Back in May 2011 Sigma displayed the first lens for the NEX system, the 30mm f/2.8 macro lens. Now you can see it again at the Paris show. Source: Flickr (Click here). The Sigma guys on the stand couldn’t unveil the price and availability of the lens. The question is how much sense it makes for Sigma to release a lens like that when there is the Sony 30mm f/3.5 macro lens which will be in Stock in October. Hm, I would have preferred to see something really new!
Click these links to check the availability of the Sony macro: [shoplink 7434]
One more Sigma news: There will be a new 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 II DC OS HSM lens for Alpha mount (Press release on Dpreview).
73 Responses
I think you meant f3.5
Well, For one, It will most probably be cheaper.
Does it come with Auto Focus with NEX?
Of course. I am not aware Sigma still produces any MF lenses. lol
Is it a macro lens? I don’t think so.
Why is Sigma, like Sony, not making smaller lenses? It can’t be physics, can it????!!!!
(It’s physics.)
I would say that the reason the lens isn’t smaller is because it would make it unaffordable to produce and sell. It would make it a very expensive lens, remember the APS-C sensor dictates the lens size.
IDK this looks smaller than the Sony 30mm, although I might be wrong.
‘physics’.
Which kind of ‘engineer’ are you?
No its not macro. The display says “Sony E and Micro Four Thirds” i think. And the Sony Macro is f3.5. I would buy the sigma if its sharp wide open.
Sorry, it was a typo, the Sony is 3.5 of course. Anyway, back in may Sigma said it is a macro lens!
Yes but nothing on the lens or on the shelf says this is a macro lens.
On the lens:
SIGMA 30mm 1:2.8 Ø46
On the shelf (translation from French):
30mm f/2.8 for Sony E mount and Micro Four Thirds mount
Sigma’s definition of macro is often other makers “close focus”
I had the Sigma 18-50 2.8 “macro” for EOS, and it did I think .33 or .4x. Not what i would usually call macro.
I can live with that size and weight, but Sigma come’on, we need faster aperture!!! At least F1.8 to get my appetite wet…
That would be another lens but this one is supposed to be a macro lens.
i like it.
http://photorumors.com/2011/02/09/sigma-shows-30mm-f2-8-e-mount-lens-prototype/ It looks quite different from the older mockup. It is made for nex + m43 and also much smaller then the sony 30mm!
its the same lens, just at an other focus position (the barel of the lens in the other image is moved out)
look a giant for me ><
but this a good alternatif with a fast aperture than sony e mount have f3,5
Shock horror, it’s not a pancake…
No need to be precisely a pancake, but Sony surely can make the E50mm shorter than 62mm, for example.
Ugly plastic cheap crappy lens. It better cost $99 or less or why bother? Half a stop faster at 30mm isn’t going to matter at all. This lens is even less interesting on MFT where that f/2.8 may as well be f/4 for DOF purposes.
Oh well. My SEL30M35 should arrive in about 10 hours via FedEx here in the US of A. Woohoo?
Geee… Another useless FL.
Who needs this? There are already SO MUCH great 28mm with tons of character out there.
Btw, did I mention, that 2.8 is slow?
I guess, still nothing compares to my VC Ultron 28/1.9 :>
VC Ultron 28/1.9…ahhh my most loved lens on my nex 5n
I wouldn’t say a useless focal length, I’d say a useless aperture. A 30mm f/2 pancake a’la Samsung is exactly what I want for my NEX-7. For now, yes, I can adapt a 28mm or 35mm glass, but there isn’t a single 28mm pancake out there anywhere. The closest thing is the Leica 28mm f/2, but it’s $4,000. The Vointlander 35mm Nokton is quite small, so it’s a posabilty for me, but I still want a native standard pancake prime with AF.
C’mon, it doesn’t look THAT big. 24mm f/2 please Sigma.
A few lenses Sigma can launch without much modification
4.5/f2.8 EX Fisheye
http://www.sigma-photo.co.jp/english/lens/digital/45_28.htm
10/f2.8 EX Fisheye
http://www.sigma-photo.co.jp/english/lens/digital/10_28.htm
30/1.4 EX
http://www.sigma-photo.co.jp/english/lens/digital/30_14.htm
8-16/4.5-5.6 Ultrawide Zoom
http://www.sigma-photo.co.jp/english/lens/digital/8_16_45_56.htm
These are DSLR lenses and size wont be small
See if Sigma can bend the law of physics and develop some panake or collapsable lens for NEX!
I don’t think adapting DSLR lenses is going to produce an acceptable package for the NEX. You might as just well mount them via an adaptor (albeit one that supports AF etc.). These are all lenses designed for the much larger lens register of a DSLR so will be around 2.5cm longer on an E-Mount.
The challenge of designing lenses for mirror-less cameras without making them even larger than their DSLR equivalents is going to be a new one for Sigma. they really don’t have experience in doing that, and simply adapting DSLR designs is not going to make the best of the format.
Sigma have a very good 70mm macro, which would make a good portrait lens. This is the one I would like to see in NEX mount.
Its useless for anyone not interested in Macro,
the slight speed benefit is negated by the kit lens OSS,
size is about the same,
why would i loose X3 zoom range and OSS to have for a half stop?
Stupidity and its best.
(althou, would make a nice macro for m43)
Macro@30mm? I’ll pass, thank you.
Folks, remember that this is a lens for NEX *AND* m4/3, on m4/3 this is a 60mm equivalent lens which is a typical macro.
Generally speaking, it’s not easy to release a lens that fits into the m4/3 *AND* NEX lineup.
2 Lenses I could think of:
17mm f/??: 34mm on m4/3
26mm on NEX
60mm f/??: 120mm on m4/3
90mm on NEX
Well, anything less than 100mm is actually useless for macro. Surely you can get the focus done, but you can’t get much light into the scene.
I’d rather have a 85mm FAST portrait lens, or a better 16mm lens(the kit lens is really bad), or a cheaper 24mm lens or a fast and cheap 30-35mm.
I don’t even want the 50 1.8 either, especially at 300$. Every other system gets it for half the price, I wonder if SEL-5018 will be twice as good as them.
I’ll probably just switch to 5N or 7 for even easier manuel focusing(I have a 5, can’t put a viewfinder) and buy one or two Voigtlander lenses. 35/1.4 for 629usd sounds nice! And it’ll be smaller than this Sigma!
http://eugenekan.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/new-toy-sony-nex-5-voigtlander-35mm-f-1-4-digital-camera-lens.jpg
60mm equivalent is a typical macro? When? There are 50mm macros, but i don’t know many who use them on a DSLR. Canon has a 60mm macro on th EF-S mount, but thats effectively 100mm on a crop. Most of the more poplar macros are 100-105, which would be around 60mm on NEX.
NEX needs a fast normal prime (around 30-35) and a good macro around 60mm. Instead, it has a fast normal at 50mm, and a slow macro at 30.
Why do we need this second big ingot? Sigma, please think different (samsung may point you a right way). NEX system advantage in its size/weight, not in couple of big slow lenses with “macro” ability!
Don’t be fooled by the distortion in this photo. This lens looks to be around a third shorter than the kit lens and 30/3.5. Not bad.
“The question is how much sense it makes for Sigma to release a lens like that when there is the Sony 30mm f/3.5 macro lens which will be in Stock in October.”
To have an alternative lens option, one that might be cheaper/better or worse?
I’m rather disappointed that Sigma is also dropping OS from their Pentax and Sony mount lenses, hopefully that is a trend that will not continue with their other new lenses.
Should be 150$ or less, or I will pass and keep using my 10$ manual lens.
The autofocus on sigma 50mm 1.4 lens is just…terrible, and i heard that many of their lenses have same trouble too. However, the build and the quality is pretty good, and their lenses are “handsome” too 🙂
When was the last fully AF prime lens released below $200? No way $150. Not even street price at $150.
Where are all those third party e-mount lenses? Are there any rumors?
What I really miss (all lenses should have optical stabilizer):
– 12 or 14mm f1.8
– 18-55mm f2.8
– 50-200m f4.0
– 200-400mm or 200-500mm f4.0
– macro 100mm f2.0.
Sure, and I want a 300mm f/0.95 macro pancake. lol
With a 40.5mm filter size, ideally.
Okay, there are not exactly such lenses available for the m4/3 mount but how about those:
– 7-14mm f4.0 -> e-mount: 10-22mm f4.0
– 100-300mm f4.0-f5.6 -> e-mount: 140-400mm f4.0-f5.6
How about the new 16-50mm f2.8 lens for alpha-mount -> e-mount?
I have both and I like them. 🙂
10-22mm f4.0 sounds feasible but I’m not so sure about a 140-400mm f4.0-f5.6, 400m might be too much and too heavy anyway. A 16-50mm f2.8 might be too heavy for the small NEX cameras as well.
add a 35mm f/1 and a 60mm f/1 for me 😉
I assume you realise a 500mm f4.0 is going to have a minimum external diameter (at the entrance) of around the 160mm to fit the require 125mm diameter aperture? That’s quite something to attach to a camera the size of a cigarette packet.
Seriously, if anybody actually wants such a lens on an NEX then attach it via an adapter, as that’s going to be insignificant in size compared to the optics.
Yeaaaa. Not worth the development and marketing cost.
If you stock 10 A-mount 500/4, how many E-mount 500/4 should you stock? And how often will people buy it?
I like it! If it’s really a 1:1 macro I rather buy the black Sigma than the silver Sony. A 30mm can be really useful, the Sony 30mm f/2.8 macro is a good lens.
should be a detail, but by the way an important one : i prefer lenses made in japan ! i ve seen difference about how a lens made in japan is able to live older than one made in china !!!
Does that really matter? I don’t think so.
The NEX-5 is made in Thailand. The cheap 16mm f/2.8 is made in Japan and the expensive 18-200mm is made in China. So what?
not true. All Nex cameras and lenses are made in Thailand
i have the 18-200 and it is made in china !
i would have prefer it was made in thailand or far
better in japan !!
id prefer if it was made in america..good ol america
So you think I’m not able to read the labels on my lenses? Ridiculous.
macro lens has very long gearing and require a certain spacing to the optic to goes into macro focus, hence its big.
A friend of mine who owns two AFD 50mm f1.4 version had one lens Made in Chin (Now all the 50mm f1.4 and 50mm f1.8 versions (both AIS and AFD) are made in China) So he got equally the same Made in Japan. This one is still working ! the china one is dead !!
Does anyone know where the SAL1650 is made ?
But Sony has it’s own 30mm macro, why in the world are Sigma releasing the same thing once more? What are they thinking?
There is so many other focal lenghts that are not yet made for E-mount, they could choose any one of them…
Sony has a great 70-200/2.8 alpha lens. but I can not afford it. However Sigma make an excellent one to, and its less than half the price. Many people will rather get a lens than not. or perhaps 2 lenses instead of one. Yes I would LIKE to have all Sony G or Zeiss lenses but its not going to happen the 70-300G is the only likely one and if Sigma made an F4 equivalent I would probably get that.
+1
if it’s a macro at 2.8 and a decent price I’d rather have it than sony’s at 3.5.
Agreed, if it’s cheaper than 3.5 it may be a deal. Not everyone can afford Sony’s lenses after buying the camera.
I’m surprised no one has pointed out the problem with 3rd parties making lenses for both m4/3 and NEX. The strategy makes a lot of sense–from the lens makers perspective–since they only have to develop one optical formula for very similar cameras. The problem is that the m4/3 has a longer flange distance which means a longer than needed lens.
Whose problem is it? Ours or theirs?
OURS. NEX flangeback: 18mm, M4/3 flangeback: 20mm
but in my opinion, 2mm difference is relatively small. It’s a macro and is already a bulky lens than I expected. I guess price shall decide its fate.
Ok! So, since E-mount lens line up is large enough, let’s make a new lens similar to an existing one. How about that shitty 30mm that only moms are going to use to shoot bugs in their backyard? Yay!
Hey gotta start somewhere :s
Hm, I think 30/1.4 all purpose lens are be more attractive than this.
What a tiny lens element and such a bulbous lens body/chassis it is mounted in.
Again, you need to take into account the distortion in this photo, as it looks like the Panny 20 was used in photographing this lens up close. This lens is probably a third smaller than the NEX kit zoom.
Distortion makes no difference. I’m pointing out the relative size difference of this lens vs this lens body. Compact lens body design is apparently a lost art or maybe just to expensive to pursue.
You guy do realise what this lens is dont you? And i mean the 30mm not 35mm
100% remake of the OLD quantarray 24mm 2.8 macro-many of you dont even know who that is which is sad.
Which, most you Wont know, was made by Sigma and branded as quantarray.
It was called the Quantarray Tech-10 24mm F:2.8
It was super sharp and more when stopped down.
And i still use it todayon my nex-5n ith the eos to nex adapter
Plus on my canon 50d and 5D Mark II
$30 on ebay.
But the f-stop wont work on digital cameras only old film cameras with auto focus.
This is almost 100% identical to that lens and if they are remaiking it with a nex mount after over a decade of beinf EOL, then hell yeah. It was an awesome lens.
F/2.8 is plenty fast for this type lens.