I know I'm becoming more eccentric by the minute but I have to confess that while the Panasonic cameras are wonderful professional tools if the studio was burning to the ground and I could only save one camera with which to document the tragic event that camera would be the Sigma fp.
I know that many of you pride yourselves on being very, very rational human beings. You make decisions based on weighing the features and benefits. You read the spec sheets. You delve into the reviews. And then you go for the most practical product. But that's antithetical to the whole idea of art. And I certainly can't imagine you picked your spouse that way....
Embracing stuff that's imperfect because it's perfectly imperfect is probably the reason you can't explain why you love some stuff and other stuff leaves you blah. I'm a big fan of the Sigma fp precisely because it isn't perfect, it isn't mainstream and it certainly isn't "cookie cutter." I live by the Texas motto that the only thing in the middle of the road is a dead armadillo.
And this carries over to my love of peculiar and differently abled lenses as well. I was shooting video with the Sigma fp at a fun job last week but also making photographs on the same project with a Panasonic S1. I loved the look and the angle of view I was getting from the Sigma 45mm f2.8 and I wanted the same sharp/soft mix on my S1 but I didn't want to stop and change lenses over and over again. So I defaulted to a 50mm f1.4 on the S1 and finished up the job. As soon as we wrapped I left the painful packing to a perky assistant, jumped in my car and rushed to the camera store to buy a second 45mm Sigma. The idea is that when you find a lens that grabs you by the amygdala and makes you grin like a wild man you should have it on both of your active shooting cameras.
It also doesn't hurt to lay in a back-up copy of the lens you find yourself using the most. But, of course, that's crazy talk. Most people will be fine with one. Unless you really find yourself smitten.....
Why do I like it? Because the object itself looks gorgeous, it works perfectly, the images coming out of it look different and (to me) better than the more "perfect" lenses around that focal length, and because it's demure. If you shoot with Sony or L-mount you should give it a try. It's not going to win the test chart beauty pageant but is that how we need to be assessing lenses? Or people? Or anything? Naw, you want to equip yourself with things (and people) that bring you joy. This lens is one of those things.
Yes. Of Course. It's got a delightful aperture ring.
Third stop clicks come standard.
I took a bag full of Sigma Art lenses and Lumix S Pro lenses to a job today.
The lens I used for the entire morning was the inexpensive 45mm.
In the limelight.
I will back you up on that. A perfect focal length and a lovely look. It never comes off my S1. The 24-105 is now a paperweight.
ReplyDeleteAn overlarge, expensive (c$550) and relatively slow standard lens? I will be among the many who don't get the particular attraction. The Canon 40mm f2.8 pancake is at least really cheap and very small, and only $130. Mysterious.
ReplyDeleteWe're human beings. The notion of rational, objective decision making is a fallacy. From the very beginning people have fallen in love with certain lenses for the look they give to the photos. Whether it is a certain tonality, or sharpness, or background fuzziness, the lenses that moved people gained a reputation.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first moved to digital I did not have the funds to buy Canon glass for the used 10D I'd bought cheaply on eBay. I used manual focus lenses with cheap adapters. My favorite was the Nikkor-O 35mm f2. Sharp as a tack and the color was gorgeous. Same went for the Nikkor-H 85mm f1.8. I also picked up a manual Sigma 24mm f2.8 lens that was very good. It gave a colder rendition than my other lenses, but it was very sharp. I liked it.
Now I use auto-focus glass and have less fun. Go figure. It is cool that you were able to find a lens that really grabs you and gives you joy. I am sure we will enjoy seeing the results.
Perky assistant?
ReplyDeleteChris, It's a small lens, especially compared to most new designs on the market. It's "slow" relative to what? Lenses are not commodities like wheat and sugar. They have different strengths and weaknesses. The flavors are different. Just as a cheap cut of beef can be called "steak" and a cut of Waygu beef can also be called a steak but there are worlds of different in every aspect of the better cut, so it is with lenses.
ReplyDeleteThat you can't or won't see the difference, or prefer to convince yourself that all stuff in each category is the same, makes me a bit sad for you.
I'm sure the Canon lens is decent. I'm equally sure it has a different personality than the Sigma 45mm.
See James Weekes's comment for a shorter take.
ReplyDeleteWell it's a over stop slower than most 50s at least and its MF. It's beautifully made I'll give you that, and agree it really isn't big, although it is not a pancake, which it could have been. Of course there is no arguing about taste, but that is my reaction. The Canon 40mm is very good by the way. There again a new Summicron-M 50mm costs >$2500, so you got away lightly.
ReplyDeleteChris, Just NO. It's an autofocus lens and autofocuses on Leicas, Sigmas and Lumix cameras that support the L - mount. It also provides full AF on Sony cameras variants.
ReplyDeleteThere is also a new Apo Summicron 50mm M lens from Leica and it's $ 8795.00 So that makes the very, very good Sigma 45mm a mere fraction of the price. I'm betting the Apo Summicron is just a bit better...
The Canon is reported to be a very decent lens but....it doesn't fit and AF on my Sigma FP....
Kirk,
ReplyDeleteOK got that wrong. Also I realize that you are a bit restricted on the L mount for full functioning standard lenses, although I guess you can pay more soon for the 50 and 40 f1.4 ARTs that will be coming to L mount. Also I notice there is the Sigma Mount Converter MC-21 that would allow you to use Canon (or presumably Sigma, Tamron etc) EF mount lenses on the L mount cameras, but at $250 its twice the price of a cheap Canon 40mm or 50/1.8. No idea how well it works. Yes, I spared the comparison with APO-Summicron, I hesitate to suggest, but that might be a case of guilding the lily.
Chris. No problem. I can't keep all the specs in my head either. I will say that the L mount does have a remarkable 50mm f1.4 S Pro lens available in the system. It's $2300. It's super heavy and large. It's super sharp and "Leica Certified" and I bought one when I first started accumulating the system. I bought the 45mm after trying to carry around that 50mm for a couple of weeks. 😄 Did I mention though that it is sharp? I also recently played with the Sigma L-Mount 40mm f1.4. It's insanely big. Maybe for an intense job with a big pay off....but for everyday? No.
ReplyDeleteOn the SIGMA SEIN blog, there is some background on the design principles for this lens - quite interesting:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.sigma-sein.com/en/ohsone/45mm-f2-8-dg-dn-contemporary/