Sigma 30mm Mirrorless DUO – Reviewed!

Image: (L-R) Guest Reviewer Kervin Ng, Editor AL, Guest Reviewer KK Lim.

18th October 2017, Singapore – We posted a review of the Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN ART (in Sony E-mount) last year and Sigma Singapore recently sent us the new Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary in Micro Four Third mount. After much thought, I decided to round up 2 Olympus users and have them as our guest reviewers while I curate and play the role as a controller. I guess that will be really interesting to have 2 advance photographers to do the review instead of me doing every other review. (lol!).

Image: (L-R) Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN ART & Sigma F1.4 DC DN Contemporary. 

Kervin Ng & KK Lim, both Olympus users are excited when I told them they will be doing the review for both versions of Sigma’s 30mm for mirrorless cameras. And I decided that both should do the review shoot at Hougang Central. Hougang is an interesting town in Singapore, strangely I find that the people at Hougang to be much more friendly, more warmth and conversational (in my view) than other parts of Singapore. Then again, that’s just my view!

Image: Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN ART.

Back to the Sigma lenses, before we proceed, (and as usual) we would like to disclaim that we are reviewing based on user experience rather than a technical review which you can easily find on Sigma’s websites. We are more interested in what the lens can produce and image quality etc. If you are cool, read on.

Image: Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN ART.

Many are puzzled why Sigma has 2 versions of 30mm in 2 different line (Art & Contemporary) and to add to the confusion, the new DC DN F1.4 was categorized under the “C” aka Contemporary Line while the DN F2.8 was made as an “A” aka Art Line lens. Trust me, we are confused too but as we did the review, it became clear to us what Sigma was trying to do. For the simple reason that the F1.4 gives users a touch-preview of Art Line’s quality images, fun of shooting with wide opened apertures and the F2.8 was really made for serious photographers who wants the most out of their every images.

Image: Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary. 

Let’s take a physical look at both lenses. The new Sigma F1.4 DC DN C lens (64.8mm x 73.3mm) stands taller than the Sigma F2.8 DN A lens (60.8mm x 40.5mm) and the C lens weights slightly heavier at 265gm than the A lens which is 140gm. Both lenses are built with high quality material however the A lens feels more expensive than the C in this area. The A lens accepts 46mm screw-on filters on the front while the C accepts 52mm. Both lenses comes with dedicated lends hood in the retail box too.

Image: Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary. 

Internally, the C lens has 9 elements in 7 groups while the A lens has 7 elements in 5 groups and here comes the juicy part – the C lens has 9 rounded aperture blades while the A lens has 7 rounded aperture blades – in the optical world, the C lens will produce rounder bokehs than the A lens. Both lenses starts focusing from as close as 30cm with the C lens focuses from F1.4 to F16 while the A lens focuses from F2.8 to F22 and that should give you an obvious hint that both lenses are designed for different applications.
And when both lenses are mounted to a Micro Four Third system, it gives the user a 35mm equivalent of 60mm focal length that is very good for street photography or mid-range portraiture works.

Image: Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary. 

So, I passed both the lenses to Kervin & KK last weekend and briefly shared about Hougang and off they went with the lenses. I told them to capture the various sights, people and everything that best showcase Hougang and they did. Do check out their images below as well as their comments from using both lenses. (All review images below are mildly edited with straightening, cropping, adjustment of exposure and adding of water marks – everything else was left as it is).

Let’s check out their photos and see what they had made Hougang out to be.

The below image of a boy playing kite was shot by both lenses.

Below are images shot by both of them using the Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary lens.

And next, are the images from the both of them using the Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN Art lens.

There are a lot more awesome images which both Kervin & KK Lim will be posting on their Facebook pages. If you wish to check out the rest of the images that were shot by both lenses, please pop by Kervin’s Facebook or KK Lim’s Facebook.

Now let’s hear what they have to say about both Sigma 30mm lenses!

Kervin – “Both lenses are very similar yet different. Each has its unique quality and definitely made for different users. Although both lenses are sharp, the F2.8 Art is really more of a street lens as compared to the F1.4 Contemporary which I feel that it is made more towards portraits use. The wider aperture of the C lens also suggests that this lens is also suitable for indoor or shooting in low light scenes. The F2.8 Art is simply an excellent  street lens in my view. My favorite has to be the F2.8 Art.”  

KK Lim – “After using both versions, I felt that the focusing on the Art lens is much faster than the C lens, but both lenses gave me equally sharp images even when shooting wide open. On the images, the C lens seems to be more contrasty when paired to my Olympus camera, it could be just me. As for handling, I like the fact that both lenses are light, small and very manageable.  The focal length of 30mm (60mm) is also great for street photography. The wide aperture of the F1.4 simply makes my images pop and more 3D, I’d take the F1.4 C anytime!” 

Editor – From what I had noticed, both Kervin & KK had tried both lenses and they both like certain aspects of each lenses – further confirming my earlier thoughts in the beginning of this article that both lenses are really made and designed for different applications even though the focal length is the same. At press time, I do not know the retail price of both lenses, I am sure Sigma had priced them closely and if you are looking for prime lenses for your mirrorless system, do check out both versions of Sigma’s 30mm and I am sure you will find the 30mm that you need.

OK Guys, Buy your NEW Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN ART or 30mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary here.