Sigma 45mm

[justbananas]

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4 hours ago, Marac said:

What I meant was, it was a difficult light situation, the lens & CL handled it very well ... sorry for not being clear.

Oh oh, I understand now. 

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[coolwindsg]

This lens looks nice. I like 50mm lens. Currently I have only a 7artisans 55 f1.4.  Any comparison between this lens vs the 7artisans? Notice that sigma will launch a dc 56 f1.4 for l mount. I am looking forward to it next year as well. 

[Marac]

3 hours ago, coolwindsg said:

This lens looks nice. I like 50mm lens. Currently I have only a 7artisans 55 f1.4.  Any comparison between this lens vs the 7artisans? Notice that sigma will launch a dc 56 f1.4 for l mount. I am looking forward to it next year as well. 

Hi there, I cannot compare with the 7Artisans lens because I've never had one to try, however, I prefer the AF option and as a long time user of quality Sigma glass I am delighted with the render and IQ it produces. The 45mm has a permanent place in my camera bag now, it filled a void for a close portrait lens, and it's ability to focus close is a real bonus for me too. 

[LeicaS2]

Marac,

Thanks for your review. I posted my reaction on another thread regarding fast portrait lenses, with a sample.

The size of this 45mm is a throw back to 50mm of old, before AF made them all huge. The performance works for me.

I am glad Leica is working with Sigma on the L mount. I look forward to see what Sigma does with a long lens for the L.

 

[Smokinman]

Just got my copy and the first few shots look very promising.  I love the size, build quality and style.  I’m hoping this what we are going to start seeing on future offerings from Sigma.  Hopefully will have a few sample photos in the next few days.

[coolwindsg]

Impressed by Marac's sample photos, I bought this lens. Just tried it. I am quite happy the effect. Also notice one small problem with my CL: once I install the lens and swith on the camera, the camera's battery level immediately becomes very low. I think it may be because the CL firmware (I use the version 3.1) does not fit the lens yet. Or am I missing something? 

[Marac]

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17 hours ago, coolwindsg said:

Impressed by Marac's sample photos, I bought this lens. Just tried it. I am quite happy the effect. Also notice one small problem with my CL: once I install the lens and swith on the camera, the camera's battery level immediately becomes very low. I think it may be because the CL firmware (I use the version 3.1) does not fit the lens yet. Or am I missing something? 

Thank you, very kind of you to say that. I will hopefully have a few more when I get back from my small trip.

 

I noticed this issue also (in a way) When I attached the lens it said something about high energy drain, it wasn't instant drain though, just the message. I will be sure to ask Paul at Sigma UK if there is any info about this. Maybe, as you say, could be a FW issue as these lenses are very new to the market.

I sincerely hope you enjoy using it, I am loving it for portraits.

[Marac]

Try this...

Take the Sigma lens off the CL.

go to - menu-optical image stabilization - turn OFF

Mine was ON, seems to be a lot better with it OFF. Please note, the function is greyed out when the lens is attached.

 

Hope this helps

[Guest]

I like the size similarity with the 23mm, would be a nice 2 lens pairing. With the Sigma APSC 56mm 1.4 coming though I think I'll hold off, it will be more suited to portraits and likely come in at an even lower price.

[coolwindsg]

Marac, thanks for your help.

I tried the way you recommended and the problem still exists. The battery drains out after a few minutes’ use (before installing the lens, the battery is two squares full). I managed to take a few testing pictures and they are very nice. Maybe I will wait for Leica’s upgrade of firmware. 

[Marac]

28 minutes ago, coolwindsg said:

Marac, thanks for your help.

I tried the way you recommended and the problem still exists. The battery drains out after a few minutes’ use (before installing the lens, the battery is two squares full). I managed to take a few testing pictures and they are very nice. Maybe I will wait for Leica’s upgrade of firmware. 

I'd look into that because I have been outside for over an hour with the camera on, Taken 80 photos and my battery has only gone down 1 bar.

I sent an email to Paul asking their technical staff if this is an issue or even if they are aware of it.

[Marac]

3 hours ago, shawrob said:

I like the size similarity with the 23mm, would be a nice 2 lens pairing. With the Sigma APSC 56mm 1.4 coming though I think I'll hold off, it will be more suited to portraits and likely come in at an even lower price.

I very much doubt the 56 f1.4 Art will be cheaper, unless I misunderstood what you were saying?

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Marac said:

I very much doubt the 56 f1.4 Art will be cheaper, unless I misunderstood what you were saying?

The Sony mount version is around £359 in the UK, I imaging it would be similar in L mount

[Marac]

1 hour ago, shawrob said:

The Sony mount version is around £359 in the UK, I imaging it would be similar in L mount

Ah ok, this is not a FF lens, I thought you were referring to a new FF lens. Would be a great addition to the 45mm for portrait if they do decide to make one..

 

[Smokinman]

Here is a test image straight out the camera into LR (no adjustments) using the Sigma 45mm cropped 100% and shot at f8.  The lens is quite sharp even wide open and I don't have any unusual battery drain that others have reported on the CL with this lens.  Overall I'm quite happy and think it's a great buy.

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[burkey]

maracas - Thanks for posting these images and for your initial thoughts on the Sigma 45mm.  A quick but important question - how's the sharpness?

. . . David

[rfunnell]

I've got one to pick up tomorrow so will post a few examples as soon as I am able taken with the SL.

[coolwindsg]

@Marac

The problem of battery drain of my cl with sigma 45 mm is solved. But I am not sure if what I experimented is the real right solution.

I suspected the problem is with lens firmware(not FW itself). From the forum discussion I know that I have no way controlling the lens firmware. I read my cl FW installation instruction again and noticed that when update FW, I need to keep battery full. So I made an assumption: when the first time a new lens is installed, maybe I need to keep battery full so the FW can recognize and update the lens information.

So I recharged the battery to full and installed the new lens and switch on the camera. The camera and lens works and battery problem disappeared. 

But I can’t be very sure if this is coincidental or the real correct solution. I think Leica company maybe can make how both FW and lens FW work transparent to user and give enough details in the future.

I will be busy this weekend as I am so anxious to do some street photography with this lens. 

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[Marac]

3 hours ago, burkey said:

maracas - Thanks for posting these images and for your initial thoughts on the Sigma 45mm.  A quick but important question - how's the sharpness?

. . . David

Welcome David, Maracas, lol.

With regards to the sharpness, wide open, RAW, I would say is pretty good, apply a small amount in LR on the RAW file and it really pops without being too much.

2 hours ago, rfunnell said:

I've got one to pick up tomorrow so will post a few examples as soon as I am able taken with the SL.

Can't wait to see images taken on the SL with it.

[Marac]

A 100% crop wide open f2.8 shot in RAW no editing other than to chop it up and save to .jpg

 

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