The shape, intensity, and position of the flare effects in an image are variable, dependent on the position and nature of the light source (or sources), selected aperture, shape of the aperture blades, and quantity and quality of the lens elements and their coatings. Typically, the first thing you’ll notice when moving from a zoom lens to a prime lens is the increase in sharpness. Many photographers often get a standard prime like the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 as their first prime lens. If you are shooting under a full sun at f/1.4, you will likely need at least 1/8000 sec shutter speeds at ISO 100 to keep the exposure dark enough. Corner sharpness does not always matter, but it does matter for many disciplines, including landscape photography. I can’t seem to find a lot of comparisons between the two. The Sigma is always compared to the 1.4 version of the Fuji.

With the camera set to aperture priority, I photographed a variety of locations to see how the lens performed in this manner and was really pleased with the detail captured. As expected, at f/1.4, the depth of field is very narrow and produces a buttery softness surrounding the focus point.

Image Stabilization

One fact to note is that this lens is equipped with dust and splash resistant sealing that helps to protect the lens from certain conditions. LEFT: Fuji X-E4 . Sigma 30mmF1.4 @30mm . f/1.4 . 1/140″ . ISO 640 . Classic Neg Flare is not a problem either and clearly the lens design and coatings are well thought out and highly effective. Shots against the light retain their saturation and contrast, an impressive result. Something to highlight, when I am trying to do some close up shots under broad daylight, I encountered this phenomenon where the subject is not in focus but the little green box has lit up. What I do is focus on another nearby object and then it works as per normal. Cameras – LCD screen is heavily worn either by de-lamination or has scratches to it. Rubber grips are starting to come away from the body.

Sadly none of them feature optical stabilisation which means – in the absence of sensor-stabilisation in Canon’s bodies so far – you’ll need to hold steady with a sufficiently fast shutter speed, or employ digital stabilisation for movies.

The lens measures 64.8×73.3mm and weighs 265g, which certainly isn’t going to inhibit your ability to carry it around with you all day. It has a 52mm filter thread, and usefully, the lens employs internal focusing, so should you use an ND grad or polarising filter with it, you will not have to worry about the front turning or extending when focusing. The lens is a great combination with, in this case, the X-T5 as it's lightweight, compact, and sharp. It's dust- and splash-resistant and has a maximum aperture of f/1.4. What I Didn't Like Moving farther out on the image circle, where light rays are refracted to a stronger angle than in the center, lenses typically show decreased sharpness. Here’s the 33 on the left and the 35 on the right with one stop of aperture between them, and while the 33 1.4 on the left definitely has a shallower depth of field, the 35 f2 on the right still has a reasonable degree of separation.

We tested the lens with a few cameras, including a Sony Alpha 6000, the new Alpha 6300 and an Alpha 7R in its APS-C crop mode, and it felt nicely balanced on each. It is fairly large for the focal length. Most of the other lenses I mentioned previously are smaller, almost pancake, but then they don’t have an f/1.4 aperture, which obviously requires larger elements.The USPS love stamps shared above have an image area that measures 1.05 x 0.77" (26.67 x 19.558mm), and the overall individual stamp size is 1.19 x 0.91" (30.226 x 23.114mm). If you have used one of Sigma’s other Contemporary lenses for Fujifilm, you will know what to expect in the build quality and handling of the 23mm. The lens is well-made, with a large rubberized focusing ring, and a barrel that is part metal and part plastic in construction. The mount is metal and has a rubber gasket for water resistance, and the included lens hood is made of hard plastic. As with all Contemporary lenses, the 23mm has a silver “C” badge on the barrel, and the lens is made in Japan. in full-frame equivalent) is a very popular focal length among all others. And then, Sigma comes with this 30mm, and this is an interesting focal length to compete with many 35mm lenses in the Fuji market. It also sits right between the 27mm and 33mm of what Fujifilm has offered. Initially, three F1.4 prime lenses ( 16mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary, 30mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary, 56mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary), which are currently available in four mounts (Sony E-mount, Canon EF-M mount, Micro Four Thirds mount and L-Mount) will be simultaneously released in X Mount, and the lineup will expand in the future. Specifically, the recently-released SIGMA 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary lens, currently available for Sony E-mount and L-Mount, is tentatively scheduled for a December 2022 release.