Which 50mm. Canon or Sigma

Phil Bennett

Phil Bennett

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Guys

Im in the market for a good 50mm f1.4, for to use on my 5D MkII. now I cannot decide between the Sigma or the Canon, there are very different views about these lens. Some say the Canon is pretty poor wide open, whilst the Sigma is better.

Ive had mixed results with a Sigma 70-200mm lens on my 5D, so Im not sure about buying 3rd party again.

Any advice, pro's cons about the lenses?

Phil
 
Personally I went for the Canon as I had quality issues with a previous Sigma lens. I have been really pleased with the Canon, it's a cracking little lens. The size of the Sigma is also quite a bit bigger isn't it?

I would not buy third party again.
 
Not sure I can give the best advice here as I've had a mark II for less than 24 hours and have never even touched a sigma 50mm. But I like the Canon 50/1.4 a lot. What people describe as problems wide open are interesting characteristics to me - I like the slight softness (is halation the right word??) and the vignetting it gives. I think the bokeh can be very nice too, although I am not so picky about my backgrounds as some so I might be overstating things.

I see that the mark II can remove this in-camera which is a real bonus for me - I use a lot of vignetting but now if I need a clean shot I can get one.

I've just posted my first serious shots with this combo here:

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=194367

Having said all this, I've not heard a bad word about the sigma 50/1.4 provided you get one that focuses accurately.

If I can take some particular test pics with the Canon that would help you let me know and I'll do my best.

Ian
 
I bought a mint secondhand Canon f1.4 for £150 and I am really pleased with it.

But before that came up for sale I was thinking of getting the new Sigma because it has a large front element to reduce light fall off of FF sensors. Saying that, I would have waited unitl I had read a lot more reviews on the Sigma.
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

Ian, if you could do some test shots it would be much appreciated, just general stuff in low light wide open would be good.

I want the lens for gig photography, in pubs and such, not the big venues. The 5D MkII is cracking at high ISO so a good fast prime can only enhance it IMHO

Phil
 
Jay12329 said:
I asked this question last week
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=193205

Think i'm going to go for the siggy when I've saved up enough browny points with the mrs. But if i see a good priced Canon can't say I'll be too unhappy with that either.

I've used a sigma 70-200 100-300 120-300 300 prime... Never had an issue with sigma quality.
HTH

J
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, I dont normally frequent this section, hence I missed the original thread

Phil
 
I have a Sigma 10-20 and love it. I also have a Sigma 17-70 f2.8 and again a great lens - no problems. I personally think the 3rd party thing can sometimes be a little over played. Many 3rd party lenses get better reviews and Canon's own offerings, so bear that in mind.

Re the 50mm 1.4 question, I have the Canon simply becuase I had heard too that the Sigma was quite large compared to the Canon, and also I got a great price on it, which always helps. And yes, I am very happy with it - some superb photos have come out of that little baby.

I would say rather than rely solely on 'feedback' and other users input is ther any way you can get to a store and try one of each first hand.
 
When I wanted a 50mm F1.4 I tried the Canon and the Sigma, I went with the Sigma because of the size, I've got big hands, and the filter thread is 77mm so all of my filters will fit. I am very happy with it.
 
I promised some example shots with the 5DmkII in low light. I haven't done much shooting but here's the best I can offer so far. I took a short sequence of pics of my son doing his homework. He is lit by just a single bulb high up and in front of him. All shots with the Canon 50/1.4 wide open or close to wide open. No processing except WB correction and maybe a slight crop, I forget.

This is the ISO 1600 shot:

4277024668_a58fb44546.jpg


The others taken at 400 and 800 are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvecchi/4277024668/in/photostream
 
Huss1100 said:
When I wanted a 50mm F1.4 I tried the Canon and the Sigma, I went with the Sigma because of the size, I've got big hands, and the filter thread is 77mm so all of my filters will fit. I am very happy with it.
Click to expand...

Me too:)
 
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