Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART questions

aleshaloginov said:
Another important question for you guys

The AF problem is crucial(I believe), so is it really so predictable? They say 10-20% of pictures are rubbish and only the rest is dead on.

I think I don't wan't a $1000 lens that has such a problem.

I shoot with 6d and I wish to hear some feedback from people like me.

My 35mm Art is amazingly reliable both on my 5D MkII and MkIII, no MFA required and spot-on AF. ;)
 
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mrsfotografie said:
aleshaloginov said:
Another important question for you guys

The AF problem is crucial(I believe), so is it really so predictable? They say 10-20% of pictures are rubbish and only the rest is dead on.

I think I don't wan't a $1000 lens that has such a problem.

I shoot with 6d and I wish to hear some feedback from people like me.

My 35mm Art is amazingly reliable both on my 5D MkII and MkIII, no MFA required and spot-on AF. ;)

The big problem is that you can just as easily have one that is completely useless. Only way to make sure you get a good one is to buy where you can easily return/exchange it.
 
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Viggo said:
mrsfotografie said:
aleshaloginov said:
Another important question for you guys

The AF problem is crucial(I believe), so is it really so predictable? They say 10-20% of pictures are rubbish and only the rest is dead on.

I think I don't wan't a $1000 lens that has such a problem.

I shoot with 6d and I wish to hear some feedback from people like me.

My 35mm Art is amazingly reliable both on my 5D MkII and MkIII, no MFA required and spot-on AF. ;)

The big problem is that you can just as easily have one that is completely useless. Only way to make sure you get a good one is to buy where you can easily return/exchange it.

That is always a sensible thing to do especially for more expensive equipment.
 
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To sum up, it seems like Sigma is much less reliable than canon here. 35L has been tested for more than 10 years and the only real problem is CA when wide open, though it's not often seen. The AF is more stable on canon's side.

Seems like I'd better remove CA when retouch a pic... yeah, 35L is my choice, for sure.
 
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aleshaloginov said:
To sum up, it seems like Sigma is much less reliable than canon here. 35L has been tested for more than 10 years and the only real problem is CA when wide open, though it's not often seen. The AF is more stable on canon's side.

Seems like I'd better remove CA when retouch a pic... yeah, 35L is my choice, for sure.

Have we been reading the same thread posts? I'm gathering it's actually trending towards Sigma. At best for Canon, it's 50/50.

I've used both on my 5DM3, and there's no comparison - I love my Sigma.

I guess that's harsh...Canon is good, but Sigma is great.
 
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My Sigma 35L arrived on Monday. On FoCal testing, the AFMA on the 5DIII was +4 and on 70D -2. The focus consistency on both bodies is the best ever I have ever encountered: 99.2% consistency of focus on both bodies and incredibly sharp. The lens is very well built and fits very precisely with no play on to the body.
 
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Personally, my favorite is Canon's 35mm f2 IS. It's excellent. AF is super fast and accurate, sharp, contrast, and buttery bokeh. I actually owned the Sigma 35 months before the Canon, and after testing them side by side, even at 1.4 vs 2.0 hard to see why I'd pay more for the Sigma. And in my case, IS is much better for me. I've never owned the Canon 35L.

I will add that after 2 months, my Sigma had 3 small paint chips on the finish. My Canon still looks perfect today.
 
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To sum up, after buying two 35 Art that was absolute cr@p and owned 6 or 7 35 L's I would soo not buy another Sigma, but happy to own a 35 L again, hm, I might just buy one.

If you're looking for one of the best lenses ever made, outside of super tele, the 50 Art is incredible.
 
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Viggo said:
To sum up, after buying two 35 Art that was absolute cr@p and owned 6 or 7 35 L's I would soo not buy another Sigma, but happy to own a 35 L again, hm, I might just buy one.

If you're looking for one of the best lenses ever made, outside of super tele, the 50 Art is incredible.

Copy variation?

So you got lucky with the 50, not so with the 35's. In much the same way I have a superb 35A and 50 EX.
 
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I'm now on my third copy of the Sigma which is the best one out of the three. That being said, it is still nowhere near the performance of the 35L I had with regard to Autofocus accuracy and speed in all scenarios.

The 35L was the most accurately focusing lens I have ever owned. The sigma does decently well in good lighting. Still a tad slower than the Canon and a few more misses than I'd like. In decent lighting, the miss rate goes up a little. In less than desirable lighting, I have trouble getting it to focus on anything whereas the Canon would have had zero issues.

I currently have both the Sigma and the Canon 35/2 IS in the bag, and the Sigma continues to show it's inferiority with regard to AF.
 
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JohnDizzo15 said:
I'm now on my third copy of the Sigma which is the best one out of the three. That being said, it is still nowhere near the performance of the 35L I had with regard to Autofocus accuracy and speed in all scenarios.

The 35L was the most accurately focusing lens I have ever owned. The sigma does decently well in good lighting. Still a tad slower than the Canon and a few more misses than I'd like. In decent lighting, the miss rate goes up a little. In less than desirable lighting, I have trouble getting it to focus on anything whereas the Canon would have had zero issues.

I currently have both the Sigma and the Canon 35/2 IS in the bag, and the Sigma continues to show it's inferiority with regard to AF.

What camera body are you using? I'm thinking this lens may be hit and miss with some bodies. On my 5D2 and 3: no issues.
 
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JohnDizzo15 said:
I'm now on my third copy of the Sigma which is the best one out of the three. That being said, it is still nowhere near the performance of the 35L I had with regard to Autofocus accuracy and speed in all scenarios.

The 35L was the most accurately focusing lens I have ever owned. The sigma does decently well in good lighting. Still a tad slower than the Canon and a few more misses than I'd like. In decent lighting, the miss rate goes up a little. In less than desirable lighting, I have trouble getting it to focus on anything whereas the Canon would have had zero issues.

I currently have both the Sigma and the Canon 35/2 IS in the bag, and the Sigma continues to show it's inferiority with regard to AF.

Sounds much like what I've experienced and the 35 L has superb AF.
 
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Just a little side note here, I was editing some 85 L shots in Lr yesterday and wow, compared to the 50 Art it's absolutely horrible, not as sharp and the CA is ruining the shots for, me really really bad... And I have also start noticing the bending of the corners. I can't tell how much better the 50 Art really is. Such a shame you must count on never getting one as good as it's supposed to be. I know I am never selling this great one.
 
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I bought my 35Art last October, and it had, I believe, the third generation of firmware. It did need AFMA on my 5DIII, nothing extreme, but it is super accurate with AF and produces spectacular landscapes stopped down, and lovely close-up stuff with better bokeh than the ef 35mm 1.4 L that I sold. Very little CA even wide open, solid build. I love it.

But I'm no Sigma fan after being teased by the awesome IQ of the 50Art, only to be let down by erratic AF beyond five feet.

The 35Art spoiled me, and I'm in a hectic time now, so I did not want to pay another $60 for the USB dock, spend a lot of time working with it, and possibly find that the AF was still erratic (not just in need of calibration).

So...Before I got the 50Art, I would have gushed about Sigma. Now I just scratch my head.

Funny, Viggo, you mention the 85L, because I was just telling a friend that the 50Art had the best bokeh under 100mm I've seen on any lens EXCEPT the 85L II. I know, the 85 has clunky AF, but for portrait stuff, it truly excels. Also, I've had minimal issues with CA, and I'm usually shooting between f/1.2 and f/2.2. But I do control my backgrounds for portraits, don't play much with lens flare or include metallic surfaces or reflections on water with the portraits.) Not good for much else, but I still think it is the best at what it does. (But I did give up fast on the 50Art.)
 
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dilbert said:
JohnDizzo15 said:
I'm now on my third copy of the Sigma which is the best one out of the three. That being said, it is still nowhere near the performance of the 35L I had with regard to Autofocus accuracy and speed in all scenarios.

Did you use the USB dock to tune the AF of the Sigma 35/1.4 Art?

Not this time around with the dock. Just used FoCal a handful of times at different distances and lighting. It was close enough during testing at all variables. However, shifting over to actual shooting yielded plenty of misses consistently. That being said, I still get about 80-85% hit rate in good lighting conditions which makes it usable enough for my purposes at the moment. At anything from moderate to low light, it is terrible. Suffice to say if I were doing paid work all the time, it would definitely not cut it.
 
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mrsfotografie said:
What camera body are you using? I'm thinking this lens may be hit and miss with some bodies. On my 5D2 and 3: no issues.

The first two copies I had when the 35 Art first came out were mounted on a 5D3. The current one is on a 6D which seems to be working much better than the previous two on the 5D3 which seems odd to me considering the difference in AF systems.
 
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I use one on a Canon 6D, and i think it's a stellar performer. Maybe i'm not as picky as other fellow forumers, but my copy didn't need AFMA, and the AF is accurate, though not fast. Bear in mind that i always take photographs of static subjects, and that i always use the central focus point.
 
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gigabellone said:
I use one on a Canon 6D, and i think it's a stellar performer. Maybe i'm not as picky as other fellow forumers, but my copy didn't need AFMA, and the AF is accurate, though not fast. Bear in mind that i always take photographs of static subjects, and that i always use the central focus point.

I even did a shoot with AI Servo enabled on the 5D MkII and the keeper rate was excellent! All wide angle shots in the following series were shot like this:

http://www.mrsfotografie.nl/auto-motorsport/assen-tt-city-racing/
 
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