gotta decide on a lens tonight because my trip to Kyoto is in two weeks and i still dont have a prime for my a6400. i was looking at the Sigma 16mm f1.4 since everyone says its the king of apsc but then i saw reviews saying the distortion is weird for street shots.
so i was thinking maybe the 30mm instead? my logic was to just get one lens to keep things light. budget is around $400. if i go 16mm am i gonna regret not having that tighter look for food photos and portraits? i just cant tell if the 30 is gonna be too cramped for narrow alleys...
Late to the party but I had a pretty frustrating experience with the 16mm on my last Japan trip. Everyone hypes it up as the king, but unfortunately, the distortion made the traditional architecture look totally warped. I also tried the 30mm but in those tiny Kyoto side streets? I felt trapped. It is just too tight when you cannot back up. I eventually swapped to the Sigma 23mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary and it is basically the perfect middle ground. It handles food shots and street scenes way better than the 16mm without making everything look stretched. Another option is the Sony E 35mm f/1.8 OSS which has stabilization, tho the purple fringing on my copy was a major letdown. Honestly, check out the side-by-side comparisons on the Dustin Abbott website... it really shows how much that 16mm warps the edges compared to the 23mm.
I am very satisfied with the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary Sony E. It works well for street photography and delivers clean images for food and portraits without problematic distortion.
Before you decide, are you planning to do more night photography or daytime shots? Ive been very happy sticking to the manufacturer brand for my own gear. It works well and is very reliable.
- Native glass usually offers the best autofocus performance.
- It fits your budget better than most high-end options.
- You wont have to worry about any weird compatibility issues. Just go with any Sony prime, you really cant go wrong.
