Discussion
I really like mine. Small, light, not expensive, inconspicuous and sharp. You'll read that the buzzy focus motor is something that people complain about but it doesn't bother me - its not USM fast or quiet but it is accurate. Full frame users criticise the edge sharpness but its fine on APS-C.
As you say, you're not spoilt for choice. It's either this, the Sigma 30/1.4 or the Canon 28/1.8. The Sigma gets great reviews but also plagued by quality control issues with many reporting front or back focusing issues - a great lens if you're lucky to get a good one. The 28/1.8 gets so so reviews but people who own it and use it in the real world seem to really like them - twice the price on the 35/2 though.
As you say, you're not spoilt for choice. It's either this, the Sigma 30/1.4 or the Canon 28/1.8. The Sigma gets great reviews but also plagued by quality control issues with many reporting front or back focusing issues - a great lens if you're lucky to get a good one. The 28/1.8 gets so so reviews but people who own it and use it in the real world seem to really like them - twice the price on the 35/2 though.
As above really. It's a great lens for the money; small, light, fast and reasonably sharp. On the down side the AF is a bit noisy but is accurate enough.
I found I didn't use it much on my crop body though; just didn't really gel with the FOV (but it is close to a "std" length on crop if that's what you're after).
On full frame it's a whole different story - I love the combination of exaggerated perspective and decent background blur it can give with fairly close subjects. I've not noticed a falloff of brightness and sharpness at the edges; although I suspect this is more to do with my lack of observation rather than the issue not being present.
I have noticed that it's not razor sharp on full frame, but then I usually shoot wide open and top end sharpness from a lens of this price when wide open and when being resolved by a 22mp sensor would be a big ask.
A friend has the Sigma 30/1.4 on a crop body; I've used it a little and like the large aperture, although I've heard that the QC on the lenses can vary somewhat. Personally I'd rather stick with Canon lenses since the company has a nasty habit of evolving firmware / software so that 3rd party lenses won't work on newer bodies. Might be worth a punt if you can test the actual lens you'd be buying..
I found I didn't use it much on my crop body though; just didn't really gel with the FOV (but it is close to a "std" length on crop if that's what you're after).
On full frame it's a whole different story - I love the combination of exaggerated perspective and decent background blur it can give with fairly close subjects. I've not noticed a falloff of brightness and sharpness at the edges; although I suspect this is more to do with my lack of observation rather than the issue not being present.
I have noticed that it's not razor sharp on full frame, but then I usually shoot wide open and top end sharpness from a lens of this price when wide open and when being resolved by a 22mp sensor would be a big ask.
A friend has the Sigma 30/1.4 on a crop body; I've used it a little and like the large aperture, although I've heard that the QC on the lenses can vary somewhat. Personally I'd rather stick with Canon lenses since the company has a nasty habit of evolving firmware / software so that 3rd party lenses won't work on newer bodies. Might be worth a punt if you can test the actual lens you'd be buying..
I love mine. I use it on full frame bodies, and it's small, light, fast, and sharp. In the centre, wide open, it is comparably sharp to the f1.4 version (I have both), though it vignettes a lot and is very soft in the corners wide open. I don't really consider it a problem for most shots, as the chances are the corners will be out of focus anyway if you're shooting wide open. There is a new 35mm f2 USM that has just been released, but I suspect that will be much more expensive.
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