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.
@Reply #3 - good point! Honestly, native glass usually wins on reliability every time. I learned that the hard way a few years back during a shoot in Osaka. I had this super fast third-party lens that looked amazing in reviews, but the autofocus kept hunting whenever the sun started going down. I missed a bunch of street shots because the motor just couldnt keep up with the eye-tracking on my camera. I ended up trading it in for a native prime as soon as I got back. The specs might look similar on paper, but the way the lens communicates with the body is just different. You get better support for the proprietary AF algorithms and zero issues with lens not recognized errors or weird firmware glitches. For a once-in-a-lifetime trip like Kyoto, knowing the gear is actually gonna work when you press the button is worth a lot. Its kinda about peace of mind more than just the focal length tbh. I would definitely lean towards the official manufacturer glass just to keep the hit rate high.
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.
Re: "I am very satisfied with the Sigma 30mm..." - honestly i wish i could be that decisive! i have been dealing with the exact same dilemma for my a6400 for like a month now and its legit keeping me up at night. i keep going back and forth between brands and just cant decide what fits better.
- are you planning to do mostly low light shooting in those alleys?
- how much do you actually care about the physical size of the lens? it is so annoying because i keep comparing the Tokina atx-m 23mm f1.4 Sony E against some of the wider stuff like the Viltrox 13mm f1.4 AF and i just stay stuck in limbo... i seriously have no idea which way to go either and keep hoping someone drops a perfect answer lol.
