Sigma Primes for Sony E-mount

Good point. They could be cheap, small primes that a lot of folks would be interested in. Useful focal lengths as well...

I guess they are just not for me because I'm interested in fast primes - particularly a 35mm f/1.4. I also like tho 24 f/1.4 (even purchased it) and the 50 f/1.8. They are compact enough for me..

GaryW said:

It's faster than the Sony 30mm. If it's reasonably sharp at 2.8, a lot of people would probably find it worthwhile. You don't have to think about having to use ISO 3200, just that it's one stop more than f2. I figure the Nex is 2 stops better at high ISO than my prior camera....

If you really want more bokeh, the 50/1.8 makes more sense. Probably better angle for portraits too.

I dunno, a 30/2.8 sounds good to me, if affordable and decent quality.

Now, where are the complaints about these not being pancake lenses? ;-)
--
Gary W.

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Docno said:

I can see DOF (and so, faster glass) being important on a longer lens such as a 50mm, 85mm, or 135mm. But when you're talking about much wider lenses, why is a shallow DOF so important. If you get in close enough to show a shallow DOF, you'll have massive distortion in your subject, no? And I would assume that wide lenses are intended for situations where shallow DOF is not a priority. No?

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Here's a few close-up from my Vivitar 28mm f2, probably at f2.8:







Ok, they're mushrooms and coffee cups, not people, so not so sensitive to distortion, lol, but still not obviously suffering from the wide focal length at around 8 inches from subject.

Alan

Dennis said:

And if you don't need speed, why do you need a prime ?

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In my case the reason is one word: size. I'm happy with a slower lens if it delivers good image quality wide open and have used some superb f/3.5 (and sometimes slower) lenses over the years.

For everyday use I'd rather have a tiny, sharp slow lens than a big, heavy fast lens that needs to be stopped down anyway to achieve the same result, and I certainly don't want a slow zoom that offers neither speed nor size.

Until now I have used only MF legacy lenses on the NEX, but if these Sigmas are decent performers and reasonably priced I may be tempted just for their AF ability.

PS: of course I own and use fast lenses when needed , but I don't regard them as a panacea for everyday use or a pre-requisite when considering new lens choices.

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John Bean [GMT]

Good news, it's great to see the E-mount range expanding

I hope they sell bucket loads (good financial incentive to produce a wider range of lenses in the future).

Personally, I'm interested in the 30mm. Something smaller than the kit lens at around 30mm at a good price and I'm in - I'll probably get more use out of that lens than I would the SEL50F18.

That would make a good compact walk-around lens for me until more pancake options are available.

And curiously, for Nikon CX but not for MFT or E-mount at the moment.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=sigma+ex+dn&N=0&InitialSearch=yes

...

nex-5n gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/flint-hill/sets/72157628112096830/

John Bean (UK) said:

In my case the reason is one word: size. I'm happy with a slower lens if it delivers good image quality wide open and have used some superb f/3.5 (and sometimes slower) lenses over the years.

For everyday use I'd rather have a tiny, sharp slow lens than a big, heavy fast lens that needs to be stopped down anyway to achieve the same result, and I certainly don't want a slow zoom that offers neither speed nor size.

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Agree completely. I find that too many fast lenses, especially smaller ones, end up needing to be stepped down a bit before they're really sharp. And even on my quality 35mm primes, I find myself using 2.8 instead of 1.8 much of the time anyway, even in low light. Even with a relatively short focal length, 1.8 still starts to have too shallow DOF for some situations.

If this lens (and that's a big if for the moment) is sharp across the frame at 2.8 without other issues, it could be very useful.

Fast is very relative, do you own any 70-200mm f2.8 lens. They are ALL considered fast and no one who shoots with them would say other wise. Or even a 300mm f2.8 Prime is fast and WAY expensive, why is a 30mm not fast? In the real world with a sensor like in the NEX-7, you really need high quality glass, that can handle the sensor resolution if it is a 2.8 or a 4.0, so what.

What do you shoot on a regular basis with a 30mm lens, where 2.8 would not work fine? Your not shooting sports, at a wedding they are not running so shutter speed won't be an issue, very shallow DOF, means you might get a lot of out of focus with out perfect technique and subjects that move very little in any.

Don't get me wrong, I love and use fast lens. I have 2.8 and faster and I use Carl Zeiss and Sony G and all that good stuff, but it is rare that I wish the LENS was faster, because I don't want the Glass to be heavier and larger, I personally don't want that trade off.

pendigital said:

1. 2.8 isn't a fast lens by any stretch of the imagination when talking about primes.

2. The focal length of the 30mm is appealing though. 45mm equivalant. Wider than the traditional 50mm equivalant which can often be too tight for general use and tigher than the 35mm equivalant which can often bee too wide for general use.

3. The only appeal to these will be to Nex users as they have such limited choices at the moment. m4/3 users I doubt will be interested because they have a slew of choices in primes that are actually of decent speed.
4. The only saving grace of these is if they will be very cheap.

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I really liked my Sigma 30mm 1.4 (Sold) on my Nikons and would pay $500 for one for my Sony Nex-5n with an Emount if it matched the quality it did on my DSLRs.

I've been really wanting to buy a NEX-5N but the lens selection is just too limited.

Would be interested in a Sigma 30mm F/1.4 for the NEX, a Tamron 17-50 F/2.8 VC, as well as a Tamron superzoom 18-270 F/3.5-6.3 VC also in NEX mount.

If Sigma announces even just a 30mm F/1.4 for the NEX-5N, I'm buying a NEX 5N in a flash.

Don

R Butler said:

Just to stop this getting drowned-out in today's stories:

Sigma announces 19mm and 30mm F2.8 lenses for E-mount

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/01/10/SigmaDigitalNeo

Richard - dpreview.com

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flbdig said:

What do you shoot on a regular basis with a 30mm lens, where 2.8 would not work fine? Your not shooting sports, at a wedding they are not running so shutter speed won't be an issue, very shallow DOF, means you might get a lot of out of focus with out perfect technique and subjects that move very little in any.

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I really like trying to get perfect photos with the most shallow DOF I can get. That's just my preference because of the artist value in the final product. E.g.,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brookepennington/5100104361/sizes/l/in/photostream/
or moving subject:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brookepennington/5841023699/sizes/l/in/photostream/

flbdig said:

Fast is very relative, do you own any 70-200mm f2.8 lens. They are ALL considered fast

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Well, yes, but doesn't saying that "fast is relative" suggest that because a 200/2.8 is fast, a 30/2.8 isn't necessarily fast ?

From 200mm up, I consider f/2.8 fast (really long and f/4 or f/5.6 is fast). At 135, f/2.8 is moderately fast, f/2 quite fast. Below 135, I consider f/2 fast (and in the midrange ... 35 to 85 maybe ... it's fast, but faster is common).

flbdig said:

why is a 30mm not fast?

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For precisely the reason you gave: fast is relative. A faster 30 is not unreasonable (a 300/2 is). And depth of field requires a big aperture, so while DOF is extremely shallow at 300/2.8, it's not particularly shallow at 30/2.8. Finally, the lenses are used differently. And those who want a fast wide/normal may be shooting in lower light than someone trying to shoot basketball at 1/1000s.

flbdig said:

In the real world with a sensor like in the NEX-7, you really need high quality glass, that can handle the sensor resolution if it is a 2.8 or a 4.0, so what.

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In the real world, if I want a NEX with an EVF, I don't have the option of a 12MP sensor; I get the 24MP sensor whether I want/need it or not. Why should I care whether the sensor can outresolve my lens ? (And I'm not shooting a NEX-7, but a 14MP NEX-5). If I'm at high ISO and modest shutter speed without the benefit of IS, there's a really good chance I'm capturing an image that won't even be tack sharp at 8x10. Does that mean it's not worth capturing ? Should Dorothea Lange have tossed "Migrant Mother" in the trash bin because it's not tack sharp ?

flbdig said:

What do you shoot on a regular basis with a 30mm lens, where 2.8 would not work fine?

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Low light events, candids.

flbdig said:

very shallow DOF, means you might get a lot of out of focus with out perfect technique and subjects that move very little in any.

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DOF isn't "very shallow" at 28/2 and I've been using mine fine for years, thank you.

flbdig said:

Don't get me wrong, I love and use fast lens. I have 2.8 and faster and I use Carl Zeiss and Sony G and all that good stuff, but it is rare that I wish the LENS was faster, because I don't want the Glass to be heavier and larger, I personally don't want that trade off.

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Again: the Samsung 30/2 is smaller, lighter, faster, closer focusing than the Sigma 30/2.8 and plenty sharp for only $299. Nobody's asking for a Noctilux here.

• Dennis

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