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sigma 35mm 1.4 IS vs non IS?

iphonemaster93
Rising Star

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!Subaru STi Rolling Shot

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

OK lets try to clear a few things up. The desired motion blur comes from the low shutter speed & a perfect pan. With both vehicles in motion the pan becomes more or less like shooting a still BUT as such the camera & photographer can't be in motion as in having road vibrations transfer to the photographer because he / she is leaning onto the side door or window.. Also lets be clear in that the Canon lenses with IS that go really wide DO NOT have a panning mode & for this kind of use IS may CREATE fuzzyness, but that's just a guess based on my own experiences with my 24-105 when shooting race cars with the IS on. IF you really want to do this kind of photography well you need to spend BIG money on a camera stabilizersuch as sold by Kenyon.

 

http://www.ken-lab.com/

 

These are used by pros to shoot air to air & car to car etc. NOW re the AF idea that multiple points is a better choice that is not correct. The camera can ONLY focus to one distance at the moment the photo is taken, not 2 or 3 different distances which seems to be what you are thinking. DOF gives you that extra area in focus, not multiple focus points. You need to decide on what you need in DOF & use an F stop small enough to get that much DOF from your shooting distance. There are DOF calculators on line or you can get an Ap for it to use when needed.

Correct settings and technique are the difference between getting a photo of a car that looks to be parked or one at speed. Both cars in these photos are going VERY fast but one looks to be stopped because the shutter speed was too high (intentionally).

 

IMG_0872 copy.jpg

 

INGR2831 copy(1).jpg

"A skill is developed through constant practice with a passion to improve, not bought."

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55 REPLIES 55

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

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

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.

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.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

iphonemaster93
Rising Star
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?

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.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

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.

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