Wide Angle Lens for wedding experiment

[Chris West]

Folks, need your help.
I have both of the following: Canon 1DMk2N (1.3x crop) + 30D (1.6 x crop).
I have shot a few weddings using my 24-70 f2.8L and 50mm f1.4.
Have 2 weddings coming up shortly and want to try something a bit different by going wider and using very shallow DOF.
So far, I have narrowed the search down to the Canon 24mm f1.4L and Sigma 30mm f1.4EX. However, the sigma is really designed for 1.6x crop DSLR's like the 30D and my first choice body is the 1DMk2N with the 30D as spare. (I find images are significantly better from the 1DMk2N)

30D + 30mm x 1.6 = 48mm equivalent - not really wide!
1DMk2 + 30mm x 1.3 = 39mm equivalent - a bit better but vignetting likely.
30D + 24mm x 1.6 = 38mm equivalent - no vignetting but inferior body.
1DMk2 + 24mm x 1.3 = 31mm equivalent - better but lens is £919!!

The Sigma gets good reviews and is excellent value for money at £270ish.
I did consider the Canon 16-35 f2.8L but f2.8 is not wide enough for what i want to do and is also expensive.

See my problem! Can anyone out there help me make my mind up?

Chris

[Stephen]

Have you considered the EFS 10-22mm for the 30D? I briefly owned one and they are a stunning lens. No good for the 1D though. the upside is they can be had on Ebay for around £400 which is a good saving on the 24mm you refer to.

[Tannin]

I largely agree with Stephen. In most respects, the 10-22 (and, I believe, several third-party equivalents as well) is so good that there really seems to be little point in buying a wide angle prime. Fantastic image quality, very low distortion, brilliant flare resistance, and very low CA as well. It's my favourite lens by quite a margin (and I also own the well-regarded 60mm EF-S macro and a pair of super-tele L-Series lenses - so favourite amongst that bunch speaks volumes, I think). Oh, and you get the instant framing flexibility of that silky-smooth zoom - just the thing for events like weddings where you may not get a second chance if you are too slow to swap lenses of zoom-by-foot.

There are two drawbacks, three maybe.

• EF-S only. You can't use it with your 1D, only the 30D. I honestly can't see this as a major problem: the 30D produces superb images at slightly higher resolution than the 1D. Speed isn't far off, only the improved focus system of the 1-Series body needs to be considered.
• Price. It's moderately expensive. (Though worth every penny.)
• The real sticking point: depth of field. At f/3.5 max, it isn't going to deliver the DOF you want. But if we are talking wide angle, then what is? Even if you had an f/1.4 prime, at the sort of focal length we are considering you are going to struggle to get a narrow DOF in any case - especially considering that the crop bodies have a larger effective DOF than a full-size 35mm unit.

Seems to me that the right answer might be one of the primes you mention, or something similar, and a 1.0 crop body like a 5D or the 1DS. ....... At this point you stop reading because I have just priced you up into the stratosphere.....

[Chris West]

Thanks for the input people.
I hadn't considered the 10-22.
The DOF would be a big issue for me because despite your suggestion Tannin that even on the 1D DOF would not be narrow enough, on my 50mm f1.4, it's excellent. Just not wide enough.
I used to have the 1DS but sold it some months ago. Boy do wish I still had it!

The 30D, based on my tests, is clearly no match for the 1D which would probably prevent me going for the 10-22.
I have only had the 30D for a short time and am begining to wonder if I should have stretched the wallet and gone for the 5D but then the Sigma just wouldn't have been an option and my choice would have been more limited to Canon, Canon or Canon (24mm f1.4)

Oh well, It's only money and we can't take it with us when we die - can we!

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Chris