Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC A-mount lens review by frodeni
 frodeni#6929 date: Feb-18-2010 | |
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| sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | -Minolta 50mm f1.7 -Minolta 24-85mm -Minolta 28mm f2.8 -Minolta 28-85mm -Minolta 28-105mm -Minolta 35-200mm -Minolta 28-80mm |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | -Expression -Auto Focus speed and accuracy -Sharp -Great contrast -no purple fringes |
| negative: | -Some distortion -Strong backlight can cause problems, usually not. -uncircular aperture -rear element may protrude, and can be scratched if put mount down on the ground. -poor magnification -Even at f1.4 DOF is too wide |
| comment: | I use this lens on a daily basis to shoot portraits of my family and friends. I find the biggest advantage of this lens to be the expression. Both the 50mm and 28mm Minolta has a more grainy look and more unnatural foreground and background rendering. (I tried two 28mm lenses and three 50mm lenses) The Sigma is simply by far more natural looking and is completely devoid of the grainy feel. A huge surprise was to me the speed and accuracy my A300 and this Sigma 30mm offers when it comes to auto focus. I find myself only longing for more senors, as I trust all the ones I got. I can even focus in seriously dim light with the center sensor, and hit focus. (iso3200, f1.4, 1/15s) As I have stated in the forums, I have sold all my zooms and only shoot with this lens. I even got rid of the 50mm f1.7. This Sigma simply killed all the fun with the zooms and the old primes, as they simply could not touch this Sigma. I do not need any USM using Bibble with this lens, still getting incredible detail. My only real complaint is the limited macro. I have taken a handful images with some mild issues with washed out colors under backlit conditions, and a lot with no such issues at all. |
; 12MPrating summary
- total reviews: 50
- sharpness: 4.61
- color: 4.68
- build: 4.52
- distortion: 4.56
- flare control: 4.52
- overall: 4.58