IMAGES SAMPLES FROM VIENNA + MUNICH 1/3
Hello to you all. Last Friday, I rode the train from Munich to Vienna to pick up my Sigma 50A. Couldn't find one in Germany. The good guys at UNITED CAMERA had a single one in stock. On my way back to the Wien Westbahnhof train station I snapped the first test pictures.
All 18 pictures (I'll try to upload 3 x 6) are 960px wide, slightly compressed, to provide you with first impressions. Afterwards, I'll upload 3 Full-Res JPEG samples exported from Lightroom 5, only default parameters applied, no NR, no sharpening.
I shot all images with a Canon 5D Mark III, with single-shot AF, with only the 41 cross-type AF-sensors active (my personal day-to-day setting, limiting AF precision-hassle when shooting with Canon's 50/1.2L or 85/1.2L wide open). I do combine the 41 cross-type sensors with half-pressiong the shutter-release three/four times in rapid succession ("spamming" the trigger, as Viggo said). So far, I am very happy with the results, couldn't detect mis-focus. Focus tracking, skin and eyes are still on my to-do-list ...
I like very much what I see. The Sigma 50A draws beautifully. The rendering (at f 2.0/2.5) reminds me much of the manual-focus Carl Zeiss 50/2.0 Makro Planar. Which I loved, but sold, because the focus hit rate was to low when shooting paid jobs hand-held. Resolution and sharpness are simply stunning, even wide open. I bought the dock with the lens, checked the lens yesterday in mixed daylight/interior available light and left it untouched: no corrections needed.
You guys helped me to make up my mind to decide for this beautiful lens. Thanks for that. It stays on my 5D3 all the time now. The combo is almost 2 kg – that's why I mated it with a glove-like heavy-duty wrist-strap (similar to the Nikon AH-4 with slip-off safety).
I can still think of situations where the Canon 50/1.2L could be my choice (dreamy portraits, beauty shots). But probably less and less, because the Sigma 50A is my new workhorse now. The Otus won't make it for me, because to much of my work is hand-held: And therefore I want fast and reliable AF.
Best regards from Munich,
Jens
PS: I'm a photographer, graphics artist and web designer. You can see my photographic work here:
http://www.jensschnabel.de