Sigma 30mm vs Zeiss 24mm

sean lancaster wrote:

I am not going to great lengths in that post; rather, I am suggesting the OP look at images taken using both lenses and decide for himself. I then go on to note that I love the Zeiss, but that I think other people probably love the Sigma. I was trying to be fair.

Here is the thread I started when I owned both lenses and was working through the one I was going to keep. About 1/2 way down that first page, you'll note that at that time I am looking for an excuse to sell my Zeiss 24 and keep the Sigma 30. That doesn't end up happening, but that was my hope that the Sigma 30 would perform well enough in comparison.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3207630

And, that was just a sampling of the images I took for comparison. When I shoot my son's science fair in his school auditorium, the noise required with the Sigma 30 at f/2.8 was considerably noticeable versus the lower ISO with the Zeiss 24 at f/1.8, for example. Sure, noise can be reduced, but it doesn't always happen without losing some detail, too. Page 2 actually demonstrates some of the noise that comes with the higher ISO of the Sigma and also some of the more pleasant bokeh of the Zeiss 24.

In the end, the Sigma just didn't live up to my expectations. So, instead of replacing the Zeiss 24 and saving some money, I ended up keeping it and learning much more about photography by shooting with the Zeiss 24 almost exclusively for weeks on end. I can look at my photography from 6 months ago and see noticeable improvements. Perhaps I would have improved the same with the Sigma 30, too.

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60 of my favorite shots from 2012