Analog Therapy/Wonderful Nonsense: SIGMA SA-7N – Three Lenses + Fujifilm 400 Film.

This was a fun one. A SIGMA SA-7N film camera with a modern SIGMA DC 30mm f/1.4 Art digital era crop lens.

This day I added two other lenses to the mix just to switch things up a bit. The SIGMA 105mm f/1.4 Art…

…and an old-timey SA mount DSLR era full frame SIGMA DG EX 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom.

The wonderful nonsense part?

That such a wide variety of lenses all work perfectly well on an inexpensive film camera many (or at least I) knew nothing about. And not just work. But work well.

Raises the point of a post I wrote questioning whether lens or camera played the largest part in the resulting image. Results like these make a good case for the former.

Used a favorite color film, Fujifilm 400. Developed at home using Cinestill CS41. Worked far better than I could have expected. Here are all 36 frames listed by the lens used.

SIGMA SA DG EX 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6

SIGMA 30mm F1.4 DC (DC as in made for APS-C but works well with full frame anyway.) HSM | Art 013

And lastly one of the most ridiculous camera and lens pairings I have ever used. A top tier portrait lens and a small, dirt cheap, all plastic forgotten SLR.

SIGMA 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM | Art 018

Still there? I have a little more to say. I keep looking at these images and thinking…

I do not know that I have taken better images with far, far more expensive and worshipped gear.

Feel better? Sure.

Look better? The gear itself that is. For sure.

More bragging rights? Check.

But none of those things matter where the resulting image is concerned.

Just saying this out loud is all. I do not know how I feel about all of this if I am honest.

This will never replace a premium camera. But if you cannot afford the entry price or would just would rather not spend that much… and you do not mind some interesting ergonomics… here you go.

-ELW