Sigma 35mm Art or 18-35mm?

So I've been saving up for the 35mm art from Sigma. Love the images I've seen taken with this lens, and was hoping to be able to swing it after the holidays. Then Sigma drops the 18-35mm out there for $100 cheaper.

I have the T4i (650D) and the 18-55mm stm, and the nifty fifty. Anyone have or tried both of these lenses? If I need wider coverage, I already have the 18-55. But for $100 cheaper, is the 18-35 as good? I'd be losing a 1/3 stop of light, but I'm not sure how relevant that will be since my fastest lens currently is 1.8, so I have no real world experience to test it out. Thanks in advance for your opinions!

What kind of shooting do you do? if you shoot landscapes at the middle of the day then having a fast lens really isn't helpful.

If you shoot concerts in low light or astro stuff then fast lenses will come in handy.

Mostly candids of the family. I have a 5 year old and another on the way- and I find most of my work with the zoom is in the 30-40mm range. I like the 50mm for running after kids outside, just find it a little hard to frame the shots that I want to capture indoors.

If I was a crop shooter I'd have the 18-35mm without a doubt!!

I was in the same boat as you when i had my crop (Rebel) camera and even though i loved the 50/1.8, it was a bit too long on it. I ended up getting the Sigma 30/1.4 and was very happy with it until i realized it can't reliably focus beyond 10 ft. I traded it up for Canon 35/f2 (old one with noisy focus motor) and that lens was amazing. I still use it on my full-frame 6D as my walk around lens and its perfect on both crop and FF. You can save a lot of $ by getting the older Canon 35/2 (focus motor noise doesn't get recorded on the images or looking at your lens choices seems that you have the budget for the new Canon 35 f2 IS USM. That lens is a good deal these days for around 550 bucks. new Sigma 35/1.4 is sharper but more expensive and the Sigma 1.8 zoom is unique and might be a good option if you need something wider than 35mm. Any of these lenses will serve you well.

LeeRatters wrote in post #16524716
If I was a crop shooter I'd have the 18-35mm without a doubt!!

Agreed, if Sigma has ironed out the focusing issues from their lenses, this would be the lens to get. Although if you upgraded to a full-frame in the future, this won't work on it.

I have the 18-35 and honestly I didn't find issues with is AF. However it is a challenging lens to focus wide open, especially on 9 point AF system

Qlayer2 wrote in post #16524654
If I need wider coverage, I already have the 18-55. But for $100 cheaper, is the 18-35 as good? I'd be losing a 1/3 stop of light, but I'm not sure how relevant that will be since my fastest lens currently is 1.8, so I have no real world experience to test it out. Thanks in advance for your opinions!

You'd actually be losing 2/3 of a stop between the 35mm f1.4 and 18-35mm f1.8. However what you gain is 18-34mm (all at f1.8). I don't know how other people look at te 18-35 but I look at it as several different f1.8 prime lenses all built into one package (18mm, 20mm, 24mm, 28mm, and 35mm) as it is a fast lens and the IQ is on par with other prime lenses.

I can not comment on how it compairs to the sigma 35mm f1.4 as I do not own that lens. Both lenses have been receiving rave reviews, and both have had their share of bad copies. Personally, on a crop camera, I think the 18-35 is the better choice right now.

The guys at DPreview.com say the lens has some trouble focusing, at least theirs did. I can only say that for myself the S35, apart from some minor issues that were fixed upon a firmware update, has worked like a charm.

On crop I would go for the 18-35. IQ is basically up there with the 35, and you get so much more versatility.

on a crop, i can't think of a single reason to get the 35art over the 18-35mm

if you had to ask, 18-35

Thanks for your thoughts everyone! I guess I'm going to have try and find one locally to check the focus on my camera and see how it compares to the prime. I know the majority are probably fine, but I'm not sure how happy I would be buying an $800 lens without trying it first. Now to find someone who has it in stock...

I have the 35mm 1.4 ART and it's nice, but the 18-35 wasn't available when I got it.

I also do plan to upgrade to full-frame one day, so I'll stick with the 35mm 1.4 I guess.