Sigma 60mm f/2.8 DN micro-four-thirds

The Sigma 60mm F2.8 is the budget portrait king for Micro Four Thirds. Fast autofocus, sharp images, and a price that makes the Olympus 75mm look like highway robbery.

The autofocus surprised us most. It's sitting in the 98th percentile for AF speed, which is wild for a lens this cheap. The linear motor snaps into focus fast and quietly, no hunting in decent light. Optically it's solid but not spectacular, middle of the pack overall, but the bokeh at f/2.8 is smooth and creamy thanks to those 7 aperture blades. The 50cm minimum focus distance isn't macro territory, but it's close enough for tight headshots and detail work.

The obvious comparison is the Olympus 75mm f/1.8, which costs over twice as much and gives you an extra 1 1/3 stops of light. The Sigma is slower but nearly as sharp, and the autofocus is actually faster. Against the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-35mm f/2.8, you're trading zoom flexibility for a dedicated portrait focal length with better bokeh. The Tamron 28-300mm is a completely different beast, a superzoom for full frame, so it's not really a fair fight. For pure portrait work on MFT, the Sigma is the value king.

At $339-351 USD, this lens is an absolute steal. You're getting autofocus performance that rivals lenses costing three times as much, and image quality that makes the Olympus 75mm f/1.8 look overpriced. If you're on Micro Four Thirds and want a portrait lens without selling a kidney, this is the obvious choice.

The Sigma 60mm F2.8 EX DN is the lens you buy when you want Olympus 75mm f/1.8 image quality without the $800 gut punch. It's a 120mm equivalent on Micro Four Thirds, which sounds awkward on paper but turns out to be a killer portrait and street focal length. The one thing to know: this is a budget lens that punches way above its weight class optically, and the autofocus is genuinely best-in-class for the price.

If you need low light performance or super shallow depth of field, this isn't your lens. The f/2.8 aperture is fine for daylight portraits but struggles indoors without good lighting. Go grab the Olympus 75mm f/1.8 instead if you can stomach the price. And if you want a do-everything travel lens, look at the Panasonic Leica 12-35mm f/2.8 zoom.

Buy it. If you shoot Micro Four Thirds and want a portrait lens, the Sigma 60mm F2.8 is the no-brainer choice. The autofocus alone is worth the price of admission, and the image quality will make you forget you're shooting with a budget lens. Just remember it's not stabilized, so keep your shutter speed at 1/125 or faster.