Sigma 30mm f2.8 micro 4/3 lens impressions (short review)

Shot with the Sigma 30mm f2.8 for micro 4/3 mount on my EP-2 yesterday, I didnt shoot for long, but the lens had already impressed me. The auto focus was fast, slightly faster than the 17mm Zuiko in good light, although I havent had the chance to test in low light yet, I haven't had any auto focus misses either.

The lens felt really good on the camera, well balanced, light, yet still feels solid (not the Leica or Canon L solid, but as good as any Olympus lens). I did try manual focus with this lens, its not bad at all, the focus ring is large and well damped, and the focus travel seemed to be shorter than the 17mm (I could be wrong though, since I haven't used 17mm manual focus side by side). I don't see my self using it in manual focus alot since the auto focus is so good.

The images looks nice and sharp, I shot mostly in ISO100 and f2.8, theres lots of good micro contrast too, and I haven't come across any purple fringe yet. The colours are not as saturated out of the camera as the 17mm though, but still accurate. At f2.8, the depth of field is not super shallow, but you get much more out of focus area than the 17mm f2.8.

The only slight problem I found with this lens was the starting up speed and wake up speed when mounted on the EP-2, it took twice as long as with a 17mm Zuiko, so you really gotta anticipate when you are about to take the next shot, and wake it up before the shot comes along, either that or you can turn the auto power off mode off, but this will eat up your battery faster. I tried the lens in store with a EM-5, and the power up time seems to be much faster, not instant, but still pretty fast. I think this may have to do with EP-2 rather than the lens it self, hopefully Sigma will release a firmware for the lens. Even with this little problem, I still love this lens.

I was looking forward to this lens, as it is cheap, compact and has the right focal length for me. Overall the first shot with it looks positive. Ever since I have been shooting with EP-2 + 17mm Zuiko and now this lens more, I m starting to wonder why Leica is charging so much, I mean sure you can tell the difference when you zoom up to 100% on your monitor, but I love the shots from my little Pen as much as from the M9, and the difference in quality is definitly not worth thousands of dollars difference. Just proves to you again, photography is not about gear (I need to keep telling my self that too). Anyways, I will write more about it in near future. For now, if you want a lens in 50-75mm focal length, and don't really care about super large apertures, then this cheap little gem wont dissappoint. Here are some photos.

Got the Sigma 30mm f2.8 for micro 4/3 today, will give it a spin sometimes this weekend, start to really love the micro 4/3 cameras and lenses, so much quality in such a tiny package, love the flatter look of the image quality too. The versatility and compactness of the system really makes photography easy and fun.

Olympus EP-2 + VF2 viewfinder

Bought an Olympus VF-2 viewfinder the otherday for my EP-2, due to the inability to see the LCD screen in sunlight. I was totally "wowed" by the VF-2, maybe because I haven't looked through an EVF since Fujifilm S100fs, it was super clear in good light, when I was out shooting on saturday, I switched off all infomation on the display, and I forgot that I was shooting with an EVF, it felt like using an OVF, there was no noticible lag (I don't pan around too much though), the pictures are as clear as they come, and colors were pretty accurate too. The 90 degree tilt of the EVF is also a very nice touch, I found myself using it more than I expected, great for low angle shots, and no one notices you because you are staring down at your camera.

There is only two minor negative points that I have noticed, one is that the dynamic range of the EVF is limited, when pointing at high contrast scene, the highlights will be clipped. The other is when you shooting in low light, there will be some noticible noise, but the EVF will light up the scene, which will help the framing a little.

Anyways, if you own a EP-2, and found the LCD screen impossible to use in the sun, I highly recommend this accessory. I haven't taken it off since I put it on, and works great in street shooting. Trust me, you will love this EVF. Here are some shots I took on saturday with the 17mm f2.8 Zuiko, love this pancake lens, as sharp as anything even at f2.8, its no 35mm summarit m, but getting there.