[GeneV]

Based on your criteria, I'd recommend the DA 40 without hesitation. It focuses extremely quickly in low light (It's my go-to on dance floors), has superior corner sharpness to the 30mm, and is way lighter and smaller.

My easy to carry kit for night outdoors is the DA40 + DA21. Large apertures are great for people, but for buildings an aperture larger than F/2.8 is overrated IMHO, as long as your lens performs well wide open. Years ago, I bought the Vogtländer Ultron to get F/2 on 40mm, but did not find as many opportunities to use it as I thought I would. I keep going back to the DA40.

[Bui]

Based on your criteria, I'd recommend the DA 40 without hesitation. It focuses extremely quickly in low light (It's my go-to on dance floors), has superior corner sharpness to the 30mm, and is way lighter and smaller.

Thanks, I can second those qualities of the DA 40. The things that make me stop for a second to consider is the wider focal length and 2 stops faster of the Sigma

---------- Post added 02-25-17 at 04:11 PM ----------

I have DA 40mm XS and I like it. But it is only f2.8, so it is not great for dark, night photos. Unless you are using tripod! If you use tripod or flash, then DA 40mm is good even in night shots. But if you plan to shoot handheld without flash, then you will need fast aperture. And there is a big difference between f1.4 and f2.8. Even 30mm lets you use slightly longer exposure before motion blur becomes apparent than 40mm.

AF might be an issue with Sigma, but AF in the dark with f2.8 lens is not going to be easy, either. If its really dark, you probably want to use MF and zone focusing anyway.

For this, I would think wider angle will come in handy. When I visited Spain, I mostly used Samyang 14mm and DA 35mm

It comes down to these:
a) how dark are we talking here?
b) handheld or tripod? flash?

That said, I don't own any Sigma lenses, so I cannot attest for their quality.

tl;dr: I like DA 40mm, but n this case the Sigma 30mm f1.4 might make more sense. Enjoy your trip!

I think dark is not too dark. For example streets, buildings with light (like this http://www.aliadventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Lisbon-at-night.jpg) and I use handheld only. The best I can do without images starting to blur is around 1/20. If I set f2.8, the camera usually reads ISO 1000-2000 under that kind of lighting. But of course there may be some situation where I need more speed. So maybe the Sigma then?

---------- Post added 02-25-17 at 04:12 PM ----------

Which Sigma 30 are we talking about? The 30 Art, or the older 30 EX? The 30 Art is so flare-resistant that it doesn't do streetlight "stars" worth a darn; the 40 Ltd might be a better choice there.

I only have the old Sigma, the EX DC one. Bought it for the main purpose of taking indoor photos of my daughter.

---------- Post added 02-25-17 at 04:16 PM ----------

For streets and buildings, it doesent matter of the focus is slow and the distance is far so too shallow DoF wont be a problem. For people you will probably stop down to f/2,8 or so anyway, and focus is easier. In case of emergency you might want to use the built in flash and a cheap flash mirror to bounce the light of a wall or ceiling. It may ruin the lighting so use this solution with care and not on all shots.


The corner sharpness of the Art is quite good already at f/1,4 and even the EX surpasses the DA40 in corner sharpness when stopped down to f/2,8. The EX should be focused with only one focus point because of the curved focus plane. If not, it will will be confused, hunt and miss a lot.

Personally I would go for any for the Sigma 30's in stead of DA40. I think the DA40 is more for show off for its size. I have both the Sigma 30 EX and the DA 40 SX and i use both. Actually I dont use the Sigma 30 EX anymore because I prefer my Sigma 18-35 f/1,8 over it. But its a heavy beast so I choose the DA 40 XS sometimes because of the size and weight.

At the moment I prefer the Sigma due to wider focal length and extra speed. But regarding sharpness my Sigma is weaker than the DA 40 especially at the corner, even stop down, so for street photos that need even sharpness, my previous photos showed the DA 40 is a better lens.

---------- Post added 02-25-17 at 04:17 PM ----------

A couple of years ago i did a night street parade for Loi Kratong Thai festival.
Most shot with the old Sigma EX DC 30mm.
The way it flares with electric lights, the very good center sharpness, and the field curvature that gets the attention to the subject, plus the chance to separate the planes if shot wide open.... all that is perfect for night photos.
The Art might be "better", but the EX DC is a very, very interesting lens.

cheers

Paolo

Yesterday I almost decided on the DA 40, today I'm leaning more and more toward the Sigma thanks to you, for example.

[pres589]

This is another one of those threads that has me thinking that a modern Pentax 28mm f2.0 lens that's halfway sharp at 2.0 would have crop guys excited to buy.

[Simen1]

This is another one of those threads that has me thinking that a modern Pentax 28mm f2.0 lens that's halfway sharp at 2.0 would have crop guys excited to buy.

I would be exited! Hopefully a 24mm f/2,0 or close to that. (Full frame have more room for cropping so I would want something slightly wider on a FF camera.)

[pres589]

24mm seems like a compromise and there's two lenses on the roadmap; a classic fast 28mm and then, eh, a decently corrected 18mm f3.2 or something like that for the full framers sounds nice. Something giving a FoV on full frame something a bit wider than the DA 15 offers on crop.

I'm sure someone is going to tell me this is wrong or otherwise dumb but it seems like the best path for everyone from my PoV.

[Na Horuk]

Well I think OP has things figured out by now lol

This is another one of those threads that has me thinking that a modern Pentax 28mm f2.0 lens that's halfway sharp at 2.0 would have crop guys excited to buy.

That is definitely true!

[Kevin B123]

This is another one of those threads that has me thinking that a modern Pentax 28mm f2.0 lens that's halfway sharp at 2.0 would have crop guys excited to buy.

Yep, I said as much in last years survey it would fly off the shelves for APS-C peeps. I held off buying the Sigma 30mm when it was at a really good sale price because I would want to use it outside and in daylight it's a PF beasty plus it's a bit big for a prime, handsome though.

[ChristianRock]

Yep, I said as much in last years survey it would fly off the shelves for APS-C peeps. I held off buying the Sigma 30mm when it was at a really good sale price because I would want to use it outside and in daylight it's a PF beasty plus it's a bit big for a prime, handsome though.

My 30 1.4 Art isn't a PF beast... it has some wide open in harsh light, but stop it down to f2 (which I would do in harsh light anyway) and it's resolved, and the bokeh is still so nice thanks to the rounded blades...

[Kevin B123]

My 30 1.4 Art isn't a PF beast... it has some wide open in harsh light, but stop it down to f2 (which I would do in harsh light anyway) and it's resolved, and the bokeh is still so nice thanks to the rounded blades...

Good to hear that. I saw some reviews showing a bit of an issue that jarred with my use case. Once the idea is embedded thought it's hard to shift. This review shows both some fringing and great night usage

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