Sigma 30mm F1.4 Contemporary DC DN Lens for Micro 4/3

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Micro 4/3 (MFT) systems have quite a few affordable and very good lenses, both Panasonic and Olympus. However when looking for a large aperture (f1.4 or larger) lens thats sharp and with shallow DoF, things get a bit complicated. Our options, with autofocus, are: Panasonic Leica Summilux DG 25mm F1.4 for USD 519.99 Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 25mm f1.2 PRO for USD 1,199.99 or this lens, the Sigma 30mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary for USD 339.00 Granted the Olympus has superior optics, is weatherproof and more solidly built but its 3.5X the cost! However the Panasonic Leica cannot claim any of those and is still a good USD 180 more. The only weird thing about the Sigma(and this depends on your needs) is its 30mm (60mm =) focal length. This makes it harder as a walk round lens but is actually more adequate for portraits. In my case it suits me fine as Id rather have a 17mm (35mm =) as walk around lens. If you have a MFT system you should give this lens a try.

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Ive tried several lens on the m43 platform through the years, and ultimately I believe primes are one of the best ways to get the results. Yes, this is a bit larger than the 25 f1.4, but the combination of the MFD (minimum focus distance), aperture, and focal length do make it one of my favorite lens. Ive tried the 17, 25, 45, 75 primes from Olympus and the 12-35 zoom from Panasonic. The 30mm is one of my most used lens now.

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Great color and sharpness. My copy had a slight back focus (which is weird on mft) at f1.4 on my GX8, so I returned it. I didnt feel it was too big. I did come from a DSLR, so any MFT lens/camera combo doesnt feel too big. Maybe if youre using a Panasonic GM1 or GM5. I would recommend this lens, but check the focus.

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This lens occupies an interesting middle ground between "Normal" and Portrait Focal Lengths. As 30mm lens originally designed for APS-C cameras, this translates to a 60mm (in 35mm equiv) on Micro 4/3. As such, it has no direct comparisons to other autofocusing lenses in the µ4/3 catalog, but it does come close to some – the most obvious of which is the Leicasonic 25mm f/1.4 Compared to that lens, this one is longer in physical dimensions and slightly longer in focal length. This resulting tighter field of view makes it a bit too narrow as a "normal" lens for some, but at the same time quite useful as a portrait lens. It doesnt give you the same working distance from your subject as the 42.5-45mm portrait lenses in the catalog, but its a much more versatile focal length in my opinion. Also compared to the Leicasonic 25/1.4, this lens is notably cheaper while offering quite similar performance. Im sure you can find detailed technical reviews that compare objective characteristics like sharpness, and also subjective reviews of things like bokeh and "rendering character". In my use, the lens took great photos, and I never felt like I was missing something found in its more expensive rival. Overall, this lens offers great value for the money and is one of the best lenses in the micro 4/3 catalog. It boast excellent build quality with very smooth and satisfying focus ring movement, quick and quiet auto-focusing, great sharpness and bokeh, and a bright f1.4 aperture. If it bore the brand name of one of the big native µ4/3 manufacturers, it would almost certainly cost more – and I doubt people would complain, given its high performance. The only real marks against this lens are that the Leicasonic 25/1.4 already exists which is physically smaller and in a focal length that people are more accustomed to seeing. But I think the $250 youll save by buying this lens will more than make up for it.

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Great lens! I really love the focal distance. The fast aperture is really special. For the price point, if you have a micro four thirds cam you really should grab this lens along with the Sigma f/1.4 16mm. Great to have in your bag and you will find that you will use them more than you thought.

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This is an excellent lens. One of the sharpest I’ve seen. Slight glow at 1.4 and a little fringing, but it’s easily cleaned up in post. Ran it on a Panasonic G85 before I moved to Sony. Go figure, it was the first lens I bought for my a6300. It’s a great short portrait lens on M43.

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The 30mm F1.4 is working well so far. It is nice a sharp at f2.0 for sure. I think it is sharp at 1.4 but I did see some images not as sharp. But, it may have been just some. I shot a party where I had a studio setup and shot a couple hundred shots during the portrait shoot. They all came out nice and sharp. Love the boca I get. Nice having F1.4. I did notice the sigma lens can struggle to focus in low light.

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Im no expert when it comes to photography but this my best lens by far. Great in low light clearest pictures and the best deal by far of all the lenes that I own.

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I absolutely love this lens. 1.4 is great..,I use for film and photog.

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Well, you did want this for that creamy blurry background,right? Well, guess what? You are in luck because this lens does that very well. So go buy it already.

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