New Glass In Hand At Last

Calloo, Callay. I have had a frabjous day. I got to try one of the new Sigma lenses for Fujifilm. The FX mount has been the exclusive territory for Fujifilm for a long time - since the X-Pro 1 started the system. I have dutifully bought, collected, and used the Fujinon lenses that operate with the mirror-less cameras ever since, and have never been dissatisfied with the results. I sometimes wish my 27mm f:2.8 would focus closer or my 35mm f:1.4 would focus faster, but I have to remember that some of the lenses in my cabinet are a few years old. And they ALL focus more accurately than my old eyes would do if they were just manual lenses. But what a thrill it was some time ago when FUJI RUMORS announced that Sigma and Tamron had come to an agreement with Fujifilm to produce some of their own lenses with the FX mount. Remember that Sigma and Tamron are not eBay bargain shops - they are full-fledged players in the optical industry and their products have earned a sterling reputation here in Australia for decades. The 16mm f:1.4 DC DC Sigma lens was in Stirling street this morning and I took the opportunity to compare it to a standard 18mm f:2 Fujinon for size. The 16mm f:2.8 Fujinon is somewhat longer but neither are come up to the size of the Sigma. As you can see the mount is sturdy metal, the contacts are all there and the barrel is sleek and metal. No aperture ring - you control that through the back thumb wheel of Fujifilm cameras. Those people who worry that there is no ring round the lens rather fool themselves - it it really just as easy to thumb it as twist it - I have no problem at all with the 27mm f:2.8 in that regard. For today's exercise it was mounted on the old X-Pro1...which probably is the slowest-focussing camera body still going. The speed was no problem - the lens lets in much more light than the equivalent Fujinon and has no struggle with interior shots at lower light levels. The resolution is superb, and the only real limitation to an architectural user inside is remembering that with wide lenses you need to keep the back of the camera vertical to avoid converging lines. This is basic optical physics anyway, but I find it pays to have the grid lines turned on in the viewfinder to give something the refer to. Even than I am constantly having to crank in a little correction in Lightroom when I get things a few degrees off level. The outside shots were predictably fine and I was finally able to do something that my own 16mm cannot deliver; wide aperture shots outside with a soft backdrop while still maintaining good exposure. And this was at 200 ISO - had I used the X-T2 or later I could have swooped down to 100 ISO. The camera just cranked the speed but kept shooting at f:1.4. The situation is like the Tissot painting : " How Happy I Would Be With Either ( T'wer Other Dear Charmer Away )". But you'll have to judge your purse for this. The Fujinon 16mm f:1.4 lens is around the $ 1400 mark. The Fujinon 16mm f:2.8 and the Sigma f:1.4 both hover about the $ 630 mark. Over to you.