50mm usm vs 28mm usm???

imgrizzlybear · Aug 15, 2008

i have a dilemma. right now i have 50mm 1.4 usm lens. its a great lens and i cant ask for anything more, that is if i were to have a full frame camera. sadly though i have a 40d, which is cropped sensor. sooo the 50mm would be equal to about 80mm. thats just not making me happy because i usually shoot on location in tight spaces and the 50mm is only letting me take shots of faces. so i saw the 28mm 1.8 usm lens. but the thing is, it has wayyyy less review than that of the 50mm on bhphotovideo.com about 230 reviews less. so which one should i sacrifice for? anyone here have a 28mm?

usayit · Aug 15, 2008

imgrizzlybear said:
i usually shoot on location in tight spaces and the 50mm is only letting me take shots of faces. [/SIZE][/B]

That statement alone should make your decision an obvious one. If you can't get the photo you want because of the focal length, then image quality doesn't matter. You could always go with the 50 f1.8 and the 28 f1.8.

Just my 2 cents ( I never shot with that lens)

btw..... your post gave me a bit of a headache.

usayit · Aug 15, 2008

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-28mm-f-1.8-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

bellacat · Aug 15, 2008

usayit said:
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-28mm-f-1.8-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

great link

I am having the same issues and have considered getting the 28mm especially after my recent trouble with my piece of crap 50mm f/1.8

table1349 · Aug 15, 2008

imgrizzlybear said:
i have a dilemma. right now i have 50mm 1.4 usm lens. its a great lens and i cant ask for anything more, that is if i were to have a full frame camera. sadly though i have a 40d, which is cropped sensor. sooo the 50mm would be equal to about 80mm. thats just not making me happy because i usually shoot on location in tight spaces and the 50mm is only letting me take shots of faces. so i saw the 28mm 1.8 usm lens. but the thing is, it has wayyyy less review than that of the 50mm on bhphotovideo.com about 230 reviews less. so which one should i sacrifice for? anyone here have a 28mm?

You don't mention what kind of subject it is that you are shooting so I would give you this one thought in case it applies. The 50mm on the 40D is not equal to an 80mm. What you are getting is a crop that is equal to an 80mm. It seems like a small thing, however could be important. Focal lengths all have certain characteristics. A 50mm is considered a normal lens because it "sees" the closest to what the human eye sees and projects that vision.

When you start getting lenses that are wider than 50mm they tend to exagerate facial features. Above 50mm they tend to compress facial features just a bit. Much more pleasing. This does not change between full frame sensors and crop frame sensors. If you are shooting portraits, maybe not the thing to do, although I have seen some nice fisheye portraits in my lifetime. Just not my style. Just food for thought.

AverageJoe · Feb 24, 2009

imgrizzlybear I'm facing the same dilemma and was wondering if you went ahead with the 28mm? How do you like it?

JustAnEngineer · Feb 24, 2009

How about the wide-aperture Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM or the inexpensive EF 35mm f/2 for this application? How fast does it need to be? Would the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 Di-II do the trick?

AverageJoe · Feb 24, 2009

Call me a snob but I really hate putting anything but Canon glass on my camera, I've bought and used Tamron, Cosina and Tokina glass before and have only been happy with the Cosina. Aside from those reasons I'd like to get into the 20s at least for focal length.

JustAnEngineer · Feb 24, 2009

Is f/2.8 fast enough? The EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM is what I'm using in that range of focal lengths. It's twice the price of the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8, but someone's got to stimulate the economy, right?

AlexColeman · Feb 24, 2009

Or how about a great tele? They can be much more expensive, but much more useful in portraits. I have done them so far with my 70-200, an expensive lens, but a stellar one with bokeh and clarity. Granted you need a radio to contact the model or customer, but you can't beat the results.

AverageJoe · Feb 24, 2009

2.8 just won't cut it, I'd like to be shooting at 2.0 or 2.2. Telephoto would defeat the purpose. Thanks for the suggestions though.

JustAnEngineer · Feb 24, 2009

It sounds like you've already selected the one lens that fits your criteria.

AverageJoe · Feb 25, 2009

Yeah, I just wanted to get some feedback from the op (imgrizzlybear).

usayit · Feb 25, 2009

I agree with Gryph... as long as we don't know what type of photography much of what we say is speculation. He is right.. 28mm doesn't look like a 50ish on crop sensor. Pulling from what I like to shoot, the 28mm is a fairly popular focal length among people who enjoy street photography. If portraiture is what you enjoy, one the solution is more space (larger studio). Don't let us stop you from using a slightly wider lens for portraits though... there are no boundaries and you can make it work with wonderful results.

AverageJoe said:
Call me a snob but I really hate putting anything but Canon glass on my camera..

Ahahahah... nah.. you are slightly better than a snob.. :lol:

I know a few people with insist on the same. I get a little flak from some Leica shooters when they see me enjoying a Voigtlander/Cosina lens on a Leica body. Ah well... will never understand.

JustAnEngineer said:
Is f/2.8 fast enough? The EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM is what I'm using in that range of focal lengths. It's twice the price of the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8, but someone's got to stimulate the economy, right?

AlexColeman said:
Or how about a great tele? They can be much more expensive, but much more useful in portraits. I have done them so far with my 70-200, an expensive lens, but a stellar one with bokeh and clarity. Granted you need a radio to contact the model or customer, but you can't beat the results.

There is a lot more to the discussion than just fast aperture... there is are distinct differences between zooms and primes. I would bet the OP wants a prime lens.

The closest lens I have shot with is the 24mm f/1.4L. I definitely would recommend but it is noticably wider than the 28mm mentioned. Of course the other solution that many miss is to move away from the crop sensor and head towards the Canon 5D. Lots on sale on the used market ever sinse the 5D MII replaced it.