Help me decide, Canon 50mm F1.4 or Sigma 50mm F1.4

combat squirrel

combat squirrel

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As title, this old question again !! Obviously im going to be working mostly in the F1.4-F2 range with the lens I choose, it will be used for a combination of video work and low F stop photography.

I used to own the Canon but wasn't very impressed with it over my Canon F1.8 50mm, but im now finding the F1.8 not quite low enough F stop and the Autofocus is slowwww, also been getting into some natural light portrait work....and the bokeh is AWFUL on the nifty 50.

The canon is £220-250 2nd hand the sigma is about another hundred more.

Is it worth the money ?, or will I get by just fine with the canon ? :shrug:
 
There have been quite a few threads on this recently, including ones with images posted, so it may be worth a search.

I've had the Canon since before the Sigma was launched and don't see any reason to upgrade.
 
there have been quite a few reports of people using the canon 1.4 on video with great success and i'm surprised to hear you not noticing much difference between the two. if your background shoot scene is set favourably then you can draw wonderful bokeh even at f2.8. even for stills canon gets my vote
 
When I first looked at these two I read the on line reviews and found that the Siggy wins every single one so that's the one I went for and I've been very happy with it.

Someone posted a test graph here recently which seemed to show that the Canon 50mm f1.4 focus system performs very erratically. As lenses like this are almost certainly bought with the intention of using them at wide apertures where any focus system weaknesses are more likely to show up due to shallow DoF the Canon seems to be a bit of a gamble by design. A search on Siggy v Canon 50mm's should lead you to the thread including the test results.

Actually, here it is...

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=4365099#post4365099

Looks to be an interesting piece of software.
 
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From what ive read the Sigma 50mm 1.4 is the lens to get, it's sharp and produces much better images compared to the Canon.
 
Sigma (which I have) every time. BUT only if you get a good copy! I've heard all problems with front/back focussing on the Sigma.

If you do get one with an issue you may have to send it to Sigma for calibration but when you get it back you will be delighted.
 
Id go Sigma, but be sure that you get a good copy or be prepared for a very lengthy wait for an adjustment from Sigma, there are a lot of these with FF and BF issues. Buy from a reputable dealer and you should be able to return for a replacement.
 
I was looking at the Sigma 30mm 1.4 in WEX yesterday and they told me they knew about the potential focusing issues so would be more than happy for me to bring my own body into the store to try different copies until I found one I was happy with. Now that's a good service. So good it pushes you towards buying new over secondhand, as it removes the worries of getting a good copy.

So if you do go for Sigma, might be worth speaking to a local camera shop to see if they do the same thing.
 
I have never tried sigma but canon's 1.4 is excellent.
Someone mentioned AF hunting , must have been bad copy of the lens , mine has never done that. And as 60221654 mentioned its great for video as well.
 
It's difficult to say this without sounding like a Troll so I'll go carefully... :D

With wider apertures technique and lens to camera compatibility gets more important and I'm convinced that many of the "Siggy have poor QC" comments we see on the net are erroneous, to be polite. There are going to be poor copies, sure, there are also going to be instances of people rejecting good lenses because they are unaware that their bodies are out of spec. and there are going to be a lot of instances when "Siggy trouble" is actually poor technique shown up by the thin DoF and it's this last cause that I've personally seen but try telling another that they've got poor technique.

I've got 20D f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.4, 150mm f2.8 and all are great on both my bodies. I also had and sold a perfectly good 30mm f1.4. I could just have been very lucky and bought spot on lenses for my bodies or it could be that Siggy aren't as bad as the internet would have me believe.

I'd say buy with confidence and if you do have "issues" check your technique first and only when you've definitely eliminated user error return the kit. Be scared off by possibly erroneous internet panic and you could be missing out on great lenses.
 
I have the Canon 50mm f1.4. Never had a problem with autofocus, it focusses quite fast but liek with any lens you have to use them within their capabilities. If you're shooting in the dark, the autofocus needs something to latch onto, like a contrast edge.
It's also pretty decent wide open at f1.4

At that price for the Canon 50mm f1.4, if you didn't like it you wouldn't lose any money selling it on?
 
Byker28i said:
I have the Canon 50mm f1.4. Never had a problem with autofocus, it focusses quite fast but liek with any lens you have to use them within their capabilities. If you're shooting in the dark, the autofocus needs something to latch onto, like a contrast edge.
It's also pretty decent wide open at f1.4

At that price for the Canon 50mm f1.4, if you didn't like it you wouldn't lose any money selling it on?
Click to expand...

:agree:

I couldn't have put it better myself...

Get the Canon... Use it... Learn its quirks... Enjoy it! :)
 
If you do get a good copy hold onto it, its a fantastic lens.
 
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I've got canon and use it from about f/2.2 (as originally intended) which gives me great results and I don't need to worry about any problems. I'm not so happy with it at f/1.4 though as it has some weird haloing and low contrast. It's a tough call, but if 85mm was OK for you, the Canon 85mm f/1.8 is a stunning lens compared to the 50mm lot.
 
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