Review - Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art

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#21
YuengLinger said:
LSXPhotog said:
Excellent review, Dustin. My results mirror yours.

I have owned most of Canon's modern autofocus 50s. I sold my 1.2L because it wasn't a lens I used very often. I decided I'd rather not have so much money invested in a lens that rarely left the bag, so I sold it and got the Canon 1.4. That lens got the job done, but 50mm just wasn't a focal length I seemed to enjoy.

Then Sigma came out with the Art. There was so much hype, and after reading all of the reviews and seeing loads of sample images, I decided to give it a shot. Well I've had it for about 9 months now and it turns out that 50mm is indeed a focal length I enjoy a lot, I was just never happy with the lenses I had. The lens gives images a certain look that is all its own.

Autofocus on my 6D is about 90-95% accurate and about 60-70% accurate on my 7D MkII...so I certainly think a firmware update down the road with the $60 dock will solve the accuracy issues. Although, it does seem to depend on the copy as well.

I'm an Art fan now and plan to fill out my bag as they release lenses I use/need.


I shot this at f/2.0 and the background looks like a damn painting it's so smooth and beautifully rendered. Love this lens and so do my clients.
Click to expand...

What "firmware update down the road"?

If I'm not mistaken, despite all the reports of AF problems, Sigma has NOT released a firmware update for Canon mounts.

Anybody know different?
Click to expand...

Firmware update down the road means just that....down the road. It's inevitable that the firmware of the lens will be updated as it already has for the 35 and 18-35. The 50 and 24 are newer and haven't received anything.
 
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#22
Travelintrevor said:
I love Brian's reviews and generally find that my experiences mirrors his data as well but not so with the 50L.
I don't think the Art copy was bad. It was AFMA'd, live view and VF AF showed the same sharpness.
Comparing it wide open to the 135 f/2.0 also does not give me the same results as shown on his comparison page and my 135mm is not a bad copy. Same for the 24-70 II


I would love nothing more than to put some extra money in my pocket by selling the L and purchasing the ART but...there is no compelling reason for me to do so. If I happen to have a stellar copy of the L, then even better :)

Here is the screen grab to show that the attached photo really was at 1.2
Click to expand...

If you are happy with what you have - don't switch. It takes time to learn a new lens and get the most out of it. This may seem ironic, as many photographers would love access to an unending supply of new gear like I have as a reviewer, but frankly, sometimes I enjoy going to shoot with MY lenses. Not for a review, not for a comparison, but simply because I love photography and I love my own personal kit of gear.
 
Upvote 0
#24
LSXPhotog said:
YuengLinger said:
LSXPhotog said:
Excellent review, Dustin. My results mirror yours.

I have owned most of Canon's modern autofocus 50s. I sold my 1.2L because it wasn't a lens I used very often. I decided I'd rather not have so much money invested in a lens that rarely left the bag, so I sold it and got the Canon 1.4. That lens got the job done, but 50mm just wasn't a focal length I seemed to enjoy.

Then Sigma came out with the Art. There was so much hype, and after reading all of the reviews and seeing loads of sample images, I decided to give it a shot. Well I've had it for about 9 months now and it turns out that 50mm is indeed a focal length I enjoy a lot, I was just never happy with the lenses I had. The lens gives images a certain look that is all its own.

Autofocus on my 6D is about 90-95% accurate and about 60-70% accurate on my 7D MkII...so I certainly think a firmware update down the road with the $60 dock will solve the accuracy issues. Although, it does seem to depend on the copy as well.

I'm an Art fan now and plan to fill out my bag as they release lenses I use/need.


I shot this at f/2.0 and the background looks like a damn painting it's so smooth and beautifully rendered. Love this lens and so do my clients.
Click to expand...

What "firmware update down the road"?

If I'm not mistaken, despite all the reports of AF problems, Sigma has NOT released a firmware update for Canon mounts.

Anybody know different?
Click to expand...

Firmware update down the road means just that....down the road. It's inevitable that the firmware of the lens will be updated as it already has for the 35 and 18-35. The 50 and 24 are newer and haven't received anything.
Click to expand...

I don't have the faith you do. The Sigma 35mm Art was updated within eight months of release. Nothing for the 50mm.
 
Upvote 0
#26
[/quote]

If you are happy with what you have - don't switch. It takes time to learn a new lens and get the most out of it. This may seem ironic, as many photographers would love access to an unending supply of new gear like I have as a reviewer, but frankly, sometimes I enjoy going to shoot with MY lenses. Not for a review, not for a comparison, but simply because I love photography and I love my own personal kit of gear.
[/quote]

Very true!
I decided to order the Sigma 50 Art and will play with it next week. I explained my situation to the store and told them that I might return it and they were fine with it. I know what I am looking for and always keep an open mind and if it is "better" than I will sell my 1.2.
 
Upvote 0
#27

If you are happy with what you have - don't switch. It takes time to learn a new lens and get the most out of it. This may seem ironic, as many photographers would love access to an unending supply of new gear like I have as a reviewer, but frankly, sometimes I enjoy going to shoot with MY lenses. Not for a review, not for a comparison, but simply because I love photography and I love my own personal kit of gear.
[/quote]

Very true!
I decided to order the Sigma 50 Art and will play with it next week. I explained my situation to the store and told them that I might return it and they were fine with it. I know what I am looking for and always keep an open mind and if it is "better" than I will sell my 1.2.
[/quote]

Be sure to share your findings here. I'd love to hear first hand feedback from someone who has been using the 1.2L for a while.
 
Upvote 0
#28
sleepnever said:
I picked up the Sigma 50A just recently from Adorama for $849 out the door (Sigma $100 off sale). I've rented it once before and fell in love. Yeah, I have some lower light AF hunt issues, but compared to the Canon 50 1.4, it destroys it in pretty much every way. I'm shooting on a 5D3.

I haven't picked up the dock yet, to see if that'll help with anything. The only downer now is if that doesn't fix it, having to ship all the way back from Seattle to Adorama, get a swap and wait for that. Buying locally is great, but saving $100 + tax is probably worth it =)
Click to expand...

Well, there goes that. I'm returning my copy to Adorama for another. The AF misses are just too much in situations where it should not miss at all. Hopefully the 2nd copy is better. I can so far recommend everything about this lens, but this known issue.
 
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#29
sleepnever said:
sleepnever said:
I picked up the Sigma 50A just recently from Adorama for $849 out the door (Sigma $100 off sale). I've rented it once before and fell in love. Yeah, I have some lower light AF hunt issues, but compared to the Canon 50 1.4, it destroys it in pretty much every way. I'm shooting on a 5D3.

I haven't picked up the dock yet, to see if that'll help with anything. The only downer now is if that doesn't fix it, having to ship all the way back from Seattle to Adorama, get a swap and wait for that. Buying locally is great, but saving $100 + tax is probably worth it =)
Click to expand...

Well, there goes that. I'm returning my copy to Adorama for another. The AF misses are just too much in situations where it should not miss at all. Hopefully the 2nd copy is better. I can so far recommend everything about this lens, but this known issue.
Click to expand...

I'm on my third 50 now, fifth Art overall with EXACTLY that issue. The second 50 was much better, and it was for about 6 months, then started acting up.

The one I have now is the ONLY of the 5 that did not require different AFMA value for different distances, I think that is key, if your lens gets a bit better with adjusting two or more of the 4 distances differently, return it. Keep looking until you find one you just set one AFMA value in camera and it works. Man, I love this lens. Keep at it, you'll find a good one. The great thing is that optically they have all been equally superb and sharp.
 
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#30
The SIGMA ART arrived on Tuesday and I had a chance to do a quick comparison against the 50L. As Dustin requested, here are the findings:

SIGMA has:

1) less chromatic aberrations

2)is sharper in the center and corners by a large amount

3)SIGMA has great build quality

4)is about 1 full stop darker than the 50L when both are wide open (50L at 1.2 vs SIGMA at 1.2)

5)Canon is 0.40 stops brighter when both are at 1.4 (I did not stop them down to see when they equalize). I adjusted the Canon files -0.40 for all the photos you find in the gallery

6) The SIGMA has a much warmer rendering than the Canon and thus has colors that seem to pop more. Both at the SAME WB balance!

7)Bokeh is a draw, IMHO

8) SIGMA AF is very inconsistent on my 5D MK III but stellar on the 7D M MKII. It needed a +10 AFMA on both cameras.

9) SIGMA AF is a little bit faster.


Due to the size limitations, I uploaded the files to my website and turned on the gallery download. Feel free to download and take a look.

http://www.photographybyrudyconrad.com/Sigma-14-ART-vs-Canon-12L/

So what lens turned out to be the best/better?

The SIGMA is sharper, no contest, bokeh seems to be the same overall, and I really like the warmer colors from the SIGMA. The Canon is A LOT faster (1 stop is huge) so if you have a camera that has less than stellar ISO, then the Canon is the way to go. Critical AF needed? Canon 1.2 is your best bet.

If AF and a loss of light is not that big of a deal, then the SIGMA is the one to buy. With Canon's new DPAF coming to the 5D MK IV, the SIGMA will remain in my bag and the Canon 1.2 will be sold. I use Live View focusing for all critical shots (wide open) anyway and DPAF has a 98% focus success rate (maybe even higher).

So it seems that I have changed my mind and will keep the SIGMA this time around. Seems like copy #1 had some issues and this one is much better.
 
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#36
I got my third copy of this lens a couple of weeks back. Never saw that coming, but the Norwegian distributor had a 30% discount for a few days, which was to tempting to pass. I have now tried it on the new 5DSR for awhile and (did not believe I was going to say this) it performs just fine ...

In servo mode, shot wide open, I still get lots of weird results, but in One-shot, with a single focusing point, it nails it pretty much every time. I still have a hard time trusting it, so no pictures beyond pure testing so far. I am going on a 2 week trip on the west coast, starting on Saturday and that will be the baptising for real shooting.

Fingers crossed ...
 
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#39
Viggo said:
LSXPhotog said:
Travelintrevor said:
4)is about 1 full stop darker than the 50L when both are wide open (50L at 1.2 vs SIGMA at 1.2)
Click to expand...

Hmmmmm....maybe I'll return my Sigma 1.4 Art too so they will send me an f/1.2 like you received......?????
Click to expand...

I think he compares t-stop value.
Click to expand...

nah..it was a typo...50L at 1.2 vs Sigma at 1.4...my fault :)
 
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