Sigma 402963 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens for Micro Four Thirds, Black

I should start by saying I love Sigma lenses, in general. They've always had a slightly different design philosophy than other lens makers, and I think it's how they've stayed popular in the face of competition from other third party lens makers as well as the OEM's. Sigma makes pure lenses without compromises. They just try to make the best optics, period. They may not always do that successfully, but that's the goal. Their lenses are also hand-assembled. (There are videos you can find that show their workers making their lenses; they don't use a robotic assembly line.) But that does mean their lenses are often big and heavy. I am ok with that. I've owned several Sigma lenses now and they've all been bigger and heavier than their OEM equivalents. Let others make compromises between optics, size and weight. Sigma lenses are almost always tanks. They just feel substantial. And they are always at least very good optically; usually better than the competition at a given point in the lens lineup, including the OEMs. This particular lens is not their biggest, best or most feature-packed lens, but if you compare it to the nearest four thirds equivalents, you can definitely see that Sigma difference. I was deciding between this and the Panasonic/Leica 15mm/1.7, which is a much smaller and lighter lens (and it carries the Leica name) but is otherwise pretty similar in specs. I went with the Sigma both because of that extra half-stop of speed and because everything I've seen online shows it to be notably sharper than the Panasonic/Leica lens. It's also cheaper by more than a hundred bucks. But the Sigma is, in fact, an extremely sharp, contrasty lens, period, not just "for a four thirds lens". Again, no compromises on the optics for size or weight. If it weighs four times more than the equivalent Panasonic and is so thick that the camera doesn't even sit flat with it attached, so be it. (I'm using it with the venerable Lumix G7.) (To be fair, this lens was designed more with APS-C in mind, so a larger sensor and generally larger cameras. They just put a 4/3 mount on it but otherwise didn't try to change it for this format.) I will say that I am using it really just as a studio lens, where weight and size doesn't really matter to me. I already have the Panasonic 20mm/1.7, which is my main walkaround prime lens. It is a very small and light lens, like the 15mm/1.7. If I didn't already have the 20mm, that might have tilted my decision in favor of the Panasonic 15mm, because I probably wouldn't want to carry the Sigma with me as a walkaround lens. I literally just needed an extra few mm of focal width given the size of the room I'm shooting in, and the Sigma gives me that along with great optics. To be clear, it's not as if this lens is heavy in an absolute sense, or relative to most lenses made for cameras with larger sensors. It is just heavy compared to other similar lenses made for the micro four thirds format. Most people who have this format have it because they're trying to downsize from something bigger, so this lens kind of runs counter to that. But that's just Sigma being Sigma. As a "contemporary" lens, this lens has no focus or other markings on it either. It does have a manual focus ring if you want to use it, and it is nicely damped and heavy feeling. (There's auto-focus as well, of course, and it's so quiet that I sometimes wonder if it's actually working.) But this is a lens meant to be used with modern digital cameras, so you're expected to look at the data on your screen to get it set up right, not on the lens itself. I do miss lenses that were more marked up and self-sufficient, but time marches on I guess. This is also not really intended as a professional lens, though I think it's good enough optically that you could use it professionally.

Firstly, my only concern with a MFT lens is for video. I shoot canon for pics so this review is strictly in regard to this lens on a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. The clip is from a non commercial behind the scenes promo I did for a friend. Whole thing is here pretty much all on this lens. https://youtu.be/AlH_zhQVgcI Specs: BMPCC 4K Sunrise Blackmagic Raw 3:1 constant bitrate (graded) 60 fps ISO 1250 F 1.4 B + W 67mm #106 1.8 ND filter So review.... this lens is what I keep on my BMPCC 4K for run and gun setup. Pros: Extremely versatile Smooth creamy bokeh For me I like the size. MFT lenses tend to be too small for my fingers to operate smoothly. Because of size large focus ring is smooth has a good resistance and works well with tilta nucleus nano Just wonderful image quality Cons: Only thing I can think of is the electronic focus is not ideal for my uses but workable No IS but then it’d be double the price (I’d pay it for this quality and IS) I won’t speak to auto focus as the pocket 4k is made as a cinema camera it’s auto focus doesn’t operate (live) In conclusion l would buy this lens in a heartbeat. Because of it I’m seriously considering selling my other Panasonic primes and getting the full sigma set of these.

You can't go wrong with this lens it's so much more affordable over the 7 to 14 millimeter Panasonic lens. Or the Leica 8 to 16. Image quality is extremely Sharp. Excellent for astrophotography. As well as any low light. Great Street photography. Every image I take is extremely Sharp. Let's tons of light in. The quality of the lens is perfect. Weather-sealed. Focusing is dead on with my Panasonic g85. I have not used it on video yet I will probably in the future. It's a beautiful piece of glass. Focusing ring in manual focus is smooth. This is a lens to get a great alternative for price and prime lenses. One thing you will learn with this lens it allows so much light in that a 15 stop ND filter is required. For long exposure daytime. Sometimes I throw a 5 stop in with it under super bright conditions making it 20 stops. I use a hundred mm by 100 mm square filters The two pictures or three pictures that I have are taken at sunset with no filters.

After struggling to get reduced depth of field with the Oly 12-40/2.8, and finding that my 50/1.4 Pentax SuperTak was too much, I picked up this lens. It is FANTASTIC for making online videos... shooting courses, for Zoom, YouTube, etc. Great (reduced) depth of field, much sharper at f/1.6 yet still blurs the background nicely. Perhaps, or probably, the Oly 17/1.2 is a better lens... but it's 3X the cost. Is it 3X better? It's lightweight. Great glass, but a plastic lens body unlike the Oly, and it's not weatherproof. But, if it's sitting behind a teleprompter it will be fine. If you want pro-looking home studio video on a Micro 4/3 camera, buy this lens and you are done.

La luminosità è incredibile e a F1.4 mantiene una buona nitidezza... ho fatto un confronto nella mia tavernetta buia e per fare foto luminose e belle a F1.4 è stato sufficiente mettere ISO 1600 mentre con il Leica F2.8 servono ISO 6400 per avere la stessa luminosità! Ottimo lo sfocato dietro il soggetto. Con G9 l'autofocus continuo è leggermente inferiore a ottiche Panasonic ma con il nuovo firmware 2.3 direi assolutamente usabile e decente. Certo è grande e ingombrante ma questo dipende da voi come la pensate a riguardo, metto una foto di confronto con il Leica 12-60 F2.8-4 ... peccato la mancanza di un sacchetto in stoffa nella confezione che direi è l'unico aspetto negativo, ottima l'ampia ghiera per la messa a fuoco manuale. Il paraluce è un po' plasticoso ma ci stà.... senza dubbio consigliata. Io l'ho preferita al Leica 15mm F1.7 non per il prezzo migliore ma per la luminosità maggiore. Una chicca da sapere: ci potete montare i filtri del Leica 62mm anche se è un 64mm e anzi potete scendere fino a 58mm senza vignettature in quanto essendo un ottica nata per APSC nel micro 4/3 sfrutta solo la parte centrale più nitida dell'ottica.

The size ratio and sharpness aren't impressive, though it's cheap but it's not suites m43 well.

Ik had een lens nodig die goed is met weinig licht, maar waarbij je wel veel ziet op kleine afstand. Dit is de lens, daarnaast ook prachtig beeld, voor zowel film als foto. Bestelling is ook goed gegaan, netjes optijd, top!

I use this lens on my lumix g85. It is very sharp and has a solid feel. The focus ring is very smooth. It’s heavier than most mft lenses but it’s nice shooting handheld. My only minor gripe is the lens hood is hard to remove sometimes, but i figure it will loosen up over time. It works well on the zhiyun crane v2.

Absolutely amazing lens. perfect for low light situations and great focal length with great bokah. Perfect prime lens for your micro-four thirds camera. :)