Sigma or Canon 50 and 85mm Primes

bdubbs79 · May 21, 2011

I have read a lot about the canons and how the 50mm 1.4 is good for the money and 50mm 1.2 is 50/50 on what people say for the price... 85mm Canon 1.8 super fast AF but 1.2 super narrow DOF... Sigmas seem to be solid image quality wide open both 1.4's but have slow AF's...

So what should I get? I have teh 50mm 1.2 canon, Just got it and it's quite soft wide open and even 2.0... gets sharp 2.8 but I have the 24-70.. So I need sharp 1.4 or so.

The 2 sigma lenses are $1490 on bh... less than the 50mm 1.2 Canon.. But I do like the sound of a super fast AF on canon 85mm 1.8 but how much bokeh is lost from sigma 1.4 to canon 1.8? And if I get a bad version of the Sigma's, do they let you return for a new unit at adorama and bh?

Please talk away, i need help..

subscuck · May 21, 2011

Sigma 50 1.4 is a great lens. You'll hear a lot of negativity about Sigma, maybe it's justified, maybe it isn't. What I can tell you is I own the 50 1.4 and the 30 1.4, and I love 'em both. And I didn't recieve a bad copy of either. I can't directly compare AF speed between the Canon and Sigma cause I've never used a 1.2, but I don't think I'd say the Sigma is slow by any means. As far as the new 85 1.4, looks great, but I don't own it. We have a member here who bought one and likes it, but he hasn't been posting much lately. If you feel you've gotten a "bad copy", B&H and Adorama will let you exchange. In fact, read around on the internet and you'll find people who claim to have exchanged Sigma lenses multiple times in order to get a "good copy". Take that for what it's worth. If you can rent copies of the 50 and 85, I would go that route and do some of your own real world testing.

Derrel · May 21, 2011

How much is that new Samyang 85mm f/1.4 going for?

bdubbs79 · May 21, 2011

hey thanks for that info. I think the AF can't be worse than the canon 1.2 but I have heard that a lot of pros use the sigma so that says it's got the quality there. And i'm realizing I can't have a prime on all the time if i'm walking around when I own the 70-200mm f/2.8 II because it's so awesome and with a great range along with canon 24-70 f/2.8 which i think was way better than the newer 24-105 (hated it) so I think i'm giong to get the 50 1.4 and 85 1.4 sigmas and go for it. As you stated the adorama return policy is 30 days no questions asked no restocking fee.

Can you help me with lighting. I was use to tungsten as we had been shooting video, but I need a really good light for portraiture both for studio and taking into homes for room staging and showing of our work (installing TVs) and a back light, if you have info on a good set on adorama, or want to look and help a brother out, let me know. I'm open for anyone's suggestions on lighting. I want to use it with all 4 of my lenses, which will most likely be the two canon's and now two sigma primes.