If you own a Nikon D4o(x) or D60 there is no other lens like this one. Nikon is being a bit slow catching up with itself and are only very few AF-S prime lenses available at this point. Since the above bodies will not focus with lenses without an internal motor, one gets no choice when choosing a 'normal' lens for a D40.
The lens was launched by sigma in February 2005. A lot has been written on various forums about Sigma's quality control, good samples, bad samples and corner softness of this lens. I don't know much about these things. I picked my lens from Jessops and never bothered photographing a chart or even a brick wall. In real-life use I haven't noticed any problems. At f/1.4 the depth of field is really shallow, to the extent that focusing on the tip of somebody's nose will render their ears/eyes soft, but that's the price that has to be paid for being able to take pictures at reasonable shutter speeds in very dark places.
Shallow depth of field: shot at 1/40s at f/1.4
Optically speaking it is excellent for my purposes. There is no distortion; there is no CA to speak of (anyway you don't really have to deal with CA in low-light shots). The colours are nice and when you stop the lens down a bit it is sharp and crisp. It has more than enough definition for my camera's chip and the bokeh is very acceptable. I haven't noticed much flare even with light sources in the frame; bright lights get a nice eight-pointed star.
CA: 1/250 at f/5.6 - some (out of focus) CA is noticeable in the top part of the picture.
The lens belongs to Sigma's EX range - supposedly that means better quality. Personally, I can't say anything about non-EX Sigma lenses - however compared to the kit lens or to the Nikon 55-200mm VR, this lens is much better built. The barrel and the petal-shaped hood are both finishes in nice satin paint, the lens comes in a very good box-shaped cordura case with a belt loop. Although the lens thread is made of plastic, the bayonet and most of the outer barrel is metal and the lens has a reassuringly solid feel. I have knocked mine around a little bit (dropped it with the camera from about waist high on concrete, shot with it in mild rain) and it seems to be holding up very well, except for a few small places where I actually managed to scratch the paint and realized that the outer barrel is indeed made of metal.
This is the second lens I bought for my Nikon D40. It quickly became my every-day lens and I really love it. I would highly recommend it to anyone with a Nikon D40/x or D60 over the kit lens (which is slow and plastic) or the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 which won't auto-focus on those bodies. It is affordable (just about), fast, solidly built and compact. Don't let yourself be put off by a few vocal nit-pickers on certain forums, or look for a different lens if you do take pictures of well lit brick walls. There is no reason you'd want this lens for a Nikon D3 or a Canon 5D (in fact you could not even use it on a full-frame body - because it is a DC lens that does not cover bigger than APS-C size sensors). There is one fewer reason why get this over the cheaper 50mm f/1.8 if your body can auto-focus with non-HSM or non-AF-S lenses (Nikon D80 upwards), except HSM offers reportedly faster focusing. Ken Rockwell says :-) that if you shoot Canon the Canon 28mm f/1.8 EF is a better choice for less money. I don't know about Canon. I know that for entry-level Nikon SLRs it has no competition in its class, but it is very far from a "one-eyed king of the blind"; it is actually a really good lens.
Focal Length: 30 mm
Maximum Aperture: F1.4
Minimum Aperture: F16
Lens Construction: 7 Elements in 7 Groups, 2 ED elements
Angle of View: 45°
Diaphragm: 8 blades
Minimum Focus Distance: 40cm
Maximum Magnification: 1:10.4
Filter Size: 62mm
Dimensions (diameter x length): 76mm x 59mm
Weight: 406.7g
Links to other reviews:
- ePhotoZine
- Ken Rockwell
- The-Digital-Picture.Com
- PBase samples page 1, page 2
- whichlens.com
- PhotographyReview.com
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