135mm f/1.8 DG OS ART Next from Sigma? [CR1]

[cdang]

Wow F1.8 with OS ? Just imagine what you could do with this at a wedding at a low light reception.

Get lots of blurry and/or OOF shots?

With the sigma and OS, assuming you have a few stops of OS, you could easily be shooting at 1/30 ish providing the subject is stationary. That could easily be 2 stop of noise. I have both the 135 F2 and 200 F2 and with the 200 and IS you can easily shoot 1/30 or 1/50 all night long

When are humans ever stationary enough to shoot at 1/30, especially at a wedding reception????
[/quote

Yes 1/30 is pushing it but I usually shoot at 1/50 mostly. If they are dancing now that's obviously going to need a little faster SS.

 

[eml58]

I am unfamiliar with Sigma marketing terms so this is a 135mm with an aperture of f/1.8 with Optical Stabilization for a full frame camera?

Hi Dolina, No, I understand this particular 135 f/1.8 is designed for APSC.

Sigma explains their naming structure here: http://www.sigmaphoto.com/service-support/faqs

Thanks, got it now, if it's designated "DC" it's APSC, no "DC" I would assume FF

 

[wickidwombat]

Wow F1.8 with OS ? Just imagine what you could do with this at a wedding at a low light reception. With the 135L, you would be shooting at 1/125 to avoid camera shake. With the sigma and OS, assuming you have a few stops of OS, you could easily be shooting at 1/30 ish providing the subject is stationary. That could easily be 2 stop of noise. I have both the 135 F2 and 200 F2 and with the 200 and IS you can easily shoot 1/30 or 1/50 all night long and if Sigma can do this, it would be like a mini 200mm F2 (and probably a lot lighter). If it's as sharp as the 135, this could be very interesting indeed !

with flash and second curtain sync 1/10 to 1/5 will be pretty easy i already shoot at 1/50 with the 135L

its gonna be interesting to see how the IQ stacks up against the 135L, OS will be a killer addition but so far the 135L is damn sharp so its gonna take a fair bit to beat it

but I'm loving the direction sigma is heading lately

 

[filo64]

DG seems to be full frame, DC APS-C

 

[Sporgon]

Sorry, how are this calculations done? To me, I agree, it's a little brother to a 200 f/2 - if it's sharp enough for the cropping.

For example, if you were to use the Canon 135 F2 at a low light reception/wedding, and following the rule of 1/shutter speed, 1/125 to avoid camera shake. So say its dark enough for it to be F2, 1/125, ISO 6400 but with OS (stabilization) and assuming we get a few stops of it, you could be shooting at F2, 1/30 ISO 1600 instead provided the subject is quite stationary. So you could get shots the Canon cannot get.

I said a 'mini' 200mm F2 because if you had the 200mm F2.8 at a dark reception, at 1/200, F2.8, ISO 12800.. but with the F2 having IS and an extra stop of light, you could be shooting at 1/50, F2, ISO 1600 instead.

[/quote]


;D you might be able to do that with the 135: I need to be at least 1/250 !

 

[funkboy]

Maybe this means that a Sigma spy within Canon has gleaned that they won't be adding IS to the 135L anytime soon.

If it's as good as their Art 35 and the AF is close to the 135L then I'd certainly consider it.

Canon's probably already scrambling to get a 35L II out the door to catch up with Sigma... An Art 135 OS and 50mm would really hit Canon where it hurts.

 

[GMCPhotographics]

Maybe this means that a Sigma spy within Canon has gleaned that they won't be adding IS to the 135L anytime soon.

If it's as good as their Art 35 and the AF is close to the 135L then I'd certainly consider it.

Canon's probably already scrambling to get a 35L II out the door to catch up with Sigma... An Art 135 OS and 50mm would really hit Canon where it hurts.

The Canon ef primes have been a nice earner for Canon. Many wedding photographers have stayed in the Canon fold (when Nikon had better DSLR specs) becuase of the 35L, 85L and 135L. No other band (other than Sony) had a simular array of bright primes. But as usual Canon were unaware of the need to develop the next gen of fast primes. The 35L is a fantastic lens, but flare control isn't great, it's AF in low light is erratic and it's not weather sealed and it's number of aperture blades is an even number. The 135L is an awsome lens, but it's an old design, flare could be better, MFD could be better. It could do with newer coatings, it's aperture blades are not circular (stop down and look at the out of focus blobs). It's not weather sealed and Sony has an f1.8 variant, which means that it's not the best of the breed. Popping IS on it would really make my wedding work easier too. It's AF is good but not as good as the newer 70-200 f2.8 L IS II. It#s a great lens but there's quite a lot of room for improvement.
The 85L is a quirky lens and I'm quite happy with it as it is. It's not easy to use, and it's dof is so slim it requires a well honed AF technique to get consistent results. I use this lens a lot and I love it.

 

[Sith Zombie]

Did Sigma resurrect steve jobs or something? They're like a whole new company now, good for them. Although I was gutted when I found out the 18-35 1.8 was for crop, would have been awesome for ff.

 

[Albi86]

Did Sigma resurrect steve jobs or something? They're like a whole new company now, good for them. Although I was gutted when I found out the 18-35 1.8 was for crop, would have been awesome for ff.

The son took over the family business

 

[distant.star]

.
Much as I love the Canon 135, GMC is probably spot on about a next generation version. However, with the stellar performance of the newest 70-200, would they sell any at the $2K price they'd tack on?

The Canon ef primes have been a nice earner for Canon. Many wedding photographers have stayed in the Canon fold (when Nikon had better DSLR specs) becuase of the 35L, 85L and 135L. No other band (other than Sony) had a simular array of bright primes. But as usual Canon were unaware of the need to develop the next gen of fast primes. The 35L is a fantastic lens, but flare control isn't great, it's AF in low light is erratic and it's not weather sealed and it's number of aperture blades is an even number. The 135L is an awsome lens, but it's an old design, flare could be better, MFD could be better. It could do with newer coatings, it's aperture blades are not circular (stop down and look at the out of focus blobs). It's not weather sealed and Sony has an f1.8 variant, which means that it's not the best of the breed. Popping IS on it would really make my wedding work easier too. It's AF is good but not as good as the newer 70-200 f2.8 L IS II. It#s a great lens but there's quite a lot of room for improvement.
The 85L is a quirky lens and I'm quite happy with it as it is. It's not easy to use, and it's dof is so slim it requires a well honed AF technique to get consistent results. I use this lens a lot and I love it.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

.
Much as I love the Canon 135, GMC is probably spot on about a next generation version. However, with the stellar performance of the newest 70-200, would they sell any at the $2K price they'd tack on?

The Canon ef primes have been a nice earner for Canon. Many wedding photographers have stayed in the Canon fold (when Nikon had better DSLR specs) becuase of the 35L, 85L and 135L. No other band (other than Sony) had a simular array of bright primes. But as usual Canon were unaware of the need to develop the next gen of fast primes. The 35L is a fantastic lens, but flare control isn't great, it's AF in low light is erratic and it's not weather sealed and it's number of aperture blades is an even number. The 135L is an awsome lens, but it's an old design, flare could be better, MFD could be better. It could do with newer coatings, it's aperture blades are not circular (stop down and look at the out of focus blobs). It's not weather sealed and Sony has an f1.8 variant, which means that it's not the best of the breed. Popping IS on it would really make my wedding work easier too. It's AF is good but not as good as the newer 70-200 f2.8 L IS II. It#s a great lens but there's quite a lot of room for improvement.
The 85L is a quirky lens and I'm quite happy with it as it is. It's not easy to use, and it's dof is so slim it requires a well honed AF technique to get consistent results. I use this lens a lot and I love it.

I own the current 135L, and, at a 2K price tag I would have no desire to move to a newer lens. And, yes, I would definitely choose the 70-200L II if price were equal.

 

[Albi86]

.
Much as I love the Canon 135, GMC is probably spot on about a next generation version. However, with the stellar performance of the newest 70-200, would they sell any at the $2K price they'd tack on?

The Canon ef primes have been a nice earner for Canon. Many wedding photographers have stayed in the Canon fold (when Nikon had better DSLR specs) becuase of the 35L, 85L and 135L. No other band (other than Sony) had a simular array of bright primes. But as usual Canon were unaware of the need to develop the next gen of fast primes. The 35L is a fantastic lens, but flare control isn't great, it's AF in low light is erratic and it's not weather sealed and it's number of aperture blades is an even number. The 135L is an awsome lens, but it's an old design, flare could be better, MFD could be better. It could do with newer coatings, it's aperture blades are not circular (stop down and look at the out of focus blobs). It's not weather sealed and Sony has an f1.8 variant, which means that it's not the best of the breed. Popping IS on it would really make my wedding work easier too. It's AF is good but not as good as the newer 70-200 f2.8 L IS II. It#s a great lens but there's quite a lot of room for improvement.
The 85L is a quirky lens and I'm quite happy with it as it is. It's not easy to use, and it's dof is so slim it requires a well honed AF technique to get consistent results. I use this lens a lot and I love it.

Depends on what you do... if you use it for portraits the 70-200 is going to disappoint in many ways. The 135 L is the almost perfect portrait lens. Sigma is going in the right direction here: how can you make such a lens even more attractive? Make it faster and add IS.

 

[MRLinVA]

While I have been extremely reluctant to use anything other than Canon glass having had a few bad experiences when I tried others, I broke down and bought the Sigma 35 and it is AWESOME!!

 

[shutterlag]

It's about time Tamron and Sigma started cranking out really competitive glass. They have the larger audience, while the body vendors are gimped to only one platform. There's no reason Tamron and Sigma shouldn't beat Canikon. They have the entire interchangeable lens body owner market to target- far more customers than a single platform. Spend the R&D to make the best 35mm F1.4 and you can sell it to _every_ owner, not just Canikon, or Pentax, or Sony, etc.

Tamron with their 24-70 VC and 70-200 VC, Sigma with the 35mm and F1.8 zoom, both of them have now caught on. I've got a new 6D with a 24-105mm IS. My next two purchases will be the two Tamrons. Why? A six year warranty- 5 more years than Canon, way less $$$, equivalent (or better) optics, and VC with F2.8 on the 24-70.

Canon is totally detached from the market, delivering late and under-performing on critical core lenses. The management that approved the redundant 24-70 IS F4 should be fired.

 

[jcollett]

If these new lenses actually happen and are all as good as the 35, wonder what Sigma's roadmap is for their bodies?

Well Sigma only makes bodies around the Foveon sensor with their current flagship being the SD1 Merrill. It is "only" an APS-C sized sensor and I think was originally sold for like $9000 though it is currently about $1800. Unless Sigma has a huge secret they have kept under wraps about making a full 24 x 36 mm sensor, they do not make a single camera that can fully utilize DG series lenses. They would be happy with all DC series if making lenses solely for their own line.

So it appears Sigma is still quite committed to being a third party lens line for the other major manufacturer bodies.

 

[Canon-F1]

Canon is totally detached from the market, delivering late and under-performing on critical core lenses. The management that approved the redundant 24-70 IS F4 should be fired.

the f4 is not redundant.

it´s half the price of the f2.8 and many user don´t need a wide aperture.

the f4 would make a great landscape lens for me, if only the performance would be more consistent.

 

[aznable]

Canon is totally detached from the market, delivering late and under-performing on critical core lenses. The management that approved the redundant 24-70 IS F4 should be fired.

the f4 is not redundant.

it´s half the price of the f2.8 and many user don´t need a wide aperture.

agree

and it's half the weight too.

btw i went with sigma 70-200

 

[risc32]

i think he was saying redundant in regards to the 24-105 F4l, not the 24-70 F2.8, and i would agree with him. with all the old (most of them still very good) lenses in the lineup i didn't think this lens was needed. esp before these others.

btw- my esp with the 35mm is that it focuses very well. i use servo mode nearly 100% of the time.

- i also had a sigma 24-70mm f2.8 and a couple versions of their 70-200mm. compared to canon's offerrings they where crap. much less expensive, but they still sucked.

 

[CarlTN]

As for the rumored 135 f/1.8 lens...it sounds intriguing. But I'm not sure I would sell my Canon 135 f/2, and replace it with the Sigma, even if the Sigma is a better lens overall. That's how attached I am to the Canon.

But I certainly do like Sigma lenses...

Apparently no one is listening to my requests for a really fast 95mm lens...an f/0.9, or faster. Now that would be something nobody else makes, especially for modern DSLR's. Yet it would cut into the 85mm fast prime-lens market...

Have any of you ever thought about designing lenses? Just curious...not implying it's simple or a necessarily realistic endeavor. I googled this, and it found a lot of sites...

http://www.google.com/search?q=lens+design+software&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7ADFA_enUS384

 

[Hobby Shooter]

Did Sigma resurrect steve jobs or something? They're like a whole new company now, good for them. Although I was gutted when I found out the 18-35 1.8 was for crop, would have been awesome for ff.

The son took over the family business

Is it true? If so that is really interesting, he must have been waiting for the moment having all those plans on how to change the company's strategy. When they suddenly start making so much better optics, would they have needed to hire better engineers also? Investment in new tooling also probably?