Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
Username  

  New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site
  New Feature: SMS Notification alert
  New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist
  

FM Forums | Canon Forum | Join Upload & Sell

  

Archive 2014 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L

  
 
Focus Locus
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


Most of my searches compare the absolute resolving capacity between the Sigma 50mm ART 1.4 versus the Canon 50/1.2L, where most people seem to favor the ART.

What I'm trying to find out is if there is a difference in Autofocus reaction (or acquisition of focus in action photography) between these two lenses. As an example, the 85/1.8 focuses faster than an 85/1.2 v2, which focuses slight faster than an 85/1.2 v1.

Similarly, when considering the available 50mm options, I'd like to know which 50mm lens acquires focus faster and more consistently, when stopped down to f1.6 for narrow DOF action shots indoors in relatively low light.

For the last 10 years, I have used Canon's 50/1.4, which I will be replacing with a new lens. I'd like a better 50, if one exists.

Thanks in advance for the advice.



Nov 14, 2014 at 02:25 PM
PhilDrinkwater
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


I can tell you my experience - the canon was better on servo. The sigma just seemed to be "happy enough" when focus was close and it took more movement to get it to refocus.

Because of that I stuck with the canon. I was disappointed tbh as I really wanted to love the sigma and had my eye on the 50 and 85 art lenses...

I have heard fewer AF complaints from Nikon users of art lenses but the ones I've spoken to may be less rigorous in their testing than me. I don't know.



Nov 14, 2014 at 02:31 PM
deepbluejh
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


Accuracy is more important than speed - always. In my experience, Sigma fast primes just have not been as accurate as Canon Ls. Everything I've read about the new "Art" lenses suggest that they have gotten better, but still aren't quite there yet. I'm sure they're brilliant optically, but I'm holding onto my 50L and 85L for now.


Nov 14, 2014 at 03:52 PM
Focus Locus
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


For some work that I do, timing is everything, even if focus is "close enough" rather than perfect. Razor keen sharpness is always the goal, and is without a doubt ideal, but "good enough" is the lesser of two evils. The greater sin in this particular instance would be to miss-time the peak action. That's what the clients want proof of. Hence, I remain quite interested in how these two 50mm lenses (ART 1.4 vs 1.2L) compare in focus acquisition and tracking in AI Servo mode (on 1Dx).


Nov 14, 2014 at 04:16 PM
popinvasion
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


My 50art is more reliable faster and sharper than any 50L I've had my hands on.


Nov 14, 2014 at 05:05 PM
garyvot
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


I had a 50 Art for about a week. I had *zero* problems with focusing. In my testing, it was accurate and reliable; more so than the last copy of the 50L I had.

I have had problems with other Sigma lenses, but I think there are probably good copies of the Art to be had; certainly the one I tested worked well.



Nov 14, 2014 at 05:26 PM
Focus Locus
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


Please keep the feedback coming. I'm noting it all.

I'm also grinding through mountains of older posts under various search constructs, and from that reading, another related question has emerged:

Some ART 1.4 buyers complained of bad focus out of the box. However, instead of sending the lens back, they instead used the Sigma Dock to tweak the lens. Coming from a 1970's era initiation into photography, this business of being able to hook a lens up to a computer to adjust it is still very Flash Gordon to me, so the following question might be kind of dumb, so bear with me...

If a micro focus adjustment (MFA) is made only to the lens, based on it's performance with camera A, then what happens when that lens is attached to camera B, where cameras A & B are not only different cameras, but are also from different generations?

I can get my mind around making an MFA in a body (even though most of my bodies do not have this feature), because the lens can remain the same, and gets interpreted differently from body to body (if I understand this right). But if a lens is "tuned" to one body, and the optimization of that tuning takes the lens towards the extremes of it's adjustment scale, then what happens when the lens is attached to a different body?



Nov 14, 2014 at 05:47 PM
Gochugogi
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


I've been shooting with the EF 50 1.2L since 2008 and it's like a speed demon compared to my EF 50 1.4 USM and 50 1.8 (MKI) and much more accurate in low light to boot. But compared to my 24-105L it's a bit pokey. I haven't owned any EOS mount ART lens but my MFT 60 2.8 was decent at AF.

Among Canon's 50s, EF 50 2.5 CM has the most reliable AF, albeit not terribly fast.



Nov 14, 2014 at 07:45 PM
zlatko
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


Focus Locus wrote:
Please keep the feedback coming. I'm noting it all.

I'm also grinding through mountains of older posts under various search constructs, and from that reading, another related question has emerged:

Some ART 1.4 buyers complained of bad focus out of the box. However, instead of sending the lens back, they instead used the Sigma Dock to tweak the lens. Coming from a 1970's era initiation into photography, this business of being able to hook a lens up to a computer to adjust it is still very Flash Gordon to me, so the following question might be kind of dumb, so bear
...Show more

That is a great question. I guess the theory is that the lens will behave the same way on every body, and the AFMA on the bodies takes care of any differences between the bodies themselves.



Nov 14, 2014 at 10:47 PM
PhilDrinkwater
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


Focus Locus wrote:
Please keep the feedback coming. I'm noting it all.

I'm also grinding through mountains of older posts under various search constructs, and from that reading, another related question has emerged:

Some ART 1.4 buyers complained of bad focus out of the box. However, instead of sending the lens back, they instead used the Sigma Dock to tweak the lens. Coming from a 1970's era initiation into photography, this business of being able to hook a lens up to a computer to adjust it is still very Flash Gordon to me, so the following question might be kind of dumb, so bear
...Show more

Mine was bad (really bad) out of the box. I had the dock and tried it but couldn't get anything reliable so I sent it to Sigma.

I don't know the answer to your question though...



Nov 15, 2014 at 10:34 AM
leftcoastlefty
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


I don’t think either of these lenses are made for low light action, and I would think the camera body (AF system, specifically) would make more of a difference than the lens. I’m very happy with my 50 Art (with 5D3) in dim light, but I’m never shooting action. I think the 50 Art is plenty “snappy” with the focus. I just shot about 300 photos with 35 Art (with 5D3) in horrendous light for a professional gig. I was worried that a high percentage would be OOF, but it was actually only about 10%. Given the lighting, that’s a win. My first Sigma purchase was a 35 Art. It was optically horrible and I exchanged it in for another. The second was so nice that I pre-ordered the 50 Art. I’ve not needed to adjust either with the lens dock.


Nov 17, 2014 at 12:02 PM
Focus Locus
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


Gochugogi wrote:
I've been shooting with the EF 50 1.2L since 2008 and it's like a speed demon compared to my EF 50 1.4 USM and 50 1.8 (MKI) and much more accurate in low light to boot. But compared to my 24-105L it's a bit pokey. I haven't owned any EOS mount ART lens but my MFT 60 2.8 was decent at AF.

Among Canon's 50s, EF 50 2.5 CM has the most reliable AF, albeit not terribly fast.



Half of this post is what I was expecting... and the other half of it completely surprises me. I suspected Canon's 1.2 might autofocus faster than Canon's 1.4 and 1.8 for two reasons: The focus motor difference, and the larger aperture allowing the focus sensor in the camera to "see" better, even though the lens gets stopped down for the click.

But what really surprises me is the report that at f/4 minimum aperture, the more massive 25-105L focuses faster.

Something else occurred to me... the 1Dx has some type of built in "Lens Correction"... I imagine that only works with Canon branded lenses, right? For a high volume jpeg shooter where little to no post is done, would this built in lens correction tip the hand in favor of Canon branded glass?




Nov 17, 2014 at 12:40 PM
Charlie N
Online
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


I'm curious to what type of action you shoot with a 50mm. I mean I've been shooting 50mm for years, and it's hardly long enough for any kind of sports, and for kids playing around, probably the nifty fifty is the only inadequate due to it's horrible accuracy.


Nov 17, 2014 at 02:29 PM
Fred Meebley
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


Have you heard of LensRentals.com? They have a try before you buy program. I haven't tried it but I hear you can rent a lens, and they will give you credit for the rental price towards buying it, if you choose to.


Nov 17, 2014 at 02:44 PM
petr vokurek
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


I had the Sigma 50mm Art for about a week and shot enough with it to make an opinion. I certainly donīt want to discourage anyone from buying it, just sharing my experience. The lens is super sharp and cotrasty- all reviews prove this. My copy, however, had some significant focusing problems with my 5d III. It was very inconsistent and I could never rely on it. One frame would be spot on, the next frame would be off for no reason. In the end I returned it and have been super happy with the 24-70 f2,8 II. Very sharp and very reliable AF. I have been missing a fast 50mm, however, so next week Iīm buing the Canon 50L f1,2 once again. I used to have it and only sold it two years ago because I needed money to buy the 5d III. Iīd say itīs the best AF 50mm for Canon now available. Itīs not perfect but is much more reliable than the Siggy and thatīs very important to me. Also, I like the colour and contrast out of the Canon better. Itīs kind of softer and more pleasing to my eye. The Siggy is very contrasty straight out of the camera, almost to the point of being too much. Itīs certainly different than Canonīs lenses. Canonīs 50mm f1,4 is not really a lens to consider for serious proffessional use. Itīs not bad, in fact, itīs surprisingly good wide open. But mechanically itīs a piece of crap. Iīm always surprised that it doesnīt fall apart when Iīm using it:-) Itīs deffinitelly not a joy to use... Letīs hope that Canon makes a new 50mm f 1,2 or 1,4 which will become "the" perfect 50mm!


Nov 30, 2014 at 01:31 PM
kezeka
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


I didn't trust the 50L on servo or one shot using any point outside of the center point on my 5D2. It was slightly better but still not entirely trustworthy on a 1D3.


Nov 30, 2014 at 07:31 PM
jasonpatrick
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


I have had the Sigma 50 art for a couple months now. I also have the 24-70ii, the 135 f/2 and more recently the 85mm f/1.2. When I shoot families outdoors, the Sigma is sometimes the only lens I use, and I always use it. It's astonishingly good. I use it quite a bit of the time in servo mode between f/1.4 and f/2. It's not sports, but kids are always moving. The only lens I like more right now is the 85, but it still has the new toy feel .


Dec 01, 2014 at 06:53 AM
Ottawaphoto123
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · 50mm autofocus action: ART 1.4 vs. 1.2L


I have the 50 1.2 and I use it for photographing karate competitions. It is fast, sharp and I would not give it up for anything.




Jan 09, 2015 at 09:56 AM





FM Forums | Canon Forum | Join Upload & Sell

    
 

You are not logged in. Login or Register

Username       Or Reset password



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.