should I sell my Sigma 30, Canon 85 for a 24-70L?

alright, the only two lenses i have currently are a Sigma 30 (which i love) and a Canon 85 (which i dont, and want to sell). i feel like i'm in desperate need of a standard zoom lens. i like the 24-70 range because of the longer length. i think i can live without the wider end.

i shoot a lot indoors. i like taking pics of my dogs inside and then just general photography (indoors and out). the Sigma is great...but i often wish it was a 50mm and i need about an f/2.8 to get the dog's face completely in focus. i don't use my 85mm because it's too long inside. since i want to sell it, i'm wondering, should i sell the 30mm too and get a used 24-70L as my only lens? i think the f/2.8 would be good enough inside, what do you think?

i don't have a lot to spend now because i'm buying a house soon, but i can sell both and get a used 24-70L (which i would love) or just sell the 85 and maybe get another cheaper zoom (which i wouldn't love as much).

thanks,
Dan

How do you know that you wouldn't love another zoom? I believe that everyone needs a fast prime, so my advice would be to sell your 85 and snag something like a Tamron 28-75 f/2.8. It's a great lens with very similar IQ to the 24-70, it just does not focus as quickly, have the build, etc. that you would pay the premium for.

The Tammy holds its resale value very well, so if you don't love it, you could always sell it and the Sigma and then get the 24-70.

Hi Dan,

Personally, I don't think F/2.8 is good enough inside, unless you want to use a flash with it. I found that with a lot of windows, during the day I can shoot at F/4, iso 800, 1/320s, but this gets worse very, very rapidly once it gets closer to having to ignite the lamp light and beyond.

So, what I would do if you intend to shoot low light without flash, is sell the 85 F/1.8 since you don't like it, get a 24-70L, or a Tamron 28-75 F/2.8, and try that out prior to selling the 30 F/1.4.

If it proves to be enough, aperture wise, great; you can always sell the 30, but if it isn't, you still have it and don't have to go through the " finding another good 30 F/1.4" loop.

Kind regards, Wim

I agree with TaDa, and there are other choices as well. The Tamron 17-50 2.8 or the Sigma 18-50 2.8 Macro. This leaves you with your fast prime and a good standard fast zoom.

TaDa wrote in post #7404183
How do you know that you wouldn't love another zoom? I believe that everyone needs a fast prime, so my advice would be to sell your 85 and snag something like a Tamron 28-75 f/2.8. It's a great lens with very similar IQ to the 24-70, it just does not focus as quickly, have the build, etc. that you would pay the premium for

i was thinking of that. my only concern with that is on the wide end, the 28mm is too close to the 30mm i have, and although i don't think i need at wide as a 17mm, the slightly wider 24mm would be nice.

i was thinking about a Sigma 24-70 too, and i hoped that the newest version would be cheaper than it is. the older Sigma 24-70 worries me because i've heard mixed reviews.

Jere Lee wrote in post #7404205
I agree with TaDa, and there are other choices as well. The Tamron 17-50 2.8 or the Sigma 18-50 2.8 Macro. This leaves you with your fast prime and a good standard fast zoom.

the Tamron 17-50 seems like a good option but i remember when my 18-55 wasn't broken. i often didn't use the wide end but i always wished it was longer.

Dan,

Indoor photos without flash is very hard to achieve. With your fast prime, lighting could be taken down a notch. I agree with you that Canon 85mm F/1.8 is too long for indoor but keeping this lens would be a good decision. Canon 50mm F/1.4 would be a nice addition but still could be too long indoor. Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 is a good choice if on the budget.

Who needs a house when you have canon lens! (Congrads on purchasing house; Looks like Obama already helped you out.)

Ray

Sell the 85 and buy a good flash and a nifty fifty.

Rick "thinking that should provide endless opportunities for good pictures of people inside that house" Denney

rdenney wrote in post #7404297
Sell the 85 and buy a good flash and a nifty fifty.

Rick "thinking that should provide endless opportunities for good pictures of people inside that house" Denney

i have a 430ex which suits me well so far, and if anything, i'd buy the 50 1.4 over a nifty.

I would hold out and see how the new Sigma 24-70 / 2.8 fares. Should be the same price as a used 24-70 / 2.8L, smaller, lighter, and sharper. The question, as always with Sigma, is AF.

timrocks311 wrote in post #7404930
i have a 430ex which suits me well so far, and if anything, i'd buy the 50 1.4 over a nifty.

1. I didn't know you already had a decent flash, and

2. I was trying to keep the price of what I suggested down to the difference between what you might get for your two lenses and the price of a used 24-70/2.8L.

The 50/1.4 is a nice lens with reasonably fast autofocus--if you have a flash already, go for it, if you haven't already decided on the zoom. I was just trying to keep your price in check, since you mentioned it was an issue for you. Personally, I would kick myself for selling an 85/1.8 in order to buy something that won't work as well at that focal length. I probably should not have even responded, because I don't know how one doesn't love that lens. I can use mine effectively from three or four feet even with my 10D.

You could, of course, wait a while and then not have to sell a lens to finance another one. I'm probably being presumptuous there, too.

Rick "what was the question?" Denney

Do not sell the sigma 30/1.4 and 85/1.8. It's a great pair. I bet you will be disapointed by 24-70/2.8 compared with those two. Guaranteed

The Canon zoom doesn't hold up to those two lenses. Both are very, very good. The L zoom is good but isn't as fast as those primes and argueably, isn't as sharp.

I've toyed with the SAME swap, but I love my two primes too much.....I use a flash when I can, so I could get away with f/2.8, BUT
-When I can't use a flash, I NEED ALL THE SPEED I can get
-Even with a flash, f/1.4-1.8 looks soooooo dreamy when I want that effect. f/2.8 can't do that.

Buy a second body, then you have the AWESOMEST 30-85 "zoom" combo

I've got primes and I've got the 28-70 zoom and it is sharp, very sharp and beautiful. That coupled with your flash and a diffuser, I'm unsure if you can dial your camera or that flash so it's a stop or two under the cameras exposure and it helps get some snap in the eyes of your pets and keeps the image looking natural. My 420EX works great this way on my 5D.

This is my friend Duchess, shot without a flash on my 5D with a 24-70 shot at f2.8 and set at 58mm, ISO 500 at 1/3 sec hand held, I love how stable this lens is. The light was from a single bulb in a reading lamp by my chair.

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