Some Fun With The Sigma 30mm E-Mount
I have been in the process of writing a review of the Sigma 30mm E-mount lens for a while now, and I'm still gathering shots to go with the review. In the mean time, I thought I'd share a few that I was having a bit of fun with in Aperture yesterday. The lens is actually not a bad little lens, especially considering the price. It's not perfect either mind you. It's sharp, thats for sure, but there's some fall off at the edges, and there's a lot of colour fringing, especially when used wide open. Also, f/2.8 just isn't that great for getting shallow depth of field on a cropped sensor camera with the 30mm focal length. If my math is right (and please correct me if I'm wrong) f/2.8 becomes f/4.2 in 35mm terms, so it's not that great. But then aagain, it's not an expensive lens, and within it's limitations it's actually quite good. I'll have a more in-depth analysis in my long awaited (by me anyway!) review. But for now here's a few images taken with it. Incidentally, I had been processing most of my photos from the Nex-7 with Lightroom, but there's been some things about Lightroom 4 that have been driving me mad (more on that later!) so I decided to give them a go in Aperture. Now, I'm a long time Aperture user, and the reason I had been using Lightroom for the Nex-7 was for the noise reduction and the auto lens correction, so it's not like I was trying it for the first time. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised. In un-scientific tests, at ISO 100, Aperture seems to do a better job. Images appear marginally sharper, and noise is actually better controlled. The advantage quickly goes away at higher ISO's but anyway, it's interesting. Either way, it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but I do like Aperture ability to stack multiple versions of a tool, and I was able to use my "Film Candy' series and some of my other presets that I have been building in Aperture for a while. I know some people don't like any kind of processing done to Images, but as someone who works in the tv and film industry, where adding a "look" is pretty much part of my day job, I can't really resist!!! Besides, it's all just a bit of fun. So, let's get to some pictures!
By the way, I've included slightly larger versions, so just click on them to see them larger (if you have a big screen) - but don't miss out on the captions !!!
I had to take this shot as It was similar to one I had taken with the X-Pro1. Have to say, apart from the depth of field, I can't see much of a difference.
Lilly Pads in The rain. I luckily arrived under a large tree just as it began to pour.
Nice Umbrella!
Amazing to think that this little tiny padlock is keeping that huge barge moored!
Patrick Kavanagh's hat
Bold colours and grungy textures, oh my !
Obligatory Fallen Leaf Shot!
I love the number above the door. I think I have a font that does that!
I like taking pictures of doors! You got a problem with that? (doing best Joe Pesci impression)
Oops, looks like the horse's indicator is out again!
So that's where he went !
It has to be said, there are some lovely buildings around the Georgian quarter of Dublin. Unfortunately, having worked in several of them, they're not that nice inside.
"I could swear that someone's following me"
Ah, my favourite spot in the park.
Well, that's about it for now. I should have the full review up soon. I'll have the complete set from this session up on Google Plus if you want to have a look. Oh, and please subscribe to my RSS feed if you use RSS !
