Sigma 24mm f2.8

[scsambrook]

I have a 24mm f2.8 Sigma in Pentax AF mount. The optics are, according to the photozone.de website, the same as the manual focus version.

First shot is taken at a distance under 12 inches/30cms, at f8. Pentax K10D, PEF processed with Capture One/6 (the free offer from a UK phot mag last year)


The second is a crop from the first.


Both shots using autofocus, I must confess -

I've had this lens for a while but never actually taken any pictures until recently . . . I like the out of focus effect, and it certainly is sharp - although on the borrowed computer and screen I'm using just now the pictures as posted don't actually seem to be as sharp as they might be.

I bought it from one of the UK London Camera Exchange Group shops, via the s/h listing on their website http://www.lcegroup.co.uk/Secondhand-Search/. It was encouragingly cheap and came with a guarantee. A much more civilised way to do business than using eBay

[Excalibur]

Close ups are my 24mm f2.8 MF Sigma's weakness, but it is excellent at other distances.

[declan]

Both the af/mf of this version did amaze me

[iangreenhalgh1]

The weakness of this lens is in the edges, I had one in Minolta AF mount and used it with my Minolta 7000 back in the 90s. It had to be stopped down to 5.6 otherwise the edges were mushy.

[martinsmith99]

The oddity of this forum shows the uncropped one as soft, so I'm glad you posted a crop. It does look sharp with good bokeh.

[declan]

First time test in my office:)

[mo]

It looks pretty impressive do you have any more taken with this lens? I find using AF very hard so you have done really well with that shot..

[scsambrook]

Thanks for all observations.

I've only ever used it on APS-C, so I don't know what the 'real' edges/corners are like. From what I've seen so far, it doesn't seem spectacularly sharp at full aperture, but it's certainly useable and probably as good as any other medium-priced 24 I've ever used on film. For what it's worth, I never had an independent 24 that was anything like at sharp and bright as my old 24 Canon FD was.

Although it's comparing unlikes, it doesn't produce images as sharp as my 25 Snapshot Skopar did on the M8.

Mo - AF isn't a problem except at the very closest distance, when it regularly mis-focuses. I have no idea why this should be, but ironically it's only at distances under about 18 inches/45cms that I can actually focus manually at all. At longer ranges, I simply cannot focus reliably at all. For me, on a DSLR, wide angles have to be AF.

I shall do some more shooting with the Sigma 24 and see how it works in poorer lighting conditions.

[iangreenhalgh1]

I forgot to add to my comment that it's a good lens all-round and always sufficiently sharp in the middle. Distortion is well controlled too, I enjoyed mine a lot actually, once I figured out to stop it down if there was anything in the edge that needed to be sharp.

Nice work with the AF Stephen.

[declan]

E-3/sigma 24/2.8, new set food menu