After using manual only since I got the 7, i had pretty much decided to sell one of my two native lenses, and more specifically, the Sigma 30mm. Primarily because the focal length is covered by the kit zoom and the aperture isnt really fast enough to be called fast; borne out by a recent post by Nianys. I stuck it on the camera tonight, for no reason and, dammit, the AF was spot on, in poor light and the image quality pretty good. The pic of Erin is at 6,400, and the pic of Max at 12,800.
Yep, the Sigma is pretty good. I had the same experience... A Boy and his...thing by dixeyk, on Flickr low light, high ISO and while the AF wasn't speedy it did focus on what I wanted.
You guys have more love for it than I do, I personally put it back in the box right after trying it, and it hasn't come back ever since, and probably won't. AF was very slow when I tried it, and though IQ is definitely there, my legacies do at least as well when I critically focus them. Your portraits are excellent.
Since I use MF most of the time the lack of speedy AF doesn't bother me. I had no expectations that it would be particularly good and while I did have a GX1 to compare to there are so many things that I prefer the NEX for that I find that it's hard for me to to be nostalgic about it. It was cheap and for the money I paid it was well worth it. That said, the fact that the Sigma has nice IQ doesn't hurt. I don't use it very often but it's nice to have when I want it.
I did something a bit crazy today. I am not one usually given to impulsive purchases and don't even own an NEX yet. But I actually ordered both the Sigma 19mm and 30mm in E-mount from Amazon.com today. That's because each is, at least as I type this, on sale for $149. I keep hearing about the image quality offered by these two lenses, even if reports about auto-focus speed vary in terms of how bothersome it can be. The truth is I have been eyeing the NEX 6 ever since it was announced and if I'm honest with myself I know I'll own one before long. So, given the price of the Sigmas, I figured I can't go wrong. Plus I have kind of commited myself to getting the NEX 6. If it's a few months before that happens (and it might not be that long), fine.
I don't love it, I don't even like it cosmetically, but I have to admit it may have it's uses in the future. A stop faster than the kit, inconspicuous, AF (subject to interpretation) and produces images like the gorgeous one Kevin posted
