The new Sigma 30mm prime lens takes 62mm filters like its predecessor does, and weighs just slightly more. And like most Sigma lenses, this one is available for a nice, budget-friendly price of around $499 and ships with front and rear caps, a lens hood and a soft case.
Sharpness
Overall, the Sigma 30mm ƒ/1.4 DC Art produces very sharp images. Wide open at ƒ/1.4, images are a little soft except for in the dead center of the frame, however, when compared to its predecessor, the new Art-Series model shows vastly improved performance at max aperture. Stopping down to ƒ/2.8 shows a significant increase in sharpness, and it stays very sharp throughout the aperture range with only minor diffraction softness at ƒ/16.
Chromatic Aberration
Chromatic aberration is not really a significant issue with this lens, and it looks fairly similar to the older model in this regard, if only slightly worse. At ƒ/1.4, both models averaged around 300ths of a percent of frame height, and while the older model averaged around a more or less constant value, the new version shows an increase in CA as you stop down to just around 600ths of a percent at ƒ/16.
Shading (''Vignetting'')
Unlike CA, vignetting has been much improved in this new model compared to the older one. While both models displayed about half of a stop of light falloff wide open, the new model shows a sharp decrease to nearly zero light loss by ƒ/2.8, and remains at that level throughout the rest of the aperture values. The older model, on the other hand, showed a slow, steady decrease in CA, but even by ƒ/8, the older version had more vignetting than the new one does at ƒ/2.8.