Sigma 16/30/56 for APS-C sensors

[oldwino]

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5 hours ago, gteague said:

i have the 56/1.4 and it functions perfectly on the cl and my s1. what happened to the 30? that sounds like a dealbreaker to me. /guy

Nothing. It works fine. And can be updated through the camera (CL). 

[gteague]

someone said the focus ring doesn't work in manual focus. that's what i was referring to. /guy

[Speeding]

The photo below is taken with CL/30mm Sigma @f1.4 at nearly the close focus limit.  Focus is quick, accurate and silent.  

I tested manual focus on the CL with FW4.0 and the Sigma 30 instantly engages magnified view + focus peaking just like Leica and Panasonic L-mount lenses.

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Edited September 8, 2020 by Speeding

[nicci78]

16, 30 & 56mm in L-mount have a mount gasket. But otherwise no weather sealing in the lens itself. What’s the point to seal the mount only ?

[helged]

1 hour ago, nicci78 said:

16, 30 & 56mm in L-mount have a mount gasket. But otherwise no weather sealing in the lens itself. What’s the point to seal the mount only ?

To reduced the chanses of moisture/dust entering the mount contacts/body? (speculation from my side).

A more 'formal' aspect could be that lens mount sealing is a part of the L-mount protocol; implying that all Leica/Panasonic/Sigma lenses need such a sealing, whereas it is up to the companies to decide on full sealing of the lens. 

[nicci78]

1 hour ago, helged said:

A more 'formal' aspect could be that lens mount sealing is a part of the L-mount protocol; implying that all Leica/Panasonic/Sigma lenses need such a sealing, whereas it is up to the companies to decide on full sealing of the lens. 

Obviously not. Because Leica own TL lenses lack such mount gasket. Shame on Leica, by the way. 

[nicci78]

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So I received the 56mm DC DN. It is all plastic fantastic. Or more precisely in thermal stable composite. Same elastic property than aluminium and better than polycarbonate, but in composite. 

What I like so far :  
- tiny size (even with lens hood).  
- lightweight and perfectly balance with CL. 
- f/1.4 sharp wide open. 
- moisture protected mount. 
- half press shutter instant manual focusing retouching in AF mode.   
- 50cm minimum focusing distance. 
- non aspherical lens design = creamy bokeh without onion rings. 
 

What is strange :   
- warm colour cast. Very different than colder Leica. Looks like Canon colour. Easily corrected by Lightroom. I will create a profile for that. 
- AF is ok. But a bit slower that Leica TL lenses. It can hunt too. So not the best for action. 

PS : I forgot to upgrade the lens firmware. Still 1.0

[nicci78]

Oups no firmware update yet for 56mm. Only for 16 and 30mm DC DN. 

So performance is what it is. 

After more real world use. AF is poor in comparison to TL lenses : slower, hunt a lot in several cases, unable to focus for certain object, miss focus sometimes (have to rely a lot in half press shutter manual focusing retouch) 

I guess that we pay the price for a cheaper lens. TL lenses are way better,  but bigger and way more expensive. 

 

Of course Sigma DC DN rely heavily on software corrections for pretty much everything : CA, distortion, vignette and maybe more stuff.
If it is not your cup of tea. You have to buy made in Germany TL lenses : 35 and 60mm macro or the Japanese 55-135mm. They do not need any software enhancement. But other made in Japan TL lenses need automatic correction. 

Edited September 9, 2020 by nicci78

[Guest]

Very different experience here, on my TL2 the 56mm focuses just as quickly and accurately as my Leica lenses (the 18mm and 11-23mm), and the image quality is excellent too (although I'm not a pixel peeper). I think the build quality is great too, especially for the price - more plastic yes, but still very solid feeling, and lighter as a result.

[nicci78]

What can I say ? For now AF is mess, compare to native TL lenses. The behaviour is random. Mostly good. But not consistently. 
Bad copy ? Slower AF motor ? Who knows ? 

My lens is brand new. But Sigma is quite famous for subpar quality control. So I have to investigate. 
 

By the way TL lenses focus faster on CL than on TL2. So maybe what you call ok is not for me. 

Edited September 9, 2020 by nicci78

[Boojay]

51 minutes ago, nicci78 said:

What can I say ? For now AF is mess, compare to native TL lenses. The behaviour is random. Mostly good. But not consistently. 
Bad copy ? Slower AF motor ? Who knows ? 

My lens is brand new. But Sigma is quite famous for subpar quality control. So I have to investigate. 
 

By the way TL lenses focus faster on CL than on TL2. So maybe what you call ok is not for me. 

I have to agree with Andy above,  my copy of the 56mm AF is on par with the 35mm TL, maybe you are unlucky with your copy.  

As far as colour is concerned I like the slightly warmer colours that Sigma lenses bring, as you say easily fixed to please anyway.  

[nicci78]

Build quality wise, Sigma DC DN are a clear downgrade over TL lenses. 
Of course it is ok for plastic lenses, but no match to aluminium clad TL lenses. 
 

TL 35 and 60mm with their aluminium hood are quite stunning. They feel premium, whereas DC DN feel cheaper. 

[nicci78]

18 minutes ago, Boojay said:

have to agree with Andy above,  my copy of the 56mm AF is on par with the 35mm TL, maybe you are unlucky with your copy.

That’s the problem with Sigma. You are never sure to get a good copy or not. 
They should sell their lenses at a slightly higher price, to ensure better quality control. 
I do not have time to got back and forth. If not satisfactory, I will send it back and never bother to buy Sigma again. 
 

Edited September 9, 2020 by nicci78

[nicci78]

43 minutes ago, Boojay said:

As far as colour is concerned I like the slightly warmer colours that Sigma lenses bring, as you say easily fixed to please anyway.  

I am using the CL alongside the Q2. This colour cast bother me. Photos do not blend well altogether. 
CL+TL lenses photos look like Q/Q2 ones. So it was nice. 
But now Sigma’s photos stand out with a warmer cast. 

Of course I just have to tailor suit a profile. But I will lose some time to do it properly. 
 

 

[gteague]

6 hours ago, nicci78 said:

So I received the 56mm DC DN. It is all plastic fantastic. Or more precisely in thermal stable composite. Same elastic property than aluminium and better than polycarbonate, but in composite. 

What I like so far :  
- tiny size (even with lens hood).  
- lightweight and perfectly balance with CL. 
- f/1.4 sharp wide open. 
- moisture protected mount. 
- half press shutter instant manual focusing retouching in AF mode.   
- 50cm minimum focusing distance. 
- non aspherical lens design = creamy bokeh without onion rings. 
 

What is strange :   
- warm colour cast. Very different than colder Leica. Looks like Canon colour. Easily corrected by Lightroom. I will create a profile for that. 
- AF is ok. But a bit slower that Leica TL lenses. It can hunt too. So not the best for action. 

PS : I forgot to upgrade the lens firmware. Still 1.0

i like the lens on my s1 better as it makes the s1 the size of, and look and handle about like a nikon f3 hp with a normal lens. and the 2x function yields about a 110/1.4, perfect for portraits in the plague age. now the cl has a 1.7x function, but that's pushing the limit without ios for me. i haven't noticed any color shift from my other lenses, but i haven't been looking for it either so it must not be very far off.

sure, the lens focuses just very slightly slower than native l-mount lenses on the s1, but it focuses faster than the sigma 45/2.8 i used to own and just as fast as the sigma 70/2.art macro and the tl 23/2. for me, it's a total non-issue. i got rid of the 45/2.8 because it just didn't perform quality-wise so of course if you have those issues with it, i'd return it. i'm just reporting these things aren't issues for me on either of two bodies. do i wish it was as sharp as the 70 art macro? yes, but that's one of my sharpest lenses.

/guy

Edited September 9, 2020 by gteague

[nicci78]

70mm DG macro is quite a slow lens AF wise. Not sure if it is a compliment for 56mm DC DN. 

 

56mm DC DN in 2x crop in Lumix S1 is 2x over full frame. Not over APS-C. 
CL 1.3x crop mode =  1.88x over full frame. 
CL 1.7x crop mode = 2.7x over full frame. 
 

 

[gteague]

i might  note again i basically never shoot in continuous or tracking mode and thus a couple hundred extra milliseconds to focus on a static subject is of little importance. back when i had a sigma fp i had the canon ef converter for it and two canon 'L' lenses and those were not only slow to focus, they'd rack way beyond the subject, then way in front of it, then 'clunk' into place at the subject. focus was always nailed, but the delay set my teeth on edge and i've since gotten rid of that system as well.

/guy

[nicci78]

Comparison of my Q2 vs my Sigma CL (battery,  charger and 56mm DC DN from Sigma) both with handgrip. 

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[nicci78]

Very happy about the complimentary set of equivalent focal lengths and equivalent depth of field :

28mm f/1.7     
35mm f/2.1    
50mm f/3.0   
75mm f/4.5    
85mm f/2.1
105mm f/2.6    
150mm f/3.7
 

All within 2 compact bodies. 
 

Of course 16mm and especially 30mm DC DN will be redundant against the Q2. 

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[nicci78]

Sigma 56mm size, weight and aperture are perfect for CL. Price is perfect too. 

Sadly Leica TL are none of that. They are either too heavy, too big or too slow. And very expensive for what it is. 

Edited September 11, 2020 by nicci78