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First Results with Sigma 60mm f2.8

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PaulR

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My new Sigma 60mm f2.8 came today and I had time to shoot a few test shots with it and my Sony NEX-7. My initial impression is the lens is totally sharp from corner to corner at f2.8 and I am not able to observe any improvement in sharpness as the lens is stopped down.

For the past week or two I have been testing a bunch of old 50mm prime lenses on exactly the same scene including the Canon FD f1.4 SSC, Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm f1.4, Olympus OM Zuiko f1.8, and Nikon 50mm f1.8D. The Canon FD f1.4 SSC had been the sharpest of the 50mm primes that I had tested so far but the Sigma appears to be sharper at f2.8 than the Canon is even stopped down to f5.6.



Here is the Sigma 60mm at f2.8



Sigma 60mm f2.8
Sigma 60mm f2.8

And below is the Sigma at f5.6 which I imagine is theoretically its "optimum" aperture but I can't see any difference to f2.8 pixel peeping at 100%. This scene isn't optimal for testing the corners but I just didn't see any softness anywhere at f2.8. And I see no CA or coma in the trees against the sky at either f2.8 or f5.6.





Sigma 60mm at f5.6
Sigma 60mm at f5.6



Bokeh might be a little busy at f2.8 but it seemed generally comparable to the Canon FD 50mm at f2.8 but that lens doesn't have the best Bokeh of the normal lenses I have tried.



Sigma 60mm at f2.8
Sigma 60mm at f2.8



To me the Sigma 60mm looks like another winner. I don't have the Sony 50mm f1.8 to compare it to and I hope somebody soon will post side by side images comparing those two lenses. Obviously, we all wish Sigma would make f1.8 lenses with OSS for the NEX but having now tested the 19mm, 30mm, and 60mm what they do offer is pretty remarkable for the price.

Paul
 
As you say it looks like Sigma have another winner in the 60mm. This is the kind of performance that people admire in Primes. Bokeh may not be ideal but the 60mm represents very good value for money.

However I cannot see Sigma producing even longer FL's before the issue of IS becomes a real problem. Compact camera users do not generally like using tripods although enthusiasts will bite the bullet & use them if necessary so ILIS becomes an essential in a lens on a camera which does not have IBIS which to me is the obvious solution as it benefits all lenses including favourite legacy lenses.

--
Keith C
 
Last edited:
Looks like you've had more time to test yours than I have mine - glad you got positive results.

I don't think they will, but I'd like Sigma to make a fairly compact 23 or 24mm f2.8 lens of the same quality as the 30mm. That is more important to me than a longer focal length.
 
CLYoung said:
CLYoung wrote:

Edit...

I don't think they will, but I'd like Sigma to make a fairly compact 23 or 24mm f2.8 lens of the same quality as the 30mm. That is more important to me than a longer focal length.
Click to expand...
Don't be so sure , Sigma are primarily lens makers & it make sense to improve the 19mm by making it a little longer. 23-24mm sits quite nicely in the middle of an already popular range of short Primes.
 
I agree with you, a 23 or 24mm f2.8 lens would be my optimal walking around lens. I wonder if there is some sort of agreement between Sony and Sigma that stops them from doing that?

CLYoung said:
CLYoung wrote:

Looks like you've had more time to test yours than I have mine - glad you got positive results.

I don't think they will, but I'd like Sigma to make a fairly compact 23 or 24mm f2.8 lens of the same quality as the 30mm. That is more important to me than a longer focal length.
Click to expand...
 
Looking at the main usage for this lens (portrait) the bokeh is a let down.

But hey, it's cheaper than the 50/1.8
 
PaulR said:
PaulR wrote:

I agree with you, a 23 or 24mm f2.8 lens would be my optimal walking around lens. I wonder if there is some sort of agreement between Sony and Sigma that stops them from doing that?
PaulR said:
CLYoung wrote:

Looks like you've had more time to test yours than I have mine - glad you got positive results.

I don't think they will, but I'd like Sigma to make a fairly compact 23 or 24mm f2.8 lens of the same quality as the 30mm. That is more important to me than a longer focal length.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Is there really that much difference between 24mm and 30mm??
 
Yes, a 20% increase in your FOV. As the FOV decreases, small changes in the FOV make an increasingly larger difference.

Take for instance the Sigma 19mm f/2.8 vs the new CZ 12mm f/2.8. Although there is "only" a 7mm difference in FOV, you can cover 37% more area in a photograph. That's why as you start getting in to shorter and short FOV lenses, small differences matter.
 
Wow. Thoroughly impressed with the sharpness. Very nice indeed.
 
I haven't really spent a lot of time comparing the bokeh of different lenses but I wouldn't describe the Sigma 60mm a let down. As I said it is at least as good as the Canon FD 50mm SSC at f2.8 and I don't see any of the really disturbing onion ring bokeh etc. like the Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 zoom. I think the fact that the Sigma's bokeh isn't buttery smooth is largely because it is limited to f2.8.

I wish somebody would post some shots directly comparing it to the Sony 50mm f1.8 so we could get some idea of what, if any, tradeoff's there are between the two lenses.

Faketastic said:
Faketastic wrote:

Looking at the main usage for this lens (portrait) the bokeh is a let down.

But hey, it's cheaper than the 50/1.8
Click to expand...
 
Keit ll said:
Keit ll wrote:
Keit ll said:
CLYoung wrote:

Edit...

I don't think they will, but I'd like Sigma to make a fairly compact 23 or 24mm f2.8 lens of the same quality as the 30mm. That is more important to me than a longer focal length.
Click to expand...
Don't be so sure , Sigma are primarily lens makers & it make sense to improve the 19mm by making it a little longer. 23-24mm sits quite nicely in the middle of an already popular range of short Primes.
Click to expand...
 
davect01 said:
davect01 wrote:
davect01 said:
PaulR wrote:

I agree with you, a 23 or 24mm f2.8 lens would be my optimal walking around lens. I wonder if there is some sort of agreement between Sony and Sigma that stops them from doing that?
davect01 said:
CLYoung wrote:

Looks like you've had more time to test yours than I have mine - glad you got positive results.

I don't think they will, but I'd like Sigma to make a fairly compact 23 or 24mm f2.8 lens of the same quality as the 30mm. That is more important to me than a longer focal length.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Is there really that much difference between 24mm and 30mm??
Click to expand...
 
Hi!

I got mine last week, and it rattles loudy at the slightest movement when off the camera, and still makes some noise on camera. It seems to work OK, but the noise is driving me nuts.

Is yours like this also? I am strongly thinking of sending mine back, but am curious whether or not all the copies do this...

Thanks,

bob snow
 
Very impressive. The first pick at f/2.8 is very sharp. The background of the full size pic is very smooth when magnified. The detail of the screening between the wood is excellent.

I was going to wait for the 50mm Zeiss macro but maybe I just might go for the 60mm Sigma.

Thanks.
 
All of the Sigma lenses rattle when the power is turned off. It is normal and doesn't appear to have any effect on the longevity of the lens. I have had my 30mm since it first began shipping and have shot well over 10,000 frames with it and it is still as good today as it was when it first came.

I've never really noticed the noise but I don't shake my camera like a rattle either LOL.


Robert Snow said:
Robert Snow wrote:

Hi!

I got mine last week, and it rattles loudy at the slightest movement when off the camera, and still makes some noise on camera. It seems to work OK, but the noise is driving me nuts.

Is yours like this also? I am strongly thinking of sending mine back, but am curious whether or not all the copies do this...

Thanks,

bob snow
Click to expand...
 
Both the Sigma 19 and 30 models were very sharp from f2.8 and optimized by f3.5 so that is common for this line. I've achieved good results with both of them but will not get the 60 because I already have the E50 which has OSS. (As tested on a 5R, the E50 was equal or better than the Sigma 60 at f4 and closed down.)

I also have the Minolta Rokkor 50/1.4 PG which although sharp, is only single-coated and so not as practical for everyday use. (flare, fog performance, color, etc.) I prefer a newer Minolta lens.

My question is; has anyone experienced any binding of the focus ring with the Sigma 60, like with the 30?
 
Thanks for the answer guys. I guess I am too comfortable with Canon and Sony lenses.

I am strongly considering sending it back and getting a Sony 85mm for my a65 instead. Yeah, I know, it is cheaply made, but it gets raves for IQ.

bob snow
 
It would probably do just fine. I think I will like it on the a65 for portraits. I really prefer around 100mm equivalent, but the 85mm at 127mm will do just fine I think.

bob snow
 
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