I currently have a Contax/Zeiss system, and as there is no reasonably priced available fast wide (the $1000 35/1.4 and the now-discontinued $1000 28/2 are both crazy) I have been looking at the Sigma 28/1.8 II.

1. Does anyone have one of these? I am used to standard prime quality -- not necessarily in Zeiss (the 35/2.8 is really quite good!), but in any major manufacturer. A Canon FD 35/2 or Nikon 35/2 calibre has plenty of performance for me. I don't usually enlarge 35mm past 6x9"; I'm not too fussy about edge sharpness and edge illumination. I need to know if the centre of the frame is very sharp wide open, or deathly unsharp, like the Sigma 70-210 UC II?

2. Does anyone know if Sigma still makes them in Contax/Yashica mount? B&H, CWO, Adorama, and Calumet all have not seen one. Where can I get one at a reasonable price where I won't get ripped off?

Thanks!

-jon

-- j. law (jrl@blast.princeton.edu), January 16, 1999

Answers

Let me rephrase.

Does anyone know _where you can buy one still, at a reasonable price, without getting ripped off, whether or not Sigma actually is still producing them?_

-jon

-- j. law (jrl@blast.princeton.edu), January 16, 1999.

The only people who KNOW if Sigma is still producing them is SIGMA. Therefore it would seem logical (you are at Princeton right?) to CALL SIGMA wouldn't it? If you can't afford the dime, you could try email.

It's amazing that people prefer the guesses of a bunch of amateurs to the facts obtainable from the manufacturers on questions like this.

-- John (jbholder@trplet.net), January 17, 1999.

Hi, I don`t have any experience with the Sigma28mm, however, if you have the Zeiss35mm already, the next logical step should be 25mmf2.8. I don`t think the one stop difference will really make a difference in wide angle. If you experience difficulty in wide angle end already, how can you survive in the tele end with Zeiss?

-- Eric Ung (ung@chevalier.net), January 17, 1999.

Eric:

Oh... I was looking for a fast wide -- the Zeiss 35/1.4 is about $1000, and the Sigma 28/1.8 is $164. The Zeiss 25/2.8 is $769, and it's said to be of somewhat lower quality than the others.

The 35 that I have is a 35/2.8, and I really want an extra stop or stop and a half -- for low-light, you reach for every single stop you can get. Even one stop is the difference between a 1/15th or a 1/30th shutter speed (not-handholdable, or yes-handholdable), or between using ISO 400 or ISO 800 film.

I've got the Zeiss 200/3.5 (for $300) and it seems to fill my needs pretty well. It even seems a bit long -- I don't really need a long tele, after all. For the price of the 300/2.8, you could buy a Canon EOS-1n, 600/4, and 300/4 (or if you look around, a 300/2.8.), so Zeiss teles are kind of stupid. *grin*

It turns out that B&H actually had one last one in stock (and haven't gotten any more in the last ... 3 months or so) so I ordered that one. If you're curious I'll give you an update on how well it performs.

-jon

-- j. law (jrl@blast.princeton.edu), January 17, 1999.