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Product DetailsStyle: Sony E 330965
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Product Description
Style: Sony E 330965
30mm F2.8 EX DN
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
62 of 66 people found the following review helpful
Style Name:Sony E 330965
Sony has made some brilliant cameras with its NEX line. They are small, light and produce great images. The problem is that there is only one small and light Sony lens for the cameras, and it's not in a general purpose focal length. Panasonic, Olympus and Samsung all produce small fixed focal length lenses and they sell well. Sony hasn't. My guess is that the video people designed the lens line, not still photographers, which leaves the NEX cameras lacking compared to other small, interchangeable lens camera makers. Enter Sigma. This lens isn't quite pancake small, but it is compact and very light. It is optically better than any Sony NEX lens except the 1.8 50mm and the 1.4 24mm, both of which cost many times as much. In the case of the 24mm Zeiss designed lens that's $900 more. Ouch.
The 30mm Sigma works out to 45mm equivalent for a full frame/film lens, which is pretty darn close to the standard 50mm lens that many film photographers got on their cameras. It's a very versatile focal length, versatile enough that this lens can be left on the camera much of the time. It makes my NEX-5N into a great street photography camera. And did I mention that it is sharp across the frame, with good color and contrast. At f/2.8, it's pretty fast, much more usable than the kit lens for low light photos. The existence of this lens actually convinced me to go with Sony rather than micro four-thirds.
All is not perfect. Nothing is. The lens seems to slow the camera start up time. It doesn't appear to be ultra-durable, though no NEX lenses do. That's the price of the the light weight. No complaints. Nobody will mistake this for an expensive lens, build quality is adequate and so is the finish, nothing more.
In absolute terms, I'd guess this is a 4 star lens. But for $200, it's a great bargain and compliments the NEX cameras. Actually, it makes the NEX line much more attractive for street photography.
The 30mm Sigma works out to 45mm equivalent for a full frame/film lens, which is pretty darn close to the standard 50mm lens that many film photographers got on their cameras. It's a very versatile focal length, versatile enough that this lens can be left on the camera much of the time. It makes my NEX-5N into a great street photography camera. And did I mention that it is sharp across the frame, with good color and contrast. At f/2.8, it's pretty fast, much more usable than the kit lens for low light photos. The existence of this lens actually convinced me to go with Sony rather than micro four-thirds.
All is not perfect. Nothing is. The lens seems to slow the camera start up time. It doesn't appear to be ultra-durable, though no NEX lenses do. That's the price of the the light weight. No complaints. Nobody will mistake this for an expensive lens, build quality is adequate and so is the finish, nothing more.
In absolute terms, I'd guess this is a 4 star lens. But for $200, it's a great bargain and compliments the NEX cameras. Actually, it makes the NEX line much more attractive for street photography.
43 of 45 people found the following review helpful
By Austin
Style Name:Sony E 330965|Amazon Verified Purchase
The sigma 30mm f2.8 is a compact lens designed for a future compact mirrorless by sigma, but has been ported to m4/3rds and the nex mount. The 30mm translates to 45mm in 35mm terms, which gives us an almost normal focal length. Along with the 19mm, Sigma has created the first third party autofocus primes for mirrorless systems. Neat! The lens is compact in size (about the size of my 50mm 1.7 Minolta AF lens), and the front element is VERY small. The back element is large, allowing for a small design with minimal distortion and good coverage across the frame. The most important features of this lens are the focal length, and size. 50mm is often the most desired focal length in a system, which is 35mm in APS-C terms. Since the NEX system has large amounts of adaptable glass, this would seemingly be non-issue. But 35mm lenses are large for film cameras, due to retrofocus designs. Often the adapter and 35mm lens combination would leave you with a very long lens, and fast aperture (as in f2) 35mm lenses are even bigger. The only convenient options in terms of size available until this lens were the 35mm f1.7 CCTV lens (which has unbearable corner performance and vignetting, though a good lens if used stopped down marginally and centralized composition), the Contax G 35mm f2 (hard to come by, and the adapters are expensive, and lastly the Voigtlander 35mm 1.4 (very good lens, small with great construction, but expensive). So this lens represents something pretty significant, especially considering the autofocus capabilities.
Sharpness:
The sharpness of this lens is unreal. Bar none. On MTF curves for the Nex 7, it beats out Leica lenses (scored in the 1000's wide open in center, and high 900's stopped down in corners). This is the sharpest lens you will put on your NEX, bar none. And that's from wide open. The lens has maximum sharpness at 5.6, but hardly improves over being used wide open. That means you pretty much only stop down to gain DOF. For this reason alone, I highly recommend this lens. Being a normal focal length and having this sharpness, you get a compact walk-around kit capable of anything from portraiture to landscapes.
Focus speed:
The focus speed of this lens is pretty quick. Though it uses CDAF, I had no problems with speed on my Nex 5, performance should be better on a 5n or 7. The focusing speed was not as quick as my 16mm, but probably rivals the 18-55 kit lens. This will not be as fast as Phase Detection, but it is quick enough for what I need. No complaints here, not something I would use for sports or candid moments, but that isn't what I shoot anyways. The only fault for focusing is while using facial recognition, sometimes the focus will not be correct. I have only encountered misfocusing while using facial detection. So either turn that off, or make use of the excellent DMF built in, which will zoom in on the face with a turn of the ring, and allow precision focusing.
Build Quality:
The build quality is good. It uses a metal mount, but unlike the Sony lenses it is made of hard plastic as opposed to aluminum. That's not to complain, because it's durable plastic. The focus ring is well dampened, and I have had no problems with the focus-by-wire design. It also supports DMF (direct manual focusing) as do all native Nex lenses, which is great. This isn't a lens I would worry about taking anywhere.
Pricing:
Can be had new for $200, used for a little less. If you want a normal equivalent prime for every day, and not dying for fast aperture, buy this immediately. If you want a fast aperture lens, buy this and then spend $40 on a 35mm CCTV fujian lens, as that will cover everything this doesn't at this focal length.
Some side notes:
Fringing is extremely well controlled. Wide open it is practically non-existent, and of course goes away as you stop down. Flaring is also not an issue due to the small front element. If the sun is in the shot, it will not do much to the image at all. It does provide a green flare, as opposed to a red style ala Canon. I would try and avoid purposeful flare, because it isn't attractive looking at any aperture because of the color signature of the flare. The color signature of this lens is great, and is of other Sony/Minolta lenses. You will have more blue/purple as opposed to hard reds and greens from Canon. Minimum focus distance is nice, not replacing a macro but much closer than the 16mm. You can get some nice close ups with this lens. Bokeh is decent, not very smooth but not at all distracting. The aperture blades are rounded as well, a nice touch especially for price range. Vignetting is minimal. Optically I cannot fault this lens. Some might complain that the aperture isn't very fast, but you should buy this lens not trying to get a narrow DoF. This is a multi-purpose lens, and 30mm is not a focal length which will have shallow DoF regardless of aperture. If you are dying for shallow DoF use a longer, faster adapted lens. Wide open performance of this lens is perfect, vignetting is very minimal, and you can achieve narrow DoF depending on distance from subject, just don't go expecting to make a bopie with this lens (as in you can always get background bokeh, but don't expect foreground bokeh. If you are DYING for a fast aperture 50mm equiv, buy the Mitakon 35mm f0.95 [...] and receive few of the things that make this lens special.
The only faults I would attribute to this lens are the 46mm filter ring (the standard for MFT, but NEX uses 49mm. Just buy a step up ring and new cap, should set you back $5 at most), and the lens slows the operation of the camera. For whatever reason, start up time and switching from image review to shooting are slower with this lens attached. I have tested this against adapted lenses and my 16mm, and the operation of those features are much longer with this lens. Why? I have no idea, but it is worth noting. This means you can lose the moment from doing image review. I suggest turning auto review off (because you can pretty much see what the picture will look like anyways due to EVF), and not reviewing images often. It is a VERY glaring error, but one that can be overlooked in favor of the pros of the lens, which are abundant. It also doesn't have any sort of stabilization so it's not ideal for video, but that would add to price and size so it's not the end of the world. Though shaky video is pretty easy to correct, detail will be lost that way. If shooting video try and use a tripod, or wait for the 16-50mm G zoom by Sony in a couple months.
Oh did I mention this lens is $200, and the sharpest lens for E mount? Sold.
Pros:
-sharpest lens for the E mount
-$200. So cheap, and yet an EXCELLENT performer
-small front element prevents flare or accidental damage
-compact size brings nex to near pocketable status, it's not the 16mm but close.
-overall performance is incredible, and will beat practically any 35mm lens you can put on the camera
-plastic construction appears to be durable
-it's $200, and beats leica lenses in sheer sharpness.
Cons:
-46mm filter size
-slows some of cameras operations.
Kind of cons?:
-2.8 aperture
-No stabilization
Overall the only real con of the lens is the slower operation. While a 49mm would be nice, maybe an f2, and stabilization, they would add to the size and expense of this lens, compromising some of the best things about it. If you learn to use this lens, you will love it, and that's it. You won't think about wishing it was faster, because at f2.8 it's sharper than any other lens at f2.8, and your camera will be small and portable. The only thing that will irk you is operation time, depending on what you shoot. Chances are there will be times you miss a moment due to this. But the images you do capture, will be some of the best rendered photographs you could make with this system.
Update:
I purchased a step up ring for this camera, 46mm to 49mm. the cap still fits the 49mm without falling off, sweet!
Sharpness:
The sharpness of this lens is unreal. Bar none. On MTF curves for the Nex 7, it beats out Leica lenses (scored in the 1000's wide open in center, and high 900's stopped down in corners). This is the sharpest lens you will put on your NEX, bar none. And that's from wide open. The lens has maximum sharpness at 5.6, but hardly improves over being used wide open. That means you pretty much only stop down to gain DOF. For this reason alone, I highly recommend this lens. Being a normal focal length and having this sharpness, you get a compact walk-around kit capable of anything from portraiture to landscapes.
Focus speed:
The focus speed of this lens is pretty quick. Though it uses CDAF, I had no problems with speed on my Nex 5, performance should be better on a 5n or 7. The focusing speed was not as quick as my 16mm, but probably rivals the 18-55 kit lens. This will not be as fast as Phase Detection, but it is quick enough for what I need. No complaints here, not something I would use for sports or candid moments, but that isn't what I shoot anyways. The only fault for focusing is while using facial recognition, sometimes the focus will not be correct. I have only encountered misfocusing while using facial detection. So either turn that off, or make use of the excellent DMF built in, which will zoom in on the face with a turn of the ring, and allow precision focusing.
Build Quality:
The build quality is good. It uses a metal mount, but unlike the Sony lenses it is made of hard plastic as opposed to aluminum. That's not to complain, because it's durable plastic. The focus ring is well dampened, and I have had no problems with the focus-by-wire design. It also supports DMF (direct manual focusing) as do all native Nex lenses, which is great. This isn't a lens I would worry about taking anywhere.
Pricing:
Can be had new for $200, used for a little less. If you want a normal equivalent prime for every day, and not dying for fast aperture, buy this immediately. If you want a fast aperture lens, buy this and then spend $40 on a 35mm CCTV fujian lens, as that will cover everything this doesn't at this focal length.
Some side notes:
Fringing is extremely well controlled. Wide open it is practically non-existent, and of course goes away as you stop down. Flaring is also not an issue due to the small front element. If the sun is in the shot, it will not do much to the image at all. It does provide a green flare, as opposed to a red style ala Canon. I would try and avoid purposeful flare, because it isn't attractive looking at any aperture because of the color signature of the flare. The color signature of this lens is great, and is of other Sony/Minolta lenses. You will have more blue/purple as opposed to hard reds and greens from Canon. Minimum focus distance is nice, not replacing a macro but much closer than the 16mm. You can get some nice close ups with this lens. Bokeh is decent, not very smooth but not at all distracting. The aperture blades are rounded as well, a nice touch especially for price range. Vignetting is minimal. Optically I cannot fault this lens. Some might complain that the aperture isn't very fast, but you should buy this lens not trying to get a narrow DoF. This is a multi-purpose lens, and 30mm is not a focal length which will have shallow DoF regardless of aperture. If you are dying for shallow DoF use a longer, faster adapted lens. Wide open performance of this lens is perfect, vignetting is very minimal, and you can achieve narrow DoF depending on distance from subject, just don't go expecting to make a bopie with this lens (as in you can always get background bokeh, but don't expect foreground bokeh. If you are DYING for a fast aperture 50mm equiv, buy the Mitakon 35mm f0.95 [...] and receive few of the things that make this lens special.
The only faults I would attribute to this lens are the 46mm filter ring (the standard for MFT, but NEX uses 49mm. Just buy a step up ring and new cap, should set you back $5 at most), and the lens slows the operation of the camera. For whatever reason, start up time and switching from image review to shooting are slower with this lens attached. I have tested this against adapted lenses and my 16mm, and the operation of those features are much longer with this lens. Why? I have no idea, but it is worth noting. This means you can lose the moment from doing image review. I suggest turning auto review off (because you can pretty much see what the picture will look like anyways due to EVF), and not reviewing images often. It is a VERY glaring error, but one that can be overlooked in favor of the pros of the lens, which are abundant. It also doesn't have any sort of stabilization so it's not ideal for video, but that would add to price and size so it's not the end of the world. Though shaky video is pretty easy to correct, detail will be lost that way. If shooting video try and use a tripod, or wait for the 16-50mm G zoom by Sony in a couple months.
Oh did I mention this lens is $200, and the sharpest lens for E mount? Sold.
Pros:
-sharpest lens for the E mount
-$200. So cheap, and yet an EXCELLENT performer
-small front element prevents flare or accidental damage
-compact size brings nex to near pocketable status, it's not the 16mm but close.
-overall performance is incredible, and will beat practically any 35mm lens you can put on the camera
-plastic construction appears to be durable
-it's $200, and beats leica lenses in sheer sharpness.
Cons:
-46mm filter size
-slows some of cameras operations.
Kind of cons?:
-2.8 aperture
-No stabilization
Overall the only real con of the lens is the slower operation. While a 49mm would be nice, maybe an f2, and stabilization, they would add to the size and expense of this lens, compromising some of the best things about it. If you learn to use this lens, you will love it, and that's it. You won't think about wishing it was faster, because at f2.8 it's sharper than any other lens at f2.8, and your camera will be small and portable. The only thing that will irk you is operation time, depending on what you shoot. Chances are there will be times you miss a moment due to this. But the images you do capture, will be some of the best rendered photographs you could make with this system.
Update:
I purchased a step up ring for this camera, 46mm to 49mm. the cap still fits the 49mm without falling off, sweet!
37 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Style Name:Micro 4/3 330963
After making a complete switch from 4/3 to m4/3, the 14-42mk2 kit lens, though very good, just wasn't doing much for my creativity.
A lot of m4/3 users will say that the Panasonic 20/1.7 is a must-have and similarly, the Olympus 45/1.8 is also a must-have, however, the former is too wide and the latter is too long. Though a 'normal' lens would have been good, there aren't many 'normal' 25mm options for m4/3 that were within my budget.
Luckily, the Sigma 30/2.8 is available and it meets my needs. It's sharp and focuses very quickly. It's small enough (not small like a pancake lens, but it's just right) and still keeps my EPL1 down to a compact size.
As with any Sigma lens (I've owned two for 4/3 before), there are a few quirks:
- The new 'linear' focusing mechanism is fast, but when the camera is not on or if it's not mounted, it shakes around. I don't know what this means in terms of durability, but the lens has a 3-year warranty. We'll find out, eh?
- The aperture blades stop down automatically when in bright environments, but will return to what you set it to when capturing.
- The front element is quite small, but the rear element is about twice the size. Kind of weird, but not an issue.
All in all, I like the lens. The 60mm EFL is usable for me, but it's not for everyone. I like it since it's close enough to my favorite lens, the Zuiko Digital 35/3.5 macro, which I'm still using on my m4/3 kit with an adapter.
Sure, it's not 'fast' like the 20/1.7, but if the room is dark enough, I'll use a flash or put the camera away. Sure it's not as compact as a pancake, but I'm not about to put my camera in my pocket anyway.
For $199, it was a no-brainer.
A lot of m4/3 users will say that the Panasonic 20/1.7 is a must-have and similarly, the Olympus 45/1.8 is also a must-have, however, the former is too wide and the latter is too long. Though a 'normal' lens would have been good, there aren't many 'normal' 25mm options for m4/3 that were within my budget.
Luckily, the Sigma 30/2.8 is available and it meets my needs. It's sharp and focuses very quickly. It's small enough (not small like a pancake lens, but it's just right) and still keeps my EPL1 down to a compact size.
As with any Sigma lens (I've owned two for 4/3 before), there are a few quirks:
- The new 'linear' focusing mechanism is fast, but when the camera is not on or if it's not mounted, it shakes around. I don't know what this means in terms of durability, but the lens has a 3-year warranty. We'll find out, eh?
- The aperture blades stop down automatically when in bright environments, but will return to what you set it to when capturing.
- The front element is quite small, but the rear element is about twice the size. Kind of weird, but not an issue.
All in all, I like the lens. The 60mm EFL is usable for me, but it's not for everyone. I like it since it's close enough to my favorite lens, the Zuiko Digital 35/3.5 macro, which I'm still using on my m4/3 kit with an adapter.
Sure, it's not 'fast' like the 20/1.7, but if the room is dark enough, I'll use a flash or put the camera away. Sure it's not as compact as a pancake, but I'm not about to put my camera in my pocket anyway.
For $199, it was a no-brainer.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very handy little lens
Really like this lens. I'm not a pro by any means, so can't comment on the overall quality but it seems pretty sharp to me. I also really like the size and focal length. Read more
Published 22 days ago by T. Teshima
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loving it!
It's quite big for a 30mm. Then again I'm comparing it to a MF lens. The 2.8 aperture isn't as bokehlicious as I wanted (A 35mm sharpshooter may have better specs on paper at 35mm... Read more
Published 1 month ago by rowe
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inexpensive lens that takes great pics!
Remarkable lens for the price (I got it for $119.95). Landscape and portrait pics I've taken thus far with a Nex 6 have been tack sharp, with a very attractive out-of-focus... Read more
Published 1 month ago by John J.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cheap little perfect lens.
Coming from film rangefinders, I'm used to shooting prime. I usually forget that a digital camera has a zoom function. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Precious Kim
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very happy with this lens
I just got it last week, but threw it on the NEX 6 immediately and went out to grab some shots. I am impressed with sharpness and quality of the images. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Robert W. Foss
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Fine Lens
I purchased one of these in December as my first modern prime lens for my four thirds camera. (Now cameras) I find it a very useful lens, sharp, easy and fast to focus either... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Stephen Spitzer
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must have for NEX users
This lens performs very well and has great sharpness and contrast edge to edge. For a budget lens it focuses a bit on the slow side but the resolution makes up for it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great lens for its price
Works well on my NEX-5N. Great clarity, vivid color, and good focus. And with its low price, I am not afraid of slinging it around. Highly recommended.
Published 1 month ago by J. Li
2.0 out of 5 stars
decent lens, but did not work for me
my camera overheated and most of my pictures were a little blurry. I expressed my desire to return the lens for a refund and was able to send the item back for a full refund. Read more
Published 2 months ago by happy shopper
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great walking around lens, better price
This is my second most used lens behind the Sony 50mm f/1.8. This lens is great for grabbing that quick photo while you're wandering around. For this purpose, it's great.
Published 2 months ago by aPlateOfGrapes
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