Hi guys

I am considering the Sigma 30mm 1.4 for both video and stills. Any users here? Just wondered what peoples experiences are for video (or stills). I realise at 1.4 it might be a touch soft and really shallow (hard to focus) but Im intersted in what its like at higher apertures like f8 since I dont want all the video to be super shallow.

cheers

A friend has one, and I've used it on a 7D on a few occasions. It's a great lens for the price, sharp from f2.0 up to f16 from what I've seen.

I like it a lot, it is my go to lens for low light work, check it out here.
Emerald City on Vimeo

Very snappy and bright. Are you using something like the Z-Finder for focus help?

Yes I use a Z finder.

Thanks guys, good to know.

Love the viedo Khoi.
Sadly I dont think my budget will stretch to a Z-finder

Do you think I will have focussing problems with the camera screen at 1.4?

You will have problem using the lcd alone focusing on the fly shooting event like me at F1.4, there are other cheaper loop you might want to look at like the lcdvf, or this one on ebay I just saw
Loupe Master 3" LCD Hood Canon 5D Mark II Nikon D300s en venta en eBay.es (finaliza el 11-feb-10 03:16:21 H.Esp) (http://cgi.ebay.es/Loupe-Master-3-LCD-Hood-Canon-5D-Mark-II-Nikon-D300s_W0QQitemZ300393271705QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDigital_Camera_Accessories?hash=item45f0d59199)
but neither one of them has diopter adjustment. BTW the Rebel T2i has a sharper lcd than my 7D, it is even easier to focus with it if you have the loop.

Thanks Khoi I'll check it out.

Out of interest - is the lack of IS on this lense an issue?

Cheers

Not if you have steady hand, also when you have a loop and press the loop on your eyes, it help steady it a lot, but most of my shoot I use a DVstick or a shoulder rig should help, but hand held alone I wouldn't use any lens above 30mm for crop camera without IS, unless you want that micro jittery look.

I definitely agree with your last sentence Khoi. I tried using my Canon 50mm 1.8 handheld and it was a disaster. Everything was jittery, the lens' focus ring was a joke, and lots of rolling shutter jello-cam. Sold the 50mm with my T1i, bought a 17-55 2.8 IS USM, and haven't looked back since. The T2i/17-55 is a great combo. I use a Hoodman/HoodEYE loupe.

As far as the Sigma, I just can't bring myself to go with a third party lens. It must be good though..Philip Bloom recommends it.

Khoi,

What do you think about the Canon 1.8 28mm? It seems to be the same price point as the Sigma 1.4 30mm -

Any remarks?

Nah it is 2/3 stop slower (big different if you doing low light work) and this lens has a lot of CA, and Sigma gives you 4 years warranthy isntead of 1 year, the Sigma is a better lens and better deal, the only reason you would go with the Canon is if you are planning to step up to full frame camera later on since the Sigma will not work on full frame camera.

That Canon 28mm F1.8 lens gets (generally) very poor reviews on photographic sites. Typical review below - and within it a link to their (good) review of the Sigma 30mm F1.4. The only thing that worries me about the Sigma is whether or not you would get a good copy as their Quality Control is reknown for being very poor. The Canon 24mm F1.4 L is superb - and consequently has a very high price - typically about the same price as a 7D body so it's probably overkill for a T2i/550D!

Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM Lens Review (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-28mm-f-1.8-USM-Lens-Review.aspx)

Every Sigma lens I've owned for photography and video have been great. I loved my 30mm 1.4 while I owned it. I moved to full-frame glass and still ended up with some Sigma lenses and have to say they are doing well.

I've had a sigma 30mm 1.4 for ages, it's the lens i use most, usually always on the camera.

Great lens with a good focal length on a APS-C, i'm happy to use it at 1.4 too.

I've not used it for HD recording (not decided whether to get a 550 or 7D) the manual focus range is about 90 degrees, whereas the Canon 50mm f1.4 has about 180 degrees of travel. Perhaps this would make a difference in deciding?

cheers
paul

And I love it!
I don't have the T2i yet, but the stills are amazing!
Great improvement over my 50mm f/1.8 for composition. I can't imagine why anyone would pick a 50mm over this lens on a crop-sensor camera.

I saw Khoi's video and had to have one.

:~)

Having both is best. Use the 30 for a normal view and the 50 for medium closeups. All you need is a wide lens (18mm or less) for establishing shots and you've got the basic range covered.

I agree about 50mm for medium closeups.
I also have a Sigma 12-24mm f/3.5-4.5, it's so wide I often (accidentally) shoot my toes.

Just to thank everyone again for their input into this thread.

Also to update that I have just ordered the Sigma 30 1.4 from Jessops. I decided to pay a bit extra due to the ease of return with Jessops etc in case of quality issues.

The only annoyance is that I have to wait 28 days for it to arrive!

Some great posts... I'm looking at the sigma 30mm myself for my 7D and I think based on the generally positive feedback and images, I can probably pick one up with confidence.

I bought the Sigma 30 and I love it. I have a video i'll post when i get home of a subject in nothing but candle light. Simply amazing. I would skip the 50mm and go for the canon 85 1.8 which i did. Then I also bought the 15 2.8 canon. It was an early christmas this year :)

Hey Guys



I just received a sigma 30mm 1.4 from Jessops. Very dissapointing since the lens is clearly a return! It has a returns sticker on it and is very obviously not new. It seems to front focus too and has a mark inside the rear of the lens. For video though it is fantastic - shame it doesnt have hard stops.

I am really not sure what to do. I want to return the lens but am not inclined to get another from jessops! I am wondering if I might be better saving some money and getting the Super Takumr 50 1.4 and maybe the 28?

I currently have the 18-55 IS kit lens which I am selling - was thinking of spending a little more to get the 18-135 for daylight shooting just because it looks like it has a nicer focus ring.

Any thoughts? Should I risk another sigma 30 1.4? Am I missing any good options on an APS-C body?

Cheers

Thanks for all the info. I'm thinking about getting that lens.
Another lens in this catagory seems to be the Nikon 35mm 1.8.
Has anyone used that one?

Thanks for all the info. I'm thinking about getting that lens.
Another lens in this catagory seems to be the Nikon 35mm 1.8.
Has anyone used that one?

That Nikon 35mm 1.8 is a "G" lens so it doesn't have a dedicated aperture ring on the lens itself and would be a no go on the T2i.

I just recently bought a used Nikkor O 35mm f2 for $125 that works quite wonderfully however.

Thanks for all the info, I went ahead and took the plunge.
There's a 10% off sale going on this week over at NeweggMall.com (http://www.neweggmall.com)
on all sigma products (free shipping too). Coupon is 47STPHOTO10
That's where I just bought mine.

Hi, I just picked this lens up today and I'm seriously considering returning it due to some pretty extreme corner softness. I took a picture of Melbourne from the banks of the yarra and objects towards the edges look out of focus. When I say towards the edges I mean about 25% on the left side of the frame, it doesn't seem as bad on there right hand side. Picture was taken at F4. Pretty bad barrel distortion is also evident on the left had side.

Seriously thinking getting the Canon 28mm instead because being FF I know these 2 things will be much less of an issue.

Ill post the image soon.

Also even in the centre I think my 50mm 1.8 is pretty close to pipping it for sharpness.

edit: picture here. http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/867/img0472w.jpg

Hi,

I was planning on the Sigma 30mm 1.4, seemed like a good option.
The problem I had with it is the fact that it's DC - meening that it will only fit APS-C cameras. I plan on one day upgrading to a full frame, and I don't know if it'll hold it's value and that I'll be able to sell it... plus - it's a pain...
Instead, I went for the Sigma 28mm 1.8 - and I have to say that I am VERY happy!
That 2/3 stop really doesn't make that big a difference in low light - especially with these lenses that tend to be very soft wide open.
The other good thing about it is the size and the focus ring. it's a big lense, has a good solid feel to it and the focus ring is big and has a great feel to it - it's a bit heavier to turn (but not too heavy), meaning you'll have an easier time locking focus.
The auto focus isn't amazing (for stills, I meen), but that's a known problem with these sigma lenses.
That's my two cents - get the 28mm. If you ever upgrade to a full frame, you'll have a good wide lens.

It's been my understanding the Sigma 30mm becomes a 48mm because of the 1.6 cropped sensor.

Seemed a tempting lens...bought it and returned it after two days. I´ll explain why

1- APS only
2- No manual aperture (1/3 stop increase not really good for video)
3- Not really sharp at 1.8 and below
4- Expensive considering it´s not a Canon or Zeiss.

I own a Zeiss 28mm 2.0 and can´t even compare with the Sigma. Not on the same league. Although there is a difference from 1.4 to 2.0 Zeiss is a truly excellent lenses compared with the Sigma.
Also the Nikon AI-S 35mm 1.4 still available on ebay with manual aperture and FF is a quarter of the price of the Sigma and still 10 times better in all aspects. I still gave a chance to the sigma to shoot on a bightime job but didn´t perform well...unfortunately.

Augusto, very useful information. Thanks for posting.

And I love it!
I don't have the T2i yet, but the stills are amazing!
Great improvement over my 50mm f/1.8 for composition. I can't imagine why anyone would pick a 50mm over this lens on a crop-sensor camera.

I saw Khoi's video and had to have one.

:~)

Personally I would get (if looking for a 30mm or aprox.) the Canon 24mm 1-4 II instead. It´s a little more expensive but can´t compare it. Also I like manual aperture lenses with de-clicked aperture. Bear in mind that if you keep the shutter at 50 (or other speed but locked) sometimes 1/3 of a stop (minimum change on non-manual aperture lenses) over or underexposes depending on the situation. This is just my opinion based on my personal experience. I´ve had many non-manual aperture lenses and only kept the ones I can´t replace for manual apertures because there aren´t any.. The canon 16-35mm, the 70-200mm IS II and the 50mm 1.2. To answer your question there are many shots with my 550 and 7D and even 1dMKIV shot with a 50mm like with every other lens and focal length. A 50mm quickly becomes a 35mm if you take some steps back...or a 85mm for that matter. I saw great movies shot with a 50mm( check Michael Paul on vimeo) ONLY like I´ve seen with 30,40, and 85...so this is just ways of working around your means. I love one zoom lens which I still have which is the FF Canon 28-135mm. It is a fantastic lens for the price and it is full frame.But again it´s up to each one´s workflow and style. James T.Kirk on vimeo has fantastic work done with Canon manual FD lenses...like a 28mm 50mm and not much more. Also Martti Ekstrad on vimeo too...Only FD lenses 28mm and 50mm...and both use GH1 which has a 1.9 crop factor not 1.6. It´s more a matter of working with what you got and create...and shoot shoot shoot...

Seemed a tempting lens...bought it and returned it after two days. I´ll explain why

1- APS only
2- No manual aperture (1/3 stop increase not really good for video)
3- Not really sharp at 1.8 and below
4- Expensive considering it´s not a Canon or Zeiss.

I own a Zeiss 28mm 2.0 and can´t even compare with the Sigma. Not on the same league. Although there is a difference from 1.4 to 2.0 Zeiss is a truly excellent lenses compared with the Sigma.
Also the Nikon AI-S 35mm 1.4 still available on ebay with manual aperture and FF is a quarter of the price of the Sigma and still 10 times better in all aspects. I still gave a chance to the sigma to shoot on a bightime job but didn´t perform well...unfortunately.

The original poster ask for which lens to use with his T2i, so
1. APS lens is fine for his camera unless he wants to buy a full frame camera later on like the 5DM2
2. All current EF and EFS Canon lens has no aperture control on the lens, aperture control is on the camera in increment of .2 like from F1.4, 1.6, 1.8, 2.0..., that is 1/4 not 1/3 what more do you want? it is faster to adjust on the fly when control of the aperture is on the body and you use your right thumb and adjust focus with the left hand, and you can see your f-stop # changing, when you use lens with aperture control on the lens, you have to do both on your left hand focus and aperture change and then you have to rely on the click to know where your f stop is at, if after shooting for awhile and you forget what f-stop you are at and want to change to something different you have to either look at the lens or open it all the way wide and rely on the click to go to a certain f-stop and to me this old way is slow and pia.
3. You must have a bad copy because mine is sharp wide open.

Hi Kohl:

Yes the post was which was the best lens for APS so it´s true but there are some things to remember.
1- Even if the lens is optimized for APS sensors doesn´t mean a full frame is not better in optical terms.As you know you will have on a full frame lens a sweet spot when using an APS that obviously you won´t have on a EFS lens. Also no soft corners when open wide. If it´s a 1.4 I think people would like to use that feature...
2- 1/4 stop when you want to change aperture while recording it still shows as a "jumpy" change of aperture and not progressive when you do it by hand and on a de-clicked or cinema lens. On scenes where you have to change aperture while filming you will have to do it manually and with de-clicked lenses not as you would have on a regular photo DSLR lens with 1/3 or 1/4 stop.
3- The price is excessive for an APS lens when you could have a similar and much better full frame one.
4- Mine was not a bad batch actually you can´t compare the Sigma to a Canon 24mm 1.4. If you don´t have one try one and compare it to the sigma and you will see what I mean.
5- I have nothing against people´s choices but still this is a source of info exchanging experiences and each one is entitled to it´s own opinion...You and I. I can´t however try to convince myself that I didn´t make a bad choice when I bought the Sigma instead of the Canon...so I actually tested and reconsidered and took it back and got the Canon. I don´t use only the 550D I use the 5D and the 1D and the 7D so the full frame fits all! There is a fantastic lens that I don´t buy exactly because it´s a APS and that is the Canon 17-55mm 2.8.
P.S.- Any Nikon 35mm 1.4 still available on ebay will perform better than the Sigma and for 5 times less... :-) and de-clicking it´s easy...and is full frame...

Here is a link of a low light work I did with the Sigma 30mm and that I consider sub standard according to my quality standards. Thank you for watching

http://www.vimeo.com/13938631

You still coming down on a fact that it is not a full frame lens, you are using a full frame camera and should have not even considered buying it in the first place, putting a aps lens on any full frame camera will have soft corner, true if you use full frame lens on crop camera you will get more sweet spot but even crop lens like the sigma on a crop camera will still have sweet spot for video because you are using 16X9 frame and not the full censor, you can't compare the sigma with the canon 24mm 1.4L lens that cost 5 times the price, if you are doing real low light work, btw can't see your video because it is private, your Zeiss 28mm 2.0 is a full stop slower than the Sigma so it means on the T2i instead of only have to use ISO800 you would have to use ISO 1600 with twice the noise, and less shalow dof at F2, and the reason we all go to DSLR is the shalow dof that we can't get with 1/3 video camera chips, low light and color quality, even if the Zeiss is sharper I would rather have less noise. You said the Canon 17-55 is a fantastic lens but you wouldn't buy because it is APS lens then why did you buy the Sigma 30mm 1.4 it is also a APS lens and then return it because you are not happy with it? what do you expect when putting a aps lens on full frame camera? If this post was in the 5D forum I would never suggest someone to buy the Sigma lens but for the T2i it is a great lens, some people don't want to mess with declicking apeture lens, still want auto focus for still, still want apeture reading in the viewfinder so if you don't care for those features doesn't mean that someone else don't use them, I'm not trying to convince you that you have a bad copy, it just that I have different opinion on this lens than you. Peace.

Hi Khoi:

Surely you have your reasons and I have mine and I just give my opinion because people ask :-)...If you read all the posts mine and from others you will see that there are complaints about soft or dark corners on the Sigma wide open. If you have a full frame lens on a APS camera you won´t have the same dark or soft corners as you have with the APS one. I am comparing with the 24mm Canon now...because it´s the one that has auto focus and electronic aperture not the Zeiss. You can watch the video it´s not private anymore. I give you the same advice. Test the 24mm 1.4 Canon and you will regret having bought the Sigma. :-) because I usually buy lenses for life...I intend to make plenty of money with them.
About the CROP thing the Canon uses the FULL sensor...what it does is that it skips lines so it displays full HD...that´s one of the reasons of the banding and skew effect. Canon USES the full sensor to capture image unlike other cameras like RED etc that use CROP sensor. These are the facts....
Have a nice weekend.

P.S. -The Sigma was tested on the 7D not a full frame camera.

Hi Khoi:
About the CROP thing the Canon uses the FULL sensor...what it does is that it skips lines so it displays full HD...that´s one of the reasons of the banding and skew effect. Canon USES the full sensor to capture image unlike other cameras like RED etc that use CROP sensor. These are the facts....


There is definitely a crop. The sensor is 1.5:1 (or 3:2) and the recorded HD material is 1.78:1 (or 16:9). The uper and lower side are croped so you are losing the worst part of any lenses, the extremes corners.

You only slight cropping to use the standard 16:9 format thus using the whole sensor to capture image. Not like using only 2 mp (1920x1080) from a 18 mp sensor. From top to bottom you don´t have a crop but a line skip. The only REAL crop is on the 640x480 mode.
Thank you

this has been a never ending discussion...

http://notesonvideo.blogspot.com/2010/01/canon-7d-what-resolution-is-video.html

According to that link, the still image is exactly the same aspect ratio as the video image, but that is not so, when you take a still, it is not 16X9, none of the still image taken with the T2i is 16X9, they are more like 3x2
Beside even if it doesn't crop, and if you see soft edge on still, it would be very hard to see it in moving video, unless your video is a long static shot which makes very boring video.

Khoi:
I think you missed the line skipping and resizing methods (binning and line skipping) used from full sensor to full HD...If they cropped from full 18mp to 2mp and not used the sensor in the widest area possible they would loose the DOF (smaller sensor) light sensitivity (smaller sensor) less light being sent to the sensor and so on...I posted the results of the Sigma 30mm and gave my opinion...now I will post on different subjects ok?

Take care

Just received the 30mm Sigma. The build quality is the best compare the other lens I own, I have a 90mm, 70-200mm, 17-50mm (all tammy) and 24mm nikkon. One thing I have to mention is that the lens mount and the camera mount is lock tighter than all the lens I own. The image quality is also better. The focus is quite but a little slow.

So far I have no complain beside it is a little costly compare to Canon 35mm F2 and slower focus. But considering it comes with a nice lens bag with padding and a really well made lens hood, I suppose that's where the extra $100 went.

I thought about buying a used oldies nikon, I have several old nikon lens but it's a hassle to buy a EF to Nikon mount and losing the AF function is kinda annoying for still image. I did a quick test with the old 24mm Nikkon F2 and the Sigma 30mm, the sigma produce a better image.

At the same time, compare this lens with the Zeiss 28mm 2.0 or 24mm 1-4 II or 17-55mm 2.8 is quit naive. No offense but these lens are significant more expensive. Indeed, if you have a open bottom budget, get the best lens. But if you have a budget like me (all of my lens are third party and some are used) and still want good image and video in low light and bokeh, the sigma 30mm won't disappoint you.