Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

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Archive 2011 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

LocoPhoto
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p.1 #1 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

Hey everyone,

Straight to the point, I'm buying a Sigma 50/1.4 and was sent this sample from the lens.

Is this top notch quality from a Sigma 50/1.4 or is this a soft copy? Looks a little soft to me compared the same sample at f8, have heard of many getting razor sharp results at 1.4, but not sure what in reality that means compared to the sample I have below.

Your input greatly appreciated, and thanks sincerely for your help.

Jay

Canon EOS 5D Mark II 50 mm f/1.4 1/80 sec 100 ISO 0.0 EV

Dec 10, 2011 at 09:15 AM

LocoPhoto
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p.1 #2 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

Here's the f8 sample, both images 100% crop, unsharpened.

Thanks again,

Jay

2013 © LocoPhoto

Dec 10, 2011 at 09:17 AM

mttran
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p.1 #3 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

I see some hands motion but its sharpness look good on both samples

Dec 10, 2011 at 09:24 AM

droopy1592
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p.1 #4 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

looks good to me, it's probably the slow shutter speed

Dec 10, 2011 at 09:43 AM

wickerprints
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p.1 #5 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

Now I'm not saying that there is or isn't any camera shake in the sample images, but it doesn't seem to make much sense to say that a shot at 50/1.4 @ 1/80s would be blurrier primarily due to camera shake compared to a shot at 50/8 @ 1/30s. To me, the most reasonable conclusion to draw between the sample images at the given exposure settings is that most of the difference in sharpness is due to the relative performance of the lens between f/1.4 and f/1.8.

Dec 10, 2011 at 10:58 AM

TeamSpeed
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p.1 #6 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

Slap some more light on the subject, and get something different than a printed box. Those don't make for the best "is my lens sharp" test subjects.

Go get a fuzzy toy or something.

Dec 10, 2011 at 01:44 PM

dfresh
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p.1 #7 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

Looks good to me, although maybe a tad misfocused or blurred from the shutter speed. You probably want to spend more time testing focus accuracy (so you can MA) rather than sharpness.

Dec 10, 2011 at 03:18 PM

timbop
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p.1 #8 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

Seems odd that wide open the lens is softer than stopped down

</sarcasm>

Dec 10, 2011 at 03:55 PM

Mike1.6
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p.1 #9 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

timbop wrote:
Seems odd that wide open the lens is softer than stopped down

</sarcasm>

My copy is great at 10-15 feet @ f/1.4. It is not as great outside of those ranges.

It is what it is.

Dec 10, 2011 at 04:05 PM

Bruce Sawle
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p.1 #10 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

Not sure there is much to complain about. The lens looks good at 1.4. No lens will be as good at f1.4 as it will be at f8 so it's not a valid comparison. If you haven't sharpened the photos any add a little and it will be even better.

Dec 10, 2011 at 04:06 PM

Fred Relaix
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p.1 #11 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

The sigma is good at f/1.4, but nowhere as good as a 35L or 85L for instance. It gets much better by f/2 and outstanding from f/2.8. It is better than the Canon f/1.4 (including contrast at f/1.4-2), but again not by a huge margin (except bokeh, but this is not what you asked). Anyway, as said before, you need to get better sample pictures than these to conclude something.

Dec 10, 2011 at 05:08 PM

LocoPhoto
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p.1 #12 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

Thanks everyone, was hoping to check my post and find some help, grateful to each of you, the sarcastic included.

I was looking at them late at night, pretty tired, and just couldn't come to a hard conclusion on them, thinking the 1.4 definitely looks good compared to an average 1.4 lens, or older 1.4 lenses, but I want very close to the best copy of the Sigma as I can get, so I thought I'd reach out for help.

I've asked for another set of pics shot at 125th/sec or higher, and of subject matter that is 3D, like a cat or a floral arrangement. Hopefully they look really good.

I'll post the new set when they arrive for everyone's review, and thanks again sincerely.

Jay

Dec 10, 2011 at 06:57 PM

Fr3d
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p.1 #13 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

I assume these are center crops. My Sigma 50 1.4 looked nearly identical to yours around the letters "Graphics".

Dec 10, 2011 at 07:31 PM

scalesusa
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p.1 #14 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

Was it manually focused or autofocus? What was the distance?

These things will affect the sharpness.

Dec 10, 2011 at 10:04 PM

LocoPhoto
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p.1 #15 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

Yes, they're center crops, and camera was on a tripod when these were taken I just learned.

Ok to pull the trigger I think?

Anybody have a Sigma 50/1.4 that is just noticeably sharper? Hoping to hear from someone that has a copy that is toward the top end of what this lens can offer.

Thanks again everyone, very much wanting to get a good copy of this lens, and then an 85L to complement it.

Jay

Dec 10, 2011 at 10:07 PM

reno.peterson
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p.1 #16 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

I have the Sigmalux 50 f/1.4 also, and have always been pleased with it. I did MA on it the other night for my 7D after having it for about a year, and WOW...

Dec 10, 2011 at 10:19 PM

TeamSpeed
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p.1 #17 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

Full size: http://teamspeed.smugmug.com/Church-and-Family/The-Kids/9350014_5BW4gD#1452550786_MLRTrxN-O-LB

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Full size: http://teamspeed.smugmug.com/Church-and-Family/The-Kids/9350014_5BW4gD#808059409_i5wdw-O-LB

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Full size: http://teamspeed.smugmug.com/Church-and-Family/The-Kids/9350014_5BW4gD#812716853_SULVB-O-LB

Dec 10, 2011 at 10:30 PM

LocoPhoto
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p.1 #18 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

Thank you TeamSpeed!

I'm not on a computer that has any way of looking at the EXIF, any chance you could update me on the basic specs?

I'm guessing a crop camera, but want to be sure they were shot at 1.4? Depth of field sure says so, but I'm new to a lens like this so I don't want to trust my judgement on this one.

You're Blessed if those are your kids.

Thanks sincerely for those samples, makes the samples I provided look soft to me, but hopefully the next set of samples I'm being sent will be of subject matter that has eyelashes so I can compare like for like. Don't see how the next set could look as good as these you provided though...

Thanks again, TeamSpeed, truly appreciate taking the time,

Jay

Dec 11, 2011 at 03:12 AM

trumpet_guy
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p.1 #19 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

I think the f/1.4 shot is a little misfocused.

I'd suggest doing some searches in the Alternative forum two to three years back.
There were many, many posts back then about bokeh, sharpness, and
autofocus accuracy. This thread is particularly noteworthy:
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/661966

My obsolete site on pbase has lots of photos at f/1.4
http://www.pbase.com/tswen/sig50af

Regards,
Tim

Dec 11, 2011 at 06:46 AM

jj_glos
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p.1 #20 · Is this as sharp as Sigma 50/1.4 gets at 1.4?

I enjoy using mine. I wouldn't say it was razor sharp wide open, but then I have come to realise that "razor sharp" varies considerably from person to person!

Jennie by jj_glos, on Flickr

Edit: The shot above is actually at f2.0, this one is wide open though:

Jennie by jj_glos, on Flickr

Dec 11, 2011 at 03:47 PM

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