Sigma 50mm f/1.4 opionions and reviews wanted

[Samriel]

Sigma released the MTF charts for the lens.

http://www.sigma-photo.co.jp/lens/standard/mf50_14.htm

 

[plentygood]

Hm, that's interesting. My next purchase was going to be the Canon 1.4, but I might wait for a review on the Sigma (though I doubt they will persuade me).

Isn't EX supposed to denote superior build and quality, like L for Canon? The Sigma is close to twice the weight of the Canon. Also, the Sigma has 9 blades compared to Canon's 8. Wouldn't that mean a slightly smoother bokeh on shots? The 8 in the Canon 1.4 compared to 6 in the 1.8 is supposed to make a big difference to some people, right?

 

[Samriel]

EX is supposed to denote superior quality, but I doubt it's as well built as a Canon L lens. I'm no bokeh expert so I can't really comment on the 9 rounded aperture blades. Here are some pictures (taken at f/1.4) from a Japanese site.

http://bbs.kakaku.com/bbs/10505011993/SortID=7981601/ImageID=75712/
http://bbs.kakaku.com/bbs/10505011993/SortID=7965069/ImageID=73419/
http://bbs.kakaku.com/bbs/10505011993/SortID=7965069/ImageID=73565/
http://bbs.kakaku.com/bbs/10505011993/SortID=7965069/ImageID=73571/
http://bbs.kakaku.com/bbs/10505011993/SortID=7949917/ImageID=72705/

 

[RyanLilly]

Also remember that sigma makes it own DSLR, they need this lens for their lineup any way.

 

[keith204]

Also remember that sigma makes it own DSLR, they need this lens for their lineup any way.

Very good point. This would be a hard one for Sigma to tackle. With Canon/Nikon, you're competing against some very reasonably priced great lenses (the Canon/Nikon 50 1.4's are dirt cheap for what they can do). They can't lower the price to $200 to beat Canon/Nikon, so they've gotta find a way to compete, while making their own DSLR owners happy.

I wouldn't want to be in Sigma's situation here.

 

[tim.bennett]

EX does indeed indicate it has a better build quality. I use a Sigma ex and a Canon L lens and Yes the canon's build quality is better. But the sigma is solid and feels comfortable as well.

 

[plentygood]

I wasn't comparing EX and L quality directly to each other. I'm just saying that it's kind of the same thing respective to their companies. EX for Sigma is like L for Canon. Of course L is still better.

 

[JerryPH]

I heard its ok, but if I was to invest in a 50mm, it would be the way more affordable F/1.8. If I absolutely needed an F/1.4, I would go with the 30mm F/1.4 Sigma.

Matter of fact, that is just what I did. I love the wider view of the Sigma over the 50mm Nikon lens, and its an excellent quality lens. Very sharp and very well built. Excellent in low light and excellent bokeh.

A few people say there are front or rear focusing issues out there. I tested mine and its near perfect. I love mine.

 

[lorriman]

I've seen pictures that show this lens has near perfect bokeh at large apertures, rather like the Sony/Minolta STF or Nikon DC specialist portrait lenses. At an effective 80mm with perfect bokeh this lense is potentially dynamite to the people shooter. It has the sort of bokeh one usually only sees in the movies.

I've not seen any other 50mm lens with bokeh like it, other than a couple from the 1930s, not even the supposed bokeh Kings: they all have bright-edge bokeh on specular high-lights (which means busy backgrounds unless very carefully chosen). Good bokeh, for me, means no distraction from the subject and also an attractive feel to the photo overall.

If I had a canon 50mm L I would sell it immediately. As it is I may finally leave my film cameras and move to digital purely because of this lens. The STF and DC lenses were too expensive and too long for me.

 

[Samriel]

I've seen pictures that show this lens has near perfect bokeh at large apertures, rather like the Sony/Minolta STF or Nikon DC specialist portrait lenses. At an effective 80mm with perfect bokeh this lense is potentially dynamite to the people shooter. It has the sort of bokeh one usually only sees in the movies.

Sounds very good. Could you share a link to these pictures?

 

[Mav]

Lets first see if it represents an upgrade in image quality, all 50mm lenses (Nikon, Sony and Canon equivalents) are very soft on the edges wide opened

I've yet to take a photo with my Nikon 50mm f/1.4 where corner sharpness wide-open would actually matter. I use it for portrait type shots 99% of the time where you've got a face at or near the center of the frame and then want everything else to disappear into a creamy nothingness. If the Sigma has better corner sharpness that's nice, but not anything I'd pay extra for. The HSM would be handy on the D40/40x/60 cameras from Nikon, but it's easy enough to manually focus too. $225 used for a Nikon 50/1.4 vs $500 only new for the Sigma. Nah...

I've not seen any other 50mm lens with bokeh like it, other than a couple from the 1930s, not even the supposed bokeh Kings: they all have bright-edge bokeh on specular high-lights (which means busy backgrounds unless very carefully chosen). Good bokeh, for me, means no distraction from the subject and also an attractive feel to the photo overall.

If you're talking only about 50mm lenses, I've never had any complaints with my Nikon 50/1.4 with regards to bokeh. Quite creamy and smooth and much better than the 1.8 version which had ugly ring like bokeh which could easily ruin portraits.

 

[LuisAugusto]

I have seen the Sigma 50mm bokeh, comparing it with the STF should be a sin.

 

[sburatorul]

well this sound very good for me... since i bought my d60 I've been continuously looking for a 50mm prime with af on it but this is way to expensive... i'm still hoping that nikon will upgrade the 50mm 1.8 or at least the 1.4 to AF-S or else i'll just have to get used to manual focus... dunno about that, i guess i'll eventually get the hang of it but i'm sure i'll miss lots of shots even with the rangefinder in the d60(wich seems almost useless)