just got a 14 mm prime....but should I have gotten a zoom?

thenimirra

I just bought a Sigma 14 mm prime tonight and I'm trying it out. Is it normal to have so much vignetting?

It's very sharp at 2.8 which is great for my low light club shots in tight spots...but should I have gone with the 10-22 zoom? What have been your experiences with these lenses if you have them?

Tommyboy

Vignetting you say? Can you post a picture or two for us to see? Vignetting is worse with less expensive lenses (one reason they are less expensive) and, in my experience, with after-market lenses. But I'm speaking very generally, of course. I would think a 14mm prime would be a nice lens and I'd love the 2.8.

I have a 10-22 and love it. No vignetting issues, but quite a bit of distortion apparent at 10mm, depending on how the camera is lined up to the subject. Not a flaw as much as characteristic of super-wide angle.

Let's see a photo or two.

thenimirra

Lord, I am an idiot! That black circle at the bottom of the images was just the reflection from the flash and shooting too close to my subject, which happened to be my laptop.

so far so good with this lens....I just don't know if I should have gotten the zoom or not. The pro photogs at The Denver Post where I work say their new editor took all of their 14 mm away when he came onboard because he said staff were overusing them...that they should be candy or only used sparingly....that the 24-70 mm should be their daily use lense.

do you think I would be losing much if I got the f 3.5 at the 10-22 mm verses the 2.8 at the 14 mm prime I've got now?

Tommyboy

Wow! That must have seemed like BAD vignetting! Happy ending, and you're not an idiot.

The 10-22 has a variable aperture: It's 3.5 - 4.5. Yes, that would make a difference in a variety of settings. Your lens will certainly be brighter to look through and enable you to shoot hand-held in lower light. Theoretically, a prime lens may be sharper than a zoom, but again, that's controlled by any number of other factors.

Rent or borrow a 10-22 and see what you think. A 14mm lens seems like a good, practical focal length for a wide-angle lens. It's a bit wider than a 24mm equivalent, some sources claim that it's a 21mm equivalent. Not sure about that.

If it were me, I would consider whether or not I was feeling crowded by the 14mm, that is, if I often felt that I needed wider. I would also consider how happy I was with the IQ. I googled the lens and found some generally positive reviews.

claudermilk

You could also look at the Tokina 12-24, which stays at f4 throughout. However, I think both zooms are too slow for that kind of low light environment, and they will have the lens shadow problem as well (Tokina's manual specifically warns about this). You might already have the right lens, just might need to look at getting a flash bracket to rid the shot of the lens shadow.