Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM Autofocus Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras $249 + free shipping

I've had this one for years and it is great! 95% of people that buy dslr's (my guess), never put out the effort to learn about their camera at all. They want to shoot in auto and get a nice pic. If you actually want to understand the settings and explore what your cam is capable of, this is a great starter lens! The average joe, though, is more impressed by a 12-400mm f12...

*redacted

Why aren't you for Canon too? >_<

Sigma is shipping the new 30mm f/1.4 this month for $499, in case anyone's interested.

There's no guarantee the new model will have the nice bokeh of the old model.

Quote from VarmintCong : Sigma is shipping the new 30mm f/1.4 this month for $499, in case anyone's interested. There's no guarantee the new model will have the nice bokeh of the old model.

from the specs though. I doubt it'll be worse.

I have the nikon d5100 as well. I am sorry to keep asking questions like the ones previously asked. I shoot portraits. Mostly indoor, but for the ones outdoors of families etc, I would like to get some nice Bokeh. I have problems with blurring the backgrounds even when I change my depth of field. Would this lens work with my camera and since it has such a low f stop allow me to perfect my bokeh? Right now I just have the 18-55mm lens that came with my camera. and a Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG APO Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens. Any help on which lens would be best would be greatly appreciated.

Quote from karlint : I have the nikon d5100 as well. I am sorry to keep asking questions like the ones previously asked. I shoot portraits. Mostly indoor, but for the ones outdoors of families etc, I would like to get some nice Bokeh. I have problems with blurring the backgrounds even when I change my depth of field. Would this lens work with my camera and since it has such a low f stop allow me to perfect my bokeh? Right now I just have the 18-55mm lens that came with my camera. and a Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG APO Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens. Any help on which lens would be best would be greatly appreciated.

85mm to 105mm on 35mm film is consider most flattering for portraits.

since d5100 have 1.6 crop factor, 30mm on d5100 means... 48mm


Here is the break down.

there are wide angle lens for landscape shots.

and there are normal lens.. ( like this one) which seem to mimic the natural dept of field look of human eyes.

and there are telephotos.. for portraits these have narrower pov.. (more bokah) but

Quote from tkkidd : 85mm to 105mm on 35mm film is consider most flattering for portraits. since d5100 have 1.6 crop factor, 30mm on d5100 means... 48mm Here is the break down. there are wide angle lens for landscape shots. and there are normal lens.. ( like this one) which seem to mimic the natural dept of field look of human eyes. and there are telephotos.. for portraits these have narrower pov.. (more bokah) but

So do you think someone with a D5100 and a Nikkor 50mm 1.8 who prefers taking landscapes should pick this up or save up more for a more wide angle lens?

Thanks!

If anyone has issues with front or back focusing with this lens....use it in AI Servo (Continuous Autofocus mode). This seemed to fix the issue for me and a lot of other people on POTN (Canon forums).

I found it to be quite sharp wide open (1.4), but most photographers who aren't new know to stop down to include more. It becomes ridiculously sharp when stopped down a little. That's what the fast 1.4 aperture is good for---not necessarily for shooting wide open. Even with more expensive lenses and cameras, the pro photographers stop down to at least 2.2 or 2.8. If you shoot at 1.4, you'll run into issues of focusing + recomposing....and getting just one eye in focus, and the other eye--or a second person's face out of focus. It's distracting and not good photography. f/2.8 and depending on how far away from your subject you are, you can be more safe and get everyone's face/eyes in focus. You still get very nice bokeh.

Just my 2 cents Get this lens... $250 is a bargain. I JUST sold my Canon version on craigslist a month and half ago for $340 after using it for almost a year.

I got this lens on the last FP deal.... it was totally worth it. Best lens that I mostly keep on. I also own the Canon 50mm 1.4, but 30mm is perfect.

Quote from hyogen : If anyone has issues with front or back focusing with this lens....use it in AI Servo (Continuous Autofocus mode). This seemed to fix the issue for me and a lot of other people on POTN (Canon forums). I found it to be quite sharp wide open (1.4), but most photographers who aren't new know to stop down to include more. It becomes ridiculously sharp when stopped down a little. That's what the fast 1.4 aperture is good for---not necessarily for shooting wide open. Even with more expensive lenses and cameras, the pro photographers stop down to at least 2.2 or 2.8. If you shoot at 1.4, you'll run into issues of focusing + recomposing....and getting just one eye in focus, and the other eye--or a second person's face out of focus. It's distracting and not good photography. f/2.8 and depending on how far away from your subject you are, you can be more safe and get everyone's face/eyes in focus. You still get very nice bokeh. Just my 2 cents Get this lens... $250 is a bargain. I JUST sold my Canon version on craigslist a month and half ago for $340 after using it for almost a year.

^Agreed with all of the above. 1.4 is more for designating the potential of the prime lens and not so much for being useful in real-world situations. If a lens can do 1.4, chances are it's performance at 1.8 will be better than a lens that is only 1.8 at its fastest.

I posted extensively in an older Sigma deal thread about my lens having front-focusing issues, which I now know after testing my second copy that the problem is in my camera body. It's funny that no one really talks about that when people compare the Rebel series to the more expensive bodies, and the lack of focus micro-adjustment in low-end bodies is huge for people who like to shoot pictures with shallow DOF. Someone posted the POTN thread which enlightened me greatly. The only thing is I needed to send the first copy in anyway because it had a decentering issue, which contrast detection in live view doesn't fix.

Quote from TheFakeMoonMan : So do you think someone with a D5100 and a Nikkor 50mm 1.8 who prefers taking landscapes should pick this up or save up more for a more wide angle lens? Thanks!

I'd save up and get something more wide angle, if you are into landscapes. I have a 35mm I use for some landscape work, but, I use my 11-16 far more

Quote from hyogen : If anyone has issues with front or back focusing with this lens....use it in AI Servo (Continuous Autofocus mode). This seemed to fix the issue for me and a lot of other people on POTN (Canon forums). I found it to be quite sharp wide open (1.4), but most photographers who aren't new know to stop down to include more. It becomes ridiculously sharp when stopped down a little. That's what the fast 1.4 aperture is good for---not necessarily for shooting wide open. Even with more expensive lenses and cameras, the pro photographers stop down to at least 2.2 or 2.8. If you shoot at 1.4, you'll run into issues of focusing + recomposing....and getting just one eye in focus, and the other eye--or a second person's face out of focus. It's distracting and not good photography. f/2.8 and depending on how far away from your subject you are, you can be more safe and get everyone's face/eyes in focus. You still get very nice bokeh. Just my 2 cents Get this lens... $250 is a bargain. I JUST sold my Canon version on craigslist a month and half ago for $340 after using it for almost a year.

repped! This is the first time i've seen someone post a solution to the focusing problem other than "send it to sigma". I dont live in the US so i was sceptical about purchasing this lens for my t3i. You have convinced me. How well do it perform on manual and is it great at video?

Quote from preppyak : I'd save up and get something more wide angle, if you are into landscapes. I have a 35mm I use for some landscape work, but, I use my 11-16 far more

Are you talking about the tokina 11mm-16mm lens?

Yes, it's great on manual and video. The focus ring is smooth and you can make fine adjustments. In fact, before I figured out that AI Servo mode fixed my front focusing issue, I made another workaround...

I just focused It, then turned the focus wheel about a few millimeters....a few degrees on a 360 degree circle. Focusing was pretty much spot on and I got the feel of how much I needed to turn the focus ring after a short while. I pretty much got 90%+ spot on focus using this method