Trading lenses.

[rj russell]

<p>Hiya folks. I am ineed of a party setup on my xti. Light fast normal to be compact and usable for party/night life scenes. I have my eye on the 28 f1.8 and sigma 30 f1.4. I do lean towards the 28 for the smaller size. <br>

My questions are... which one is best? Where to buy in Canada (used)? I would really like to trade my 50 f1.4 and any ideas for trades or where to sell would be awesome. thanks in advance.<br>

Cheers.</p>

[mark_pierlot]

<p>Ryan, try posting on craigslist. I've successfully bought and sold several lenses using that free web-based classified service.</p>

<p>By far the best wide EF prime for use as a normal lens on a crop body is the 35/1.4 L, but it's neither compact nor inexpensive. But it focuses extremely accurately in low light, and delivers image quality that is second to none.</p>

<p>By the way, why are you selling/trading your 50/1.4? Is it because it doesn't give you normal perspective on your XTi? The reason I'm asking is that it's a very fine lens, although it doesn't focus as well as the 35/1.4 in low light.</p>

[rj russell]

<p>The 50 was mainly for portraits but since aquiring my 17-55 f2.8 it has been a paper weight and yes I am fixed on normal... my meta data leads me to believe that 28-30 is what I want. Thanks Mark. </p>

[markonestudios]

I've read mixed reviews on the 28 1.8 but almost always good reviews on the Sigma 30 1.4. If you can, why not try them out? Maybe hire both for a gig, in addition to what you have, and see which one stays on your camera longer :)

[tdigi]

<p>I have the 28 1.8. and the 50 1.4. Both are very good. Since you have the 17-55 2.8 do you really think you need a 28 prime? I would think 2.8 with IS would do the trick. Is it just the small size you like?</p>

[anders_carlsson]

<p>The 28/1.8 is a joy to use: solid, contrasty, creamy bokeh, USM. Yes, it can be soft in corners, but this hardly matters for your use. It's more problematic that it flares more than average. If you want a really small lens, however, the 35/2 is your best choice. Interestingly it has none of the 28/1.8's optical weeknesses. It's considerably cheaper too.</p>

[rj russell]

<p>Thanks for all of your input guys.<br>

Tommy, I don't really but I do want it for a nice compact low light normal setup for party and even random snapshot environments. I'm always nervous with my precious zoom and I must carry my 430ex with it as camera flash leaves shadow... therefore although I love my "big setup" the Xti paired with a 28-30 prime and no flash is a dreamy lil setup for me. Cheers.</p>