Sigma 28mm f1.8 Experiences?

Yeah, thanks Al

OK, finally got the lens today and did some tests.
First off, nice build feel with the same Sigma finish (I actually don't care for it). The hood is so tight I had to really twist it on. I actually put teflon lube on the bayonet mount on the hood to make it easier. It's still tight but a bit better. I'm hoping this loosens up a bit as I use it more. Next is the AF. It's a touch slow, but it's quieter than Tamrons but noisier that Canon USM. It has a funky two step MF thing. You switch to MF on the barrel than you pull the focus ring back to engage MF. Weird, but I can live with it.

Next the optics. The dreaded front focus (more likely operator error IMO) doesn't seem to exist. The Min. focus dist is so short that the hood can touch the subject and you can still get it to focus.

In terms of sharpness, there is a touch of softness at f1.8 on my wall test and things sharpen up by f2.8 to f4 and stays sharp till about f11. The corners seem sharpest at f11-16. Nothing for real world shooters to worry about. Colors seem accurate, unlike those orange cast of the newer optics from Sigma. I tried the CA test, but the sun wasn't really out but it's not bad at all. I also wanted to test for flair but again the sun wasn't out. I wanted to test it with a cheap uv if the sun was out but didn't get a chance.

Overall, very good for $240.
Here are the pics, original size is available if you want to pixel peep.
http://tomyi.smugmug.c​om/gallery/2000895

Congrats Tom. Now you've got your "cheap" 28 f1.8

LightRules wrote in post #2116642
Congrats Tom. Now you've got your "cheap" 28 f1.8

Yea, other than the hood being so tight I think it's a good lens. The hood is actually very touch to put on/off that I'm worried that I might yank the front of the lens off with the hood.

Otherwise it's a good $240 occassional lens. I'll be sure to use it for dia de muertos and west hollyweird halloween carnaval this month. So far I like it quiet a bit.

Now I got to come up with a name for this thing.
"Somewhat Thrifty 28" doesn't sound right. Anyone with a good name?

I had the lens and used it twice so far, I can say that I like this lens.
If you have a cropped lens and want what a 50mm f1.8 was to film, this would be a good cheapish option.

Any pics, Tom?

Well, I shot a few pics for my friends office portraits. Afterwards, I was at another friends place and shot a quick shot of his dog playing on the floor wide open.
F1.8, 1/125, iso 1600 AI servo, Tungston WB.
This one is RAW to JPEG in Neutral Style with DPP with no PP.

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Front focus testing.
Focus on "Caps Locks" (f1.8 1/30 iso 1600) and "E" with the hood actually touching the Extinguisher box (f1.8 1/45 iso100) so they are a bit soft due to slow shutter speed.

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Tom, I can't read the rest of the red sign; I think you have a blurriness problem.

Here is a 100% crop of the letter after processing so it's more representative of a real world shot since I shoot in RAW and post process. It's a bit off since I was shooting a bit slower than I should wide open at f1.8 1/45 iso 100, pretty much touching the subject so shutter speed should have been faster.

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Oh, and Thanks a bunch Al!

Tee Why wrote in post #2129786
Oh, and Thanks a bunch Al!

looks like you have a keeper there!

LightRules wrote in post #2129769
Tom, I can't read the rest of the red sign; I think you have a blurriness problem.

Ha ha ha, very funny. I think I'll send it in on a monthly basis for recalibration.

For the dough, it's a pretty good lens. I'll try to use the heck out of it at the day of the dead shoot (two nights worth) and at the West Hollywood Halloween carvaval.

Tee Why those are some impressive samples. I like you keyboard one the best. Nice stuff, looks like a good lens.

Thank you. But I'll wait for those events to really test out the lens.