Looking for a fast normal lens for a crop camera..

drmadhuks wrote in post #15538983
I have used tam 28-75, and looking for a 17-50 used. I need a faster one too as 2.8 wasn't fast enough for my daughter for indoor shots.

Flash. Much better for freezing motion.

Photozone rates the Canon the same as the Sigma (only 2 stars, which is bad):

http://www.photozone.d​e …st-report--review?start=2
http://www.photozone.d​e …st-report--review?start=2

I'd stay away from both.

On my crop camera, my fast-normal lens is a 28 2.8 - the old one. It is very sharp wide open. The focus is a bit slower than any USM lens, and it is 'buzzy'. It seems loud when you are shooting, but my wife says she can't even hear it just a few feet away. It's not a really fast (aperture or focus) lens, but it suits my needs. Inexpensive, too! I like it even more on my 5D.

My vote has been, and always will be, the 28 1.8 over the Sigma 30. A bonus of using an EF lens on a crop is that you get much better sharpness across the frame as opposed to the same lens being on a FF camera.

mannetti21 wrote in post #15540440
28 1.8 over the Sigma 30. A bonus of using an EF lens on a crop is that you get much better sharpness across the frame as opposed to the same lens being on a FF camera.

Except you don't. Both lenses are about equally "poor" at the edges on crop. Which doesn't actually matter in practice, because the softness really isn't that bad, and most of the time your subject isn't in the top left corner of the frame at f1.4.

I use the Canon 35F2 as a fast normal lens on my crop bodies. Mine is sharp across the frame with fast and accurate AF. I have more expensive lenses, but the 35F2 is my current favorite.

If you're not fussed about autofocus, go with the Samyang/Rokinon/Bower/​etc. 35mm f/1.4. Beautiful colors, bokeh, and sharpness, a few more stops than Canon's 35mm f/2, and solid build quality. Using live view for focusing, I tend to get the focus most of the time, and man is it worth it when you get it right. Also, if you're considering doing video with the 550D, the Samyang's pretty much the only way to go. That focus ring is absolutely money.

kid_a wrote in post #15542344
If you're not fussed about autofocus, go with the Samyang/Rokinon/Bower/​etc. 35mm f/1.4. Beautiful colors, bokeh, and sharpness, a few more 1/3rd stops than Canon's 35mm f/2, and solid build quality.

Fixed that for you.

Nightdiver13 wrote in post #15542382
Fixed that for you.

Just to refresh my memory, its 1 stop, right?

sigma 30mm is a great lens for the price. I love the photos I got from it. When stopped down it was extremely sharp.

Nightdiver13 wrote in post #15542382
Fixed that for you.

Ah, you learn something new every day. Still, f/1.4 vs. f/2 does make a bit of a difference. Maybe I'm just a sucker for fast apertures.

I've been using the Canon 28/1.8 for years and am happy with it, especially on crop cameras where a lot of the corner softness is cropped away.

I'm surprised it's so much more expensive in India. Here in the U.S. the Canon 28/1.8 and Sigma 30/1.4 are virtually the same price (the 28mm works out to be just a little more since the hood is sold separately, while one is included with the Sigma). Canon's MSRP for the 28/1.8 in the US is $510, but it's commonly available for under $450.

Here the Canon 35/2 is about 35% cheaper than either the 28/1.8 or 30/1.4, but I've just never been a fan of 35mm focal length on crop cameras. It's also not a USM lens, so may be slower focusing and or a little less accurate focusing than either the 28/1.8 (USM) or 30/1.4 (HSM).

I prefer a slightly wide "normal" lens and the 28mm serves pretty well for me on crop cameras. Another alternative is the 24/2.8, the recently discontinued non-IS version (the IS version is too pricey). It's not a USM lens, but is pretty sharp and well respected. That's if f2.8 is fast enough, though. Here it sells for a bit more than the 35/2, but less than the 28/1.8 or 30/1.4.