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I am now seriously considering getting the sigma 30mm 1.4, as its just affordable otherwise i will have to save up for much longer for the 35L. Some web pages have said that the SIgma is comparable to the 35L. What do you think? Also should i get one from one of the cheaper online stores that ship from hongkong - hence no real warranty or get it from wither digitalcamerawarehouse or camerawarehouse which sell aussie stock and have warranty. I heard that Sigma lenses are notorious in quality control, hence its a good chance that the lens would either front/back focus....etc, and if so I can get it calibrated or returned. Is it true about the Sigma lens quality control? Has anyone experience this with Sigma lenses?
Thanks OOps, also the price diff is about $200

I cant really help you with the how good it is, other than L lenses have an L on for a reason. But is it $200 better? Only you can decide.

As for sigma quality, there are reports of may of the lenses having a focus alignment problems that require sending your body in with the lens to have the lens calibrated to suit your body.I havnt had this problem with any of the sigma's I've had and my Nikons!

Dont forget also if you do buy Sigma, CRKennedy will price match OS stock that is in Australia, so you get your HK price with AUs warranty. But lately the Aus price is better than the HK price.

Good Luck but I'm sure you'll be happy which ever way you go.

MATT

Hi

First up - I use my 30 1.4 on a Nikon so my comments might not be directly applicable to your Canon. I too was worried about focussing issues with this lens. On my Nikon, I wouldn't say it is has a consistent front/back problem more of an occasional general mis-focussing problem.

However...

This is only noticeable at f1.4 - f2.0 and it only happens for about 1/3 of the shots at these apertures. What I've found is that if I set the camera to high-speed mode and can fire off 4 or 5 frames in one go, one of these will definitely come out. The natural movement of my body (not using a tripod) will cause the focus to shift enough to counter any mis-focussing problems. I use this lens mostly for shooting people inside or outside at night at wedding, parties, etc. and it's fantastic in this role.

Before you think about imports, check out local second-hand dealers. I was really lucky and managed to pick mine up for $300. I think some people were selling them because of front/back problems but others I suspect were frustrated shooting at f1.4. Remember, at this aperture, the focussing hardware and software of the camera is also working very hard and can occasionally be a bit off. Plus, buying from a second-hand dealer usually means some sort of warranty.

Cheers

dervish wrote:I heard that Sigma lenses are notorious in quality control, hence its a good chance that the lens would either front/back focus....etc, and if so I can get it calibrated or returned.

The Sigma quality control issues don't usually manifest themselves in terms of back or front focus, but more in terms of build quality (lack of) or just plain coke bottle acuity.

Leigh has the 30mm f/1.4, and it's quite sharp, but yes, there are issues with QC: the paint is peeling from the body.

Sounds trivial, right?

Wrong! While we can see paint peeling along the outside of the lens body, what is happening inside that same lens? Is there paint peeling within the lens, eventually perhaps causing internal reflections, little bits of paint peelings moving around and attaching themselves to lens elements, etc?

We simply don't know, short of dismantling the lens we have no way of finding out, unless and until it happens. That may never occur.

Or perhaps it already has.

Do ya feel lucky?

Is it really only $200 more to get to the full frame L??? If so then I would go the L without hesitation.

I think it is a big gap between the Sigma and the L (DD has the L for $1875 the Sigma should only be about a third of that price)

oops, i meant that buying the sigma 30 via say an ebay sort of company, where they send you the lens from HK is about $550 and buying one from say digitalcamerawarehouse is approx $780, which is about $200 more (not the canon 35L being $200 more than the sigma 30mm). I am thinking that with the HK supplier, I will then have to pay for recaliberation here in Aus, whereas if i get Aus stock from Digitalcamerawarehouse then i may be able to get the distributers to recalibrate it for me if it is problematic.

dervish wrote:oops, i meant that buying the sigma 30 via say an ebay sort of company, where they send you the lens from HK is about $550 and buying one from say digitalcamerawarehouse is approx $780, which is about $200 more (not the canon 35L being $200 more than the sigma 30mm). I am thinking that with the HK supplier, I will then have to pay for recaliberation here in Aus, whereas if i get Aus stock from Digitalcamerawarehouse then i may be able to get the distributers to recalibrate it for me if it is problematic.

Ok, I was wondering.
Take that HK price to CR Kennedy and they will price match it for you, that way you will end up with Aust warranty and support with the HK price.

aim54x wrote:Ok, I was wondering.
Take that HK price to CR Kennedy and they will price match it for you, that way you will end up with Aust warranty and support with the HK price.

Sounds good thks, I will try it but i didn't know that CR Kennedy deals directly with the public. have you tried it?

dervish wrote:Sounds good thks, I will try it but i didn't know that CR Kennedy deals directly with the public. have you tried it?

They will apparently match an ebay price but if you can find a good web based store price they will match it. The only Sigma lens I own was bought direct off CR Kennedy after I got them to match a web based price. They are much nicer to deal with as a customer rather than a retailer (I have worked at a camera store).

Good luck with your purchase PS have a look at this page
http://www.crkennedy.com.au/v1/index.cfm?pageID=465&pageRef=179&

aim54x wrote:PS have a look at this page
http://www.crkennedy.com.au/v1/index.cfm?pageID=465&pageRef=179&

From that page ...

CR Kennedy wrote:We will match, through our authorised Sigma dealer network, any legitimate advertised internet price on Sigma lenses by these grey importers.
These prices do not include traditional pre-sales and after sales service normally given by your local retail store. We suggest that you research the product thoroughly before making any purchase

The first section of this states their policy very clearly. However, one may wish to query their references to "traditional pre-sales and after sales service normally given by your local retail store" ... which, in most cases, would amount to ????

I would definitely agree about researching the product thoroughly, and I am glad to see that this is precisely what the OP is doing.

gstark wrote:

aim54x wrote:The first section of this states their policy very clearly. However, one may wish to query their references to "traditional pre-sales and after sales service normally given by your local retail store" ... which, in most cases, would amount to ????

I would definitely agree about researching the product thoroughly, and I am glad to see that this is precisely what the OP is doing.

lol... yes, I often wonder the same thing. I have worked in retail before, and I have to admit the Camera Retail front is one of the worst when it comes to post-sales support... in the fact that well, it's non-existant. I found this out the hard way.

I usually purchase second-hand or online as I do my own research (and retail staff at camera stores are just useless when it comes to advice), but I was in a rush to get a 50mm lens, and just happens that no one seemed to have one in stock. Except one shot (I'm not allowed to name shop names right?) who had a Sigma 50mm f1.4. I figure if there were problems I could take it back, like all other retail. Oh how I was wrong! It was front focusing by about 1cm, and it was so hard to tell in the store on the back of the LCD... so I brought it back and the response was along the lines of "you should take it back to Sigma... maybe CR Kennedy can help you... but if you do it through us it will take at least 6 weeks before we get it back." So in short he was telling me to bugger off. I feel so stupid as I paid about $100 premium (after discount) compared to online/grey import, thinking that in doing so I would have after-sales support.

So anyone know what's the best way to get a sigma lens re-calibrated in Melbourne?

iUDEX wrote:Except one shot (I'm not allowed to name shop names right?)

Be my guest. I encourage members to name names when it comes to good or bad service. Good service deserves to be rewarded. Members deserve to know about those with whom they are dealing when it comes to service that is not good.

who had a Sigma 50mm f1.4. I figure if there were problems I could take it back, like all other retail. Oh how I was wrong! It was front focusing by about 1cm, and it was so hard to tell in the store on the back of the LCD... so I brought it back and the response was along the lines of "you should take it back to Sigma... maybe CR Kennedy can help you... but if you do it through us it will take at least 6 weeks before we get it back." So in short he was telling me to bugger off.

With respect, I don't think so.

What I think he may have been trying to communicate to you is that the lines of sending stuff back for warranty work are not all that good. Consider that they might only have one delivery/pick-up per week to or from the distributor. There's one week at each end of the transaction. Allow another week for shipping (this stuff never goes priority) and then you're left with the typical "it'll take ten minutes to fix, but the queue is three weeks long" response.

I'm not supporting a six week turnaround: I think it's appalling and unacceptable. But I do think that he was, at least, being forthright and matter-of-fact. Would you prefer him to tell you "two weeks" and then fob you off for another four weeks?

I feel so stupid as I paid about $100 premium (after discount) compared to online/grey import, thinking that in doing so I would have after-sales support.

So anyone know what's the best way to get a sigma lens re-calibrated in Melbourne?

I do have some ideas, but they are largely inconsistent with you having just spent some good hard cash for the glass.

What camera bodies?

gstark wrote:With respect, I don't think so.

What I think he may have been trying to communicate to you is that the lines of sending stuff back for warranty work are not all that good. Consider that they might only have one delivery/pick-up per week to or from the distributor. There's one week at each end of the transaction. Allow another week for shipping (this stuff never goes priority) and then you're left with the typical "it'll take ten minutes to fix, but the queue is three weeks long" response.

I'm not supporting a six week turnaround: I think it's appalling and unacceptable. But I do think that he was, at least, being forthright and matter-of-fact. Would you prefer him to tell you "two weeks" and then fob you off for another four weeks?

I agree with what you're saying, i have worked in retail after all, but perhaps I just didn't explain clearly what I meant. It wasn't so much the delay, but more so the manner by which he delivered it. It was very clear from his tone and attitude that he had no intent on helping me whatsoever.

I do have some ideas, but they are largely inconsistent with you having just spent some good hard cash for the glass.

What camera bodies?

 LOL. I'm running a 40D, and a newly acquired 5D from petal666. I guess if I had a 50D or a 5D MkII then I could simply use the internal micro-adjustments. But it's not to be.

By the way, I dropped into Camera Exchange and they were very helpful in pointing me in the right direction.