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Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review

  
 
Enri
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p.22 #1 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


Fred, I`ve read this Sigma is one of your favorites lenses... as much as the CV 40 1.2? Which one would you choose if you only could have one of the two?


Sep 12, 2019 at 02:47 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.22 #2 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


Enri wrote:
Fred, I`ve read this Sigma is one of your favorites lenses... as much as the CV 40 1.2? Which one would you choose if you only could have one of the two?


They are actually close in FOV and similarly optimized for mid/long distance. The Sigma is lighter/smaller and has AF but it's not a lens I would choose under low light. That's when I prefer the Voigtlander.
Stopped down for landscapes, they are also similar at center. The Voigtlander is capable of higher resolution for the mid-field area and renders beautiful sunstars while the Sigma's corners are stronger.

I prefer the Sigma's rendering 'quality' while the Voigtlander wins on 'quantity'.



Sep 12, 2019 at 03:01 PM
RoamingScott
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p.22 #3 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


I've actually wondered if the Sigma would be a good practical replacement for the Canon 40/2.8 pancake, which is a lens I love for its unique rendering. The downside of the Canon is the slow and loud autofocus. However, 40mm is already tight indoors as it is, not sure I'd want to lose another 5mm of leeway. All told, this sigma looks like a very decent walkabout option compared to the Sony 35/2.8 for instance.


Sep 12, 2019 at 03:02 PM
chez
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p.22 #4 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


RoamingScott wrote:
I've actually wondered if the Sigma would be a good practical replacement for the Canon 40/2.8 pancake, which is a lens I love for its unique rendering. The downside of the Canon is the slow and loud autofocus. However, 40mm is already tight indoors as it is, not sure I'd want to lose another 5mm of leeway. All told, this sigma looks like a very decent walkabout option compared to the Sony 35/2.8 for instance.


For me, 35mm is much better as a walk around in narrow streets and markets. 45mm is a focal length looking to fill a hole where maybe there isn't one.



Sep 12, 2019 at 03:12 PM
imagesfromobjects
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p.22 #5 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review



Thanks for the detailed post. So I guess I'm thinking that, if the AF-C issue is on the Sony end, we may never see a fix for it, at least not in firmware. We all know how Sony doesn't really do those. Well... they do, but it means buying a newer body.

We may just have to live with it?

zhangyue wrote:
Hi, Darrellc, Thank you for thinking of me As you can see I really like this little sigma and can clearly see sigma's design effort. The limitation of this lens obviously is f2.8. However, the bokeh is really not just quantity but quality. At close range, this lens give a special glowing around focus plain, and background is very smooth without any stress on corner or double edge. The highlight of this little lens is CA control, maybe it is due to f2.8, it is surprisingly good. It is build at very high quality with aperture ring,(Though, TBH, I
...Show more



Sep 12, 2019 at 04:22 PM
Seabassius
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p.22 #6 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


Funny, I submitted the return on BH and keep dragging my feet on printing the RMA, hoping to wake up surprised by a firmware release one day. Watching the calendar...


Sep 12, 2019 at 09:38 PM
nhsonyshooter
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p.22 #7 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


Seabassius wrote:
Funny, I submitted the return on BH and keep dragging my feet on printing the RMA, hoping to wake up surprised by a firmware release one day. Watching the calendar...


And I'm watching this forum just to see if they fix the AF. Then I would buy it again. But not until they do.



Sep 13, 2019 at 04:52 AM
realVivek
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p.22 #8 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


The Zony 35/2.8 has no competition! Focuses fast on old and new cameras.

RoamingScott wrote:
I've actually wondered if the Sigma would be a good practical replacement for the Canon 40/2.8 pancake, which is a lens I love for its unique rendering. The downside of the Canon is the slow and loud autofocus. However, 40mm is already tight indoors as it is, not sure I'd want to lose another 5mm of leeway. All told, this sigma looks like a very decent walkabout option compared to the Sony 35/2.8 for instance.





Sep 13, 2019 at 05:47 AM
sergun
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p.22 #9 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


Sigma is available in the presence of my city. Can't decide to take it or Samyang 45. Sigma for near plans is bigger / better. Better Assembly / diaphragm ring . On the side of Samyang price / aperture. Cons: the variation of quality, "yellow" pictures.


Sep 14, 2019 at 03:21 AM
keepcoding
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p.22 #10 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


sergun wrote:
Sigma is available in the presence of my city. Can't decide to take it or Samyang 45. Sigma for near plans is bigger / better. Better Assembly / diaphragm ring . On the side of Samyang price / aperture. Cons: the variation of quality, "yellow" pictures.


I haven't noticed any "yellow" shift in my photos with the Samyang 45. Generally I am very pleased with it, but I am thinking of getting the Sigma in addition just because of the better build quality and smoother rendering.
Unfortunately, I haven't seen many direct comparisons of the two lenses, and none that shows the difference in rendering.



Sep 14, 2019 at 03:28 AM
 


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MayaTlab
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p.22 #11 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


keepcoding wrote:
Unfortunately, I haven't seen many direct comparisons of the two lenses, and none that shows the difference in rendering.


Perhaps Dustin Abbott will have one.

In the meantime while this is not a direct comparison, Sony Alpha Blog's photos on flickr may be seen as a starting point :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sonyalphablog/albums/72157709197168363
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sonyalphablog/albums/72157710501972186

While I think that we can safely say that the Sigma is more aggressive in the way it modulates aberrations to make the rear transitions more gaussian and slightly hazy, I'm not sure that the difference is large enough that we should go into details without a well executed direct comparison, particularly at longer distances.



Sep 14, 2019 at 03:37 AM
genji
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p.22 #12 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


darrellc wrote:
https://www.sigma-sein.com/en/ohsone/45mm-f2-8-dg-dn-contemporary/

Interesting article from head of Sigma product planning on the lens

Some excerpts from the article:

There we were, unable to raise the MTF performance and unsatisfied with the bokeh, when we received a surprising proposal from our optical engineers in charge: to develop the lens with the highest priority given to its expression of bokeh...

1 — The overall MTF performance is lower due to the flares caused by spherical aberrations, but all other aberrations – especially color aberrations – are wonderfully suppressed, resulting in unexpectedly great MTF performance in high frequencies. In other words, the image is covered by a very
...Show more

Thanks for posting a link to this fascinating article. I just wish there were more articles like this which explain in depth the tradeoffs that must be made in designing a particular lens. I’m now even more inclined to buy the Sigma 45/2.8. Initially I was put off by the (deliberate as it turns out) drop in quality at close distance. But this can be rectified to a degree with an achromat. I still hesitated because of the AF-C issue but, if that can’t be resolved with a firmware update, I’m still inclined to simply use AF-S. Given that the lens appears to be widely misunderstood by the usual clueless “reviewers”, its price is likely to drop within a few months. I’ll wait until then to pick one up.



Sep 14, 2019 at 05:17 AM
philip_pj
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p.22 #13 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


A remarkable, informative and balanced statement by Sigma. Kudos to them, what a breath of fresh air after the wall-to-wall self-aggrandising pumped out by other manufacturers. This level of self-awareness augurs well for their future, and maybe it marks another direction in the new age opening up at present. Thanks for posting.


Sep 14, 2019 at 05:59 AM
vdo1
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p.22 #14 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


chez wrote:
For me, 35mm is much better as a walk around in narrow streets and markets. 45mm is a focal length looking to fill a hole where maybe there isn't one.


Well there is a hole around 50mm for small and light AF lenses. Sony’s 50/1.8 and 55 /1.8 are not without warts. Maybe they’ll get the idea of doing a 50/1.8 Mk II with internal focus and 0.25 magnification at MFD. I’d be all over it.



Sep 14, 2019 at 10:15 AM
zhangyue
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p.22 #15 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


vdo1 wrote:
Well there is a hole around 50mm for small and light AF lenses. Sony’s 50/1.8 and 55 /1.8 are not without warts. Maybe they’ll get the idea of doing a 50/1.8 Mk II with internal focus and 0.25 magnification at MFD. I’d be all over it.


I actually really like 55f1.8 personally. Another wonderful balance designed glass. Sure CA is there, but overall I miss this lens the most from my Sony experience.

imagesfromobjects wrote:
We may just have to live with it?



You are welcome. If you ask my opinion. Yes, you may have to live with it. I can easily live with it if it was me. AFC not only rely on camera body's AF capability but also Lens focus motor design which I don't think it is very fast with this sigma anyway. (My feel without scientific testing)



Sep 14, 2019 at 02:09 PM
Gunzorro
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p.22 #16 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


After reading the Sigma article (thanks Darrell), I am struck by the apparent similarity in performance between the Canon EF 50/1.2L and the Sigma 45/2.8C, especially in the "look" provided by the spherical aberration at close-to-mid distances with apertures in the f/2.8 area. I've seen this as well with an earlier Nikon "K" (pre-AI) 55/1.2, where the image sharpens up tremendously at longer distances especially at f/2.8 and beyond, but still retains good bokeh at these distances.

Obviously, the Sigma does this at a lighter weight and lower price point than the Canon 50L, but it seems to parallel in performance. I'd be very interested to see comparison at similar apertures and distances between these types of lenses.

Since I have the Sigma 50 Art and the Canon 50L, I'm not likely to be a candidate right away for the new Sigma 50C, but it does look like a very nice lens.



Sep 14, 2019 at 04:56 PM
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p.22 #17 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


Just tried using the Sony RMT-P1BT Bluetooth Wireless Remote on my A7R3 with the Sigma 45mm, it doesn't manual focus with the + - buttons, my other Sony lenses work fine, anybody else encounter this problem?



Sep 16, 2019 at 02:58 PM
bjornthun
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p.22 #18 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


Peterm69 wrote:

Just tried using the Sony RMT-P1BT Bluetooth Wireless Remote on my A7R3 with the Sigma 45mm, it doesn't manual focus with the + - buttons, my other Sony lenses work fine, anybody else encounter this problem?
https://media.cameracanada.com/CC/productimage/Sony/Sony_RMTP1BT_remote.jpg


Will it manual focus the Zeiss Batis lenses with the + and - buttons? Does somebody have a Batis lens and Sony’s BT remote to try?



Sep 16, 2019 at 04:21 PM
saxguy
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p.22 #19 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


I have the Batis 40 and it works.


Sep 16, 2019 at 06:20 PM
MayaTlab
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p.22 #20 · Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Review


Direct comparison with the Samyang here in Dustin Abbott's "IQ breakdown" :




Sep 18, 2019 at 10:38 AM
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