IsaacImage said:
Here is some update for the problem of this gorgeous lens.
After 5 days in service Sigma rep said "there is nothing to do with this right now and they waiting for firmware update for this lens."
Whole story on my blog with bunch of samples.
http://www.isaacimage.com/sigma-50mm-f1-4-dg-hsm-art/
In this thread, Viggo posted a hypothesis that, at least in some copies, the lens is not using the left and right AF points properly. He asked it very informally, sort of thinking out loud.
Yet you, Issac, state it almost factually in your blog: "And it looks like Sigma can’t utilize the cross type of far right and far left and simply uses cross type in the center instead of double cross type sensors of 1dx and 5d mark 3 auto focus system."
C'mon. This was one experienced photographer throwing out an idea.
And you seem to suggest that there is some kind of limitation to the lens when Sigma told you to use AFMA for the center point only. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but don't we always use the center point for AFMA on all lenses?
Furthermore, you go on to use at least one more quote from this thread, attributing it to "Somebody said," rather than properly citing your sources. It's one thing to throw around rumors on a forum dedicated to RUMORS, but when you blog, you risk losing lots of credibility by not writing more...well, credibly. Or professionally.
I can't help worrying about what my experience will be when I finally get mine, but I also can't help feeling that, with talk of going through five copies, "somebody" might just be a little over zealous in trying to find something wrong with the lens. Something this new, makes sense to try one, try another, but I think you've lost some of the strength of whatever you were trying to accomplish in the first place.
Issac, I'm not trying to attack you or your integrity. I'm merely pointing out, that in online battles for perception, companies often employ tactics of fear, uncertainty, and doubt--and quite effectively. Corporations have been using "actors" for years to praise and criticize products. And some brand loyalists are nutty enough to take it upon themselves. It is only fair that claims good and bad be questioned, even met with skepticism.
Think about it. This lens cannot be attacked because of image quality, an attribute way too easy to display by simply posting. So the way to create doubt is to go after something less concrete, an ephemeral but potentially fatal AF problem.
What's my stake in this? I want a freakin' 50mm that works with great wide open performance. I have several great L lenses, including the 85 and 135--and if a colleague and a legion of reviews hadn't put me off it, I'd have gone with the Canon 50mm 1.2 L. I just know I wouldn't like the problems with close distance focusing, with CA, and with distortion, so I passed on it, using the 50mm 1.4 and other lenses instead. That's it. I want a lens that works, and I'm very happy Tamron and Sigma compete with Canon to put some price and quality pressure on.
You might very well feel the same way I do, yet on this site and others, I see crazy rants about how independent lens makers can never make decent lenses. So I take EVERY post with a grain of salt until a critical mass of truthfulness and credibility is reached.
