Camera Labs

There is one prime lens that I think about: The 30mm f1.4 from Sigma!
It is around 350EUR and delivers 3 stops more light than my 18-200mm VR zoom. At an (35mm film) equivalent of 45mm it should be quite versatile
BUT when considering the anti-shake of my VR-zoom which should let me hold the lens steady at the equivalent of 2^3=8 times longer shutter speed, the question comes to my mind whether an investment in the Sigma lens is really worth it (also being burnt by low quality from Sigma manufacturing)
Perhaps Cornelius could give some view on his 30mm/1.4-Sigma?!

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

I bought a nice old 50mm f1.7 prime which I have tested for some time now. I don't think you can get as sharp images with a super zoom as a prime, and f1.4 means really shallow depth of field which can be lots of fun.

Anyway, I'm thinking of invest in another prime at 28mm or 35mm, so I am also very interested in hearing something about this lens.

Hi Rune,

you have any picture stab in your camera?
Would be nice to see in your signature what gear you're currently using!

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Ok, updated my signature I have just bought a Minolta 28-135 f4-4.5 (~120€ used) which I really look forward to using this summer, so this will be added to the signature pretty soon. After using the 50mm for a while I concluded that I might sell it for a 28mm or 35mm or something in that range because of the crop factor. But those are a bit more expensive than the 50mm (~70€ used) so I guess I have to decide to either start saving or start practicing some more with the 50mm

_________________
Minolta primes: 2.8/20 2.8/24 1.7/50 2.8/135
Minolta zooms: 28-135 35-70 70-210(beercan) kit
Minolta cameras: Dynax 5D 7000
M42: Pentax Asahi S-M-C Takumar 1.4/50 and 2.8/105 Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2.4/35 Industar-61L/Z Kiron 2.8/105 Macro

So you have built in anti-shake and don't have to bother about the difference between lenses...

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

I guess I see your point. And when I use the 50mm i tend to stop it down a couple of steps most of the time to get a bit sharper images, which I guess makes the 18-200mm VR even more attractive?

_________________
Minolta primes: 2.8/20 2.8/24 1.7/50 2.8/135
Minolta zooms: 28-135 35-70 70-210(beercan) kit
Minolta cameras: Dynax 5D 7000
M42: Pentax Asahi S-M-C Takumar 1.4/50 and 2.8/105 Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2.4/35 Industar-61L/Z Kiron 2.8/105 Macro

Yeah - the Nikkor 18-200mm rulez!
But although I'm a Nikon fanboy, I have to admit that stopping that lens down a bit too improves IQ

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

The answer is quite simple - VR helps in stabilizing the camera but it cannot help in freezing the action.... That's where those few extra stops can make a difference. Plus, it autofocuses on the D40(x)! And yeah, the shallow DOF is a plus sometimes

I've seen some very nice pictures with the 30mm HSM on the net but I also read of a few problems...

Darrin

_________________
Nikon D40 | Nikkor 18-55 VR | Nikkor 55-200 VR | Voigtländer Ultron 40mm SL-II | Nikon Speedlight SB-400

Oh boy - problems with a Sigma prime?
Where did you read about them? Have some sources for pics?

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Hi Thomas,
Most of the problems I've read about are focus related (e.g. front focusing or unreliable focus). I'm talking about the Nikon mount Sigma 30mm ... I don't know the situation with the other mounts... I've been keeping an eye on user reports as I considered this prime for my D40 - I'm waiting now for new AFS primes from Nikon mostly because this lens is a bit large for the D40 ("fat" is the word...) and a bit pricey for my budget.

Take a look at http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1030&message=23285511 and http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1030&message=23678989 for some recent discussions about front focusing. Some pictures are here and here.
If you can search the Nikon SLR Lens forum at dpreview (I don't have an account there) you will find more discussions and pictures.

Darrin

_________________
Nikon D40 | Nikkor 18-55 VR | Nikkor 55-200 VR | Voigtländer Ultron 40mm SL-II | Nikon Speedlight SB-400

Thanks Derrin for pointing me to this information.
This is really dreadful: Some complaints look like destilling a moscito, but on the other side I'm burnt by my first sample of a Sigma 10-20mm.
It's just that I could not imagine that a company like Sigma cannot control the quality of a prime lens

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Just read Ken Rockwells review here http://www.kenrockwell.com/sigma/30mm-f14.htm
I may quote: "In practice this Sigma has more color fringing and is fuzzier in the corners than my Nikon 18-200mm zoom, oh well".

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

some pics posted at http://www.flickr.com/photos/one100plus/
in set called Sigma 30mm f1.4

big advantage is being able to combine the 1.4 with high ISO (all these taken with Canon 400D) to get pics when light bad or at night.

these have not been edited at all.

may not be the best pics but the lens/camera combination let me get them

cheers

Bernard

Any further input to answer bumbleaidz Q from you you guys and grrls?

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

I have a copy of this Sigma and have not noticed anything out of the ordinary, but I have not used it a great deal. On my next outing I will test said lens along with my el-cheapo Nikon 50-mm 1.8, which is the closest prime I have to the Sigma 30-mm 1.4.

It will be a test from a users point of view and I will try to shoot the same subject for each lens. The test will be done in daylight, low level lighting, and fading evening light. I will shoot wide open and 2 other f stops subject to what I am shooting on the day.

Hope I can make this interesting and get permission to post all the images in the same thread