AboutKent Staubus Expertise I am an experienced outdoor photographer that sometimes sells photo`s on a free lance basis. My knowledge base includes 35mm, medium format, landscapes, wildlife photo`s, and rural subjects such as country churches and farmers/ranchers/ hunters.
Question Hello Kent,
I've dabbled in photography for the past year and with my first summer off in 17 years, proclaimed myself the official photographer of my small town. I'm looking for a faster lens on a 4/3 mount and I've narrowed it down to a Sigma 1/4 and a Zuiko 2.8.
My question is is it really worth it pay the extra $300 for an F stop and a half, or can the advantages of a fast lens, Shallow depth, sharpness, etc, be sufficiently realized with a 2.8?
Answer It sort of depends. A faster lens is not sharper, and the shallow DOF is often not that big of a deal. However, where a faster lens comes into its own is in low light, such as at night or indoors. I take a LOT of photos at night. Last night I was photo'ing a small town softball game being played under the lights. I used a Sigma 30mm f1.4 lens. My "main" lenses are Nikon zooms and all f2.8. I often do use the speed for night shots. However, I also have a smaller camera & another set of lenses that are f5.6 which I use for family outings. I mostly use these for daytime photos and appreciate their compact size and light weight. Virtually all pro photographers will carry and use fast lenses. This is because of the flexibility they offer more than anything. The biggest advantage is you can shoot at f2.8 or even f1.4 and get much faster shutter speeds. The faster the shutter speed, the sharper the photo. For example, let's take your stop & a half difference. Let's say with one lens you are only able to get 1/15 second shutter speed, but a stop & half faster would give you about 1/50 second. That is a big difference, especially if the subject is moving or you are trying to get away without a tripod. My thinking is you probably will want at least one lens that's as fast as f2.8, and f1.8 or f1.4 would be even better. You'd have a chance at photo's of indoor sports games and night shots with something like that.
