Just got a Sigma 30mm f1.4

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efunc

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Got a fairly good deal on one without case or hood. Just tried it on my Canon 450D and I'm not particularly bowled over by it, but it's pretty good. I was hoping for something sharper, but maybe I need a 24L mkII instead. I'm just starting out so don't want to get ahead of myself though!

Quick question: does anyone have a hood for this I could buy? Alternatively there are plenty of generic hoods on ebay for a fiver or so. What are the pros and cons of a proper fitted sigma hood compared to the ones which would screw on to the filter thread of the lens instead? Are these more awkward to use?
 
I'm guessing it's not sharp wide open (at f1.4)?? If so this is pretty common for most lenses (especially fast primes), they will tend to have a sweet spot for sharpness usually 1 or 2 stops down (f1.8 / f2.0 for your lens), there are of course exceptions to that rule (usually at a price) but generally speaking expect a bit of softness wide open.
 
Yes, I accept that, it's actually pretty good. However I've compared images taken with my cheapo nifty fifty mk2 and find that @ f/1.8 the 50mm is slightly sharper than the 30mm at 1.8, even though the sigma is stopped down. I do love the 50mm but it's just not wide enough for intimate portraits and party shots and I was just looking for something of the same quality, but wider, like 24mm. Do I really have to spend £1000?!?!
 
Ive used the Sigma and I also wasnt overly impressed at F1.4 but as said above, this is to be expected. I found F2 and above much sharper and got some really sharp shots. Unfortunately it was a friends so was just messing about and deleted the images so cant post any examples
 
I wasn't too impressed at first, but after ditching it for a few months, we started from scratch, developed a serious bond and are now hardly ever parted. It's a cracking lens and if I end up going full frame as I hope to, I'll shed a tear when we finally part ways.
 
That's great to hear. Too many people have told me that this is a solid lens for me to dismiss it. My comparisons with my 50mm 1.8 reveals that my copy is not as sharp though, and I was hoping for a lens that actually matched or exceeded the IQ of my nifty fifty. I haven't downloaded these to my mac yet though so I'll do some proper pixel peeping at the weekend. Ultimately though I think I may need to try another couple of copies of this before I get a good one.
 
Remember that at f/1.4 the DoF is miniscule, a lot of people think the lens is soft, or back/front focussing when in fact they're just expecting a lot more than is possible....
 
"Remember that at f/1.4 the DoF is miniscule, a lot of people think the lens is soft, or back/front focussing when in fact they're just expecting a lot more than is possible...."

Yup. I've seen people focus and recompose or lean slightly forward or back and then blame the lens and you just can't do things like that at f1.4.

I have one of these and I love it, I have the 50mm f1.4 too and also have and can recommend the Sigma 20mm f1.8.

I'm waiting for the 85mm f1.4 now.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Remember that at f/1.4 the DoF is miniscule, a lot of people think the lens is soft, or back/front focussing when in fact they're just expecting a lot more than is possible....
Click to expand...

my comparisons have been at 1.8 to 2.8 and in all cases the EF 50mm 1.8 is a touch sharper.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Remember that at f/1.4 the DoF is miniscule, a lot of people think the lens is soft, or back/front focussing when in fact they're just expecting a lot more than is possible....
Click to expand...

Absolutely. You have to work the lens to get the best out of it, but by god when you do it's fabulous. Even at f1.4 :thumbs:
 
I dont know about the 30mm but ive read that the 50mm is designed to be sharp wide open and only improves slightly when stopped down.
 
The Sigma 50mm f1.4 is much sharper when stopped down a bit.
 
Hmm looks like what i read was rubbish then...
 
to reiterate once more, dof is not a factor. i'm discussing sharpness at the centre of the focus range and making direct comparison with my EF 50mm f1.8. I've tried it at everything from f1.4 - 2.8. The 50mm has been sharper.

Of course, sharpness is not the only factor when considering a lens, there are other qualities and it's easy to get fixated on technicalities, however I was quite surprised by my findings.
 
I suspect a focus error. This is all too common with sigma lenses. I nearly bought 50mm f1.4 off one chap until I saw his flickr. I had never seen such a bad front focus in my life although he claimed the lens was spot-on.

A quick way to check would be to lock the camera on tripod, focus with one selected AF point (usually centre). Take the shot wide open, and then use liveview with 10x magnification to search for a sharper focus. Take another shot. If liveview focused image is visually sharper, your lens and camera combination needs calibration. There is no need to go on about how lenses can be soft blah blah blah...
 
My 30mm 1.4 is REALLY sharp at 1.4. Even better stopped down, but 1.4 centre sharpness is nothing to be sniffed at! Only caveat is I had to dial +8 as it front focussed. Once dialed in, it was RAZOR sharp, even at 1.4 (centre only though...edge sharpness is nowhere near as good). I found AF performance superb, it almost magically predicted and nailed the point of focus at 1.4 90% of the time. This was with a D300s though.
 
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