Sigma 85mm f/1.4

Dman

Dman

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Anyone got one yet? I've been hankering after the Nikon AF-D equivalent for some time now and am close to securing the funds for one, but have been looking at some photos taken with this new Sigma on flickr and seen some pretty amazing shots. The bokeh on it looks fantastic.

Would be interested to hear from anyone who's got one, the QC issues that blight Sigma are the main stumbling block for me, but there doesn't seem to be much doubting the IQ this lens produces.
 
I'm seriously considering the Canon fit, Dave, but haven't tried one yet.
 
If it's shown to AF in low light as well as the Nikon, I'll be seriously tempted. I loved the Sigma 30mm and this seems like it could be another great prime.
 
I have to admit, it does look good, I have to admit to wondering if its any better then my AF-D though. I'm willing to be persuaded but I'll admit to wanting a few days with one before I made a judgement on that
 
boyfalldown said:
I have to admit, it does look good, I have to admit to wondering if its any better then my AF-D though. I'm willing to be persuaded but I'll admit to wanting a few days with one before I made a judgement on that
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I'm not sure it's better, but if it's on a par then I can pick a brand new Sigma up for the same price as a second hand Nikon.
 
I suppose it depends on what their design aims were. I have the 50mm f1.4, 30mm f1.4 and 20mm f1.8 and all are stunningly good but the 50mm isn't razor sharp wide open, that's just how they've done it. It does render oof areas beautifully and I'm thinking of getting the 85mm to fill the gap I have from 50 to 150mm but at the mo I can't decide if I want a f1.4 fast prime or f2.8 macro at round about the 85-100mm length.
 
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One of my favourite Flickr people has been using one a lot recently - seems very impressive.... in his hands, at least.
 
DekHog said:
One of my favourite Flickr people has been using one a lot recently - seems very impressive.... in his hands, at least.
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Yes, funnily enough it was these shots that made me think that maybe this is the lens I should get. Are these just random people he shoots?
 
Those shots look great, but they're all exactly the same.
 
I saw that annoying guy off digitalrev review it on the Canon, he rated it fairly highly. Chromatic Abberation was noticeably in his test shots, but he did people against the sky (where CA is at its worse)

p.s. just clicked on the flickr link and those photos were beautiful. I wonder how he is illuminating the faces? They appear to have such soft light on them.
 
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Dman said:
Yes, funnily enough it was these shots that made me think that maybe this is the lens I should get. Are these just random people he shoots?
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Yes, they're random people he stops in the street and tells them about the project he's doing - I think it's called 100 Strangers or something like that.

Don't know what PP he does to get the soft-ish but also sharp look, but he seems to get it very consistent. He obviously also manipulates the light in PP somehow so it appears he's always shooting with a bright but cloudy sky. He never uses flash. There's no way any part of Germany gets that light every day of the week! :D
 
That's got me convinced that I definitely want the 85mm to go alongside the 30mm.. I just now need to convicen myself to sell the 17-85 and a Sigma 105mm to fund it :D
 
Alastair said:
That's got me convinced that I definitely want the 85mm to go alongside the 30mm.. I just now need to convicen myself to sell the 17-85 and a Sigma 105mm to fund it :D
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For all canon shooters - what is wrong with the bargain Canon 85mm f/1.8 USM, and it is incredibly sharp
 
daugirdas said:
For all canon shooters - what is wrong with the bargain Canon 85mm f/1.8 USM, and it is incredibly sharp
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From what I've seen the oof rendering can be awful so if the Siggy is as good as their 50mm f1.4 it'll probably be the one to choose.
 
woof woof said:
From what I've seen the oof rendering can be awful so if the Siggy is as good as their 50mm f1.4 it'll probably be the one to choose.
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linky?

nothing wrong with the bokeh on my 1.8, sure you don't mean the 50mm 1.8?
 
85mm F1.8's generally have very good bokeh, although not stellar like the 1.4/1.2 models - 50mm bokeh (Sigma excepted) can be very iffy; both 1.8 & 1.4 models.
 
As I have the Siggy 50mm f1.4 maybe my expectations have been raised. Sorry to any Canon 85mm f1.8 owners, no offence intended.
 
I have the 50mm 1.4 Siggy too, but it doesn't make the bokeh from my 85mm 1.8 look bad. Where have you seen bad bokeh on an 85mm 1.8?
 
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