Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

[ahsanford]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

I can't compare this Sigma Vs my 50L yet. However, my 50L is quite awesome when shoot wide open or at f1.4. As an owner of 50mm f1.4 for 2-3yrs, I do know the history of this lens. The color and contrast from f1.4 are flat. I'm not good reading reviews or showing 3rd party testing data. I like to see my own photos

There is no fun buying f1.4 prime, but can't get good results at near f1.4.

Sure. Lab data isn't a perfect tool. And certainly the current 50 F/1.2L is great for portraiture as the center sharpness (and, of course, that color and bokeh) is terrific.

But I use wider apertures less for portraiture and more for low-light handheld use where I'm capturing a scene and not necessarily a subject. So IS and corner sharpness is more important for me than how the center might pop.

So it's entirely possible that Sigma's new 50 might be sharper than everything, but you may still prefer the 50 F/1.2L and I'll keep waiting for that non-L 50mm IS refresh that we all know is coming.

But more options means more competitive pricing and more photographers finding the tool they need. I'll take it.

- A

 

[zlatko]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

Canon will be furious as they clearly have a 50 F/(fast: 1.4 to 2) IS lens on the way. Until that comes out, Sigma will gobble up the 'sort-of-premium 50mm' sales between the 50L and the Canon 50/1.4.

Canon won't be furious because Canon is a corporation. Another corporation's new lens is not something they need to "answer". It's just business. They'll make a new 50mm that meets their own design and business criteria, as well as their own timeline for product development. It will be competitive in its own way, and each will find buyers. Whatever it is, I do hope they offer an improved 50mm.

 

[skybraun]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

I literally just bought a Sigma 85mm 1.4 and a Canon 50mm 1.4. I really wish I had waited now because the AF will most likely be improved on this redesign. Wouldn't you guys think?

 

[zlatko]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

I can't compare this Sigma Vs my 50L yet. However, my 50L is quite awesome when shoot wide open or at f1.4. As an owner of 50mm f1.4 for 2-3yrs, I do know the history of this lens. The color and contrast from f1.4 are flat. I'm not good reading reviews or showing 3rd party testing data. I like to see my own photos

The 50L sure does draw nice. One good thing about this new Sigma is that it is about 4 ounces lighter than the 50L. If it draws as nicely and autofocuses well, it may be a good substitute for the 50L and the 50/1.4 USM.

 

[ahsanford]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

Canon will be furious as they clearly have a 50 F/(fast: 1.4 to 2) IS lens on the way. Until that comes out, Sigma will gobble up the 'sort-of-premium 50mm' sales between the 50L and the Canon 50/1.4.

Canon won't be furious because Canon is a corporation. Another corporation's new lens is not something they need to "answer". It's just business. They'll make a new 50mm that meets their own design and business criteria, as well as their own timeline for product development. It will be competitive in its own way, and each will find buyers. Whatever it is, I do hope they offer an improved 50mm.

Don't mistake me -- these aren't high school rivals acting petulantly. This is about profit.

The Canon corporation won't be furious, but the Canon lens marketing guys just saw either their future margins or their future unit share take a hit with this announcement.

Consider: There's a huge price-offering gap in their portfolio between the $350 50 F/1.4 and the $1,500+ 50 F/1.2L, and Sigma swooped into that space before Canon could. In other lengths with these IS refreshes, Canon entered with a high price and scooped up some cash from early adopters before dropping the price to market value. I don't know if they can do that now with this Sigma now in play, which based on the 35mm Art offering, is an L quality lens (at least from a sharpness perspective) at a mid-level price.

Canon may be forced to come in at, say $599 with their non-L IS refresh instead of making money from brand-loyal guys waiting for a better 50 prime.

And I would not complain about that.

- A

 

[Canon 14-24]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

Where's the Canon dslr/lens announcements? So much for for Canon having 2014 as their "year of the lenses". Other brands already getting a jump start on this. I guess another year with just point and shoot and video (exception standard new rebel and kit len versions) announcements.

 

[zlatko]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

Consider Roger's take, which is a clear read:
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/11/sigma-35mm-f1-4-arrives-announces-new-world-order
(Besides his nice article, note: "This lens kicks butt, takes names, and basically posterizes the manufacturers who make the cameras this lens will fit on.")

Those test charts and Roger's comments make the lens look like an absolute marvel, but then I read the comments below Roger's article and the number of people reporting autofocus problems gives me pause. When they talk about their "hit rate" with the autofocus, it diminishes the appeal (for me) of the utrasharp 35mm Sigma. That said, I haven't tried it myself.

The Canon corporation won't be furious, but the Canon lens marketing guys just saw either their future margins or their future unit share take a hit with this announcement.

Consider: There's a huge price-offering gap in their portfolio between the $350 50 F/1.4 and the $1,500+ 50 F/1.2L, and Sigma swooped into that space before Canon could. In other lengths with these IS refreshes, Canon entered with a high price and scooped up some cash from early adopters before dropping the price to market value. I don't know if they can do that now with this Sigma now in play, which based on the 35mm Art offering, is an L quality lens (at least from a sharpness perspective) at a mid-level price.

Canon may be forced to come in at, say $599 with their non-L IS refresh instead of making money from brand-loyal guys waiting for a better 50 prime.

I don't know anything about marketing, but I suspect they look at their business as a whole. I don't think they worry about one lens in one year, but rather how their entire portfolio of lenses is doing. I don't think Canon is "forced" with regard to pricing by virtue of one competitor making one lens, even a very good lens. There are too many other factors at play. They may prioritize design and production for 5 or 10 other lenses that have a higher priority and have a greater impact on profits. They may leave their updated 50mm for another year. And their updated 50mm, whenever it comes, may have more to do with other factors than what Sigma is doing. Nikon didn't "answer" Canon's 35L for something like 15 years. It's not that it didn't matter, but that they had other priorities during that time.

 

[zlatko]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

Where's the Canon dslr/lens announcements? So much for for Canon having 2014 as their "year of the lenses". Other brands already getting a jump start on this. I guess another year with just point and shoot and video (exception standard new rebel and kit len versions) announcements.

It's January 6th and you've already given up on dslr/lens announcements for the entire year? Companies announce at different times.

 

[pdirestajr]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

Those test charts and Roger's comments make the lens look like an absolute marvel, but then I read the comments below Roger's article and the number of people reporting autofocus problems gives me pause. When they talk about their "hit rate" with the autofocus, it diminishes the appeal (for me) of the utrasharp 35mm Sigma. That said, I haven't tried it myself.

But how many of those focus "issues" are people testing their lens photographing their moving cat in candle light wide open at the minimum focus distance?

 

[Hjalmarg1]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

Assuming the fabrication and image quality is at the same level as the 35mm Art, it should be very good. Compared to what else is on offer, it simply should be better option than the current Canon's 50mm AF choices of:

•The slow/noisy 50/1.8
•The non-ring USM in the 50 F/1.4 that often hunts
•The diva of the 50 F/1.2L that needs AFMA tuning

I used and sold the f1.8 and f1.4 Canon versions, current Sigma 50mm f1.4 (not good AF) and currently have the 50 F/1.2L. This Sigma might address many of the problems we've had with Canon. If so, I will buy one ASAP.
Anyone interested in this 50mm f1.2L lens?

 

[preppyak]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

It's January 6th and you've already given up on dslr/lens announcements for the entire year? Companies announce at different times.

Besides, CES is a consumer show, not a pro show. Notice that Sigma didn't wait til CES to announce the 18-35 and Tamron didnt wait for it to announce the 150-600. Sigma is instead announcing a fairly standard 50mm lens, and a superzoom that is probably <$500.

Canons lens announcements were largely for pro/L lens updates. Those will come outside of the standard shows

 

[extremeinstability]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

Yay for this part, given all the 50s suck at it except an expensive Nikon.

• Excellent correction of sagittal coma flare

It is ideal for a wide aperture standard lens to have a high rendering performance from open aperture throughout the entire image. For instance, the molded glass aspherical lens elements provide excellent correction to sagittal coma flare. It is perfect for astronomical photography and shooting of illumination because of the reduced blur on the point light sources near the edge of the image. It also creates an attractive bokeh in portraits and indoor shooting.

 

[PhotoCat]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

Booyah Yahoo Yippee Hooray Awesome FINALLY ABOUT TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God I've wanted a sharp wide-open, auto-focusing 50mm 1.4 that isn't over $1k for sooo long.

My copy of the Canon 50 1.4 is sharp in the centre wide-open and I used to believe it wasn't based on many reviews on the web. I went thought 3-4 copies b4 I found a sharp one with my 5d2! I think 50/1.4's bad reputation is mostly focusing related. One can easily test its real optical sharpness under live-view with manual focusing.

 

[brad-man]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

Awesome announcement. I'm going to be very tempted by this 50. But since I already have the 35, I'll wait to see how good the new Canon will be. I'd like to have a couple of high quality primes that aren't so big and heavy. What I really need is a proper 85 and a 135 with IS. They can be big and heavy.

 

[DJL329]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!"

I have the EF 50mm f/1.4 and had to have the focusing fixed once, so I'm really hoping this is a good lens. If nothing else, I hope it forces Canon to release a new 50mm f/1.4, instead of only a 50mm f/1.8 IS, as some of the recent rumors may have implied.

 

[Nishi Drew]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

Well timed! There's the crazy Otus 55mm and then the Nikkor 58mm, both ridiculously priced lenses and I consider the 50L ridiculous as well. Still, can't tell how much Sigma is asking for this lens, and how much better it becomes over it's previous 50. But surely it will not be much more, 50mm lenses are supposed to be the easiest and cheapest of lenses to manufacture! How it appears to be so difficult to make a decently sharp, relatively CA free 50 with good bokeh.... oh, I guess that is asking too much looking back at those expensive 50s... so, will Sigma deliver instead?

I'm more interested in the other potential lenses, such as a fast 24mm, but it's good for Sigma to return to classic areas and getting the basic and popular lenses out as well

 

[Radiating]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

It's as big as the Canon 24-70 F/4L IS.

That is a sign that it has good image quality. Sigma has been making pretty much every lens dream I had come true. If this, a 135mm f/1.8 OS, a 70-200mm f/2.0 OS and a 16-35mm f/2.8 OS, and 24mm 1.4 ii are released then I will run out of dreams. I was just looking to mount a 58 mm 1.4 Nikon to my 5D3 and use manual focus. But now I may not need to.

I want this lens now.

 

[sagittariansrock]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

I use that ancient Canon 50 F/1.4 and fight through its 'hunty' focusing because it delivers sharper images than the 50 F/1.2L (as I rarely shoot wider than F/1.8 ). From F/2.8 to F/4, it's a super sharp lens, but it has a boatload of limitations. This Sigma might address a host of them.

I wish this was smaller though. The size of the 35 1.4 is what has kept me from buying it. I want a small and inconspicuous prime. Getting a large lens merely for the f/1.4-2.8 is not worth it (STRICTLY in my case). I WILL buy a smaller Canon 50 f/1.4 if only they give it a darned ring USM!

That lens is a 2014 lens for certain. It's called Canon's new 50mm non-L. It will be an 'non-L IS refresh' like the 24/28/35 before it -- ring USM, internal focusing (no length change), better build quality, much sharper, and with IS. Probably $799 to start and walk down to $599 after the first year (all of the other non-L IS refreshes showed this behavior).

It will be much smaller than Sigma's new offering (I imagine roughly as big as its 'twin', the 35mm F/2 IS), but I would wager not quite as sharp. But keep in mind that each of the non-L refreshed were big sharpness improvements to their 1990s predecessors, but the 35 F/1.4 Art lens was even sharper than those. I expect that trend to continue.

So I'm still waiting for that new Canon 50 to stack up against this new Sigma. If it is only 90% as sharp but has IS and is as small as I think it will be, I'd take the Canon 10 times out of 10.

- A

Yeah, but the IS is rumored to be 1.8 or even 2. Now, will it be remarkably better than my 50 f/1.8? Dunno, the 35 f/2 IS has had me thinking for the longest time, and I might just pick it up some time, but I wish they kept the f/1.4 and just made the 50mm better- sigh!

 

[Zorfunk]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

"The new Sigma 50mm F1.4 DG HSM Art has been reengineered and redesigned to set a new standard of performance in the Art line"

Will this out performs my f1.2 L : : :

Haha Dylan, yes it will, just like the 35mm 1.4L. 20k in gear doesn't make a good photographer.

 

[infared]

Re: Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

"The lens is large and has a complex formula (13 elements in 8 groups)"...the canon 50mm f/1.2L (has only 8 elements in 7 groups)...is not a GREAT lens...I am hoping that this new Sigma could be the best 50mm with AF for Canon on the market. This is REALLY exciting news to FINALLY "possibly" have a great normal lens for FF. I am keeping my fingers crossed here and hoping for the best. My Sigma 35mm Art is da bomb. Canon has been sound asleep here for many years.