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Archive 2016 · SIGMA 20mm 1.4 for FASHION/BEAUTY?

  
 
Sean Reagan
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · SIGMA 20mm 1.4 for FASHION/BEAUTY?


I'm looking to purchase a wide/super wide for my fashion/wedding/portraiture work. (as well as a tight portrait lens) I've been told that the 20 shouldn't be used for fashion because of the distortion, but... recently I met a Photographer in TN that said he has a friend out in CA that uses the 20mm for fashion & he does a killer job with it. Thoughts? If no to the Sigma 20mm what would you recommend? I have a Nikon D800. I've had a 35mm with Canon, but I'm looking for something more/different this go around.

Sean



May 03, 2016 at 07:27 PM
millsart
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · SIGMA 20mm 1.4 for FASHION/BEAUTY?


Well if someone in California, who knows a guy in Tennessee, is doing killer work with it what more proof do you need?

Buy it without question



May 06, 2016 at 02:01 PM
omarccx
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · SIGMA 20mm 1.4 for FASHION/BEAUTY?


If the 20 is too wide, you can give the Sigma 24mm ƒ1.4 a go. Both are superb lenses from the photos I've seen.


May 06, 2016 at 02:44 PM
Sam_W
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · SIGMA 20mm 1.4 for FASHION/BEAUTY?


millsart wrote:
Well if someone in California, who knows a guy in Tennessee, is doing killer work with it what more proof do you need?

Buy it without question


Oh! You know that guy, too! Me too!



May 06, 2016 at 07:07 PM
johnctharp
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · SIGMA 20mm 1.4 for FASHION/BEAUTY?


Not that the 20/1.4 Art isn't a stellar lens, but you don't lose much going with the 20/1.8G- and you gain quite a lot in terms of size, weight, ability to take filters, and a little bit in lower price.

And people are using both lenses for effect at events, within their limitations of course.



May 06, 2016 at 07:46 PM
millsart
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · SIGMA 20mm 1.4 for FASHION/BEAUTY?


johnctharp wrote:
Not that the 20/1.4 Art isn't a stellar lens, but you don't lose much going with the 20/1.8G- and you gain quite a lot in terms of size, weight, ability to take filters, and a little bit in lower price.

And people are using both lenses for effect at events, within their limitations of course.



But what states do these people live in ?



May 06, 2016 at 07:47 PM
rscheffler
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · SIGMA 20mm 1.4 for FASHION/BEAUTY?


I think it's possible, but you have to be very deliberate about how you compose images to disguise the typical UWA stretching/distortion that will easily happen.

I've owned the Leica 21/1.4 for a few years and use it for a variety of available light 'documentary' type work, including wedding candids and some individual and couples photos. I find it works best when I keep the subject centrally located and don't tilt the lens up or down much, if at all, particularly in urban environments where strongly converging lines are telltale of UWAs. If I keep thinks well lined up, then often the images don't feel like 21mm, which is something the guy for whom I second-shoot weddings mentions quite often. And he's very much anti-UWA, which in his opinion is often over-done for effect. But the image 'failure rate' with this focal length is higher than with something less wide - where an idea doesn't quite work out.

Portraiture could be a mixed bag. I wouldn't really use the lens for a headshot, unless I wanted to distort someone's face. But a bit farther back and it can work. For some people, the 'lengthening' effect of a carefully applied wide angle lens can be flattering.

A catch is that to really take advantage of the shallow depth of field of f/1.4 at this focal length, you will have to work relatively close to the subject, which is where all the distortion weirdness becomes a lot more noticeable.

My take on this lens/aperture combination is I value it more for low light work than for the shallow depth of field effect. But when you can pull off the latter, it's (or was) a fairly unique look because up until now, it was very uncommon to have such a wide angle of view with a shallow plane of focus. Now with the Nikon and Sigma options, it might become more commonplace. In other words, yes, I was happier when the cost of entry and niche system compatibility made the Leica 21/1.4 very unique...



May 08, 2016 at 09:28 AM
AmbientMike
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · SIGMA 20mm 1.4 for FASHION/BEAUTY?


35mm and 20mm are completely different. The 35mm isn't really a wide angle, the 20mm is an uwa. So you might be able to get close with a 35mm, but one time I was taking head shots with a 21mm, for fun, and you get distortion. Pretty entertaining, but probably not what you were going for. You might be able to get it to work, though, if you backed off a bit, or did full length stuff. I don't really do a lot of portraits, but I tend to avoid wide angles for them.


May 09, 2016 at 11:50 PM
AbramG
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · SIGMA 20mm 1.4 for FASHION/BEAUTY?


One must only look at the work of Jeanloup Sieff to see that fashion work can be done with a 20/21mm. He favored the 21 Super Angulon f/3.4 on his Leicas.


May 10, 2016 at 12:52 AM





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