Sigma 50mm f1.4 Autofocus Speed & Optical Quality Wide Open?

CrashEd

CrashEd

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I currently have a Canon ef 1.8 Mk1, and although I really like the lens, I'm toying with the idea of upgrading to either the Sigma 50mm f1.4 or the Canon equivalent. I'm still struggling to justify the extra cost of the Sigma, particularly in light of some of the 'technical' issues reported with the lens, but everything about it seems to tick the right boxes for me (sharpness at f1.4, internal focusing, 77mm thread, build quality, 9 blade aperture etc).

One thing that annoys me about my canon Mk1 is the autofocus motor. It is fairly slow and noisy. Can anyone (who has owned a canon and a Siggy) tell me how much better the Siggy is? And whether it is any better than the Canon f1.4?? Also, how is the optical quality below f2.8?

I know that the whole 50mm thing has been done to death, but it's the finer detail I'm after here in order to make a decision whether to upgrade or not. Hopefully!
 
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I haven't used the Canon 50mm f1.4. The Siggy is HSM so it should be pretty snappy and that's how it seems to me. I can't remember ever thinking it's sluggish.
 
the canon 1.4 focuses as fast as my 70-200 f4 L and 24-105 if that helps. Love mine.
 
pablo_paul said:
the canon 1.4 focuses as fast as my 70-200 f4 L and 24-105 if that helps. Love mine.
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Nice one, that's good to know.

Now the hard part. How do I convince myself that the Sigma is worth another £90?
 
You get a hood and a case with the Siggy, not sure about with the Canon but I don't think you get them? You might not be bothered about the case but a hood is always nice so gotta budget for one if you don't get one free with the Canon.

I'm not normally too bothered about minor differences between lenses when it comes to sharpness and I think that the "look" is much more important especially with lenses like these so maybe it comes down to which "look" you like best.

Some claim that Siggy has QC issues but I've never had a problem and I'd be more worried about the Canons possible inability to focus accurately by design, if Tim's tests (post 17 in the linked thread above) are accurate.
 
woof woof said:
Some claim that Siggy has QC issues but I've never had a problem and I'd be more worried about the Canons possible inability to focus accurately by design, if Tim's tests (post 17 in the linked thread above) are accurate.
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Good point. From the images I've seen from the siggy, it seems to get very acceptable results at f1.4, whereas the canon is slightly soft at best.

In terms of longevity, does the Sigma perform well on a full frame body? I've read that the performance of the canon is somewhat worse on a FF body? One day I'll get a 5D/5DII, so whatever I buy will need to perform well at FF.
 
I use mine on APS-C and FF.

I can't see how the Canon would be worse on FF unless by showing some vignetting, at wider apertures and that shouldn't be too much of an issue as it's easy to correct with modern software, or by being softer in the corners on FF that arent visible on APS-C.
 
Yeah, I think it is the corner sharpness that suffers a bit on a FF body...

Well, I'm leaning towards the Siggy still tbh. The build quality looks far better (albeit heavier) and I like that it seems to perform better at it's wider aperture.

Grrrr, still can't decide for definite though.
 
edster said:
Yeah, I think it is the corner sharpness that suffers a bit on a FF body...

Well, I'm leaning towards the Siggy still tbh. The build quality looks far better (albeit heavier) and I like that it seems to perform better at it's wider aperture.

Grrrr, still can't decide for definite though.
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If you go for the sigma you might need to send it back with your body to be calibrated.
 
might be worth waiting for the 5dmk3 rumour on the webs is they may replace the canon 1.4 with a mk2 version. Not sure why they wouldn't do it today with the new 24-70, 24mm is, and 28mm IS being announced.
 
tris101 said:
If you go for the sigma you might need to send it back with your body to be calibrated.
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That's one of the things that is putting me off right now. That and the price above the alternatives really (although the cost of anything has never really put me off to much lol :naughty:). If the price was the same as the canon 1.4 I'd go for it right away.

If I bought a Siggy from Kerso (or any other retailer for that matter), do you reckon he'd swap it out or tell me to send it back to Sigma for a recalibration?

pablo_paul said:
might be worth waiting for the 5dmk3 rumour on the webs is they may replace the canon 1.4 with a mk2 version. Not sure why they wouldn't do it today with the new 24-70, 24mm is, and 28mm IS being announced.
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Hmmm, I'd forgotten about the MkII rumours. Maybe it's worth hanging on a little longer and see what Canon come up with.

some 100% crops and discussion on the siggy available here:

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/for...d.php?t=378705
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Thanks mate :thumbs:
 
edster said:
That's one of the things that is putting me off right now. That and the price above the alternatives really (although the cost of anything has never really put me off to much lol :naughty:). If the price was the same as the canon 1.4 I'd go for it right away.

If I bought a Siggy from Kerso (or any other retailer for that matter), do you reckon he'd swap it out or tell me to send it back to Sigma for a recalibration?
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I think most retailers will swap it if asked to do so, but its worth asking 1st.

The only real way to get the lens bang on is to send it for calibration with your body, Sigma will then match the lens to your body. But this can take a while...

I have resently sent mine off for calibration, so fingers crossed its good when it returns.

When I contacted Sigma I got the email below:

"Sorry to hear you are experiencing problems with your Sigma lens.

If the resolution needs adjusting then unfortunately it will need to go to Japan which could take 6-8 weeks. If it is the focus and circuit which needs adjusting then this may be done within 2-3 weeks. Obviously until the lens has been tested by a technician we will not know what the issue is.

Please contact us if you need more information."
 
Good idea.

Let us know how you get on when your lens arrives back.
 
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