Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
- Designed to fit Nikon digital SLR cameras
- 30 mm focal length
- 2 low-dispersion glass elements; glass mold aspherical lens element
- 45-degree angle of view
- 15.7-inch minimum focusing distance
Fully compatible with all Nikon Digital SLR cameras including the D40 and D40X, this large aperture 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM lens is designed to match the APS-C size image sensors of digital SLR cameras. Two SLD glass elements are especially effective in the compensation of magnification chromatic aberration. Glass mold aspherical lens at rear group of lens reduces color aberration and provides high-quality image results. From 40cm (15.7″) minimum focusing distance to infinity, this lens creates very sharp images with high contrast. The HSM models provide quiet high-speed auto-focus shooting, as well as full-time manual focus. Large Maximum Aperture of F1.4 can perform superbly in a great range of applications, including snapshots, portraiture, indoor shooting and landscape photography. Please Note: Vignetting will occur if the lens is used with digital cameras with image sensors larger than APS-C size or 35mm SLR cameras. Designed to match the APS-C size image sensors of Nikon digita
List Price: $ 489.00
Price: $ 489.00
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Useful addition to a lens collection,
I’ve had this lens for a couple of days and have shot in a variety of situations. The image is somewhat soft at f/1.4, but sharpens quickly as you stop it down — f/1.8 looks much sharper and f/2 is excellent.
From a purely practical standpoint, you can shoot in lower light w/o external lighting, and you can run higher shutter speeds in low light for better action-stopping when shooting people or animals. I was also amazed at the incredibly small depth of field I could attain — for example, I was able to narrow the focus down to a single stem of a plant and have every other part of the plant far out of focus. Not something I’ve been able to do with my Canon 17-85mm and 10-22mm zooms.
It’s a heavy lens but it balances well on a 20D. Autofocus seems nearly as fast as with my Canon lenses. My one complaint is that the focusing mechanism (in auto or manual) isn’t as smooth or quiet as with my Canons — it sounds a bit rough in auto, and makes a slight “barking seal” sound as you go from close to distant focus manually.
Nice of Sigma to include the lens hood and case, instead of charging exhorbitant amounts for the hood as Canon does.
Overall, this is a very useful addition to my zooms, and it will definitely allow me to get usable natural-light photos in situations where I couldn’t before.
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|Sweet Lens,
This is a sweet little lens that really has no middle ground. You either love it or hate it. Most of the haters really either expect too much from this lens such as focusing in no light or on objects with no contrast and marginal light. The other reason there are detractors come from focus issues.
This seems to be a user problem in my opinion. When you shoot at f 1.4, the area in focus can be pretty shallow. An example is at f1.4 and at a distance of 5 feet, the areas in focus is just .45 feet. If you have a DSLR with multiple focus points, you might find what you want in focus is not selected by the camera. This gives the impression of a focus issue with the lens which it is not.
If you move into close focusing such as 2 feet using f1.4, the focus area becomes less than ¾ of an inch. Even the slightest movement by you or the subject can blow the focus. Again, this is not a lens problem but a user issue.
However, don’t be discouraged by the above comments. This lens has so many possibilities from creative images to group portraits to low light photography. You just need to put in a little effort to learn the lens (and your DSLR). Also remember that stopped down to f4 at 10′ gives you 5.45 feet in focus.
The 30mm lens also is about as close to a 50mm lens on a 35mm film SLR as there is. A 50mm lens was considered the de facto standard for an SLR in the old days and many people never had anything else. This is a very versatile lens.
The lens itself has an excellent build quality and includes extras such as a lens hood and case. It is sharp and offers great contrast and compares well against such a well regarded lens as the Canon 35mm f1.4L which is about 3 times the price.
You will not be disappointed in this lens at all and I highly recommend it. It is one of my favorite everyday lenses for my Canon 20D. (My everyday kit includs the Canon 17-40mm f4L, 70-200mm f4L, and a Canon 580ex flash.)
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