the sigma 24mm f/1.8 macro lens (for my nikon d3)
so by the time everyone was home, fed and the battery was ready, i was left with cruddy light and dirty and tired models. i was too excited to wait another day though, so on the lens went and i gave it a whirl.
gemma noticed i had a new lens. (i was very proud.) her interest faded after 2 shots. kind of fun though…the bobblehead distortion makes her look younger!
left: one shot that kieran “took” while i held the camera and clover. kieran likes to push buttons…he is also and excellent garage door shutter, washing machine starter and crosswalk signal alerter. right: kiki hunting baby in the backyard. i do not understand how i get the ONLY crazy ragdoll cat in the world. every other ragdoll cat i meet is docile and mine is the one with the attitude problem. sigh.
being a macro, this lens can really get in close and focus. kiki actually bit my camera today (see? crazy!) it gets that close.
verdict (on the lens, not the cat).
great lens for the price!
pros:
feels solid and well built
focuses fairly quickly. no hunting around even in the dim light.
beautiful balance of sharpness and shallow depth of field at f/2.2, but still pretty sharp wide open. i just found the focus was falling ever so slightly in front at f/1.8….that could be user error though. ;)
colors rendered well
cons:
you have to clean up because it shows everything in your messy living room that you could hide from the 50mm.
so hello there, Sigma. i am sorry that i have never given you a chance before. welcome to my camera bag. i had better go and see what else you have…i have heard there is a sweet 70-200mm f/2.8 
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for the review Rachel. The price different is amazing considering the quality of images you got out of it (even though I must say it helps to have someone talented test it out!) I would say I'm sold on this one. I will need to put it on my 'buy next' list. Right after a new camera.
I'm going to check this siggie out… thanks for the mini-review! Kiki's devilish portrait is great! I have a Sigma 180mm Macro. Love it! Great bang for the buck.
I am an absolute novice, but I've liked the results from my Sigma lenses. The guys over at Henry's (my local camera shop – Canada) always speak highly of them. Had to laugh at the con. Maybe I don't need a 24mm lens after all! Enjoy
what a sweet shot of you and clover that kieran "took"!! so cute that he is your go-to button guy!
your awesome talent always makes me want to get a better camera….one day i will!
Ohhh, the nikon version is too pricey for me, but I think I'm going to have to get this sucker! Thanks for the review!
Do you use a single auto-focus point? How did Keiran get Clover's eye in focus so well?
i am not sure what it was set to there…i do use single focus point, but when shooting from the hip, often i will use the closest point.
yay! that is so much fun! I love all these. especially the one of you and your tiny girl. so sweet. good boy, kier! Maybe one day when I decide I need a new lens I will look at sigmas!
Thanks for sharing! I have been thinking about getting a wide angle such as this, so it was great to read all your post about it!
oh, i have a ragdoll cat that looks exactly likes yours and he is crazy too.. like, seriously crazy. you are not alone.
Oh Rachel….I think I need to take a lawsuit out against you! You keep tempting me into buying these lenses and my poor wee freelance photographer’s bank balance suffers greatly. So, can you just start posting really bad images with these lenses so that I don’t feel I have to buy all of these marvellous lenses. Ha!
I did consider getting the Nikon 24mm f/1.4G, because I do shoot weddings and I am a phtojournalist (well, photojournalism for an art setting – I basically shoot documentary photos and exhibit/sell them personally for a living). But at that cost I went out and bought myself a MacBook Pro instead (and I’m so glad I did). Still, I think your recent selection of lenses have been a great mix and, gosh, don’t your wonderful photos just SHINE?
I’m a Sigma user. Two of my lenses are Sigma, two are Tamron, the rest are Nikon. I’ve gotta say, I like Sigma a lot. I have the 70-300mm f/4-5/6 and the Sigma 18-200mm f3.5-5.6. Both spot-on, nice lenses. I prefer them over Tamron, though I have a seriously great 55-200mm Tamron which I often neglect, forgetting how great it is.
(Woops, I ramble enough on my own blog and now I’m doing it to you. My apologies. Camera nerds, eh?).
Oh Rachel….I think I need to take a lawsuit out against you! You keep tempting me into buying these lenses and my poor wee freelance photographer's bank balance suffers greatly. So, can you just start posting really bad images with these lenses so that I don't feel I have to buy all of these marvellous lenses. Ha!
I did consider getting the Nikon 24mm f/1.4G, because I do shoot weddings and I am a phtojournalist (well, photojournalism for an art setting – I basically shoot documentary photos and exhibit/sell them personally for a living). But at that cost I went out and bought myself a MacBook Pro instead (and I'm so glad I did). Still, I think your recent selection of lenses have been a great mix and, gosh, don't your wonderful photos just SHINE?
I'm a Sigma user. Two of my lenses are Sigma, two are Tamron, the rest are Nikon. I've gotta say, I like Sigma a lot. I have the 70-300mm f/4-5/6 and the Sigma 18-200mm f3.5-5.6. Both spot-on, nice lenses. I prefer them over Tamron, though I have a seriously great 55-200mm Tamron which I often neglect, forgetting how great it is.
(Woops, I ramble enough on my own blog and now I'm doing it to you. My apologies. Camera nerds, eh?).
Great pictures. Even the one Kieran took! LOL! I had a niece who was a button pusher, at that age. My dad was showing us something on the computer and the screen went black. Stacy had pushed the reset button. Oops. You better be watching your back, with that cat! Looks like a nice lens. I won't be buying one anytime soon. We'd need a DSLR first and we have college to pay for.
I stumbled on your blog because I have a website about Ragdoll cats and have set up a Google alert to notify me when the word "ragdoll cat" appears on the Internet. oh my gosh, i totally love your blog. i love the photography! WOW. i would love, love, love it if you would consider featuring your kitty on our Ragdoll of the Week series. http://www.floppycats.com/ragdoll-of-the-week.htm... We can always include your bio and link back to your blog. Please let me know! Thanks!
kiki would be honored!
I just have to point out that Tamron has a fantastic 70-200mm for the price. Do compare to the Sigma if you plan to buy. I know how you love your Tamron lenses! (after all that's what led me to them in the first place)
Very nice; thanks for the review. I am trying to figure out which lens to purchase next…
thanks for this review rachel! i've been looking forward to reading what you thought of it.
i've been pondering wide angle options too. lots of people seem to love the nikon 20 & 24mm 2.8 & 35mm f2 lenses – did you consider any of them before deciding on the sigma?? would you mind sharing, what drew you to the sigma? thanks!
i did consider all of those, but i "macro" (close focus) and the f/1.8 were the deciding factors.
cool – thanks rachel!
http://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww328/xXxTwili... <– My Friend showed me this Picture of gemma on the internet, just thought i'd share…
that is freaky. i hate that they took my work and i hate even more that they altered it…making it look like crap. awesome. (not)
I have a Sigma as well, and I love it – almost more than my Cannon (shh…don't tell!). Also – my neighbors have a VERY rowdy ragdoll that often comes to visit our two kitties. She stomps around like the owns the place! Adorable though
I know you are probably fully aware of these, but thought i'd show you just incase –> http://images2.fanpop.com/image/answers/267000/26...
thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on the lens! … i'm selling my sigma 30/1.4 because of moving up to full frame … and in turn, i'm looking for a new wide … don't know why i didn't look at the sigmas because my 30 is a great lens. also appreciate your thoughts on why you passed on the other nikons … i've been going back and forth between the nikon 24 and 35, but now will add the sigma to the mix … thanks again.
Love these!! Especially of the kitty – all that gray with the pop of blue is awesome. I'll have to look into Sigma now, I have a Tamron 28-75 zoom that I really like and the "off" brands tend to suit my budget better.
Except for my Canon 50/1.4, couldn't do without it!