You ever wanted to know which one is the best lens to use on a [shoplink 8454]Sony NEX-7[/shoplink]? Lensrentals (Click here) posted a complete unexpected test result. He measured the resolution of all currently available NEX lenses including a Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux with Fotodiox adapter. And at f/2.8 and f/4.0 aperture there is a super unexpected winner….the Sigma 30mm f/2.8 lens which costs $199 only (at Amazon).
Lensrentals writes: “The Sigma is really amazing. Obviously it’s not really a wide aperture prime, with a maximum aperture of f/2.8, but it gives world-class resolution. The Sony 24mm f/1.8 is not the bargain the Sigma is, but from f/2.2 on it has amazing center resolution, although it lags behind the other two in the corners.”
Damn, that is such a surprise! I hope Klaus at Photozone will ahve the chance to confirm these results soon! Meantime I give you the links to the two Sigma lenses:
The 30mm lens is in Stock at Amazon US (Click here), Amazon DE (Click here), Amazon FR (Click here).
The 19mm lens is in Stock at Amazon US (Click here), Amazon DE (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here), Amazon FR (Click here).
Cheap!!!
P.S.: NEX-7 in Stock status link check: [shopcountry 8454].
70 Responses
Now only if these lenses didn’t have issues with autofocus in video!
Is there a video online showing this how much the AutoFocus is hunting and how much it’s sound gets recorded by the internal NEX-microphones or the ECM-SST1?
On the other hand it’s not such a big deal, since for 1920×1080 pixels even the SEL-1855 provides enough quality plus OSS compensating more than the half stop difference. The SIGMA’s excellent resolution is only needed for photography, while for recording FullHD even the SEL-16F28 is enough.
Good points.
Thanx, but I’ve got to correct myself, that the SEL-1855 is only around f/4.5 fast at 30mm, so it’s more than only half a stop difference.
What do you mean by “only needed for photography”? I thought that NEX are cameras and by this: photography is their main purpose, while the fact that some lenses work superbly ONLY in video is nearly unimportant.
I got the 30mm from B&H and it had an annoying rattle in it like an element is loose. There was another review about that, so it seems like a design problem by Sigma. I wasn’t impressed with the lens over the kit 18-55mm. It’s not as good as the 30mm for standard APS-C systems. I sent it back.
They all rattle, until the camera is tuned on, then it works great. it is a very nice small sharp lens.
If you can’t spot the difference between the 18-55mm Sony kit lens and this Sigma 30mm f/2.8, you should have your eyes checked. The kit lens sucks all the way and the Sigma is sharper and has better contrast.
Well, the fact that sigma makes good lenses is not new to some of us.
I actually owned a 70-200/2.8 that bested my MinO 200/2.8 HS.
I also still have an ancient 24/2.8 that is simply remarkable.
Price does not imply quality, thankfully!
I’ve got the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 os hsm. It is spectacular with the LA-EA2 and NEX-VG10 and NEX-VG20. Awesome bokeh. Plus it is the only way you can get a fast lens with auto focus and image stabilization for the NEX (albeit with a bit of recorded noise from the HSM). I wish Sigma would come out with the 120-300 2.8 os hsm in alpha mount as this would be perfect for wedding videographers shooting in the back of a church. And can you believe the price on that lens. It’s like $2,399 on Ebay. Sigma rules!
Why is that a surprise ?
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/boring-lenses-coming-from-sigma-for-nex-and-a-new-alpha-mount-lens/
hahaha I do remember that post..now everything seems to be praising those bang for the buck “boring” lenses. So after all, always is a good thing to leave personal asumptions away before testing an equipment or seeing several reports.
+1
Well, but I had to check my earlier opinion myself: http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sony-50mm-for-nex-in-stock-in-europe-sigma-preorders-and-more-deals/comment-page-1/#comment-69798
It’s not hard to be king of the hill when the hill is made of turds. 😛 When will Sony put out some decent lenses for E-mount? hmm.
haha… my thoughts exactly. The one eyed man is king eh ?
it’s quite stupid that they take 46mm filters when every other lens in the NEX system(apart from the 18-200) takes 49mm filters.
Don’t forget that these Sigma lenses were co-designed for m4/3s, too. There are several m4/3 primes with 46mm filters. No biggie, just buy a cheap step up ring.
“Damn, that is such a surprise! I hope Klaus at Photozone will ahve the chance to confirm these results soon! ”
In the meantime, those who would actually use a lens for photography have been buying and using them just for that! LOL!
Unlike SamYang, Sigma and other lenses do not need photozone test chart approval for real life use. 😉
I really like getting advanced technical analysis especially from Klaus or Kurt e.g. at which f-stop my lenses are performing their best. In the meantime while your waiting to bash photozone for usually excellent reviews: http://www.slrlensreview.com/web/entry/quick-test-sony-e-3035-macro-vs-sigma-3028-ex-dn-on-sony-nex-7
As if another test chart check performed by yet another outfit is going to tell me something new.. 🙂
I used the sigma 30mm 2.8 in a photoshoot a few days ago with the nex7 🙂 worked out really well, that lens is awesome!
I’ll have to post up a few examples later’
been playing with the slrmagic 35mm 1.7 lens and its just gorgeous! for around 140 bucks 😛
Try ordering the same lens from eBay, it’s actually 40$ 😀 Which makes it the bargain of the century.
I feel sooo sorry for you…140 for a lens that actually sells for 40… U__U
Next time read a bit more about lenses, maybe you will get better prices. But since you own a NEX-7, maybe you got some money to spend on.
say what? LOL
The Sigma is a very nice little lens, if you are looking for something compact and sharp. But personally, that is not what I bought the NEX for. Mostly, I want a big aperture and the opportunity to play with a small depth of field. At 2.8, I feel that I am better off with a Canon G1X, which is more practical for everyday and travel use, and in bright light, I am fine with a G12. Low apertures nix most of the advantages of large sensors.
On the Nex, I found that the 24mm Zeiss spends the most time on the body. The 35mm eqv makes it great for indoor use and landscape, and I get decent overall infinity sharpness for landscapes, and great center sharpness with pleasant bokeh for short distance people pics. Also, I like the hyperreal color rendering.
For portraits, I love to use an old 55mm 1.2 Zuiko Pen, which is still reasonably compact and delivers a David Hamilton look at the largest aperture.
In comparison, I find the Sigma quite boring. Lack of resolution is just not my problem. But what is best for me might not be best for you…
I have the 30mm and 19mm both lovely lenses on the NEX5N. When i first got the nex5n the lenses where really underwhelming! However when i put these abd boys on that body i have got some great images! Only problem is that the 30mm has stopped autofocusing and it does not communicate with the body! The optics great, the lens feels great but the mechanics needs working on, rattle sound….sending it back for repairs!
I had the same issue with my kit lens for my NEX-3. Just saying it isn’t only Sigma that sometimes have a dud.
Matt what was the fix if any?
Had to send it away for repair. From memory I couldn’t adjust aperture of access AF, with the 16mm it worked fine.
I like the results – and that there are some affordable good primes for the NEX-system! As I personally don’t really like the focal lengths (i much prefer 14/16mm and 24mm) and they’re a bit slow, I went with the really excellent 24mm CZ. On my NEX-5 I can’t really see the “bad” borders at f/1.8, so for me, it’s a fine lens. In the end, just have fun with what fits you best – there are good compromises out there for everybody, after all.
Actually, I really wanted to fall in love with the CZ-24 but somehow, I can never like it so much. It’s just not… beautiful. I was using an old Nikon 24/2 which I really liked(dreamy wide open, damn sharp stopped down) and I really regret that I passed on an excellent Canon FD 24/2(damn sharp at any aperture and much more compact than the Nikon). Yet still, just like the CZ 24/1.8, those lenses are a bit huge on a NEX-5N.
I guess I found a solution for this. For about the same price as the Zeiss, I can buy probably the best(and the most beautiful) 24mm(ish) lens made for APS-C. It’s made by Fuji and it’s a 23/2 at around 1200usd. It also comes with it’s own camera, called the Fuji X100 😀
Seriously, why not? I have a feeling that it’d kick NEX&Zeiss’ ass at street photography. I’d still keep my NEX for all other focal lenghts, but for 35mm equiv. street photgraphy, I might just go for a X100.
While I agree that the X100 is a great deal compared to the Zeiss 24, I wouldn’t say it’s a better lens. The rendering isn’t that special, it flares quite a bit, and it has some mustache distortion.
Saw my first X100 “in the flesh” last week, and I agree that it is a true beauty. I wish it was smaller and could do decent video, but it gets so many things right.
For the NEX, I wish I could change the aperture with a ring on the lens (only works with old manual lenses). I wish I’d have a dedicated ISO wheel with numbers on it, so I can see the setting immediately. I wish I could store settings, so I don’t have to call up a menu when switching to manual focus lenses or changing subjects. And having no in-camera stabilization for the e-mount was a stupid decision. There are many reasons that would make me sell my Sony.
But at the moment, I don’t see a reason for switching yet. IQ is great, color rendition suits my taste (unlike Panasonic), and the lenses are not much larger than Leica’s (they seem to be so much larger because the body is tiny). The Sony is fun to play with. I wonder what comes after the Nex-7.
From what I have seen, the fuji lens is boring as hell. Comparison made by Steve Huff of Leica X1 (24/f2.8) vs x100 proved this. The leica lens gave better results despite its f2.8 aperture.
I really liked the rendering of images in his original X100 review, and also in many other places. For me Zeiss 24/1.8 is the one which is boring as hell.
I had hopes in the SLR Magic 23/1.7 but I haven’t really liked the first images I saw. Only if it would turn out like the amazing 12/1.6 for the m4/3.
I bought my X100 for exactly the same reason. That plus upgrading an earlier NEX to a 5n or 7 to have an EVF and perform as well in low light plus the cost of the Zeiss 24mm would have ended up costing 3x what I paid for my X100. Obviously if you already have a 7 then it probably makes more sense to get the Zeiss. But to me the X100 was an absolute bargain and my favorite ever camera 🙂
I hate to mention this on SAR as the 19 & 30mm Sigmas do seem very nice, it bodes very well for the new DP1m & DP2m, 15MP foveon
It’ll be interesting to see how the Dp1m and Dp2m compare. Both have an extra element in their lenses compared to the NEX version.
Yeah me too. My guess is to possibly compensate for some loss of distance to the sensor, but who knows. Really wish there was some pricing and availability info on those as the DP2m looks really interesting to me.
I dunno man..weird focal length for me
The NEX sensor is about 42mm diagonal, so a 30mm lens on NEX is very close to being a true “standard” lens.
28mm diagonal, need some coffee GH?
How did Sigma trump and embarrass Sony so badly with their 30mm lens. It’s smaller than the Sony. It’s faster than the Sony. It’s sharper than the Sony. And it’s BLACK!
For shame Sony. I’ll get serious about Sony when Sony gets serious about Sony.
Because the Sony is a Macro.
+1 Spot on Matt.
As said, the Sony 30mm is a macro lens. The F3.5 at 30mm is hardly slow and not a shortcoming.
Whats the build quality like on these Sigma lenses? Don’t like the idea of a rattling lens (what’s lose inside!?), but form factor is nice.
” the Sigma is, but from f/2.2 on it has amazing center resolutio”
f/2.2 for an f/2.8 lens?
They’re talking about the Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 there.
Sorry then…
My misunderstanding.
Just sold my Zeiss 24 in favor of the Sigma. I prefer the focal length and size of the Sigma, and the extra money is nice, too.
This is just numbers. Don’t just show the numbers, please bring side by side image comparison+100% crop, then I will sell my zeiss as well 😀
The Zeiss isn’t actually all that tremendous at infinity as you get towards the corners.
well..unless you print them big, no one will actually cares about your picture’s corners , honestly
No, until you own one, then you will keep on telling yourself: damn, I got me such an awesome lens here.
I wish the 19mm was good enough (the 30 looks great) – i really want this 19mm focal length, and although these tests show great resolution in the center, sample images elsewhere show gross aberration on the edges when wide open… meh.
http://img.photographyblog.com/reviews/sigma_19mm_f_2_8_ex_dn/sample_images/sigma_19mm_f_2_8_ex_dn_13.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerome_munich/6911171628/sizes/o/in/set-72157629664483733/
Please someone prove me wrong with some other samples. For now i will have to stick to manual lenses.
True, but the Zeiss is wider, two stops faster, has better bokeh (Sigma bokeh is not so good), shallower DOF and has the Zeiss character. The Sigma is a no brainer for any Nex owner at $200, IMHO the Zeiss is THE lens for Nex at the moment.
2-stops? Hardly. Try 1 1/3 stops. Also the DOF would be almost the samr as the Sigma is a longer FL lens (assuming you are talking the 30mm).
I love the Sigma 30mm – it stays on the camera most of the time now, prefer the focal length over the CZ24
http://www.mikekobal.com/blog/?p=4714
The Sigma’s are an absolute bargain and the 30 is very sharp, but I personally prefer the images from the 24/1.8 over the 19 and 30mm Sigma pair. The 24 may not beat the 30 in terms of absolute sharpness when shooting resolution charts – but its plenty sharp and has great contrast – the images from the Zeiss have more pop and the video just jumps out of your TV. I bought both Sigma’s because two great lenses for $400 is crazy, but the Zeiss 24 is still my go-to Nex lens and the one that’s on my Nex-7 most of the time.
It all just depends on what you like. The Zeiss 24 is wider, faster and has a better build, and the Sigma 30 is sharper and much smaller, but has a smaller aperture. The Sigma renders more like a Leica lens compared to the contrast Zeiss, which is why it has the nickname Sigmarit.
I sold my Zeiss yesterday simply because I prefer the focal length and size of the Sigma.
Build means very little when you can buy 6 of the Sigmas for price of 1 Zeiss.
sigma should make a 24mm F1.8 or F2.0 @ $300-$400 to directly compete with the CZ 24mm.
that would probably change the whole game….
I checked the Sigma 30 and the Sony/Zeiss 24 at SLRGear: Blur graphs looks similar (2,8 – 11) with a slight edge to the Sigma.
Then we have how actual photos look….. contrast, color rendering etc.
I just made some photos using booth Oly 45mm and an old Zeiss 50/1,7: The Oly is sharper, but the Zeiss (micro)contrast and color rendering is better. Which is best? Matter of taste, but I prefer the look of the Zeiss.
I have both lenses. I love them both. The 30 is sharper, but barely, while the zeiss has better color, better microcontrast and a smoother bokeh.
For me, I keep the 30 on the NEX while in my satchel for whatever may pop up, I love its size and weight and I always have a great lens on. I use my Zeiss for mor serious work and when I can carry a camera bag with me.
How can you say that the Zeiss 24 has better microcontrast when the Sigma 30 outperforms it in the mtf 50 graphs in the lensrentals.com test?
does this finding mean that sigma lenses are very good or that most sony native oem glass is garbage?
Good to see Sigma finally receive its due recognition. The BIGGER surprise will be for the Leica fanatics: the test proves the Leica lenses have overall significantly less MTF than Sigma and Zeiss. For me, the surprise is the MTF of the Sigma is more than the Zeiss at wide open, by a small margin. Stopped down, the differences will not be apparent to the eye. Overall, the Zeiss will have better colour, contrast, bokeh; and when 2 lenses having similar resolving power are considered, these qualities are the deciding factors for IQ. For those who can afford, they will choose Zeiss. For those who cannot, thanks to Sigma, we have a great alternative.