Sigma Announces the 50 f/1.4 Art Lens & More

[mrsfotografie]

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

I'm very happy with my current f/1.4 Sigma - but did anyone notice the maximum magnification ratio of 1:5.6? The MMR of the current model is only 1:7.4, something I stumble into when I do museums with this lens.

I used to own the 50mm f/1.4 and used it on a 550D and 7D. Great lens for museums.
Africa Museum - very little light inside
550D iso3200 and f1.4(of course) - there is some noise here

It's a fabulous lens for this application; only the small displays could use a little more magnification though (on full frame) but I don't consider 1:5.6 vs 1:7.4 max magnification to be enough of a difference to justify getting the new Sigma for this feature only

I visited a museum for ethnic sciences, they have some African stuff too
http://www.mrsfotografie.nl/musea/museum-volkenkunde

Sample below: Canon EOS 5D Mark II ,1/50 sec, f/2.8 iso 2000, -0,67 EV

I must admit, I did not like the sigma 50 on my 5d MKIII. I sold it but I am awaiting the new sigma. First I would like to see some reviews with field examples using a FF camera

What didn't you like, specifically? I'm actually having even more fun with this lens on the MkIII than on the MkII although it's harder to check critical sharpness on the Mk III at wide apertures (my Mk II has a precision matte focusing screen). On the Mk II I use manual override to tweak the sharpness at wide apertures, on the Mk III I've set AFMA +8 for this lens.

 

[sagittariansrock]

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.

Goodness...does a bit of size and weight make THAT much of a difference to you folks?

I actually like having a nice lens with heft to it...feels like my money's worth was had, and I like the solid feel of it, like with my 70-200 f/28L II....sure it is big and heavy, but what a lens.

I rented the 50L from canon, and fell in love with it...definitely on my list to buy this year...

But really...is a little extra bulk and weight that big a deal? I mean, do you all carry EVERY lens you own with you on every shoot?

Just curious...


cayenne

It really depends on the usage.
For me, the use of a prime is for darker, indoor informal times like parties, restaurants, get-togethers. I don't want to use a large conspicuous lens in those times. And the difference between, say the 35/1.4 and the older 35/2 is considerable.
When I was using APS-C, I seriously considered the Sigma 30/1.4 DC. I shall hold on to my 50/1.8 unless something worthwhile comes along- but I am quite hopeful. Let's see.

 

[bholliman]

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

I still think this new Sigma will be sharper when equivalently stopped down than the new Canon 50mm F/'something' IS (we still don't know the max aperture yet), but not by so much that I don't want IS and a much smaller lens.

My mind's not made up by any means -- let's see the reviews! But my 'overall lens sensibilities' / 'best lens for what I shoot' spidey sense remains pretty firmly in the 'small + IS is better' camp.

+1 I'm looking forward to the reviews.

I'd certainly like to have a better 50mm option than my 50 1.4, but won't pull the trigger on the Sigma until I see if Canon is coming out with a 50mm f/1.8 or f/2 IS this year. If they do, and its as good, small and light as the 35mm f/2 IS, I'll get one of those. I seldom shoot below f/2.0 anyway and IS would be very nice. Canon has done a terrific job with the other IS primes released recently. The size of the Sigma is a negative in my book.

 

[mrsfotografie]

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

And the difference between, say the 35/1.4 and the older 35/2 is considerable.

I've got one of those 'old' 35/2's, and I love it for its tinyness. That, and the 50mm 1.8 mkI are great little primes that can always find a corner in my bag if I think I might need a prime but don't want the bulk, for instance when I travel

 

[ahsanford]

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

I still think this new Sigma will be sharper when equivalently stopped down than the new Canon 50mm F/'something' IS (we still don't know the max aperture yet), but not by so much that I don't want IS and a much smaller lens.

My mind's not made up by any means -- let's see the reviews! But my 'overall lens sensibilities' / 'best lens for what I shoot' spidey sense remains pretty firmly in the 'small + IS is better' camp.

+1 I'm looking forward to the reviews.

I'd certainly like to have a better 50mm option than my 50 1.4, but won't pull the trigger on the Sigma until I see if Canon is coming out with a 50mm f/1.8 or f/2 IS this year. If they do, and its as good, small and light as the 35mm f/2 IS, I'll get one of those. I seldom shoot below f/2.0 anyway and IS would be very nice. Canon has done a terrific job with the other IS primes released recently. The size of the Sigma is a negative in my book.

Expect the new Canon 50 IS to highly consistently follow in the footsteps of the 24/28/35 non-L IS refreshes.

Expect the new Sigma 50 to highly consistently follow the Sigma 35 Art.

So I expect the new Sigma 50 to be slightly sharper than the new Canon 50 and likely be a shade quicker (again, that max aperture of the new Canon is unknown), but the Canon will be smaller and have IS. I expect in this forum, between those two lenses it will be a 50-50 split of readers as for what's best for them.

- A

 

[vlad]

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

What didn't you like, specifically? I'm actually having even more fun with this lens on the MkIII than on the MkII although it's harder to check critical sharpness on the Mk III at wide apertures (my Mk II has a precision matte focusing screen). On the Mk II I use manual override to tweak the sharpness at wide apertures, on the Mk III I've set AFMA +8 for this lens.

FYI, I got a matte focusing screen for my MKIII from this site and it works great:
http://www.focusingscreen.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_134&products_id=1193

 

[Tiosabas]

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

And the difference between, say the 35/1.4 and the older 35/2 is considerable.

I've got one of those 'old' 35/2's, and I love it for its tinyness. That, and the 50mm 1.8 mkI are great little primes that can always find a corner in my bag if I think I might need a prime but don't want the bulk, for instance when I travel

True, I currently have the old 35 f2 and am very happy with it and if I bought an upgraded 35 I would definitely keep it as it is a great little lens for size/performance ratio. Likewise if I got an upgraded 50 I would probably keep my Canon 50 1.4 for its size/performance ratio. These lenses have their flaws but the flaws certainly do not get in the way of the photography. I think large lenses sometimes do get in the way of the photography depending on the shooting situation.

 

[mrsfotografie]

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

What didn't you like, specifically? I'm actually having even more fun with this lens on the MkIII than on the MkII although it's harder to check critical sharpness on the Mk III at wide apertures (my Mk II has a precision matte focusing screen). On the Mk II I use manual override to tweak the sharpness at wide apertures, on the Mk III I've set AFMA +8 for this lens.

FYI, I got a matte focusing screen for my MKIII from this site and it works great:
http://www.focusingscreen.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_134&products_id=1193

Thanks for the link! I've bookmarked it for reference if I decide to go that direction. How does your 5D Mk III meter with this screen?

 

[AJ]

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

Anyone notice this?

every lens is tested with Sigma’s proprietary modulation transfer function (MTF) “A1” measuring system before being shipped.

I think Sigma is really stepping it up.
First came adjustable focus - i.e. goodbye frontfocus problems.
Now: Goodbye decentering problems.
and at $900 this lens will be sharp and it'll have wonderful bokeh. I have no doubts.
I think Sigma will be the new Zeiss - i.e. a premium 3rd party brand.

 

[mrsfotografie]

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

Anyone notice this?

every lens is tested with Sigma’s proprietary modulation transfer function (MTF) “A1” measuring system before being shipped.

I think Sigma is really stepping it up.
First came adjustable focus - i.e. goodbye frontfocus problems.
Now: Goodbye decentering problems.
and at $900 this lens will be sharp and it'll have wonderful bokeh. I have no doubts.
I think Sigma will be the new Zeiss - i.e. a premium 3rd party brand.

This is what they announced when they introduced 'Sigma’s Global Vision'. Going by their recent offerings, they've really stepped up the QA/QC and of course, overall quality. I've got their 35mm and it's every bit as good as people say.

 

[LetTheRightLensIn]

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.

It's possible some Canon there will be. People get furious in business all the time, sometimes more than elsewhere almost. You've never seen a big exec or higher up or someone in a business flip out? Some of them are pretty combative and competitive. That said a single 50mm lens is just a single 50mm lens.

 

[mrsfotografie]

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

FWIW I like the fact they kept the 77 mm filter size

 

[bchernicoff]

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

What are you wanting to sell the 50L for?

I'll sell you mine for $1250. It's 3 months old.

 

[jebrady03]

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

Now Sigma offers a $900 version of a 50mm, which is much less affordable than four of Canon's offerings.

Where have you found pricing info? I've checked (what I thought was) everywhere and can't find it.

 

[ahsanford]

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

Now Sigma offers a $900 version of a 50mm, which is much less affordable than four of Canon's offerings.

Where have you found pricing info? I've checked (what I thought was) everywhere and can't find it.

Price isn't announced so much as presumed. Most would peg this in the $800-1000 initial offering, so the 35mm Art's original (and current, if I'm not mistaken) price of $899 seems about right.

If we polled this forum for what they think it will be offered for, I think the majority of respondees (if honest about it), would peg this on or around that $899 figure. That would likely be based on the assumption that this lens will be as good as the 35 Art. If not so, all bets are off.

- A

 

[slclick]

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

Sigma Rumors, not saying they have a crystal ball here or anything, says it's going to be priced between the current S 50 and the 35. That would make it ~ high 6's to mid 7's. AND you have to love B&H's EDU discount on Sigmas. I picked up my 35 for 850.

Waiting for Canon to respond to this is a good thing to do, because no matter if they don't reply it's a win since the retail will come down by then.

 

[Quasimodo]

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

What I do love about this anouncement is the audacity! Sigma is shameless. They should be content with their inferior position in the market place, but no, - for the couple of last years they have gone hunting It reminds me of a classic ad for a US car rental company in the eighties... "We know we are number two, therefore we try harder"

 

[Viggo]

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

I already seen more than usual adds for the 50mm f1.4 Canon, and a couple of L's.

 

[Dylan777]

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 : : :

For sharpness? Hell, the current 50 F/1.4 is sharper after F/2 or so. Set a higher bar, will ya?

Again, for sharpness, I think the new 50 from Sigma will dust the 50 1.2L based on the performance of the Sigma 35mm Art:

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.")

Then consider PhotoZone's take on both 35s and the 50 1.2L (poor away from center), which is attached. Those are stellar F/1.4 and F/2 numbers away from center for the Sigma, by the way -- large aperture glass almost never shows such a good performance.

So I expect for sharpness the new Sigma to really take it to the 50 F/1.2L, but as everyone on this forum will say, there's more to it than that -- bokeh, distortion, chromatic effects, focus speed/accuracy/consistency, etc. may say that the Sigma is lacking in some department. We'll see.

Hell, off the cuff, size may be a tipping point for some -- this lens had better cut diamonds it's so sharp if it's going to take up 3-4x the volume in my bag as my trusty old Canon 50/1.4, and I don't expect the new Canon 50 F/?.? IS to be much bigger than its physical 'twin', the 35mm f/2 IS.

- A

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.

The 50 L is a wonderful lens, and as your shot shows, it draws nice, BUT what I see is dead center comp, if you were to shoot that same shot with one of the outer most points, it would be a mess. I know because I have tried, I had to be at around 2,8 to get decent sharpness with outer points, and even then I would just prefer the 24-70 at 50mm.

Just want to say, I have owned three 50 L's and I LOVE that lens, but it simply lacks so much sharpness and IQ slightly off center it's very limiting for composition.

There, I just recomposed the shot;D....I'm guessing it's a keeper NOW

 

[zlatko]

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

Now Sigma offers a $900 version of a 50mm, which is much less affordable than four of Canon's offerings.

Where have you found pricing info? I've checked (what I thought was) everywhere and can't find it.

Sorry, I may be mistaken! I thought I saw that price announced, but now I can't find it. It's very possible I mistook someone's speculation as the price. I guess we'll soon see.

Sigma will likely price it between Canon's 50/1.4 and 50/1.2L, targeting the big price gap between those two. Sigma's 35/1.4 is priced roughly in-between Canon's 35/2 and 35/1.4L. And Sigma's 85/1.4 is priced roughly in-between Canon's 85/1.8 and 85/1.2L. These big price gaps are logical targets for a third party manufacturer.