Turning dreams into reality
When there are dreams not yet fulfilled, there is room to be imaginative and creative.
SIGMA’s strong belief in what they can achieve brings new products and categories that redefine the boundaries.
Photo : The first APS-C sized 30mm F1.4 (equivalent to a converted 50mm) developed and released as a lens manufacturer was the wide aperture standard prime lens ‘SIGMA 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM’.
When you think of recent SIGMA lenses, chances are that the Art line series and its full-size prime F1.4 lenses (20mm/24mm/35mm/50mm) might come to mind. Within this Art line series, there is one lens that, though low-key, attained a certain popularity: the APS-C 30mm F1.4 DC HSM | Art wide-aperture standard prime lens.
The lens was released in 2005 as the successor to the popular SIGMA 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM. With the full-frame equivalent focal length of 50mm and a F1.4 aperture, it is a bright yet compact lens. This high-spec standard lens has long-standing support among photography enthusiasts as an entry point into the wide-angle lens category, combining the appeal of a reasonable price and APS-C sensor. This was in fact the first time that SIGMA had made a product according to these specifications.
Generally, a full-size 50mm F1.4 is almost a prerequisite to being a lens manufacturer who produces lenses in numerous formats. Yet a dedicated APS-C size 50mm F1.4 lens had not yet existed in any line-up. Any user who wanted to use a 50mm F1.4 with a APS-C camera had no choice but to use either a high-end lens like a full-size 35mm F1.4 or the slower 35mm F2 class lens.
SIGMA, however, took a new approach. Regardless of camera sensor size, if there is an unfulfilled need among passionate photography enthusiasts, we try to provide a solution by developing high-spec lenses pptimized for all kinds of sensor formats. We utilized our optical technology and knowhow to realize a APS-C 50mm F1.4 lens at a reasonable price range. The strong desire for a product that had not yet existed due to technological and cost efficiency problems made it a worthwhile challenge for us. Employing the best of our in-house knowledge pool and manufacturing tools, our flexible production structure and through relentless trial-and-error, we finally created the SIGMA 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM.
It is a lens born out of a desire to create something completely new, SIGMA’s think-outside-the-box spirit, the ability to persist despite a small window of opportunity and our principle to pay attention to every single customer.
