroanatomist; 11-18-2011 at 06:28 PM.

  3. #3
    Senior Member neuroanatomist's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Boston, MA
    Posts
    3,836
    Ok, but to the real issue at hand. I really like the 35mm f/1.4L as a nighttime walkaround lens, albeit on my 5DII. The short focal length mitigates what could otherwise be a problematically thin DoF.

  4. #4
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Cape Ann Massachusetts
    Posts
    65
    John,

    You are too funny. I guess I'll have to say "collection" from now on.
    Brett

  5. #5
    Senior Member Andy Stringer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Aberdeen, Scotland
    Posts
    333
    I agree that the 35mm f/1.4L would be ideal for this purpose on a full frame camera. For the 7D, though, you might prefer the 24mm f/1.4L II USM. As a wider angle lens, it is even more forgiving with depth of field than the 35mm, and it lies right in the middle of your desired focal length range.

    Unfortunately, these fast primes are not cheap, but they hold their value well. All of the more affordable options are either too slow (various f/2.8 primes), optically disappointing (28mm f/1.8 or 35mm f/2) or non-Canon. I have no experience of the Sigma 30mm f/1.4, but I wouldn't rule it out if I was on a tight budget.

    Quote Originally Posted by neuroanatomist View Post
    WTF? ...
    Neuro, good point well made. I noticed the same censorship problems elsewhere on the site. One post mentioned the Zeiss 50mm fl****gon (f-l-e-k-t-o-g-o-n) and another used the word do***ent (d-o-c-u-m-e-n-t). Both of those posts appear as originally intended now.
    Last edited by Andy Stringer; 11-18-2011 at 07:28 PM.

  6. #6
    Super Moderator Kayaker72's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    New Hampshire, USA
    Posts
    5,565
    Well.....isn't that special.....

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	bbcafbd3e6fcaa32_dana-carvey-church-lady.jpg 
Views:	97 
Size:	35.9 KB 
ID:	100
    Last edited by Kayaker72; 11-18-2011 at 07:23 PM.

  7. #7
    Senior Member neuroanatomist's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Boston, MA
    Posts
    3,836
    Andy, I reported the issue to Bryan, and he removed the censorship list for now. Seems the function behaves differently on the new forum (presumably by removing words on the list when embedded in other words, rather than only as standalone words).

  8. #8
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Posts
    1
    I used the Sigma 30 f/1.4 at Disney in 2008 for the entire day and it worked great. The shots taken at night were exceptionally well which included the parade and the fireworks over the castle.

  9. #9
    Senior Member ham's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Posts
    384
    As I mentioned in my thread earlier, I'm looking at a similar lens, but more for indoor low-light shots (it will have other uses too of course). I felt a lot of support for the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 and think that's what I'm going for because I can't really afford L glass.

  10. #10
    Administrator Sean Setters's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Savannah, GA
    Posts
    3,360
    I own and use the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 quite often. I was hesitant to buy a third-party lens, but I've been nothing but impressed with it.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •