I have written a lot on the site about Bokeh. I was there at the beginning when Mike Johnson wrote and edited the first definitive articles, even created the name (shame it is mostly miss-pronounced), which then became the phenomenon and have been keenly aware of it since.
It may seem odd then, that I am not a keen proponent of the whole “super Bokeh ball” craze. Bokeh is a lot of things, wide open blobbiness is only one of them. Having said that, getting a single lens in my kit that heroes it is a plus, especially when it is a lens with other decent properties.
The Sigma 30mm f1.4 DC is one of three lenses all gaining a strong following, especially with Sony and MFT users. Sony crop frame users are enjoying the quality they offer in a fairly thin fields, MFT users, spoilt by choice really, are responding to the speed to price and quality equation.
First up, things I cannot show you.
AF on an Olympus EM1 mk2 is solid. I place it in the same league as my Oly 25mm on an older EM5 mk1. Very fast, mostly reliable, but with the odd moment of “?” and I would not choose it over a native lens for tracking AF. On a G9 I found it less reassuring, but serviceable, more like the older Pana 20mm f1.7 on an old EM5.
Handling is sublime, with smooth operation near perfect balance and top end (plasti-metal) build quality. If it was all metal it would feel colder, but not necessarily better.
Optically, it is a real adventure.
Firstly a disclaimer. I did not realise until after I had finished, that the shots were recorded on my second card in JPEG, so all these findings are up for re-review, but interestingly I did not realise at the time.
Very nice. I do feel a little bit odf a sell out though, paying into the ultra blurry crowd. There is a small touch of Canon colour here, maybe even echoes of a full frame look.
Another check for off centre sharpness (just noticed the fringing on the top set).
All good.
Black and white conversions have a Sony like quality, contrasty and crisp. If I had realised this was a JPEG, I likely would not have messed wit it, but it has a certain quality.
Close focus contrast holds up and Bokeh is nice for this type of imaging.
Focussing is accurate enough to use the Bokeh avaialble creatively, and it has some very nice properties.
I feel very excited about the potential this lens has for creative blur, in much the same way I appreciate the 17mm Olympus lenses’ ability to hold detail in out of focus areas. Horses for courses.
Below are a coupe of f1.4 and 2.8 comparisons and a pair showing background and foreground Bokeh wide open (which is very nice).
But it did not take me long to find this………. .
Yikes!
The photographic “first world problem”. Not really an issue these days. as long as it is cleanly one coloured, but still, the worst CA of any lens I own and it takes many forms, but in fairness, I doubt the firmware in the EM1 would be applying proper or any JPEG corrections, so maybe more to this story.
Dangerously thin depth of field from the “no shallow depth” MFT format. I seriously question the need for super shallow depth aperture use on full frame cameras except to satisfy curiosity and for special effects. To me, a fast portrait lens in this format is more than enough.
Barely practical.
After this set of tests, I still decided to use it today for some group shots. The cut-out of the group was good, but always risky to use a new bit of gear on a job second day out of the box. As it turns out, I stuggled to get the cooler shaded area blue out of the white shirts and hold balance for the rest.
Still surprised I did not realise these were JPEGs. The first giveaway with C1 you are using a non-RAW image is poor highlight recovery (turns the whole image grey). You need to use Brightness and Exposure to balance out overly brilliant images.
Is it a fourth good lens purchase in a short space of time?
The Leica 12-60 is a strong win. At f4 it is too slow for some uses, but overall, it replaces the ailing 12-40 for most uses.
The kit 12-60 is also very good except for some CA I noticed in tree branches today. It has a nice quality in strong light, a bit like the 75-300 Oly.
The 15mm is a total winner, a genuine kit enhancer. It manages to make itself relevant next to the favoured 17mm and empowers the G9’s.
The Sigma is more of a specialist and a lens that is exciting to use, with some awareness applied. CA, which is fixable, is a genuine issue and the fast aperture, although the main reason for buying the lens, needs to be used carefully. If the lens was a native Oly or Pana lens, it would have more reliable focus, but would also be several times more expensive.
My main concern is using it for video. CA there could be a tough fix.
So, happy enough, but unlike the three Pana lenses, a mixed bag.