Sigma 35 f/1.4 DG HSM First Impressions

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#81
My impression is quite good regarding the Sigma 35 and the combination with the 5d3.
Focussing is accurate in all the shots I have taken so far. Which I can not say of the 50 1.4 Sigma, which has a bigger rate of unsharp photo's.
The 85mm 1.4 from Sigma is very precise as well regarding focussing, so it seems the 35mm might have the same bit of software/hardware for focussing as the 85mm.

So far there are a bunch of things that I really noticed with the 35mm from Sigma:

positive:
- It's very sharp, from 1.4 onward. No need to stop down for sharpness.
- Build quality is very good, better then anything I know from Sigma and on par with Canon 35mm 1.4.
- Even the front and back cap are new and have a better construction
- Lens does not need AFMA and is sharp straight out of box

negative:
- Sigma colors are present in this lens as well, so a bit of a yellowcast. The 35L has more red/blue coloring and gave the photo's more spark/vivid/positive feel to it. The yellowcast from the Sigma is not perse my favorite. Though it bothers me little and goes away in postprocessing in a flash :)
- Focussingring is nicely damped and smooth, but has to much friction to be operated easily with one finger. The 35L has an easier focusring to turn and can be used with one finger (as I always like to do).
- Focussing speed is about the same as the 50 1.4 and 85 1.4 from Sigma that I also have. The 35L is a wee bit faster focussing, but not by much. Next to eachother, you notice the difference, but they are both fast enough for wedding/action/walking/sprinting.

So far I really like the 35 1.4, what I notice most of all is the sharpness at 1.4 already and that is unseen with the 1.4 Canon 35mm.
If they were both exactly equal pricing, the Canon and the Sigma, I might go with the Canon, due to the colors.
But since there is a 400 euro difference, I believe I have made the right choice to go with the Sigma tool.
 
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#82
nomad85 said:
If there is such thing as a Sigma holy trinity, I have it :P.
The Sigma 35 1.4 , 50 1.4 and 85 1.4 are all in my bag. The 35mm I got yesterday and the 85mm not long before that as well. So both are new to me.

If there are any questions, my english is just fine, so ask away :). I work with the 5d3.
Click to expand...

I was thinking about that today too - Sigma trinity. It exists now! Sounds like an awesome setup you have there, have fun!
 
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#84
So far I'm very pleased with my sigma 35mm. i still can't even believe i'm saying that. I posted some crops taken with it on my 5dmk3 over in the lens gallery section of this forum. nothing very exciting. i've been much to busy to really do anything with it yet, but so far i'm very pleased with it's build, and IQ. really, i can't believe it. up until i got it, i hated Sigma. really, i did. one time they really did me wrong, but now things are looking up.
 
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#87
I've been following this site for some time now. Looking into the new Sigma 35mm 1.4. I am really curious about the bokeh. I'm willing to trade off some sharpness for this since I have read so far that the new Sig is super sharp. I just need some info on the bokeh. Thanks ahead of time.
 
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#89
PVS said:
Compared to 35L:
http://lcap.tistory.com/entry/Sigma-35mm-f14-vs-Canon-35mm-f14-L
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Yes thanks, that's a great review/comparison.

Look at those gorgeous 18-point sunstars & the circular bokeh even at f/2. Canon's 8-blade apertures has been one of my biggest gripes. Nikon has been putting out 9-blade aperture lenses for some time now; Canon's only playing catch-up now. And who knows when they'll replace their 24L, 35L, & 85L lenses...

Also, if you look at the OOF bokeh with pictures of the leaves, it appears to me that either the Canon lens has more contrast or has a lower exposure. Does anyone else see this?
 
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#91
nomad85 said:
negative:
- Sigma colors are present in this lens as well, so a bit of a yellowcast. The 35L has more red/blue coloring and gave the photo's more spark/vivid/positive feel to it. The yellowcast from the Sigma is not perse my favorite. Though it bothers me little and goes away in postprocessing in a flash :)
Click to expand...

Awesome. Thanks for the review!

With regard to the "yellowcast" are we talking a white balance type of cast, or something a bit more complex?
 
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#92
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#93
dirtcastle said:
nomad85 said:
negative:
- Sigma colors are present in this lens as well, so a bit of a yellowcast. The 35L has more red/blue coloring and gave the photo's more spark/vivid/positive feel to it. The yellowcast from the Sigma is not perse my favorite. Though it bothers me little and goes away in postprocessing in a flash :)
Click to expand...

Awesome. Thanks for the review!

With regard to the "yellowcast" are we talking a white balance type of cast, or something a bit more complex?
Click to expand...

I always shoot RAW, so if it were a mere whitebalance problem I would hardly notice it, because whitebalance is the first thing I do in post processing. It is as you "a bit more complex". But still well able to be corrected.
The cast is definitely not a show-stopper to get this lens btw and I don't see it in all the photos.
 
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#94
FYI- if you follow that link that was posted a page or so ago to that korean site you'll see a very nice side-by-side with the sigma and canon. And if you dig a bit deeper (page2) you'll find the same side-by-side stuff with the sigma -vs- others. namely a converted Contax, the Samyang. if you want to skip to the end, just know the sigma beats them all.
 
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#95
Those Korean links really pushed the OoF rendition to the limits, naked branches + leaves make the busiest backgrounds, IMO. I don't think I saw nice bokeh examples from any of the 35/1.4 lenses on that site, be it canon, samjunk, contax, nikkor or sigma.

however, here's an example where background is not that much demanding: http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/review/lens_review/20121127_575328.html

I think I'm really liking this lens.
 
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#96
photozone guys always mentions how he's never seen a really great bokeh from a wide or semi wide lens, esp one with an asph element. it looks like it can be nice sometimes, maybe 8/10 times, but then there are times when it's just a mess. from what i've found though, it doesn't take much of a distance/framing change to really change the OOF rendering with these wider lenses. i guess it's like most things with wide lenses, a few inches here of there, and you have something very different.
 
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#97
nomad85 said:
Brand B said:
I recall from the 5D III manual that third party lenses are not able to use as many of the focus points as Canon's. For lenses like this one, whose optical performance and focusing speed seem to be on par with Canon's, is that the only downside?
Click to expand...

Have the 5d3 and 35mm 1.4 Sigma and can use all the AF points like my L 2.8 glass can on the camera. All 45 cross and 61 points are usable.
Click to expand...

This is the post from Lensrentals where I had partly gotten the idea that this wasn't necessarily the case:

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/06/5d-mk-iii-af-points-and-3rd-party-lenses

Going by that, it seems likely the Sigma would be group C at best, all points but no dual cross points, whereas the Canon 35 is in group A, so a very small reduction in AF ability.

I read some speculation as to whether the 5D3 is looking at the lens model, or if there is a test using other methods to determine how many of the focus points can be used. Some here with a reply from Canon that does not fully resolve the question:

http://photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00aVZk

How did you confirm the camera uses the full point array with all 45 points as cross points? In a similar way of checking the points for focus functionality? Any idea if any are functioning as dual cross?

BB
 
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#98
Mikael Risedal said:
dirtcastle said:
nomad85 said:
negative:
- Sigma colors are present in this lens as well, so a bit of a yellowcast. The 35L has more red/blue coloring and gave the photo's more spark/vivid/positive feel to it. The yellowcast from the Sigma is not perse my favorite. Though it bothers me little and goes away in postprocessing in a flash :)
Click to expand...

Awesome. Thanks for the review!

With regard to the "yellowcast" are we talking a white balance type of cast, or something a bit more complex?
Click to expand...

Sigmas coating gives a little more yellow results than Nikon,Canon etc
Click to expand...

I'll bet I could create a preset in Lightroom that would neutralize it. A combination of HSL and split toning would probably cure it.
 
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