This is a very, very good lens.
I got this lens for my canon 600d, primarily after problems using the video function in low light. I'd been using the kit lens with disappointing results and had opted for the 50mm f1.8, which was very good but I found it too limiting for anything other than portrait and relatively close up work and had been after a wider angle option for a while.
I've written here
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R3AIKAU4RSIK9Y/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B004MPQXS2&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=
about the challenge of using the Canon 600D for video in less than-perfect-light and thought that next option would be a lens with a lot of glass. I've had this now about a month ago and although it's being discontinued, thought I'd write about the experience.
First things first; this lens is solidly built - quite weighty and feels like it should be taken seriously as a piece of kit. It comes with a lens hood which snaps on solidly and comfortably. The focusing ring and the AF/MF switch are crisp, and mounting it on the camera is smooth and solid.
Using it was, at first, disconcerting. This lens has had a reputation for being a little off in the focussing and, judging from other reviews and reports, there have undoubtedly been some issues, particularly with the early models.
To start with I thought I might well have one of the iffy ones. On point-and-shoot auto mode, the results were more than occasionally indifferent - scarily so, with the focus being out by as much as a couple of inches over ten feet or so. So much so that I toyed with the idea of returning it but then took the time to experiment with it for over an hour on different settings and began to work out what the problem was.
First thing was to check the focus range. I mounted the camera on a tripod and laid out a newspaper on the floor. Tilting to 45 degrees, I picked out individual letters between five and ten feet away and fired. Perfect focus every time. So the problem was not with the rangefinding at all. Once I was confident that under (admittedly basic) test conditions the lens was performing, that meant it had either to be my technique or settings.
In the end it turned out to be a bit of both. With a lens with such a wide aperture, the focussing has to be spot on. If you focus on an apple eight to ten feet away, the depth of field means that the stalk can be in focus when the front of the apple is not, so, if you're shooting hand-held, absolutely any movement of the camera relative to the subject will blur the shot. It's not like the kit lens, which is very forgiving, and it isn't image stabilised so it will tend to magnify this kind of error.
One of the things I did was, in manual mode, to change the autofocus settings; I opted for a single point of focus (the centre bracket), switched to AI servo and changed the lock control from the shutter button to the * button. This last was a slightly counter-intuitive move but it meant that I wasn't `hitting and hoping' with the shutter.
So; that sorted what about the stills picture quality? Simply breathtaking. I've used the odd quality lens over the years (the old Olympus 50mm f1.4 being one) but this was simply streets ahead. The colour is very faithful, distortion at the corners just about absent and the results are pin sharp. There is a depth and quality to the results I've had which just stands out a mile, and I'm absolutely delighted with it.
And on video, it's delivering exactly what I wanted; gathering in much more light and providing that cinematic depth-of-field look which you only get with a decent amount of glass, and wide enough to use for talking heads and taking in more of a scene. As with the 600D itself, it needs to be worked with until you understand both potential and its limitations but it certainly delivers.
Since I bought this lens, it has barely been off the camera. I've only used the 50mm for cine film transfer, and the kit lens for the 17mm wide angle option.
Superb.
| Package dimensions | 9.8 x 8.2 x 7.8 centimetres |
|---|---|
| Package Weight | 0.44 Kilograms |
| Item dimensions L x W x H | 5.9 x 7.7 x 7.7 centimetres |
| Item Weight | 430 Grams |
| Brand | Sigma |
| Camera Lens | 30 mm |
| Colour | Black |
| Has image stabilisation | No |
| Lens Fixed Focal Length | 30 Millimetres |
| Max Focal Length | 30 Millimetres |
| Min Focal Length | 30 Millimetres |
| Model year | 2007 |
| Plug profile | Canonbayonet |
| Part number | 300101 |
| Lens Design | Prime |
| Maximum Aperture Range | F1.4 |
| Focus type | Ultrasonic |
| Style | Canon Digital SLR Cameras |
| Photo Filter Thread Size | 62 Millimetres |

















