Sigma 30mm or Canon 85 1.8

Obviously I'm asking about two different lenses instead of two similar ones. My only prime is the nifty fifty and I've been playing with it more lately and I can't believe how it surpasses all of my moderately priced zooms and I'd like to pick up another prime lens. The only real data point I can give is that I have a baby due in November and I'll be taking a lot of pictures.

Both are good.
With a new born, the 85mm is nice as you can generally get enough room to frame your shot.
Once they become a bit more mobile, or you hit a bit smaller space, the 30mm is nicer to have.

A huge part to consider is how much space do you have in the rooms of your house? My main room is almost 400sq ft, so the 85mm works for me, but for a lot of houses it is just to long at a lot of the times, which makes the 30mm a better choice.

I have both and I wouldn't give up either for pictures with my son or my 2nd which is due in Feb.

The 85mm on a 50D won't be very useful indoors as it will probably be too long. I think the 30mm will be a good choice for full-body shots when your baby is older and running around. I found 50mm on a crop body to be a good length for pictures of my kids.

What is it you like about the nifty that you don't like about the Tamron 28-75mm? I use my 28-75mm for nearly all of my indoor shots of children, but I'm using it on a 5D. Even so, I think it would be excellent on a 50D too. Are you shooting with or without flash?

I don't dislike the Tamron. I shoot natural light and flash, on camera, bounced etc. (and I have 2 Genesis strobes as well). I can't quite put my finger on it, maybe its just the shallower depth of field and the overall sharpness of the 50mm which I hadn't used in a long time but pulled out recently and am very impressed with. That said I DO already have the 50... does that make the 85 make more sense?

Before I bought the 5D, my prime lens choices on crop bodies (XT, XTi, 40D) were the 35 f/2 and 50 f/1.4 when shooting kids indoors. I eventually bought the Sigma 30mm and the 85mm f/1.8. I didn't use the 85mm indoors until I bought the 5D.

You should set your Tamron 18-270 to 85mm and see if it is a usable focal length for you. For me it was too long on a crop body unless I was outside or shooting in an indoor arena (gym, concert hall, etc.).

Good point, the 85 might be too long indoors. Even 75mm on the Tamron is something I wouldn't use all the time indoors, its too long. So maybe the 30 for now. I'll probably end up with both honestly but I think I'll do the 30 first.

I know you already have a 50mm, but why not upgrade to the sigma 50mm. I think the 30mm would be too short for baby portraits. I only shot baby portraits once, but I found that 50mm was a good length on a crop sensor.

Babies are small. Here is my son at 2 weeks. Shot with 28-75mm at 75mm end. I am using 1.3x crop but I am only 5-6 feet or so away and I had to crop off.

I just went through this situation 2 weeks ago....Go for the sigma 30mm 1.4!

Then get the 85mm 1.8 down the road a little bit.

Get both, like what I did. You won't regret.

nonick wrote in post #10514297
Get both, like what I did. You won't regret.

Agreed...just get the 30 first!

OP, I went thru the same conundrum last year when my first child arrived. I had the nifty, added the 85, absolutely loved it, sold it thinking it was to long, and picked up the Sig30. Soon after the Sig30 came, I sold the nifty as it just sat in the bag. I've recently been able to pick up the 85 again, and it quickly confirmed why I regretted so much having sold it before.

Get the Sig30 first, and then start saving for the 85. They make a great combo!

Thanks guys. I shouldn't go through such analysis paralysis... I'll probably be able to get both if I save up my fun money a little more conservatively between now and Nov.

Definitely the Sigma 30mm for the newborn. You are going to want to take nice low light shots of the baby without flash, and the f1.4 will come in very handy there.

Combatmedic870 wrote in post #10514283
I just went through this situation 2 weeks ago....Go for the sigma 30mm 1.4!

Then get the 85mm 1.8 down the road a little bit.

Yep. I find there are more uses for the 30mm, although the 85mm is a heck of alot of fun!