Sigma 50mm f1.4

Marac

Marac

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Marac Andrzej Kolodzinski
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Just wanted to mention that I had bought this lens brand new and part-ex'd it for a canon 50mm f1.2L the same day cos I was offered a great deal by a friend on one.

So I went home full of joy with my new toy to try it out. I had a studio shoot on Saturday with it using my 1Ds2 and the 50mm at f1.2 and 80% was not focussed, what followed were several tests including static objects with cam on tripod. again most OOF by quite a bit.

Against the internet forum postings about this lens, mine actually performed very well at close distance producing the great imagery expected by this cool lens, but when I tried it 2m away it was, well to be quite frank, it was ****.

My friend very kindly agreed to trade back as he has had no problems with the 50mm f1.2L on his body, in fact he was regretting getting rid of it.

I just collected my Sigma 50mm f1.4 back (I had never even used it before trading it) I have just done the same set of tests using the Sigma on my 1Ds2 and I am delighted with it, great focus, great bokeh, great contrast, colour (only very slightly shy of the f1.2L) slightly slower AF but who cares!!! in the tests I got 98% perfect shots, the only test it was a bit weak on was AF on low contrast object.

The sigma 50mm f1.4 blew my wife's Canon 50mm f1.4 away and was very close to being AS GOOD AS the 50mm f1.2L.

Well done Sigma, I can totally recommend this lens.
 
the sigma 50mm f1.4 has been a big success every review seems to prove better than the branded 50's. the only downside is its about £100 than branded but i think its definitely worth it, but it looks a beast compared to the other 50's.
 
The Sigma 50/1.4 has been generating a lot of praise, many liken its rendering to the legendary Nikon 58/1.2 Nokton.
 
I used to own the 50mm f1.8 and although its a very nice bit of kit I firmly believe the Sigma to be in a totally different class. The bokeh is stunning and the contrast/colour will blow the canon f1.8 out the water. IMHO
 
and the look of it is phenomenal, i would love to get one but cant afford it yet, however its so beautiful the IQ is stunning and its bokeh is excellent, a proper portraiture lens for me and i cant wait to get one.
 
petersmart said:
Hate to say it but these charts show that the cheapest lens Canon makes, the 50mm F1.8, is not only cheaper but has better IQ:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=3

Have you tried the Canon 50mm - someone else on here reckoned on his FF camera it was excellent.
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Interesting enough, when you compare the two at 1.8, the sigma looks a wee bit sharper. Given the application, I guess shooting wide open on these primes are the primary shooting style of these lenses. Though the sigma still exhibits colour fringing at f11, but probably unnoticeable in real world application
 
Marac was the 1.2 a mk1?

Had troubles with mine too :( definitely a lens that needs microadjusting - did your friend have a body that could?

The sigma 1.4 version is a stunningly good bit of glass - I have heard nothing but good.
 
petersmart said:
Hate to say it but these charts show that the cheapest lens Canon makes, the 50mm F1.8, is not only cheaper but has better IQ:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=3

Have you tried the Canon 50mm - someone else on here reckoned on his FF camera it was excellent.
Click to expand...

The Canon 50mm 1.8 has good sharpness for the price, but there is much much more to a good lens. Not used one for a long time but dire bokeh, inconsistent focussing and plastic build are all shortcomings of this lens.

smoothedit said:
Marac was the 1.2 a mk1?

Had troubles with mine too :( definitely a lens that needs microadjusting - did your friend have a body that could?

The sigma 1.4 version is a stunningly good bit of glass - I have heard nothing but good.
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I'm not aware that Canon has produced a Mk2 of the 50mm f1.2 but I think more recent versions may come with different firmware / calibration settings. I tried the 50mm f/1.2 and mine was ok wide open (in terms of focus, not great sharpness IMHO) but between about f2 - f4 ish it displayed focus shift on close-range subjects (which was what I was using it for 90% of the time!). That is to say it focussed perfectly but then the plane of focus moved backwards as the aperture stops down. I think this is a design issue which has now been addressed by Canon. All sorts of reports exist about using off-centre focussing to improve matters etc.

The Sigma 50mm f1.4 is a smashing lens, especially for the price. Mine focusses perfectly on my 5D but is less consistent on my 50D at longer subject distances. Using the central focussing points is often recommended with this lens.

Phil
 
Sorry :bang: Being a right tart - read 85mm.

Sossa.

Siggy 50 1.4 is still an awesome lens!
 
smoothedit said:
Sorry :bang: Being a right tart - read 85mm.

Sossa.

Siggy 50 1.4 is still an awesome lens!
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I did wonder... the guy has got a 1Ds3 and a 1D3 so both can adjust, I have a 1Ds2 so cannot.

He was delighted to get it back, I am delighted to have the Sigma :lol:
 
Marac said:
I did wonder... the guy has got a 1Ds3 and a 1D3 so both can adjust, I have a 1Ds2 so cannot.

He was delighted to get it back, I am delighted to have the Sigma :lol:
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Now I am tempted to get one for my 1Ds2. I love 85mm f/1.8 on it so far!
 
daugirdas said:
Now I am tempted to get one for my 1Ds2. I love 85mm f/1.8 on it so far!
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Mate, it is great compliment to my 85mm f1.2, the Sigma 50mm f1.4 has similar contrast
 
philthejuggler said:
All sorts of reports exist about using off-centre focussing to improve matters etc.
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That's interesting to me. With some non-rigorous testing of my Sigma 30mm I've found centre point and recompose is better than using an outlying focus point.

Lens? Camera? As Harry Hill would say, "There's only one way to find out..."
 
This is an image I have just taken with the Sigma 50mm f1.4, it has had a few tweeks but nothing serious.

1296407-bfa8e7e3-9d4f-43d8-9c54-06ff433f321e.jpg
 
I have a Sigma 50mm 1.4 and have owned a Canon 50mm 1.8 and the Sigma beats the nifty in every department.

On my 50D the Sigma had a bit of trouble focusing when doing ladscapes but a bit of micro adjustment easily sorted it.

I have used it in very poor light indoors and the focus is spot on.
 
Hmmm. This was going to be my next lens. But, after spending my wad on a bargain priced EF 70-200 f4L IS, I think it's going to have to wait, unfortunately. Have been very impressed what I've heard/seen about it so far. Canon really need to get their act together and update their 50 f1.4.
 
To be honest, I think they (Canon) need to pull their finger out and sort the 50mm f1.2L out. I can only go on my experience but if you need to tune your camera to fit your lens after spending £1200 on it then it's a poor show indeed.

I'm an old film man (Contax N1 & Zeiss optics) we never had to do all this stuff to get great shots.

I found the Sigma 50mm f1.4 to be very very acceptable direct out the box on my 1Ds2 but the Canon was not.

The Canon 50mm f1.4 is an excellent lens, a tweak to the 50mm f1.2L and a price drop would be wonderful
 
Marac said:
To be honest, I think they (Canon) need to pull their finger out and sort the 50mm f1.2L out. I can only go on my experience but if you need to tune your camera to fit your lens after spending £1200 on it then it's a poor show indeed.

I'm an old film man (Contax N1 & Zeiss optics) we never had to do all this stuff to get great shots.

I found the Sigma 50mm f1.4 to be very very acceptable direct out the box on my 1Ds2 but the Canon was not.

The Canon 50mm f1.4 is an excellent lens, a tweak to the 50mm f1.2L and a price drop would be wonderful
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Yeah, but most people in the market for the Siggy will be more inclined to be sizing it up against the Canon 50 f1.4 than the f1.2. And from what I've read, the Siggy trumps the cheaper Canon, and that Canon is an old design with micro motor USM and plenty of complaints of it failing.
 
i definitely think that camera companies should take note of what the sigma has achieved because these brands are losing out on alot of money because togs are buying third party lenses as a cheaper alternative and now the cheaper alternative is better than the branded version. this could be the start of a new 50mm revolution.
 
mastertrinity said:
i definitely think that camera companies should take note of what the sigma has achieved because these brands are losing out on alot of money because togs are buying third party lenses as a cheaper alternative and now the cheaper alternative is better than the branded version. this could be the start of a new 50mm revolution.
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My wife will be totally happy with that, the ONLY lens she shoots with in the studio is her treasured Canon 50mm f1.4. I showed her the Sigma but she said she is still sticking with her Canon as she is a 'brand snob' LOL... hmmm wonder where she got THAT from?...

I used to be a dedicated brand snob but now thanks to the Sigma 300mm f2.8 and this 50mm f1.4 I have to lower my snobbery and go with the better option hehehe.

I used to own a 12-24 Sigma but sold it to finance my lust for a 300mm f2.8 and to be honest I really miss that lens, the 17-40 is nice but that 12mm option is killer!

Wife's only other lens is the Sigma 10-20 that she only uses rarely.
 
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