Sigma 30mm f/1.4 User Group

[shazie]

I think the softness is inevitable at f/1.4 and higher ISO of 800 and above. As I said earlier, from f/2.0 and smaller aperture, the images become sharper. At f/1.4, definitely need to take several shots of the same image as there is very little room for error due to the shallower Depth of Field.

I also checked out the resolution test for the Canon 35mm f1.4L against the Sigma

http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/336-canon-ef-35mm-f14-test-report--review?start=1

http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/298-sigma-af-30mm-f14-ex-hsm-dc-test-report--review?start=1


In terms of resolution, both Canon and Sigma are very similar at the centre but Sigma loses out in the corners. Hence, your shot would result in a softer image at f/1.4 if your baby shot was taken off-centre.

Guess that's the price we pay for a $700+ vs a $2000+ lens

Anyway, your baby is very cute!

 

[commonjunks]

@Daoyin, @shazie
Thank you both, yah i always thank GOD for giving my a cutie .
I will play with this lens, i already burn my bank after buying all stuff.

 

[shazie]

Is your "cutie" your baby or your lens :bsmilie:

 

[doyqw]

f2.2, 1/200, ISO800 (only resized and cropped, artificial bokeh)

Just a suggestion - you can use the "feather" option in PS to seamlessly merge the background and the outline of your subject. So there isn't an obvious cut-out line.

 

[commonjunks]

Is your "cutie" your baby or your lens :bsmilie:

of-course my precious son lah.
@doyqw, Thanks for your advise. I will try to find some tutorials.

 

[parris]

Just bought a 30mm f1.4 and a 50mm 1.4 together at Tin Cheung Hong Kong.
Paid 6000 HKD => divide by 5.5 which is around 1100 SGD.
The 30mm 1.4 by itself is 2850 HKG and the 50mm 1.4 is 3150
Comes with 1 year international warranty as well..
Just an info for anyone who wants to buy from Hong Kong

 

[rumpledoodles]

Just bought a 30mm f1.4 and a 50mm 1.4 together at Tin Cheung Hong Kong.
Paid 6000 HKD => divide by 5.5 which is around 1100 SGD.
The 30mm 1.4 by itself is 2850 HKG and the 50mm 1.4 is 3150
Comes with 1 year international warranty as well..
Just an info for anyone who wants to buy from Hong Kong

whoa that's a gd price! didn't know it came with intl warrenty! you got the one with HSM? for nikon / canon?

 

[skareb]

Hello fellow sigma 30mm users, impressed by the sharpness + IQ of this lense i finally bought a copy of this prime lense yesterday, however it seems that i have focusing issues when taking pictures, below is a picture comparison of the sigma 30mm f/1.4 vs my sony 18 - 70mm kit lense, with simillar aperture, shutter speed and iso settings. It appears that my sony kit lense produced a sharper picture ! the camera was placed firmly on my desk for both pictures.

30mm sigma

Sony 18 - 70mm kit lense

Could this issue be resolved by calibration ?

:cry:

 

[skareb]

anyone ?

 

[parris]

Yep... The warranty should be honored in sg as well. I got the one with hsm for canon mount. Been playing with them for 2 daya. Really impressed with result so far

 

[Rescend]

I love this wonderful lens. When I bought my 7D, the first lens to get attached to it is the 30mm F/1.4 =D Sorry if the pics aren't that nice hehe =D

Lemme show off my baby =X (500D w/ Kit Lens @ F/4.5, 1/10 ISO-3200)

Ok this is my real baby, my 7 year old son trying to be Naruto =x (7D @ F/2.5, 1/125 ISO 800)

My brother fiddling with his 500D. (7D @ F/1.4, 1/6400 ISO 100)

I love this lens, I will never let this lens go even when I get my Red Ring Lenses! Even if I move to FF, I'm giving this to my brother for use on his 500D =X

 

[blurboiboi]

anyone ?

since its still under warranty... sent it in with your body... no harm right?...
alternatively.. you could use a focusing chart to see if it is in focus....
its a useful lens since its F1.4.... but its true sharpness prob will kick in at F2.0 onwards....

 

[davidquah]

how fast is the AF when indoors/lowlight ?

 

[skareb]

since its still under warranty... sent it in with your body... no harm right?...
alternatively.. you could use a focusing chart to see if it is in focus....
its a useful lens since its F1.4.... but its true sharpness prob will kick in at F2.0 onwards....

yup understand that it is only centre sharp wide open? Anyway the pictures taken in my previous post was at f4.5, as you can see the picture of the watch was rather soft, wondering if it is a front / back focus problem ? I'll be sending it down tommorow. Was wondering if anyone had the same experience like me :dunno:

 

[skareb]

how fast is the AF when indoors/lowlight ?

Pretty darn fast i would say. Used it at japanese gardens last night while waiting for the meteor shower, here's a picture taken with practically zero light. handheld f/1.4, 1/3sec, iso1600.

 

[Rescend]

@Davidquah Like skareb said, pretty darn fast at low light. Unless you trying to shoot in a ALMOST no light scenario, then i think it won't focus either =P

Just to add a personal experience. When I was using my Nikon D90 with the same lens, I did not hear my friend's pleas to get it calibrated. Bad mistake, for 2-3 shoots, I had to deal with the front-focusing (this seems to be the common problem) and ended up with a lot of shots where the subject looks too OOF for comfort.

I already booked an appointment to get the Canon one I just bought calibrated although I don't think its very significant. (I use the Microadjustment +1 on the 7D, meaning its very slightly back-focused)

Just trust your eyes, if for any reason you feel something is wrong, just send it to Sigma for calibration with your body and I think it should solve most problems that current/future users might encounter.

This lens is really lovely. Two :thumbsup:

 

[skareb]

Just got my lense calibrated today at sigma SC, and boy am i impressed by its sharpness, heres my 1st attempt at panning at night @ f/1.6 ! :sweat:

 

[doyqw]

Ok this is my real baby, my 7 year old son trying to be Naruto =x (7D @ F/2.5, 1/125 ISO 800)

Lovely shot... This simply demonstrates the bokeh of the lens. The OOF highlights are absolutely pleasing to the eye...:thumbsup:

 

[davidquah]

anyone going HK to buy ? i wanna tompang 1 set

 

[chowie]

After looking at all the photos, I think I'm gonna order a sigma 30mm lens from tincheung at HKD$2993. Anyone want to share shipping? There is some savings in shipping if we choose EMS delivery (HKD$253, divded by 2 is $126.5). Total package works out to be HKD$3119.5, which is around SGD$558.

If you want to lonbang other stuff, that's possible as well.

I need the lens soon so i'm thinking of ordering by Tuesday. Anyway, let me know -

Ling
+65 9653 2926