sigma 35mm 1.4 IS vs non IS?

[iphonemaster93]

So I took this shot, shown below, with my 17-55 2.8 and later on, I tried doing it with the Sigma 35mm 1.4 and none of the shots came out to be this focused. Does anyone know if it's because there's no IS on the 35mm or is it because I just got unlucky with all of my photos? Is it possible to get this clean shot with the 35mm 1.4 or do I have to be on a smooth road to do this? I was trying it on 280N from Pacifica up to South SF trying to shoot a random drift car and all of them were too shaky. Thanks!

[ebiggs1]

Sharpness?  Between the 24-105 and your 17-55?  Surely you jest?  And the f2.8 is one stop form f4.  Just one stop!

[iphonemaster93]

idk LOL I like being a short distance away from the car. Usually at a car show, if I'm using anything other than the 17-55 (the 35mm for example), people always walk in front of me as I'm trying to get a shot. It definitely happens less with the 17-55 because I could be shooting at lower than 4.5/5.6 and still be rather close to the car while getting shallow DOF. I'm guessing I can't do that with the 24-105 because I'd have to be standing a good distance away to achieve that shallow DOF.

[ebiggs1]

You said "sharpness".  What you really mean is the OOF (out of focus) background. Right?  They are two totally different things.

You really need to learn and use AOV (angle of view).  The AOV of the 24-105 at 24mm is exactly the same as the AOV of your 17-55mm at 24mm.  You will lose the 17 to 23mm part of the lens.  That is correct.  But the 24 to 55mm  portion will render the exact same DOF at f4 or above.  If you truly are using f4 to f5.6, again the exact same results.  If you find yourself always in the f2.8 to f3.9, you would lose that also.

[iphonemaster93]

I don't use 2.8-3.9 but I do use 17-24 at times. And where would I get denatured alcohol from? A local cvs pharmacy? Home Depot?

[ebiggs1]

Either.

You need to decide if the 17 to 23 is worht it and if f2.8 to f3.9 is worth it.  Otherwise the ef 24-105mm f4L is the better lens, IMHO.

[iphonemaster93]

Honestly I'm not sure, I might stop by the local camera store and try it out. On the other hand, I tested out the 17-55 some more. It works perfectly fine in no flash mode but as soon as I put it into aperture priority or full manual mode, it acts up and gives me the error 1 code.