Sigma 30mm f/2.8

[segedi]

Originally Posted by Ken Ford

Mine does not do this on my NEX-7.

Ken,
How's the corner performance on the 7?

[douglasf13]

The Sigma 30 corner performance is probably the best I've seen with any lens. It is sharp at f2.8.

[Smiert Spionam]

Yup, it's good. In that regard, it performs much more like the normal focal length lens that it is (roughly the diagonal of the sensor), rather than a cropped full frame wide. The corners are very good wide open, and improve further stopped down a little.

[segedi]

Well the 30 and 19 are in the kit for this weekend's trip. Hope to post some photos after that.

[jsrockit]

So, who can compare the 30mm sigma to other cameras (Fujis, Olympus OMD, etc) with regard to AF speed?

[pacco]

I really like the tiny lens. Okay, it's not perfect... Because of the special internal lens design, the camera takes longer to be ready - not only when you turn the camera on, but also if you switch back from preview to capture mode. However, I think 30mm is the most useful focal length in the NEX system so far (apart from the Zeiss lens). The Sigma could be of course faster than f2.8, but that's still acceptable.

Some recent snapshots from the lens mounted to the NEX-3:

[Canyongazer]

Evocative images...well seen.

[kai.zorki]

The sony 35 1.8 is coming and will propably be priced the same or lower than the sigma.
It will have oss and a faster aperture, so will you switch to the sony one or do you think the sony will be worse even stopped down to 2.8?
I know, it is not out and tested, but i'm just curious.

[Ken Ford]

I'll see how it looks - it may be worth picking up.

[jsrockit]

How's the AF on the 30mm compared to the kit zoom? Is it slower, faster, the same? Just wondering in case the 30mm sony isn't actual available for awhile.

[Kent]

Originally Posted by kai.zorki

The sony 35 1.8 is coming and will propably be priced the same or lower than the sigma.

Honestly? I doubt that!

[Smiert Spionam]

Originally Posted by jsrockit

How's the AF on the 30mm compared to the kit zoom? Is it slower, faster, the same? Just wondering in case the 30mm sony isn't actual available for awhile.

AF is pretty crisp when you're shooting -- seems plenty quick. The Sigma does have a weird quirk, though: it seems to disengage the optical unit when you turn the camera off (and maybe when in standby -- I don't recall). As a result, it takes it an extra second or so to "wake up" and re-engage the lens. I haven't found it to be a problem, but it's different from any other AF NEX lens I've used. It may make the Sigma an unsatisfactory choice for someone who likes to immediately shoot from the hip -- though in that case, a manual focus lens preset to hyperfocal distance or a preferred focus range is likely to be a better choice, anyway.

[jsrockit]

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.

[Ronald_H]

On my NEX-3 it performs well. It is true that it doesn't push any boundaries with regard to build quality, AF speed or max. aperture, it is a cheap lens after all. BUT, optical performance is excellent, indeed also at f2.8.

[awaw]

I couldn´t believe my eyes when I saw the results from those lenses, taken with my NEX7 and updated firmware 1.1. The sharpness is very impressive, even at full opening. I can´t see any new lenses giving so much bang for the buck. Greetings!

[Ken Ford]

I'm still very happy with my "Sigmarit", enough so that I just sprung for a clearance priced Sigma 19/2.8.

The 30 usually lives on my NEX-7: