And here we are! I just “found” the two images of the new Micro Four Thirds lenses from Sigma! The bad new is that…I don’t like them. I would have preferred to see a [shoplink 18950 ebay]Sigma 24mm f/1.8 (it already exists for FT)[/shoplink] and [shoplink 18951 ebay]Sigma 30mm f/1.4 (also available for Four Thrids)[/shoplink].
Here is the press release text:
Sigma 19mm f/2.8 EX DN: When used on a Micro Four Thirds format mirrorless camera, Sigma’s new 19mm f/2.8 EX DN has the effective FOV of a 38mm lens on a full-frame DSLR, which should appeal to street photographers and photojournalists. Regardless of your choice of camera, the Sigma 19mm f/2.8 EX DN features eight elements in six groups that include three aspheric lens surfaces to correct optical distortions, color aberration and unwanted field curvature. The new lens also sports an internal focusing system and Super Multi-layer coating to reduce flare and ghosting while maintaining high contrast levels even when set at wider apertures. Other features include a new linear AF motor that eliminates mechanical gears or drives for quicker, near-silent focusing, seven rounded diaphragm blades for an attractive blur in out-of-focus areas, a 46mm filter thread, and a minimum focusing distance of 7.9″ (20cm).
Sigma 30mm f/2.8 EX DN: Extending a mere 1.5″ (38.6mm) from the front of the camera is Sigma’s new 30mm f/2.8 EX DN. This lens has a full-frame equivalent FOV of a 60mm lens when used on a Micro Four Thirds format mirrorless camera. The new Sigma 30mm f/2.8 EX DN features seven elements in five groups including dual aspheric lenses and a double-sided aspheric lens that help control edge sharpness and chromatic aberration. As with Sigma’s new 19mm f/2.8 EX DN lens, the new 30mm f/2.8 EX DN lens includes Sigma’s newly developed linear AF system for smoother and quieter operation, Super Multi-Layer coating for optimized contrast levels and reduced flare, a 46mm filter thread, internal focusing and a minimum focusing distance of 11.8″ (30cm).
[poll id=”109″]
Stay tuned!!!
138 Responses
Are Sigma joking? Who would buy two lenses that add almost nothing to the kit zoom that everybody already have?
The 30 isn’t even a macro, like it says in the poll (30 cm minimum focusing distance)
I think Admin means FT5 Ice (absolute zero) cold!?!?!?
Both way too slow. What is Sigma thinking? Ridiculous crap.
Weird. We own both the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 and the 50mm f/1.4 for Four Thirds and those are good lenses – not stellar, but certainly good.
But putting slow prime lenses on the market to compete against a Panasonic 20mm f/1.7, a Panasonic Leica 25mm f/1.4, an Olympus 45mm f/1.8 or even the super small Olympus 17mm that is not slower than the Sigmas but smaller is kind of pointless, isn’t it?!
Don’t forget the PLeica 45/2.8 (actual) Macro lens.
Yeah, but that one is seriously overpriced. I always wonder who’s buying that thing.
Indeed. We all have a pancake Panny 20mm. (We = any micro 4/3rds owner with sense)
30cm minimum focusing distance for a macro lens? And who the hell needs f2.8 lenses? Even Panasonic has made an f1.7, and Voigtlander is swimming in glory at f0.95! It is a shame from Sigma!
its not a macro lens.
sadly i dont know how 2 do the math but
30mm 1:1 – 13cm.
28mm 1:2.9 – 20cm
30mm 1:10.4 – 40cm
(a 1:2 100mm is 44cm – 1:1 100mm is 30cm)
so this lens is a 30mm – 30cm so thats a 1:4??? and the sigma 20mm has a 20cm min focus so i think thats a good guess, But i truly have no idea…
(FYI I posted the same think at sonyalpharumors.com)
These seem like terrible first entry lenses. Unless they are incredibly cheap, 2.8 isn’t something I care about, unless it’s a 12-60 parafocal zoom.
mmmh, good…but only at low low price!
WTF Sigma? We know you can do better than that.
Let’s face it, m4/3…
is were the easy money is.
More choices are good I guess, but the focal lengths don’t work for me on 4/3. Well, 19 would be OK, but I suspect most people would buy Panasonic’s 20 for the extra speed and (probably) compactness.
It’s difficult to imagine any m43 users getting the 19mm lens, unless it was much cheaper than the Panasonic 20mm f1.7. It makes more sense as an APS-C lens and I presume these lenses are going to be made in NEX versions as well.
I would be much more enthusiastic about a longer macro (say 75mm f2.8), if they could keeps its price below that of the 45mm f2.8 Panasonic macro.
It will be interesting to see what Sigma comes up with next and if they produce lenses with an image stabiliser system in them. If not, it will reduce the appeal for NEX and Panasonic owners.
You probably got it right..these lenses are for APS-C sensors (nex)….but also available for m4/3…funny, i , somehow, like the FLenghts…if oly comes with a new sensor, that would be my ideal street photography combo…
This is what we get when lenses are developed for NEX and ported to M4/3 😉
hmmmm… certainly sounds like. Think you are spot-on.
thats it….
Those lenses are made for the NEX System, not for m4/3… crap.
I really thought Sigma will announce some nice lenses…
But well, realize those lenses transferred to the Nikon1 System^^ thats even worser! 😀
They might make sense on MFT too. The Macro certainly makes more sense on MFT than on NEX.
Precisely, this looks a beginning of a string of badly planned sigma lenses…crap
What’s the benefit of having them in the m43 consortium if they’re going to prioritize the NEX system over m43 2x crop? Are we stuck on 1.5 crop for future focal lengths ? such lack of confidence on m43 is bad. Oh, well I guess I’m not surprised at all, this is Sigma afterall, they’ll do what’s cheapest for them.
+1
Sigma can not be any dumber! Where exactly do they inhabit?!
19/2.8 SLOWER, BIGGER and possibly PRICEY as well.
They ought to wake up and smell the coffee.
HELLO, there is a 20/1.7!!!!!
> HELLO, there is a 20/1.7!!!!!
So, so true… What the hell are you doing, Sigma?
Targeting NEX owners?
yeah and this means that Sigma thinks MFT has no future…………..lol.
I pre-ordered the Fuji XP1 and bye bye MFT and NEX.
What is the rumored price?
250USD for each.
For an extra $100 you get the 1.7/20. Politely said, that saved $100 looks like its going to be a questionable trade off.
Sigma — the m43 primes are all but covered. They also are relatively affordable. We just need a mkii of the 17mm and of the 20mm, but things are really strong in prime land. (oh, you could do a 100mm 2.0 or 2.8, or maybe a 105mm macro).
How about, Sigma, you show Panny and Oly how to make a fast normal-range zoom? That’s where you’ll get some real sales. I don’t see these lenses really moving.
Something around 65mm would also be nice, for those of us who like longer portrait lenses than Olympus’s 45mm.
I think these are just their first MFT lenses and they are still working on more. These were just the ones they could get finished first.
They may even make sense, even the 19mm one. If the focusing system is faster and more silent than the 20mm Panasonic lens.
Agree with the sentiments here.
Moreover, they may later complain that they get nothing out of joining the m4/3rd group. But the fact is, they need to produce exemplary lenses that make people *want* to buy it.
Some suggestions:
12-60mm 1:2.8 high-end kit zoom
17mm 1:2 – sort of like a Summicron contender
150mm 1:2.8 – A dream for wildlife photographers
Much of Sigma’s success in DLSR-land, too, was greatly more affordable lenses. So the 70-200 Sigma was much more affordable than the Canon or Nikon. Same with their 17-50/2.8.
The only truly “expensive” m43 lenses are, IMO, the Panny fisheye, the 45mm macro and the 7-14. The Fisheye is taken care of from the Rokinon. The 45mm has dropped in street price. The 7-14 is still up there, but the Oly 9-18 is a nice alternative.
So, Sigma should look at the gaps, because making a cheaper 20/1.7 isn’t going to cut it. Even if it’s quicker and more silent EF, it’s a full stop slower and looks maybe bigger, and it’s hard to price below about $350 and still make money.
Those are expensive price tags, but the values are open for debate.
For one thing, I’d like to know what are the truly “inexpensive” alternative, regardless of systems. No 14-28 equiv are for the shallow wallets, period. Again, no 90mm equiv 1:1 macro with non-moving front elements are much cheaper, if at all. Finally, search for Canikon, Sigma and the kitchen sink. The Panasonic’s fisheye is on the inexpensive side of the curve!!!
Hmmm, we have a 17mm 2.8 Pancake from Oly and a 20mm 1.7 Pancake from Pana. Do we really need a bigger 19mm 2.8? Maybe only, if it is really really cheap I think.
The good thing is: After waiting for years and years, we finally get some third party lenses! So let´s hope they´re selling well, so we also get something like a 14-50 2.8 and a 50-150 2.8!
Yeah like $50.
Very bad choice from Sigma.
Unless those lenses come as a pair for a total of € 100 and presuming they’d focus faster and less noisy than the Pana 20, there’s no way i’d ever buy them.
Well, I need a cheap silent prime lens for video shooting!
hahaha a 19 mm f2.8 ! thank you but my 20 mm f1.7 has an excellent optical quality, is faster and is more panckake when looking to the picture…
Hmm…. I think nobody wants these lenses.
What got into their heads?
Two F/2.8 primes? Two jokes.
This has NEX written al over it!
WTF, Sigma?!? They’re not even attractive lenses on NEX!
They’re just practicing. Don’t worry. Better lenses will come.
Why practice? Do it right the first time.
Haha, it’s not like they’re new at this. And the 20/1.7 was basically pany’s first lens.
nice find!
I will look at the 19mm for my nex if the IQ is better than the pany 20mm and the Samsung 20mm. The 30mm macro is to short for the nex (and have no desire for a macro on this small camera) but looks to fill a decent gap in the m43 macro line up.
@Thomas when you convert to the nikon CX mount you get around a 51mm and 81mm (I use my 85 macro a lot) they are slow’ish lens but will still be useful, if sigma releases them for the nikon 1.
Hmm. I feel like they should have done something different. Like a macro, or fast zoom. Anything to fill in the gaps. They really need to price these low to get someone to buy them…
ok maybe if that 30mm macro will have 1:1 magnification and will be supersharp and under 200€ it will be a nice alternative to panny 45mm macro lens.. everything must by superb on the macro or it will be a bad joke like the second lens for me..
Oh, boy! Middling junk.
Bring it on Sigma! 😛
Welcome to the party, Sigma. Now go make something that is actually interesting. I don’t understand these offerings at all.
How about a 10mm prime? f2.0 or f2.8; I’d buy that.
+1000
You’ll never see that from Sigma. Sigma does a single set of IDENTICAL lens designs for all crop factors and then sells that design with different mounts for all systems – in the same form factor for all systems. Their designed are usually for APS-C based sensor sizes, so seeing a really wide angle lens for MFT from Sigma is hopeless.
<$100 and I take one of those..lol
I know you’re joking but I’m serious- the only way I would even consider one of these lenses is if they’re under $100. And I still kind of doubt I’d get one. Just pointless lenses. Awful, awful first effort from Sigma.
Wow, the 19mm f2.8 is the most useless prime released for µFT yet.
Terrible focal length and gets sandwiched by the 17mm 2.8 and the 20mm 1.7. Really, why on earth would u buy that lense ? And it doesn’t make sense for NEX either. I mean 19mm still sucks as a focal length and its barely faster then the 3,5f kit zooms which start at 18mm.
I do not get the point of this lense. As a pancake it would maybe be a option for nex users looking for minimum size but like this its just so bad.
19mm is for all practical purpose 20mm. An excellent FoV.
It is bigger and slower than the 1.7/20.
Unless its IQ is stunning, I don’t see it becoming a success story. Then again, weirder things have happened in the world of photography…
Wow, the 19mm f2.8 is the most useless prime released for µFT yet.
Terrible focal length and gets sandwiched by the 17mm 2.8 and the 20mm 1.7. Really, why on earth would u buy that lense ? And it doesn’t make sense for NEX either. I mean 19mm still sucks as a focal length and its barely faster then the 3,5f kit zooms which start at 18mm.
I do not get the point of this lense. As a pancake it would maybe be a option for nex users looking for minimum size but like this its just so bad.
Glad to see that Sigma is continuing their fine tradition of making shit lenses.
These things are crap.
*Facepalm* Why even put these into production? Unreal that they’ve chosen to manufacture these.
More proof positive that the only camera manufacturer out there with any balls is Fuji. They take bold steps to cater to photographers rather than mixed and incremental MFT steps.
🙂
Yeah. I was looking at their system- all of the primes are fast, and the sensor is supposedly quite good.
They get it.
19mm is not bad focal length, but Panasonic 20mm f1.7 is much faster… Why someone would buy Sigma that is 1.5 of a stop slower?!?!?
It might have better AF.
Ok, I am disappointed, like everyone else.
I think it appears we all are looking for…
1. Faster auto and silent focus primes
2. Faster auto and silent focus zooms
3. Higher image quality lenses designed to the limit of m4/3 sensor density.
4. And some of us are looking for longer focal length macros.
The speed does not need to be outrageous. f2 on a 30 mm would have been ok and we would all have been drooling if it were f1.4.
I cant help but notice that the lens housing is so much bigger than the lens, there is plenty of room to make the lens twice as big yielding a nice f1.4 lens.
If Sigma reads these postings, please do not give up on the m4/3 format. The popularity of m4/3 is growing, primarily I feel due to the real contagious excitement of GH1, GH2 owners. The video world and still picture world are converging and m4/3 is the place to be.
A little late to the party and pretty boring.
I have one word for this situation. Dumb.
They had better be cheap.
If the Sigma 19mm f/2.8 ends up being higher quality than the Olympus 17mm f/2.8 (and also cheaper than the 17mm), I might consider one to use as a dedicated landscape prime. Because that’s the EFL that produces my best landscapes, in the ballpark around 35mm.
But then, I don’t really need to. My 14-54 is f/2.8 at that focal length, and I already have all my filters to fit that one. So…yeah.
Keep in mind, everyone, that these lenses that are going to be released for multiple systems need to be somewhat larger by design: they need to be large enough to fit on the longest mount register they want to put it on, and they also need to be large enough to cover the largest sensor they want to put it on.
FFS why not make the 30 f2 🙁 It would be a very nice alternative to the Voightlander and Panaleica. As it is I hope it would cost 100-120 euro no more.
If that 30mm is a true macro (1:1), then I can see the point. Otherwise, WTF?
We knew a 30mm was coming, so I am not surprised. There also was a statement from some Sigma guy that they found it difficult to design for MFT. They had to develop the AF system completely new. So I’m not surprised they start with two simple lenses.
Yeah, it’s been said a couple times but no one in their right mind would get 19mm over Panny’s 20 1.7. The macro I might be interested if it’s fairly (and by fairly I mean cheaply) priced. 1:1 of course would be a bonus, heh.
It’s obvious that Sigma plans to reuse the same designs between APS-C and m43 mirrorless systems (much as they do with APS-C DLSRs, and even their 4/3 lenses).
On an APS-C system, the 19/2.8 and 30/2.8 become the FF equivalent of 28/2.8 and 45/2.8, which make massively more sense than the FOV on m43.
For micro four thirds users, though, the Sigmas have absolutely no appeal. They are slower than existing lenses and in the case of the 30/2.8, not a standard focal length. Pass.
These two lenses are amazing!
(just joking, too slow!)
The 19/2.8 could be nice if its corner sharpness is better than that of the Panny 20/1.7 which isn’t great.
19 = too long for wide
30 = too short for tele
Do they come in pink, red, or at least white?
Well this is what Sigma do. Lenses for different systems. Since their main focus are Canon and Nikon, they will first try to push some of their existing optical designs when entering a new market, or introduce new ones with as little modification as possible. I wouldn’t buy either of these two personally but who knows, they may have some interesting properties. Irrelevant, but the design is very Lumix-like.
Yes the design is very Lumix-like, and I think these were pretty much designed from scratch for NEX and MFT alike. I am very interested in how they perform and feel. If they are not to expensive, I will definitely buy them.
OK, 30mm macro may appeal to someone, but 19mm F2.8 ?? It has to be dirt cheap for anyone to buy it. We’ve got 17mm F2.8 and 20mm F1.7, NEX has smaller 16mm F2.8 and excellent 24mm F1.8.
Well, I already have Panasonic 20mm/f1.7 and 25mm/f1.4 lenses, so obviously won’t be buying Sigma’s first MFT lenses. I hope Sigma do better with their next MFT lenses.
I agree with admin (and everyone else for that matter) – this is disappointing. I am really excited to see Sigma get in on the game but what the hell? These are not filling the gaps, Sigma would have a much better market share if they listened and diverted away from what they usually do.
admin: I would change the headline to : COOL ! Two new Sigma…..
As long as Sigma prices these at about $25 USD, they will be a great success!
– Olympius
cowardly … just way too little way too late
a tremendous disappointment from sigma
90 percent plastic 10 percent optics , you think we dont notice ?
get up to speed guys , pun way intended
Who cares four thirds is crap anyway, why even bother with fourthirds in the first place. I want them to make a 24-120 2.8 HSM OS, now thats somehing worth investing in as it would match up perfectly with their 120-300 2.8 OS!
Who cares four thirds is junk anyway, why even bother with fourthirds in the first place. I want them to make a 24-120 2.8 HSM OS, now thats somehing worth investing in as it would match up perfectly with their 120-300 2.8 OS!
They were drunk when they designed the lenses,..totaly waste of energy and money
Admin, I think you should have written Cold ! instead of Hot ! :p
I feel bad for Sigma. They must have invested a lot of effort and money designing these lenses. But the 19mm is almost the same focal length as the not-so-expensive 20mm f1.7 though slower and bigger. The 30mm at least offers a different focal length, but not many people crave for such a focal length.
It’s a pitty also for m4/3, which really would benefit from more lens options. What about a nifty-fifty opction, for instance? Canon and Nikon have choices for about a fifth of what the Pana-Leica 25mm costs, and such an alternative would have made sense. Economical macro or wide angle lenses are also gaps in the m4/3 offer.
We’re disappointed in Japan.
What the hell are you doing Sigma?
Those are just made for NEX :-O
MFT have no future , that is why Sigma designed lenses for NEX and moderated it for MFT for cheap.
any way, IMO, as canon’s big sensor Mirrorless and Fuji’s AA-less APS-C ILC are coming it is not the right time to invest any money into either NEX or MFT or Samsung NX.
I expect Canon to dominate this market very soon just like Canon did in compact camera market with its powershot/alpha line in a decade ago.
But I personally prefer the look of the Fuji over anything announced , so I am personally leaving MFT , NEX camp myself and I guess I am not alone , many many others are leaving MFT camp as soon as XP1 is out.
you guys are funny the lenses are designed for 1.5 crop (nex or similar), the tiny m43 2x crop mount is just for fun, maybe they find a couple of dumb buying in
GTFO SIGMA
Speaking of the Lumix 20mm f1.7 lens, there’s always something about this lens I’ve been curious about:
Is this excellent lens a “fluke”?
I mean, compared to other m43 lenses, the Lumix 20mm f1.7 almost seems like a mistake: It’s fast, sharp, small, relatively wide, _and_ relatively inexpensive.
I can’t figure out how it has this unique combination of features & price, when most every other m43 lens does not.
Assuming the 20mm f1.7 is a profitable lens for Panasonic, why don’t they or other manufacturers sell similar lenses with slightly different characteristics at similar prices? I understand that significantly different features may incur proportionally large price differences, but why aren’t there incremental steps w/o huge drawbacks?
For example, the Lumix 14mm is slower & more expensive than their 20mm, and all the other Lumix lenses are either slower or much more expensive or both.
I thought it was “easy” to make a fast wide lens, compared to a fast long lens?
Or is the combination of 20mm f1.7 a “sweet spot” on m43?
I’d appreciate comments. Cheers.
The AF is not so great with this lens.
That’s an excellent question.
We still don’t have anyone from the Asian camera industry on the forum willing to speak.
I suspect the “brand houses” like Oly and Pana look at what lens elements the contractors will be making for the next year or two and make deals for some amounts of those. Some planning happens between the different brands and manufacturers too.
It’s a game of mix and match. Maybe throw a couple of custom elements that you make yourself. And then of course the electronics and the software and the mechanics.
So maybe the 20 mm happens to use some lens elements that are also used in some other well selling lens (that isn’t even Panasonic) and the contractor can push them out with some big grinding machine one every twenty seconds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7_wL0ZZi6k
Sometimes something strange happens with these production processes. Why are they still selling E-PL1:s? Something happened there and they overproduced massively (or released the next models sooner than planned or something else).
> I can’t figure out how it has this unique combination of features & price, when most every other m43 lens does not.
The biggest cost-saving measure on the lens is its use of unit focus (all the lens elements move in a single block).
This does have the downside of making the AF slow.
Also, a normal lens is probably the easiest lens to design on a system, so the 20/1.7 definitely falls in the ‘sweet spot’.
Lastly, the 20/1.7 is probably the largest volume prime in the m43 system, so they might have more economies of scale as well.
I wish camera and lens manufacturers read posts on the internet to find out what products would be under high demand.
In case they do:
Micro Four Thirds is at a disadvantage to APS and 135 format cameras due to the sensor. To compensate, many people use very fast (f2.0 and faster) lenses, so that their images are competitive in quality to other cameras. If your lens doesn’t offer f2.0 speed, or some other new thing, don’t bother releasing it. It won’t sell well, and doesn’t add anything to the system. Obviously, building a compromised lens for a compromised system leads to failure.
Even Olympus and Panasonic barely get it so it’s understandable that Sigma has no idea what we want.
Wow, there just doesn’t seem to be anyone driving the bus at Sigma these days. I can’t see many sales, unless they are a hundred bucks a piece. The 30 should have been a macro, then at least they would have had something. Pretty funny.
Are these the first AF third party m43 lenses? They don’t sound too bad if they are quiet and focus fast but the focal lengths chosen are not the best choices given the primes already available for m43. I’ll reserve judgement until I see some sample pics taken with this camera.
HOT … not 🙂
Not hot, but maybe more useful than you guys think.
Well, I have zero interest in macro photography, so the 30mm is out (and the 25mm would beat it as a normal prime), and the 19mm is too large and slow to replace the 20mm f/1.7.
Even if I were to receive them for free, I can’t imagine ever using them.
The 30mm is not even a macro lens 1:8 or something like that…
So both pointless lenses, with likely decentering issues and unreliable Sigma focusing..
They could make it hot, but…
Even that gigantic Sigma’s APO Macro 180mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM lens, which they announced for Alpha-mount could be more interesting to have redesigned for the micro 4/3.
where are your 30, 50, & 85 1.4???
Admin — can you put the OM post back on top? After realizing I can’t afford the Fuji, it’s depressing to come here, and find the first post is these crappy Sigma lenses 😉
They’re an engineering testbed and a way for Sigma to get it’s feet wet in a new and unfamiliar market. The autofocus system is completely new (for Sigma) – they’re designed for aps-c first and 43 second because that significantly limits the engineering resources, the other way around would be the crazy way.
Sure they aren’t exciting, they aren’t the f/0 lenses everyone on forums seems to want, but they are going all in here – these are not adapted lens but built for the purpose of small mirrorless cameras – that is very promising.
Too slow, no go.
I wonder why so slow. There are a lot of lens in those ranges F2 or faster. AF is interesting. I’d like to see a C-mount adapter that gives AF.
these lenses are made for NEX w/ their sad line-up….doesn’t appeal to M4/3
Agreed they are too big (for their speed and focal length) to be worthwhile for Pana/Oly with our current line up, especially the 19/2.8?? why??? And a 30/2.8 (60mm fov f2.8), what the hell is that for?
They have to be really made for Sony where any new options would be welcome…
Assuming they’re auto focus and assuming they’re reasonable priced they might be attractive. But price is key. They we have to be significantly cheaper than the Oly/Panny lenses to make up for the slower speed.
So, they’d have to be like $75 or something?
Don’t be silly. But if the Panny 20mm f1.7 is going for say $349, how much of a savings would it take to buy the Sigma 19mm f2.8
$200 would see sales for the 30mm and $250 for the 19. Possibly chop off another $50 but unlikely.
Really? The street price for the 20/1.7 is about $300. For $50 less, you’ll put up with a lens that is 1 1/3 stop slower, has Sigma’s patented yellow-glow color cast, and actually looks to be a little longer (though not wider)? Oh, and how much correction of these third party lenses will the m43 bodies do?
Not for me, thanks. It would have to literally be under $100. There are other spending priorities than a slow, yellow lens designed for another system.
+1
In fact I wouldn’t use them even if it was free
Bust out the 18-50 2.8 instead!!!
There you go. I’d love a fast normal that starts at 14, but if all you are going to do is replicate existing lenses, the 18-50 would be much more useful than these.
19mm f/2.8 doesn’t sound like a good competitor to the amazing 20mm 1.7. Its larger, slower. 2.8 is taking you into zoom territory not a prime.
Lumix 20mm f/1.7 is not too good at F2.8. All depends on how good this lens is wide open. Larger and slower can mean better optics. But we don´t know yet…
-p-
sigma making a cheaper version of the Oly 12mm f2, would be nice. Even a 12mm f2.8 at $300 compared to $750 for the Oly lens, would be a smart marketing to get us to buy Sigma.
Well, on the first view, the won’t fit very good in the current m43 lense lineup. The 19mm competes with the 20mm/1.7 – will be hard for Sigma to win some points here.
They might have a better chance with the 30mm macro as Panasonics 45mm is very expensive.
And additionally: don’t forget the guys who make videos. If the lenses have a quiet and smooth AF system this will be helpful.
I would not say ‘no’ or ‘yes’ now. Just wait for pictures and hands-on reports.
According to dpreview.com, the 30mm is NOT a macro lens, not even near to close-up lens: . “It has a minimum focusing distance of 11.8 inches and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:8.1”.
That’s a pity, I hoped for lens that’s comparable in price and performance to the Zuiko 35mm.
Source: http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/01/10/SigmaDigitalNeo
Not fast enough on both counts. Waste of time.
The 30mm focal length actually (is what I have been wishing for from Olympus and) fits very well in the gap in my setup of 12mm, 20mm and 45mm primes.
-p-
They are really designed for e-mount with a crop factor of 1.5, Micro four third is an after thought.
30 x 1.5 = 45mm (35mm equivalent)
19 x 1.5 = 28.5 mm (35mm equivalent)
45mm is a normal lens
28.5mm is a wide-angle lens. make much more sense!!
A good day for NEX users. f/2.8 is fine because NEX APS-C sensor can be used at really high ISOs.
Micro four third users got amazing 25 1.4 and 14 2.5. so no need for those sigma lenses.
Yup. m4/3 is an afterthought for these lenses, so they don’t make much sense. I wonder if they’ll release m4/3-specific lenses once they’ve got all of the bugs worked out. It would increase engineering costs, but likely lead to a lens with higher sales.
Slow and pointless as we already have a superior 20/1.7 and 25/1.4 and 45/2.8
I want a 17/1.8 pancake!!!!
Pretty useless, yes, but these are first third party AF lenses for m4/3 and that’s better news than lenses themselves.
I am glad that the third party vendors are making some lenses for m4/3, but I was disappointed that the lens is listed as a normal prime on the Sigma website.
http://www.sigmaphoto.com/shop/standard-prime-lenses
All indications were that it would be a macro lens which would have given it a niche between the 35 3.5 and the 50 2.0 in the 4/3 mount. While it will be in m4/3 and thus not require an adapter the pricing will have to be very good to attract many buyers.