Sigma 30mm 1.4 for Japan - Should I pull the trigger?

Hi Everyone,

I am off to Japan (Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo) next week and in my bag I currently have a Canon T1i/500D, will definitely bring my Canon 17-55 2.8 and 70-200 4 IS, and am this close to pulling the trigger on a Sigma 30 1.4 for subway/train/steet/nig​ht shots. What say ye: go for it, or will I be able to get by with my 17-55 2.8 for that? I'm assuming of course 30mm is a more versatile focal length on a crop than 50mm otherwise I would be all over the 50mm instead. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Why not buy 50 or 85 1.4 for portrait if you do that
Otherwise 30 could be great. I have just piced up mine for several days. Great lense, sharp at 1.4, fast
Af is great versatile. You may get flare sometimes if you shoot to the setting sun. The bokeh is good, but the light speckle is not a beatiful circle-shaped

When I was on a crop, the Sigma 30 was my favorite lens. It's a beautiful piece of glass that I couldn't really find fault with.

...At the same time, you do have an f/2.8 zoom with IS. I haven't been to Japan myself, but it looks like it'll come down to the standard aperture vs IS battle. If you're not shooting anything especially fast moving, the IS would probably treat you well. At the same time, I haven't been to Japan.

I have been to Japan three times, I love it there! If it were me, I wouldn't bother with the 30 prime because I don't think you would get many shots that you couldn't get with the 17-55. Being a new lens you would want to use it a lot, so you will probably have it on when the 17-55mm may have gotten better shots with its near perfect walk around FL. Also, you will have to carry around an extra lens and you will be rushing to change lenses if you see a shot you want to take at 17mm but have the sigma attached.

From my trips to Japan, I would take the 17-55mm just by itself. I can't think of any shot where I would need more than 55mm on crop and it's quality and aperture is excellent. But you may be fine with carrying and changing more gear. You could save the money for spending money in Japan.

It would be nice to have a new toy to play with so it's your decision but Japan should keep you busy and I think your 17-55 will cover everything. Also Dof at 1.4 is razor thin. Tough decision though!

I've been to Japan over 80 times, most recently just last week. Last week I took only my Fuji X100 (and iPhone 4s) because I was coming from Shanghai and I was travelling ultralight. I've taken every piece of glass I own (see my gear list) at one time or another except my macro in the past in various combinations. With a gripped 5DMkII the carry-on load gets very heavy. The only good thing is Japan is 100% safe and I feel perfectly fine forwarding my luggage to the airport with L glass in it. I don't check it with airlines but inside of Japan I just don't worry about getting ripped off.

The answer to your question has more to do with what you'll be shooting. When I go to sumo or other sporting event I take my 70-200F2.8L with 1.4x, 24L and 85L because of the shooting venue being so varied. Other times I took this assortment and never mounted the zoom. Walking around with the 24L or 85L lends itself to more creative shooting for me because it forces me to be more thoughtful in what and where I shoot. I always have a P&S with me, too. Last week I shot hanami (cherry blossoms) and I really regretted not having the DSLR with me but the X100 did OK.

What are you planning on shooting? If you're shooting trains you'll need a zoom because the distances are so varied. If you're shooting landscapes or street shots you can get away with a prime only.

The Siggy 30mm rocks, and it is very light.. take it with you.

Decisions, decisions... good feedback here fellas, thanks much! I like the idea of having fast glass, but yeah sure would be nice to get by with the 17-55 and not have to change lenses. Wouldn't be a big issue for me, but my wife is another story. I'm thinking 17-55 by day, 30 by night...

Oh and this is our 3rd trip to Japan, first time with a DSLR, though. From what I recall and where we plan on going, we'll be spending most of our time indoors or in low-lit areas. Temples, castles, forests, stations, izakaya, aquarium, stuff like that. I love Japan, the people, the rich history, and especially the food. This will probably be our last trip there for a while (last 3 in a row have been to Japan due to various opportunities) so I want to try and capture as much of that as I can on this one. My wife might have other plans, though, so we'll see.

Thanks again and by all means keep it coming if anyone else has any recommendations on lenses for Japan. I still have time to pick one up before we go.

Note that your t1i doesn't have AF adjust and that wide aperture primes may require a bit of fine tuning for the best results and at worst need it to avoid complete disasters.

I'd say go for it only if you can play with for an extended amount of time before leaving. I like to know my gear well before I need to rely on it

Get the Sigma 30, I rented it a few weeks ago and it was great. Besides the image quality and low light performance, there are going to be times when you don't want to be carrying around a long lens on the end of your camera...enter the Sigma for convenience/portabilit​y.

Sure, get it. I've seen lots of reports that is a very good lens on a crop body.

You would use an ultrawide more than a fast lens in Asia.

Thanks again all for the suggestions! I got the 30mm siggy yesterday and took a hundred or so shots with it indoors and later at night. WOW, love this lens! Yeah hitting correct focus on a T1i at f/1.4 is tough, but when it does, it's amazing. Can tell I'm really going to love this lens at night and low light. For everything else I'll probably use my 17-55 2.8 and will have my 10-20mm in the bag as well. 4 more days till Japan, here we come!

Congrats and good luck out there in japan!!

Man I love Japan. From the moment you get to the train station it is just awesome.

They are amazing people too. Especially if you get out of the cities.

Watch them on the escalators, keep left You will think "why don't we do that"!! I get so annoyed now here in Aus when we have a huge escalator and everyone is just standing there so no one can walk past. The flat ones at the airport are worse. Move over if your just standing there! They must think we are stupid when they visit.