Hands-On Reviews: Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Lens

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Sigma 45mm f/2.8 FE at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon, FocusCamera, Henrys.
In EU at Calumet DE, ParkUK, WexUK.

I know the new Sigma 45mm f/2.8 FE lens lacks some of those exciting technical specs people like. It has a moderate f/2.8 aperture and it has not the “ART” badge Sigma uses for their superfast and best lenses. But if you think it through this lens is quite unique in the FE lens lineups: It’s compact and it has an aperture ring. Probably an ideal lens for street shooters like me. Let’s check out the latest reviews of this lens:

Bjorn Petersen (Click here) tested the new Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary Lens

It’s the type of lens that excites me most since it is so practical and pragmatic, but not lacking on any valuable front. You’ll notice I’m often comparing or relating this lens’s attributes to Sigma’s Art series throughout this article, but I didn’t necessarily note that this is a Contemporary series lens. The reason I did this is because I truly felt like the quality of this lens more resembled that of an Art lens than my former impressions of their Contemporary series. The only distinguishing feature that keeps this 45mm f/2.8 from being considered an Art prime, in my mind, must be the f/2.8 design… which, in the end, is something I consider one of its strengths.

Fred Miranda (Click here) writes about this lens:

The 45/2.8 Contemporary gets many things right but what makes it unique is the butter smooth rendering.
It’s well-built, compact and light. The aperture ring stops down in one-third increments with great precision. The manual focus ring has linear coupling and is a joy to use. Optimized for mid and long distances, it is capable of high resolution across the entire image field. The f/2.8 maximum aperture restricts the amount of blur and subject isolation, however, starting at the transition zone, rendering is smooth and pleasant. It’s refreshing to see Sigma focus on rendering with their latest mirrorless designs for the E-mount.

Another strength is color aberration correction. I struggled to find color fringing in any of my test images even under high contrast lighting. Slight traces of longitudinal CA are still present – but overall, the lens is well corrected for CA.

The aperture mechanism is equipped with seven ’rounded’ blades which prevents the lens from rendering defined sunstars at mid-range apertures. However, when stopped down to f/18-22, it still produces defined 14-point sunstars.
Rounded blades are very popular with AF lenses because it maintains circular specular highlights at smaller apertures. In the case of the Sigma 45/2.8, bokeh is still circular at f/4.5. (This would not be possible if it was equipped with straight blades)

On the negative side, flare resistance is average with good retention of contrast while ghosting is visible under backlit situations. AF is a mix bag. It’s fast and quiet but there are issues with phase detection (AF-C). It consistently back-focuses and hopefully this is an easy firmware fix for Sigma. AF works great in AF-S mode (contrast-detection). The lens is not equipped with a floating element system so expect image degradation at close distance.

For those looking for a light and compact walk-around AF lens with superb rendering and color correction, the new Sigma 45/2.8 Contemporary may be what you’re waiting for.

New Sigma FE lenses:
Sigma 35mm f/1.2 FE at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon, FocusCamera, Henrys. In EU at Calumet DE, ParkUK, WexUK.
Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 FE at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon, FocusCamera, Henrys. In EU at Calumet DE, ParkUK, WexUK.
Sigma 45mm f/2.8 FE at Adorama, BHphoto, Amazon, FocusCamera, Henrys. In EU at Calumet DE, ParkUK, WexUK.

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(SR4) Sony press event on August 29/30 for the new APS-C E-mount camera launch?

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Image on top shows the current A6500

I got word that there is a major press event on August 29/30. We will get at least two new APS-C E-mount cameras. I have no infoo about lenses yet and no info about the third camera that is rumored to be announced in September/October.

I hope to get some info about the two new APS-C E-mount cameras soon…if you have any info please send me an anonymous message using this contact form (Click here). Thanks!

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New Tamron 17-28mm FE reviews by David Oastler and ePhotozine: “performs superbly, feels fantastic to use and is a very reasonable price as well”

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ePhotozine verdict:

Some lenses are great, some lenses feel great and really gel with the user, some are great and really clunky to use. The new Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD performs superbly, feels fantastic to use and is a very reasonable price as well. It’s light, efficient, moisture resistant and seems to tick all the boxes. This one easily makes it into the hallowed ranks of an Editor’s Choice.

Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 FE preorders:
In the USA at BHphoto, Amazon, FocusCamera, BuyDig and Adorama.
In Europe it’s available at Amazon DE, Calumet DE, WexUK, Park UK, Amazon IT, Amazon FR, Amazon ES, CameraTools NL.

And here is David Oastlers take on the new lens:

And here one from Dustin Abbott:

And one from Precision Camera:

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Sony Tidbits…

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Cleaning your sensor (updated video) – Sony a7riii, a7iii, a9, a7sii, a6400

SONY CROP MODE – does this mean I need fewer lenses? (Dandelion).
BEST Cinematic Settings for Sony a7III a7RIII a6300 a6400 a6500 (Jason Vong).
Sony’s 24 1.4 Gmaster vs Sony’s 16-35 Gmaster! (Cody Mchardy)
Sony A7III vs Panasonic S1 – Hybrid Full Frame Comparison (TheHybridShooter)
Clear Image Zoom for Sony Cameras | John Sison
Rainy Day Macro Photo Ideas (Explora).

Personal photos and tests from SAR Admin Andrea on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and 500px.

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View this post on Instagram

#Repost @praguelenshunter ・・・ Minolta MD Rokkor 85mm f2 This little Minolta is packed with lot of great things. I was never a huge fan of Minoltas, but that is starting to change. Minoltas are different than the lenses I would usually go to. On the other hand its good to try different things. The lens is very small and very light. Still it could be found for a good price. It is very sharp. The images looked sharp on the LCD screen, but in fact they are much sharper when I see them on the computer. Bokeh is very smooth not very distracting. The rendering is flat, I do not see the 3D feel of Zeiss or GM lenses, but its pleasant in a different way. I was not using a lens hood and in some angles this Rokkor would produce quite a pleasant lens flare. The colours are very special. It looks, like if you apply a preset to the images. Some would love that, others would not. But combination of all these things creates a strong character. There are more versions of the 85mm Minolta, this is the last version. The earlier versions had more funky-like bokeh and were a little bit less sharp. It would not be my most favourite 85mm lens of all time, but it is very universal and offers a nice alternative for a nice price. . . . @sonyambassador @sonyalphagear @sonyalpharumors @sonyusers @sonyworldclub @sonyhongkong @mirrorlesssony @sonyprogear @sony @sonyalphagallery @sonyalpha @sonyimages @sonya7lovers @sonyphotorussia @mirrorlessgeeks @thephotogeargeek

A post shared by Andreas Photography world (@andrea_pizzini_photographer) on

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This Sony A7III kit sells for $1,815 on Amazon (but seller warranty only?)

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While watching the Amazon rankings I did notice this A7III kit is selling very well. I am not sure yet but I think this comes with 1 year seller warranty instead of the original Sony warranty. Still, if you don’t mind about that it’s a very good deal!

And now something completely different. This is one of the coolest new cameras I have ever seen on Kickstarter (Click here). Check out their site to see what’s special about this:

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Yes seriously…somebody just did “cut” the Sony A7r to transform it into a sort of Leica camera :)

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What you see on top is the Sony A7r modified in a way to look like a sort of Leica M camera :)

You can see a tons of pictures of the process on Weibo.com. Here are just a few of them where you can see the single modifications:

First they removed the plastic cover and than the top EVF:

 

The Sony TOP plate got removed with a Leica TOP plate from an older camera:

 

Than they removed the Alpha Logo and replaced it with the Leica Logo:

And here is the final product:

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This week SAR readers photos selection

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Alin Popescu‎
Sony, 135GM
#sonyalphagallery

1) You can submit one single picture per week only.
2) To submit your picture for the weekly readers roundup post you can choose one of the following three options:
Instagram: Follow @sonyalphagallery and tag us on your picture to give us the permission to repost your image on the instagram gallery and on SAR (we will credit you)
Facebook: Submit your picture on our group: facebook.com/groups/sonyalphacamera. Please add the hashtag “#sonyalphagallery ” to grant the permission for reposting on SAR. Without the hashtag we will not add your picture!
Forum: Submit your picture on the SonyAlphaForum image section and add the hashtag “#sonyalphagallery
3) Like and comment the pictures from other readers here: instagram.com/sonyalphagallery, facebook.com/groups/sonyalphacamera and on SonyAlphaForum.
4) A selection of most liked pictures by the community and by me SAR admin will be posted weekly on SAR.

Note: When sending a pic feel free to also add a link to your site to promote yourself! And please do share one single picture per week only. Do not spam :)

 

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