This is a fast F1.4 aperture standard lens for digital cameras. SLD (Special Low Dispersion and ELD (Extraordinary Low Dispersion) glass elements are used to obtain the best possible correction for magnification and chromatic aberrations, which are particular problems for digital cameras.
From 40cm (15.7”) minimum focusing distance to infinity, this lens creates very sharp images with high Contrast. The HSM models provide quiet, high-speed auto-focus shooting, as well as full-time manual focus override. Large maximum aperture of F1.4 can perform superbly in a great range of applications, including snapshots, portraiture, indoor shooting and landscape photography.
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Large Maximum Aperture of F1.4
This lens is perfectly suited for a wide range of subjects, portraits, indoor shootings etc. It is fast aperture makes this lens desirable for use with Digital SLR cameras. The shallow Depth of field produces an outstanding image, sharply outlined from the blurred background.
SLD and Aspherical lenses
Two SLD glass elements are especially effective in the compensation of magnification Chromatic aberration. A molded glass Aspherical lens at the rear lens group reduces colour Aberration and provides high-quality image results.
HSM Auto Focusing
The HSM design provides quiet high-speed auto-focus with full-time manual focus override.
Minimum Focusing Distance and Fast Aperture
The lens creates exceptionally sharp images of high contrast from its minimum focusing distance of 40cm to infinity. The large maximum aperture of F1.4 produces a versatile lens that performs superbly in a great range of applications including portraiture, indoor and studio work and landscape photography.
Great Value, Fantastic Results, Saturday, 01 November 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
i bought this lens last year before going to England. I kept it on my xti practically the entire time I was there, except for the architectural shots I took with my 10-22 wide canon lens. This prime lens provided very high quality shots with a beautiful bokeh. For the price, i have no right to give this lens less than a 5 star rating; and for sigma to produce a lens with a nice professional matte feel and size- this one is hard to beat. I'm still startled by the amazing clarity and sharpness in my images- it's better than real life to be honest.
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Sharp, but with lots of CA (wide open), Sunday, 05 October 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This lens is extremely sharp at f1.4, which is of course the whole point. The problem I have with this lens is the Chromatic Aberration at f1.4 is very strong. I was not able to remove it using Lightroom 2, by this I mean moving the sliders all the way to either direction. This mostly occurs during strong contrast situation, like for outdoor portraits in harsh sun. I did not want to have to put up with the CA from the lens and the slow focusing despite the HSM, so I sent the lens back.
The build quality was very good though.
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Outstanding lens - if you get a good copy, Friday, 19 September 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I've read a lot of good things and seen a lot of images taken by the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens, so I decided to get one from Amazon. First copy I got was no good. It was out of focus on both my Canon 20D and 350D. So I returned it immediately, and thanks to the good return policy of Amazon, it was no hassle to do so.
I ordered another one. It was fantastic. All I've read and seen about it was true. Now I could take low light pictures without dreading the noise at high ISO with fantastic bokeh to boot and without paying an arm and a leg for the Canon equivalent.
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Nice glass, Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
Lots of glass, which makes the lens a tad heavy. Depth of field is impressive. I haven't experienced the focusing problems that some other people have described. Overall, this is a great lens for relatively dark and/or indoor lighting. As expected with f/1.4, the bokeh is just gorgeous.
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Mis-focus, Friday, 05 September 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
1.3
Sharpness
1.0
Build Quality
2.0
AF Speed
1.0
Value for Money
1.0
I was 0 for 2 with the Sigma 30mm bought at Amazon. Got the first one, focus was terrible. I mean the only thing I could get in focus on my xti was a shot outside at f/8 and infinity. I tried to focus on my birdfeeder at 30 feet and was really blurry (with plenty of shutter speed). Inside was a little better but completely unacceptable compared to my 50mm f/1.8. Sent it back and got another from Amazon. A little better inside. The focus was not so horrible that I could actually tell that it was front focusing. Things that were in focus were very sharp (only a couple of shots of things I wasn't focusing on). Outside I still couldn't get a clear focus on the bird feeder. Oh well, Amazon was great though. No problems with the refund.
Got my Canon 28mm f/1.8 (at B&H) and all of the tests that I did with the Sigma showed that the focus was right on. Taking pictures of my baby girl was hit or miss just like my nifty fifty, but at least I can take sharp pictures of inanimate objects at close and far ranges. Unfortunately, that was not possible with the Sigma 30s that I had tried (on my Xti).
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Shockingly good, Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
Far exceeded all of my expectations. And my expectations are very high. I still can not believe the amount of detail and the contrast this lens delivers. I have 1.8 20mm Sigma lens, which I thought was pretty good, as long as I applied some sharpening in post-processing. But this thing blows it out of the water completely.
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Excellent Lens, , Sunday, 17 August 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This lens takes very clear images, its extremely fast and offers low-light image taking. I am using this lens exclusively right now because it offers so much flexibility between indoor and outdoor lighting.
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Sigma hits the sweet spot!, Saturday, 26 July 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
What a fantastic lens! I've always used sharpest lenses (17-55 f/2.8, 50 f/1.4 etc). This lens is not only super sharp, but it's like the best L-lenses: it gives superb micro-contrast, bokeh, color and realism.
I use it on my 40D with a Kenko Pro1 UV filter. My favorite apertures are f/2.8 to f/5.6. But, f/1.4-2 are not bad either if there is not sufficient light.
The Sigma AF is not as reliable as Canon ones. My 30mm doesn't front- or back-focus consistently, but AF can miss focus at times, especially if you use it at f/1.4.
My favorite zoom is 17-55 f/2.8. I wouldn't leave home only with 50mm, 85mm primes, but 30mm is much more versatile than those primes and I don't hesitate to use bring lens as my only lens to an event or a trip.
30mm is quite appropriate for portraits, but if you want the ultimate portrait lens, I would recommend Canon 50mm f/1.4 (or f/1.2L).
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Sharp lens, but inaccurate auto-focus, Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
2.3
Sharpness
2.0
Build Quality
2.0
AF Speed
2.0
Value for Money
3.0
I've had this lens for about a year and a half now. The lens itself is small and easy to carry in a camera bag. I can confirm that it's also very sharp. When it's manually focused it can be incredibly sharp, but unfortunately the auto-focus is inconsistent and will often front-focus (i.e. the red auto-focus dot will light up on an object, but the picture ends up focusing on something slightly closer than the object supposedly in focus). I've done testing on a tripod and compared it against manually focusing the lens and I confirmed the issue does exist. I've read, however, that Sigma has issues with consistency and quality control sometimes, so it's entirely possible I just got a bunk lens and that others will be fine. Note that Sigma reverse-engineers the auto-focus systems from Canon/Nikon/etc. because those manufacturers don't provide data sheets on how to interface with the camera, so Sigma's lenses *are* more prone to error than the "native" lenses, and I'm certainly not the only one to have this error.
More about the lens: at f/1.4 the contrast is a little weak and it's not as sharp as if you stop it down a little more (to say f/2.8), but it's still better than most Zoom lenses at any aperture. At f/2.8 or higher, everything is in perfect focus. This lens has the potential to be the perfect prime lens because it's the equivalent to a standard ~50mm lens after the multiplier of cropped sensor cameras like the 40D/30D/20D and XSi/XTi/XT, plus at f/1.4 it's great in low light. But with poor auto-focus, the lens becomes far less useful than it otherwise would be. Using manual focus it's perfect, though.
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Great bargain lens, Sunday, 22 June 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.3
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
One of the best lenses you can buy for your Canon crop camera.(20/30/40D or any of the Rebels)Many people report problems with this lens but like Jim Hunt said in another review, I believe most of the focusing errors are operator errors. Prime lenses and especially prime lenses in the "normal" range have very few moving parts and are far less likely to have mechanical issues. That said, I love this lens. I have moved on to a full frame camera so I can no longer use it. For the money the Sigma 30mm is one of the best lenses you can buy. One reason I believe so many people report having problems with this lens is the price brings it into the affordable range for the amateur photographer or student photographer. These are the photographers that are least likely to understand Depth of Field, and the least likely to do proper testing and evaluations. Therefore I believe there are some errors sure, but they are not the fault of the equipment.
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focus problem, Monday, 16 June 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
1.5
Sharpness
1.0
Build Quality
2.0
AF Speed
1.0
Value for Money
2.0
Read about the "front focus" problem, but took a chance anyway. Did an experiment comparing this lens with Nikon 50mm f/1.8. Sigma focused in front of the object while the Nikon was right on! Sent the lens back using Amazon's very friendly return policy.
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Sharp, Fast, Excellent Value!, Wednesday, 11 June 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This lens was purchased for my 40D. When I received this lens I was floored with the quality and the value from Sigma. Not only does the lens come with a storage case for the lens, it arrives with a very nice hood. These two features are something you pay extra for with a Canon lens.
The lens is extremely sharp at f/1.6+, f/1.4 has such a short depth of field that achieving sharpness can be somewhat difficult at times. I have found that f/4 and above achieves a uniform sharpness on the whole picture, but I shoot at f/1.4-f/1.6 primarily. This lens is an excellent low light/indoors lens, which is the reason I have it attached to my camera at all times.
The auto focus is near silent, extremely fast. The lens rarely has trouble focusing. The only time I have noticed a problem with focus is in very low light, but those problems account for at most 2-5% of my shots, nothing to worry about. The lens cannot focus closer than a foot, foot and a half, but that's to be expected.
This lens was purchased for my crop body camera, and is equivalent to ~50mm on a full frame sensor. I had looked at the 50mm f/1.4 Canon lens, but using it with a crop body means it turns out to be ~80mm, much too long of a lens for indoor shooting.
The only other option I had was a 28mm Canon. Am I happy I purchased this lens over the 28mm Canon? Yes! I recommend this lens to anyone with a crop body. If you are starting out with a DSLR, this should be your first lens. If you want to save money and get a lens comparable to the Canon equivalent, buy this lens.
BUY THIS LENS!
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Fantastic value! Perfect lens for "cropped sensor, Sunday, 08 June 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This 30mm lens translates to a 48mm on a modern Canon "cropped sensor" camera, so it's a perfect replacement for the 50mm on your old film camera. The light-gathering and sharpness of this lens are fantastic! You'll find yourself not needing a flash in most indoor shots, which is great!
The only problem I have with this lens is that you won't be able to use it on a full-frame camera, if you ever get one, as it's only made for the "cropped-sensor" cameras. However, for an f/1.4 lens, the price is great!
Now get one of the Canon 50mm lenses for portraits: Either the f/1.2L or the f/1.4 or the f/1.8 (the Nifty Fifty).
Then the 16-35L and the 70-200 f/4L and your collection should take care of just about any circumstance!
I'm a huge Canon L lens fan, but this is one of the lenses I make an exception for. It's one of my favorite lenses! A great introductory lens for someone who has never experienced anything below f/3.5. Plus, it looks beautiful on your camera (see the picture of the Rebel XT with the lens attached).
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I'm in love!, Wednesday, 21 May 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I struggled with deciding between this lens, the Canon 35, and the Canon 28 1.8. In the end I went to the Sigma and am LOVING it. This thing finds light, focus is spot on, wide open looks great to me, colors look gorgeous, comes with a hood... It's performance is beyond what I had expected.
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the "normal" lens for crop cameras, Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.3
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
After resisting buying this lens for a long time, I finally caved in after the canon 50mm f/1.8 or 1.4 was too limiting on my rebel XT. I haven't regretted the purchase. It is a tad soft at f/1.4, but not unbearable as long as you don't pixel peep (the 50mm f/1.4 was definitely sharper). My first copy was sharp with no front focusing issues. So I cannot attest to the quality issues of Sigma.
I use this lens exclusively in the 1.4-2.0 range as I have the excellent Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 for breathtaking shots f/2.8 and above. I only use the center focusing point on my Rebel XT and it hasn't given me any focus problems, though it is difficult to confirm the focusing using rebel xt's small viewfinder. With a thin DOF there is plenty of margin for errors, but I have managed to focus accurately most of the time. After an initial auto focus, I use the manual focus to check my focus.
The only thing ugly about the images it produces is the bokeh. It produces a wierd rounded triangular bokeh, as though one side of a circle was smashed in. Never seen anything like that before. But the quality of the images is otherwise very good and well saturated and I am willing to live with the bokeh. Others may not be so forgiving.
The build quality is nothing big to brag about. It has a black matte finish which seems delicate and susceptible easily to scratches or dust sticking to it. Otherwise, it feels solid and as heavy as canon L primes.
With the cost of this lens, and the Tamron 17-50mm lens, I have essentially committed myself to crop cameras. It has been my experience that, for the sub 500$ lenses, crop lenses often more useful, have much better color and sharpness than any full frame lens in the same price range with some notable exceptions like the canon 50mm f/1.4 & f/1.8.
