Which 50mm prime?

wippers

wippers

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Hi All - I'm looking to put a 50mm prime to my lens collection as am getting asked to do more portrait stuff just lately. Does anyone have any advice/experience of any of the following?

Canon 50mm f1.8 - circa £75 this is definitely cheap and cheerful and always seems to get good praise?

Canon 50mm f1.4 - circa £250 is the extra money worth it for the larger aperture? Does this offer much shallower DOF?

Sigma 50mm f1.4 - circa £300 I've always liked the build quality of the Sigma lenses compared to the cheap and plasticy Canon starter range.


Any advise is more than welcome.:thumbs:

Thanks for looking.

Gareth
 
Or to throw in another option... A used 50mm F/1.8 MkI if you want better build quality.

Bought mine 22 years ago and still going strong.
 
wippers said:
Canon 50mm f1.8 - circa £75 this is definitely cheap and cheerful and always seems to get good praise?

Canon 50mm f1.4 - circa £250 is the extra money worth it for the larger aperture? Does this offer much shallower DOF?

Sigma 50mm f1.4 - circa £300 I've always liked the build quality of the Sigma lenses compared to the cheap and plasticy Canon starter range.
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Go for the one that seems to win every review, if you like the look the Siggy produces :D

As you're FF have you thought about an 85mm? I have the Siggy and IMVHO it's even better than their 50mm.
 
I love my £75 mk2, I guess it depends if you want to pay for the extra stop!
 
There's a Samyang (spelling?) that gets rave reviews and it's reasonably priced, manual though.
 
I considered all but just purchased a 50mm 1.4 off classified -

The problem is:

Canon 50mm 1.8 ii = bad build quality + impossible to MF

Canon 50mm 1.4 = better build quality but non-circular aperture and AF mechanism reliability issues (must keep hood on in storage)

Sigma 50mm 1.4 = inconsistent focus, varying copies and also back/front focus issues.

Its all a bit of a compromise - I also used to have the 50mm 1.8 mk1, was pretty pleased with it but didn't want to buy a 1.8 again as I love the 1.4 creaminess that I'm used to from my Olympus 50mm 1.4.

I can't be bothered to get stressed about copy variations and problems with the Sigma so went with the Canon.
 
travellingcello said:
I considered all but just purchased a 50mm 1.4 off classified -

The problem is:

Canon 50mm 1.8 ii = bad build quality + impossible to MF

Canon 50mm 1.4 = better build quality but non-circular aperture and AF mechanism reliability issues (must keep hood on in storage)

Sigma 50mm 1.4 = inconsistent focus, varying copies and also back/front focus issues.

Its all a bit of a compromise - I also used to have the 50mm 1.8 mk1, was pretty pleased with it but didn't want to buy a 1.8 again as I love the 1.4 creaminess that I'm used to from my Olympus 50mm 1.4.

I can't be bothered to get stressed about copy variations and problems with the Sigma so went with the Canon.
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What is the build quality like on the Canon 1.4 compared to the Sigma 1.4?

Also, the closest I used to have for comparison on build quality is a 10-20mm Sigma 4-5.6. How do these compare?:shrug:
 
its not impossible to manually focus the 50mm f/1.8 mk II at all, you don't have manual focus override but thats different, just flick it to mf and twist the (admittedly) small focus ring.

Whilst people will say the build is bad etc. I don't think you get better value out of anything camera related than an entry level nifty 50. They're great, and if (when) you drop them, so what? One thing to note is that they vignette quite a lot on FF bodies. I actually find I like the look but if you need to push images in post, the added problem of correcting the vignette is often too much.

I wouldn't go near the sigma (personally), I tried a load of them out at a test day and there were very few I'd have bought (and I went into it with cash to spend). My little 50mm 1.8 is great (mk II) but I do crave the 1.4 at times more for the OOF rendtion it has rather than the difference in DoF.

You could always look at a Zeiss offerings, they're MF but they do render Bokeh in a different manner to Canon glass and its pretty darn nice.

Along the same line the Samyang/Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 is a wonderfully reviewed lens if you wanted to go for something a bit longer, its manual again though.
 
travellingcello said:
Canon 50mm 1.4 = better build quality but non-circular aperture and AF mechanism reliability issues (must keep hood on in storage)
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Why keep the hood on, can you elaborate?
 
Canon 1.8 is great for what you need but if you have got a little extra cash Definately go for the 1.4
 
Bennp2000 said:
its not impossible to manually focus the 50mm f/1.8 mk II at all, you don't have manual focus override but thats different, just flick it to mf and twist the (admittedly) small focus ring.

Whilst people will say the build is bad etc. I don't think you get better value out of anything camera related than an entry level nifty 50. They're great, and if (when) you drop them, so what? One thing to note is that they vignette quite a lot on FF bodies. I actually find I like the look but if you need to push images in post, the added problem of correcting the vignette is often too much.

I wouldn't go near the sigma (personally), I tried a load of them out at a test day and there were very few I'd have bought (and I went into it with cash to spend). My little 50mm 1.8 is great (mk II) but I do crave the 1.4 at times more for the OOF rendtion it has rather than the difference in DoF.

You could always look at a Zeiss offerings, they're MF but they do render Bokeh in a different manner to Canon glass and its pretty darn nice.

Along the same line the Samyang/Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 is a wonderfully reviewed lens if you wanted to go for something a bit longer, its manual again though.
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Well the 50mm 1.8II is near enough to impossible to manual focus... the ring is really too loose to have accurate control and the focus ring is difficult to use without getting your fingers in ... not to mention its difficult to find without looking.

I can't disagree that its excellent value for money.


Btw I can't comment on the 50 1.4's build quality yet because I've only held one a few times before and I literally just paid for one a couple of hours ago. I do remember than when I tried one a while ago it was akin to the 85mm 1.8, which is pretty decently built.

Nothing like the Voigtlander 40mm F2 i used to have which is now in France with another TP member but decent.
 
Cheers for the help everyone. I think I've ruled out the 1.8 and will need to have a try of the other two 1.4's.
Can anyone recommend me a decent shop that might stock both of these so I can have a try? I live in Congleton, Cheshire.
 
I haven't either tbh, and that is how I've stored my copy of this lens for the last 4 years.

It did have focus problems when it was a few months old, but since then has been fine!
 
I know it was already mentioned, but given you have a FF i'd definitely consider the 85mm 1.8, it's no more expensive than the sigma 50mm and more suited to portraits IMHO
 
wippers said:
Hi All - I'm looking to put a 50mm prime to my lens collection as am getting asked to do more portrait stuff just lately. Does anyone have any advice/experience of any of the following?

Canon 50mm f1.8 - circa £75 this is definitely cheap and cheerful and always seems to get good praise?

Canon 50mm f1.4 - circa £250 is the extra money worth it for the larger aperture? Does this offer much shallower DOF?

Sigma 50mm f1.4 - circa £300 I've always liked the build quality of the Sigma lenses compared to the cheap and plasticy Canon starter range.


Any advise is more than welcome.:thumbs:

Thanks for looking.

Gareth
Click to expand...


I've owned, or used, all three lenses at one time or another and my opinion would be go with the Sigma 50/1.4 It's sharper than the Canon, it's better built than the Canon, and if (and that is if) you get a lens that front / back focuses Sigma will calibrate it for free (under warranty) within a week.

Edit: I have just seen you have a 5D2 - you won't need to send the lens away, you can micro adjust. No brainer to me!!
 
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I'd get the f1.4 canon if I could. if we are talking new - sigma, as if needed can be adjusted under warranty. if you only have about 100+ spare - the MKI f1.8. MKII f1.8 is great if you don't/can't spend a lot . I have two atm.
 
DaveKing said:
I've owned, or used, all three lenses at one time or another and my opinion would be go with the Sigma 50/1.4 It's sharper than the Canon, it's better built than the Canon, and if (and that is if) you get a lens that front / back focuses Sigma will calibrate it for free (under warranty) within a week.

Edit: I have just seen you have a 5D2 - you won't need to send the lens away, you can micro adjust. No brainer to me!!
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I'm sure what he is saying is valid but : the stories you hear are that people have had to send the lens away at their cost more than once to get it adjusted because Sigma keep claiming their lens is within their manufacturing tolerance or whatever they call it. Also when that starts to happen you have to then send both your body and lens to Sigma and I hear that it can take weeks to get them returned.

Of course if you can find one that works straight off then yes it would seem that the Sigma's performance is really good.

Seems like a crap shoot to me!
 
I'd get the 1.4, as although I've owned a 1.8 and it was good, I don't think I'd ever buy another lens without a USM motor as focusing is too slow and noisy..
 
travellingcello said:
Sigma's performance...

Seems like a crap shoot to me!
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And there's always the distinct possibility that quite a few people who claim to have problems with Siggy (and other fast) lenses simply don't know what they're doing. I've seen this first hand but try telling someone that a Siggy lens is fine and it's their technique that's the problem.

I have and have had a number of Siggy lenses and I've never had a duffer. Siggy phobia is IMVHO more an internet forum thing than a real world issue. IMVHO, of course :D
 
Had a 1.8 for years; quality wide open on FF is pretty dire (vignetting and soft edges) - but that's sort of missing the point of these big aperture lenses.

Then I got a chance to play with a borrowed Canon 1.4; much better all round experience. Wide open the IQ was not stellar, but far more acceptable than the 1.8.
I was tempted, but didn't rush out to buy one.
A few months later I was in a camera shop with a friend and they mentioned to the assistant I was thinking of a Canon 1.4 and they let me play with a new one on the front of a 5DII - IQ was amazing, even the edges were sharp wide open. I didn't let them take it out of my sight and made sure I walked out the shop with that copy.
It was the exception that proves the rule...
 
woof woof said:
I have and have had a number of Siggy lenses and I've never had a duffer. Siggy phobia is IMVHO more an internet forum thing than a real world issue. IMVHO, of course :D
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LOL - maybe....
But I bought two Siggy's in my film days and neither are compatible wit the electronics in my 5DII.
All the Canon's I bought of that vintage are fine.
I believe it is possible to get the Siggy lenses re-chipped, but they weren't good enough IQ to warrant the hassle and expense.

My old Siggy lenses have their uses though.
I've got a dead 5DII I can pair up and use as a doorstop....
(or more realistically used in demos where I don't want to put my 'real' kit at risk)
 
If I can find a decent quality Sigma I'm happy to buy one, but don't think I'll be buying a second hand one without trying it first after what I have read now.
I still have a Sigma 105mm macro lens which has always been pin sharp and holds its own with the Canon L series I have.
 
I got a Canon 50mm F1.4 for my birthday yesterday and I have to say that I'm incredibly impressed with the performance so far... It's certainly on a par with my 85mm f1.8 in every respect. :)

I did a little photo shoot with the missus yesterday afternoon so I'll get a couple of shots uploaded when I get home from work. I'll post one at f1.4 and one at f2.8 so you've got an idea of what to look for.

Jessops currently have the best price on the Canon 1.4 along with Amazon (according to Camera Price Buster).

Hope that helps,
Si
 
wippers said:
If I can find a decent quality Sigma I'm happy to buy one, but don't think I'll be buying a second hand one without trying it first after what I have read now.
I still have a Sigma 105mm macro lens which has always been pin sharp and holds its own with the Canon L series I have.
Click to expand...

To be fair on Sigma...
I bought those lenses a long time ago and I'm pretty sure Sigma has upped their game since then.
 
woof woof said:
And there's always the distinct possibility that quite a few people who claim to have problems with Siggy (and other fast) lenses simply don't know what they're doing. I've seen this first hand but try telling someone that a Siggy lens is fine and it's their technique that's the problem.

I have and have had a number of Siggy lenses and I've never had a duffer. Siggy phobia is IMVHO more an internet forum thing than a real world issue. IMVHO, of course :D
Click to expand...

I had to send back two Sigma 50mm f1.4 back to warehouse express, because they were miles out, even after MA.

I spent nearly two days testing them both with and without focus charts!:bang: And I do know what I'm doing!!!!:D

I bought a Canon 85mm f1.8 in the end, because I just did not want the hastle.
 
DuncanDisorderly said:
LOL - maybe....
But I bought two Siggy's in my film days and neither are compatible wit the electronics in my 5DII.
All the Canon's I bought of that vintage are fine.
I believe it is possible to get the Siggy lenses re-chipped, but they weren't good enough IQ to warrant the hassle and expense.

My old Siggy lenses have their uses though.
I've got a dead 5DII I can pair up and use as a doorstop....
(or more realistically used in demos where I don't want to put my 'real' kit at risk)
Click to expand...

Film day Siggies are a problem but then try getting a Canon FD to work on your 5D :D
 
One wishes that Sigma would stop making cameras that noone really wants to buy however admirable their effort is to stay independent, and concentrate on improving their QC as the lenses they make are good....!
 
Spiritflier said:
I got a Canon 50mm F1.4 for my birthday yesterday and I have to say that I'm incredibly impressed with the performance so far... It's certainly on a par with my 85mm f1.8 in every respect. :)

I did a little photo shoot with the missus yesterday afternoon so I'll get a couple of shots uploaded when I get home from work. I'll post one at f1.4 and one at f2.8 so you've got an idea of what to look for.

Jessops currently have the best price on the Canon 1.4 along with Amazon (according to Camera Price Buster).

Hope that helps,
Si
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Cheers Simon, I'd be interested to see these. :thumbs:
 
this will annoy some people but i think a lot of the "issues" with large aperture lenses are user based personally.

never had a single focus issue with a sigma (and we've had 6 or 7 now), what are the chances...

to actually answer the question, get the sigma would be my advice. wins every review. buy 2nd hand if youre worried about issues, least you can get example shots.
 
spencer said:
I had to send back two Sigma 50mm f1.4 back to warehouse express, because they were miles out, even after MA.

I spent nearly two days testing them both with and without focus charts!:bang: And I do know what I'm doing!!!!:D

I bought a Canon 85mm f1.8 in the end, because I just did not want the hastle.
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That's your experience. I've had 20mm f1.8, 30mm f1.4, 50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.4, 28-300mm and 12-24mm and never had any issues and I think that we'd all be foolish to ignore the fact that there are a number of people who don't know what they're doing and go on to add to the almost panic we see on internet forums.

Just to be clear, I'm no Sigma fan boy and I do own Canon, Tamron, Voigtlander and Panasonic lenses. I just personally believe, based on my own experience and watching other people, that much of the Siggy panic is way overblown, you even get people repeating it even when they've never owned / used the lenses extensively.

We've all got to make our own decisions, I'm just trying to add a little balance :D
 
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neil_g said:
this will annoy some people but i think a lot of the "issues" with large aperture lenses are user based personally.

never had a single focus issue with a sigma (and we've had 6 or 7 now), what are the chances...

to actually answer the question, get the sigma would be my advice. wins every review. buy 2nd hand if youre worried about issues, least you can get example shots.
Click to expand...

What about the clear decentering issues that are experienced by more 'established' reviewers and copy variations?

Something like this article in particular springs to mind:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Sigma-70-200mm-f-2.8-EX-DG-HSM-Lens-Review.aspx

and for me at least hearing things like that are enough to put me off....... and I truly wish that QC was better with Sigma because being on a budget I would buy their lenses over Canon if there weren't so many people posting that they are fed up with Sigma.
 
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woof woof said:
That's your experience. I've had 20mm f1.8, 30mm f1.4, 50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.4, 28-300mm and 12-24mm and never had any issues and I think that we'd all be foolish to ignore the fact that there are a number of people who don't know what they're doing and go on to add to the almost panic we see on internet forums.

Just to be clear, I'm no Sigma fan boy and I do own Canon, Tamron, Voigtlander and Panasonic lenses. I just personally believe, based on my own experience and watching other people, that much of the Siggy panic is way overblown, you even get people repeating it even when they've never owned / used the lenses extensively.

We've all got to make our own decisions, I'm just trying to add a little balance :D
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You mean like me :bang:

Just to be clear I haven't owned a Sigma lens ... I'm staying clear because knowing my paranoid nature I wouldn't sleep knowing that their is a good chance a lens I buy is duff....!!!! :lol:

I've owned Tamron, Voigtlander and Tokina lenses before though and those were some of my favorite lenses I ever tried.....
 
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travellingcello said:
What about the clear decentering issues that are experienced by more 'established' reviewers and copy variations?
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I was reading a report from a lens hire company the other day and out of the lenses they stock the one with the higest failure rate is a Canon, and not a budget one ether, it's one that often gets recommended on this forum. I wont name it as that'll cause more angst :D My point is that I think that people worry about this too much :D
 
woof woof said:
I was reading a report from a lens hire company the other day and out of the lenses they stock the one with the higest failure rate is a Canon, and not a budget one ether, it's one that often gets recommended on this forum. I wont name it as that'll cause more angst :D My point is that I think that people worry about this too much :D
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I agree... just that because photography is not a profession for me I have too much time to mull over silly details like this. I've seen the stats you talk of.
 
travellingcello said:
What about the clear decentering issues that are experienced by more 'established' reviewers and copy variations?

Something like this article in particular springs to mind:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Sigma-70-200mm-f-2.8-EX-DG-HSM-Lens-Review.aspx

and for me at least hearing things like that are enough to put me off.......
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what about them, thats a 70-200 not a 50.. ;)

i dont think de-centering it a common issue on the 70-200 though, its not the most common complaint ive heard of.

my point was i think sigmas reputation of having poor QC is widely exagerated by people that have read or been told bad things. no doubt people have had issues, so do people with canon/tameron/nikon lenses. also there are people expecting to hand hold at f1.4 and get a sharp image when the DOF is super thin.
 
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travellingcello said:
I'm staying clear because knowing my paranoid nature I wouldn't sleep knowing that their is a good chance a lens I buy is duff....!!!! :lol:
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Then you'll miss out on some of the best lenses at their price point. "Best" assuming you can get a working one, of course... :D
 
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