Well, I heard all the negative reviews about front focusing (quite real) and decided I needed this kind of light vacuum anyway. So, about 9 months ago I ordered. And, guess what, not only did my lens badly front focus, but it barely focused (I mean blurry). So, back it went within the week or so I had to return it for a full refund.
Anyways, I still had the itch for a light vacuum in this focal range, so after thinking long and hard about spending the money for the 35L, and enduring the increased size (and 3X cost), I was still perplexed as to what to do. Though the link for the review from Lightrules immediately below helped to convince me, it was really just that the yearning didn't go away (I have a trip planned where I know I will be needing this type of lens). So, I decided I would - one more time - give Sigma a chance to "get it right." Man, am I ever glad I did! I fully expected after reading the Lightrules reviews below to have to send my second copy back to Sigma to fix the front focus issue, but notta. Mine is absolutely perfect out of the box - - using center focus only on my crop came this lens has proved to be as accurate as any I own. What a gift!
So, now I have two 2nd party lenses to use (Sigma 30mm and Tamron 17-50), to go along with my assorment of Canon L zooms and L primes, and the gambit of Canon's excellent non-L fast primes. As you can guess I am really a fast glass addict because of the versatility they offer, and this one fits in perfect. So, from a naysayer to a convert call me. If you can handle a possible send-in back to Sigma for possible focus issues I heartily recommend this gem of a lens! If you were walking the fence like I was feel free to PM me if you would like to know more - I'd be glad to send you some shots to your email at f1.4 and F2 that are just great and are the absolute convincer and decider for me to keep it.
Both the Sigma 30mm f1.4 and Tamron 17-50 f2.8 can only be used on a crop cam 20D, 30D, presumably 40D. Not sure about the 1.3 crops - I don't own one. Though I thought I would never say so about a third party lens, I believe this Sigma 30mm is very, very close to being the equal of the Canon 35L for almost all applications - when you get it right. I don't know what the percentages are, but I was honestly planning on having to return mine for the known front focus issues - and to my utter surprise didn't have to. This lens will now become part of my travel kit which I will take on my trip for non-flash indoor art photography. If you can handle the possible return for calibration for 3X less money I would strongly recommend this Sigma lens. I was a bonafide naysayer until I read about good results by Sigma repair on Lightrules and other forums and decided to take a chance. For the cost this light vacuum is just unbelievable - having owned the 35L I am totally blown away (and happily surprised). Good luck.
I previously owned a 35L, but also sacrificed it and made the move to a Sigma 30/1.4. The 35L really didn't amaze me as much as others had praised it, so it didn't seem justified for me to keep it with my 1.6X crop bodies. I got the Sigma for a 3rd of the price of the 35L, so I saved a whole ton of money! I find the image quality and performance to be great - centre sharpness is great, though borders are not perfect (but not an issue for the type of subject matter I shoot).
Yes, I had the first of the "Holy Trinity" for about a year (35L), and just wasn't that impressed for the money - I do still own the 135L however. I ended up getting the Canon 35mm f2 to replace it and banked close to a grand.
In my comparison shooting the last couple weeks the Sigma 30mm F1.4 demonstrates better IQ than my little 35mm Canon. Outdoors in some situations the smaller Canon does handle CA better - I am actually glad to have both now.
Here is a link I found last night showing some crisp shots with very nice bokeh from the Sigma. With the real world tests I've done I don't need any more convincing:
The downside to Sigma in general is the QC. They can be excellent or just plain terrible and everything in between. The build quility in the EX series is just that, it's too bad the lenses aren't QC'ed better. My local Calumet store says that the Tamron line is far more consistant. Good luck with your new lens.
No denying quality control is a real issue with Sigma. As noted, however, their service team is top notch - so when I bought my lens I fully expected to send it in for calibration. This is a first for me, as I have only sent in one other lens, a Canon 10-22 to be calibrated, of all the lenses I own. The repair department there has from my understanding been able to "fix" the focus issues on the Sigma 30mm f1.4 - so for the considerable cost savings difference and the surprisingly comparable image quality to the 35L I bit.
My Tammy 17-50 is awesome, so much so that I needn't consider the Canon IS in this range at all - again for a 3X cost savings. The f2.8 in that lens plus the light compact size makes it an ideal fit for the crop cam, and as such for my style of shooting the cost of Ithe 17-55 IS just wasn't justified. I realize it is not an optimal situation sending a lens back to be recablibrated, but for the money and benefits I was willing to. Read the Lightrules thread on the link - that was the convincer to dive again for me.
