Canon And Sigma 35mm Lenses Reviews Round-up

Canon And Sigma 35mm Lenses Reviews

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM (price & specs) and Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM (price & specs) reviews round-up. The Canon 35mm used with a low-light champ like the Canon EOS 6D (price & specs) becomes a “low-light shooter’s dream ticket” (see below).

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM tech specs:

  • Aperture Range: f/1.4-16
  • Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM)
  • Floating Internal Focus System
  • Minimum Focusing Distance: 11.8″
  • Anti-Flare Super Multi-Layer Coating
  • USB Dock: Adjust AF & Update Firmware
  • Special & “F” Low Dispersion Elements
  • Front Filter Thread Diameter: 67mm
  • SIGMA Optimization Pro Software
  • 9x Circular Aperture Blades

Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM tech specs:

  • Aperture Range: f/2.0-22
  • Hybrid Image Stabilization (IS)
  • Glass Molded Aspherical Element (GMo)
  • Rear Focusing & Ultra Sonic Motor (USM)
  • Full-Time Manual Focus in AF Mode
  • Micro‐Stepping Drive Aperture
  • Minimum Focusing Distance: 9.48″
  • Ring USM Low-Speed Drive for Video
  • Eight Circular Aperture Blades

Canon and Sigma 35mm lenses reviews…

Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM at The Online Photographer (excerpts from the review):

  • Autofocus on the 35mm works like it should: fast and nearly silent. The focusing takes place inside the lens. Nothing moves on the outside.
  • […] produces sharp pictures at all apertures
  • The biggest surprise […] is how effective the image stabilization is on this lens
  • […] this might be the best low-light lens around
  • […] could reliably shoot a 35mm lens at 1/15th of a second

Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM at Photography Blog (highly recommended), quoting the conclusion:

Despite it’s lack of an L-series billing and plastic construction, the Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM build quality is reassuringly good […]

The capable image stabilisation system used in conjunction with a high-ISO monster like the EOS 6D is a low-light shooter’s dream ticket […]

Image quality is generally very good. Chromatic aberrations are well controlled, geometric distortion is impressively low for a wide-angle lens, and the Super Spectra coatings successfully prevent contrast loss attributable to flare. The only real optical issues are obvious corner shading at the maximum aperture.

Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM at The Digital Picture, excerpts:

  • The combination of an f/2 aperture, 35mm focal length and 4-stop IS makes the 35 IS, at review time, arguably the most low-light-handholdable full frame format Canon lens available (just ahead of the 24 f/2.8 IS). And the 35 f/2 perhaps equals the most handholdable Canon lens available.
  • The Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM Lens does have image quality that challenges Canon’s best L lenses covering 35mm.
  • The Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM Lens shows impressively little CA (Chromatic Aberration). The f/2 IS’s performance is better than both the 35 f/2 non-IS and the 35 f/1.4 L in this regard.
  • The Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM Lens shows very little distortion

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM at The Phoblographer (with dozens of sample images, also shot using film). Excerpts from the review:

  • The 35mm f1.4 feels as if the exterior was made from metal; but indeed it wasn’t. It’s a hard plastic that just feels very Zeiss and Hasselblad like. The Germans must be shaking in their boots with the introduction of this lens.
  • Pro: Very affordable, Extremely sharp, Fast focusing, Stellar build quality
  • Cons: May need some micro adjustment out of the box, No weather sealing
  • Conclusion:

    • Overall, we can’t really say anything very terrible about the Sigma 35mm f1.4 EX. Even though it doesn’t have weather sealing, there are options out there that can do this for you. Otherwise, it has a wonderful build quality, eye-popping image quality, and is a relative speed demon when it comes to focusing.

      For quite a while, I loved my Canon 35mm f1.4 L USM. But after some time, I started to believe that the company needed to update it with sharper optics. In my opinion though, they’re taking a bit too long and when I used the new 24-70mm f2.8, I was very disappointed. With that said, Sigma offers users not only a better and more affordable option, but one that you’ll end up proudly carrying around with you all the time.

      This lens gets our Editor’s Choice award and our highest recommendations for DSLR user

That’s it!

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA Canon And Sigma 35mm Lenses Reviews

Is The Canon C100 The Right Video Tool For You? (and noise comparison with 5D2 and Sony EX1)

Canon C100 Review 2013 from Philip Johnston on Vimeo.

Is the Canon C100 the right video tool for you? The review is by Philip Johnston and was featured on nofilmschool. The C100 (B&H | Adorama) is heavily discussed (and criticized) in specialized forums. Too little features compared to the C300 (B&H | Adorama), too high the price, and so on. However, it is a solid tool for video professionals, and a lot of people appreciated it. That’s what Joe Marine over at nofilmschool thinks:

This camera seems to be getting as much vitriol in the comments on this website as the Canon 1D C, but the Canon C100 also has its share of defenders. It might not be priced perfectly considering the features, but it’s a camera that should just work out the box without much fuss, and Canon has made some key changes compared to the C300 that might be a deal-breaker for some, but well worth the cost-savings for others.

Well, I can confirm that the EOS-1D C (B&H | Adorama) gets a lot of hate, mainly because of the crazy price tag. :-) More of Joe’s thought about where the C100 fits best can be read here.

Below is a short noise test between the C100, the EOS 5D Mark II (B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA) and the Sony EX1 (B&H)

Legends of Light: Noise tests of a Canon C100, 5D mark 2, & Sony EX1 from Darren Levine on Vimeo.

Canon C100 The Right Video Tool

[via nofilmschool]

 

R. Cicala’s Take On The Metabones Speed Booster

Metabones Speed Booster

All in all – if this adapter does not send shock waves through the camera industry I don’t know what will (Andrew Reid, EOSHD)

We reported yesterday about a full review of Metabones’ Speed Booster by EOSHD. Now it’s Roger Cicala’s turn to have a take on what is going to be the most intriguing and amazing photographic piece of gear since long. As I wrote yesterday, the Metabones Speed Booster was designed by Brian Caldwell and Wilfried Bittner, both of well known engineering fame. Btw, Caldwell discussed and anticipated the Speed Booster months ago on the dpreview forum, writing:

Designing focal reducers to fit 35mm SLR lenses onto mirrorless Sony NEX and m4/3 cameras is most definitely feasible. The design isn’t easy because there is very little room to work with, but if the magnification is restricted to 0.7x it can work surprisingly well at large apertures. Prepare yourself for optics as fast as f/0.90 by attaching a 0.7x (more accurately, 0.707x) reducer to an f/1.2 (more accurately, f/1.2599) SLR lens. And the reducer actually improves the MTF of the lens its attached to since it de-magnifies the aberrations.

So, we have two skilled engineers who claim to have done something that sounds like magic to most of us, we have a 30 pages white paper with all the technical and scientific galore, enthusiastic first impressions and reviews, and a lot of hype. EOSHD’s review gave us a first glance that the Speed Booster is going to maintain what it promises: faster and wider Canon full-frame lenses on Sony APS-C and Super-35mm E-mounts, and that very particular full-frame look and feel that many videographers want but often cannot afford. Being able to get full-frame aesthetics using a $599 (click here) adapter on a $1000-$1200 Sony NEX-7 or a $800-$100 Sony NEX-6 makes a big difference, at least when compared to a Canon EOS 5D Mark III (price & specs) which comes around $2900 for the body only. Full-frame look on APS-C sensor gear! If that is not going to scare someone in the executive floors of some well known Japanese camera manufacturers, what will then?

Roger Cicala is known for his humor and a pretty sceptical and thoroughgoing approach when testing gear. He got a Speed Booster, and here comes his take. First, a short yet understandable description about how Metabones’s wondertoy works:

A teleconverter spreads out the light leaving the lens so that only the center portion reaches the sensor. The result is the focal length of the lens seems longer (the image is magnified), but at the cost of reducing the amount of light (effective aperture) of the lens. The Speed Booster compresses the light leaving the lens onto a smaller image circle. This makes the focal length seem shorter and actually increases the amount of light reaching the sensor.

Metabones Speed Booster

The EF to NEX Speed Booster, for example, changes the effective focal length x 0.71, and increases the maximum aperture by 1 stop. A Canon 50mm f/1.2 lens effectively becomes a 35.5mm f/0.9 NEX lens, for example. Videographers all over the internet were singing Hosannah and laying palm leaves along the path of it’s introduction.

Roger did his tests using Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM (price & specs) and EF 50mm f/1.2L(price & specs) lenses on a Sony NEX-7. I really want you to jump over to lensrentals and read the test report on your own, it is full of insights and well explained technical stuff. However, I can’t avoid to quote Roger’s conclusion:

I think it was pretty obvious that I came armed for battle, ready to slam this product as some marketing overhype. I was wrong less correct than I might have been. The Speed Booster does what they claimed it would do, much to my shock and surprise. It creates a wider-angle, greater aperture lens while retaining resolution and acutance.

It does increase astigmatism a bit […] It also seems to create some highlight blooming at very wide apertures. […]

Most of the little foibles I’ve seen […] really only apply to photographers trying to tweek every drop of resolution out of their high-resolution sensor. Video, even 5k video, is more forgiving of a slightly weak corner or a bit of astigmatism.

[via lensrentals]

Canon EOS 5D Mark III price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA Sony NEX-7 price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA Sony NEX-5N price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA Sony FS100 price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Metabones Speed Booster

A Little Bit Of Everything

 

Deals: Canon Store Refurbished EOS 5D3, EOS 5D2, EOS 7D, EOS 60D, T4i, And More DSLRs And Lenses

Deals: Canon Store Refurbished EOS 5D3, EOS 5D2, EOS 7D

 

The Canon Store has some interesting refurbished Canon DSLRs in stock. Click here to see all refurbished Canon DSLRs or choose from the list below:

Deals: Canon Store Refurbished EOS 5D3, EOS 5D2, EOS 7D

 

Click here to see all refurbished Canon lenses, among them the EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM for $1,759.20 (click here).

Deals: Canon Store Refurbished EOS 5D3, EOS 5D2, EOS 7D