Micro 4/3 Showcase SIGMA 56mm F1.4 DC DN

davidzvi

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David
My current favorite (cat) portrait and fast mid:

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Wow. This lens truely outdoes its 30mm sibling ... I'm happy enough with the older 60mm f/2.8, but this is a very nice performance re sharpness, transitions and bokeh ... And of course, great shot to show all this.

M.
The older 60mm is one of (if not the) best bargains in the m4/3 world. But I like the f/4 zoom (have the 12-100 and getting the 12-45) + f/1.4-1.8 prime combination. And this is sealed (not as sealed as the 12-100, but...) so that's handy.
 
I've owned the f2.8 30mm and 60mm lenses. I got rid of the 30mm fairly quickly after finding it difficult to use that as a standard lens (I like wider), and I hung onto the 60mm for a long time due to how great the images looked coming out of it. But I finally had to admit to myself that I found it very hard to use due to the focal length. I really like the look of images made with this 56mm as well - they're straight up beautiful, but again, the focal length drives me nuts. And yet I now have the 1.4 version of the 30mm. I am a conundrum.
 
I've owned the f2.8 30mm and 60mm lenses. I got rid of the 30mm fairly quickly after finding it difficult to use that as a standard lens (I like wider), and I hung onto the 60mm for a long time due to how great the images looked coming out of it. But I finally had to admit to myself that I found it very hard to use due to the focal length. I really like the look of images made with this 56mm as well - they're straight up beautiful, but again, the focal length drives me nuts. And yet I now have the 1.4 version of the 30mm. I am a conundrum.
I don't think it's that hard to understand; I had the 30mm f/2.8 and liked it quite a bit, but it still felt somewhat limiting - that's why I got the Olympus 25mm f/1.8 that more or less replaced the 30mm f/2.8. But when the 30mm f/1.4 came along, I had to try it - and it's one of my overall favourite lenses for small mirrorless systems. I actually own two of them: one for :mu43:, one for Sony E (the Sony E "system" consists of only two lenses - I practically bought the A6000 to be able to shoot the Sigma as a 45mm-e ...).

The only downside of the 30mm f/1.4 can be some pretty annoying bokeh fringing - but since it renders beautifully in black and white, you can always resort to converting if you can't get rid of that in post.

M.
 
If I ever get back into m43, I know that I will be looking hard at the Sigma primes. I loved the 60mm f/2.8 and can't imagine the 56mm f/1.4 being better, but surely it is.

These are great examples of how well the third party lenses can perform.
I really like the 56, I have a problem with the 30 and 16.

The 16mm f/1.4 is bigger and heavier than the Oly Pro 17mm f1.2; the 30mm f/1.4 is almost the size of the Oly Pro 25mm f/1.2 and compared to the Pan Leica 25mm f/1.4? I can only assume it's because the Sigmas are also for APS-C. They both seem really nice, but just too big for me. Conversely the 56mm is smaller than the Oly 75mm f/1.8.
 
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This is James Eric Adler, who often plays acoustic-electric guitar at Strawberry Fields in Central Park in New York City. As is tradition for Strawberry Fields, he plays a lot of The Beatles and other rock and pop genres. On this day, there was bright sunlight and moderate cloud cover, and sometimes the moving of the clouds created interesting lighting effects. The angle was not my first choice, but my ideal angle would have blocked the "Imagine" memorial mosaic for tourists taking selfies, which is understandably an enormous faux pas.

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I've found the Sigma 56/1.4 to be a great medium-telephoto option for solo street performers with small audiences, to get 1/2- and 2/3-body crops. Although the focal length is still a bit short if there's a larger crowd that I have to shoot past for a 1/2-body. I've wondered about a longer option, ideally something like a 100/2, but as far as I know, that doesn't really exist in the system right now.
 
I've found the Sigma 56/1.4 to be a great medium-telephoto option for solo street performers with small audiences, to get 1/2- and 2/3-body crops. Although the focal length is still a bit short if there's a larger crowd that I have to shoot past for a 1/2-body. I've wondered about a longer option, ideally something like a 100/2, but as far as I know, that doesn't really exist in the system right now.
I guess the closest you’ll get is the Olympus 75mm f1.8?
 
I guess the closest you’ll get is the Olympus 75mm f1.8?
That's what I've often heard, and it's convinced me to passively look for a cheap used copy, but I'm not in a hurry. 75mm is not quite to the point of double focal length between primes (as in, 24mm equivalent to 50mm equivalent, or 35mm equivalent to 85mm equivalent), as conventional wisdom suggests, but it still seems nice. The other thing I do is use the long end of the 35-100/2.8 wide open, which is as long as I want, but 1 stop slower than ideal, and the bokeh can get a bit busy.
 
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