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Archive 2015 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?

  
 
Dpedraza
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p.5 #1 · p.5 #1 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


theSuede wrote:
Seriously? Because the Sigma 50 is almost two times more complicated in construction, uses three times more glass surface area to correct aberrations, and costs more than four as much to build? Because it's better optically by quite a big margin?

If Sigma chose to make the 50/1.4 a normal extended ultron 7/8 (like C/N) it would no doubt cost LESS than the C/N lenses. But it isn't - it's built retrofocal, like the Zeiss OTUS and the 35/1.4 lenses. This is what makes it so superior in optical quality.

If you want to compare price, compare the Sigma 35/1.4 to C/N,
...Show more
Well I was going to say I know that they meant the 50 Art to compete with the Otus which is optically complex as well. I forgot the fact that the 50 art isn't your run of the mill 8 elements.



Jun 04, 2015 at 02:08 PM
Chestnut
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p.5 #2 · p.5 #2 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


Aside from what the other posters have already said about firmware updates and focus adjustments, some of the Sigma lenses (such as the 120-300/2.8 SPORT) also give you the ability to prioritize Speed vs Accuracy/Smoothness of the AF motor. Something like that is pretty nice to be able to dial it in yourself. (Yay for personal preference!)

Someone mentioned that it's evidence that Sigma can't get good at QC or managing their focus (paraphrasing), but like others have also said, it's not like Nikon can either. Most of their lenses I have needed a little fine tuning, and it's not always perfect. And Sigma provides multiple intervals of tuning, so that's much better than Nikon's "one setting for all distances" option.

That also means I only need one $60 dock to do tuning, firmware updates, personalizations to all my new Sigma lenses... that's the cost of shipping to get one of my Nikons for a firmware fix (reference the new 300mm/4 PF issue with D800 series bodies, and how Nikon requires the consumer to pay for sending it in for a firmware fix that should have been good from the factory to begin with).

And doing it at home also protects you against the shipping agency (UPS, FedEx, postal service, etc.) from banging your lens, and damaging it in transit, or worse yet, have Nikon blame anything wrong to "Impact Damage" you've never subjected your lenses to.



Jun 04, 2015 at 06:49 PM
Arka
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p.5 #3 · p.5 #3 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


crewshin wrote:
Arka: Woa enhance calm. VTXT is asking an honest question from... get this... his point of view. I understand that might not be your own pov, but that's actually the definition of someones pov. Right? So much attitude in your comment.


Thanks so much for explaining the concept of subjective point of view to me. Wisdom like this is but one example of why the Internet is such a great source of useful knowledge.

VTXT wrote:
No i'm not a pro and have no need for a 1.4 50mm, 1.8 is good enough for me 99% of the time. The depth of the field is so shallow at 1.4 and the point of sharp focus is very small, I just don't see the added sharpness of the sigma art 50 being that significant at 1.4 compared to a nifty fifty at 1.8.


The ability to shoot at f/1.4 versus f/1.8 can be quite significant to many people, if not yourself. And the difference in price between the Nikon 50 f/1.8 and the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 isn't all that much at all given that you get close to one extra stop of light that is actually usable. Some systems charge you a hell of a lot more for an extra stop (See, Noctilux f/0.95 at $10,000 versus Summilux f/1.4 at $4000 or Summicron f/2 at $2000).

I've also had very bad experience with every sigma lenses I tried, 30mm 1.4, 18-50 2.8, 50-150mm 2.8, and countless others. 3rd party lenses, especially Sigmas and Tamrons, don't focus well at all once the light level goes down little bit. That is why I will never buy 3rd party lenses again.

Comments like this are repeated ad infinitum on "internet chat boards." They usually reflect a lack of experience with the newer generation of Sigma or other 3d party lenses that don't exhibit the problems you experience (or older lenses that don't exhibit those issues, like Sigma's 85 f/1.4 or 150mm Macro). Your biases are your own, but they may not be justified in light of the quality of many of Sigma's lenses, particularly their more recent efforts.



Jun 05, 2015 at 06:59 AM
trenchmonkey
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p.5 #4 · p.5 #4 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


The ability to shoot at f/1.4 versus f/1.8 can be quite significant to many people, if not yourself. And the difference in price between the Nikon 50 f/1.8 and the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 isn't all that much at all given that you get a full extra stop of light that is actually usable.

Actually, it's 2/3 of a stop. f1.4 _ f1.6 _ f1.8 > f2.0 would be a full stop.



Jun 05, 2015 at 07:11 AM
Charles Loy
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p.5 #5 · p.5 #5 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


This thread is 100% proof that there is a LOT of HOOPLA regarding the Sigma ART lenses. I've read enough, the end for me.


Jun 05, 2015 at 07:44 AM
DaveOls
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p.5 #6 · p.5 #6 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


I think that Sigma upped their quality with their Art series lens. Plus the lens dock is another innovation. Isn't it Sigma that will also change out your mount if you switch from one brand to another? How's all that for innovation?
Just after I bought my Nikon N 6006, I got a Sigma 28-85mm macro lens and won first place in a photo contest at the company I worked at. I got a $ 300 prize that more than paid for the lens.



Jun 05, 2015 at 01:20 PM
mawz
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p.5 #7 · p.5 #7 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


rw11 wrote:
sounds like this 50 mm lens has several adv.s over the stock (low end) Nikons as per the compilation above, but maybe not the 58 mm Nocti replacement Nikon; it is MUCH less spendy than the Otus

and that fine tuning is very cumbersome compared to a Nikon

the adv.s may or may not apply to other focal lengths where Nikon has "more serious" offerings such as 85 or 24 mm

- is this a fair summary?

BTW the 24 mm ART is now shipping


How is the fine tuning cumbersome compared to Nikon? Nikon offers no such tuning for the lens, while the Sigma's still can use the Focus Tuning on Nikon bodies with that feature. So you get exactly what Nikon offers, along with the possibility to do additional tuning that requires shipping to Nikon, but with the Sigma it's merely done at your desk. Far less cumbersome than shipping a lens to Nikon and hoping they won't simply tag it "within spec" and ship it back.



Jun 05, 2015 at 04:15 PM
rw11
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p.5 #8 · p.5 #8 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


you have to use the dock - is that right?

OTOH, it appears you can do tuning at various distances, or for a zoom, focal lengths - not sure as many posts here are ambiguous



Jun 05, 2015 at 05:54 PM
mawz
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p.5 #9 · p.5 #9 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


rw11 wrote:
you have to use the dock - is that right?

OTOH, it appears you can do tuning at various distances, or for a zoom, focal lengths - not sure as many posts here are ambiguous


The dock controls AF calibration on the lens, there's no way to do that with Nikon lenses short of sending in to the Nikon Service Centre.

Nikon's AF Fine Tune controls AF calibration in the body, with a given set of per-lens settings. This works with any lens with a distinct lens ID (there's older 3rd party lenses which misreport their ID and thus have problems if you have more than one lens which reports the same lens ID to the body). As this is body-based, it can be used with Sigma lenses, although it's a much cruder method as it is a single parameter tune.



Jun 05, 2015 at 06:01 PM
James R
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p.5 #10 · p.5 #10 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


The Arts are sharp lenses. But, in some situations they seem to render a rather sterile image. I prefer portraits rendered by a 58G wide open. It is a personal opinion and not one I would bother to argue about. The photographer has to pick the lenses that best represents his vision. Many Leica lenses are not always the sharpest, however, they do render images that have that "look" I've not seen with other lenses.

To me, sharpness is just one of many factors that go into evaluating a lens.




Sep 25, 2015 at 10:07 PM
fdevyatkin
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p.5 #11 · p.5 #11 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


I think the op is trolling from Sigma, getting you guys to extol the virtues of the Art lenses, and get the rest of us to lust after them.
I know it worked on me. Now I must look at that 50!
Haha, Fred



Sep 26, 2015 at 07:58 AM
jmai86
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p.5 #12 · p.5 #12 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


I avoid sigma lenses after being burned on 4 or 5 different ones, the last of which was the 50 art. Sharpness and image quality mean nothing to me if the autofocus is so inconsistent (manual focus is a no go for anything other than studio work or with split prism viewfinders).

Personally I don't believe in having to "fine tune" a lens out of the box for it to work like it should, I've never had any egregious focus issues with first party glass on either Canon or Nikon. I consider it a broken lens.

Maybe I've just has terrible luck, but it has changed my perception of their goods for my type of shooting.



Sep 26, 2015 at 11:29 PM
leighton w
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p.5 #13 · p.5 #13 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


James R wrote:
The Arts are sharp lenses. But, in some situations they seem to render a rather sterile image. I prefer portraits rendered by a 58G wide open. It is a personal opinion and not one I would bother to argue about. The photographer has to pick the lenses that best represents his vision. Many Leica lenses are not always the sharpest, however, they do render images that have that "look" I've not seen with other lenses.

To me, sharpness is just one of many factors that go into evaluating a lens.



I agree. I wanted a walk-around lens so I bought the 24-105mm/4 Art. Although it's a very sharp lens and I really liked the focal range, I just wasn't happy with the images I was getting. You said it best when you said they looked "sterile". I also wasn't crazy about the bokeh at the wide end. I ended up returning it. YMMV.



Sep 27, 2015 at 05:19 AM
Almass
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p.5 #14 · p.5 #14 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


I strongly advise to avoid Sigma lenses as they are utter rubbish

Guess the Sigma or Nikon?








Edited on Oct 10, 2015 at 03:55 AM · View previous versions



Sep 29, 2015 at 06:13 AM
fdevyatkin
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p.5 #15 · p.5 #15 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


Nice model/portrait!
Fred



Sep 29, 2015 at 06:20 AM
gfinlayson
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p.5 #16 · p.5 #16 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


Jason_Brook wrote:
Sigma did it before art; however their 85 is the ONLY example I can think of. My copy of the Sigma 85/1.4 is the sharpest lens I own wide open, sharper than the art lenses.


I used to love my Nikon 85 f/1.8 G. Then I read Ryan Brenizer's review of the Sigma 85 f/1.4. I had experienced occasions in low light where the Nikon struggled to focus and the AF was never blisteringly fast. I snagged a bargain ex-display version from a Sigma dealer on ebay a few months ago and I've never looked back.



Sep 29, 2015 at 05:14 PM
gfinlayson
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p.5 #17 · p.5 #17 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


jmai86 wrote:
I avoid sigma lenses after being burned on 4 or 5 different ones, the last of which was the 50 art. Sharpness and image quality mean nothing to me if the autofocus is so inconsistent (manual focus is a no go for anything other than studio work or with split prism viewfinders).

Personally I don't believe in having to "fine tune" a lens out of the box for it to work like it should, I've never had any egregious focus issues with first party glass on either Canon or Nikon. I consider it a broken lens.

Maybe I've just has
...Show more

I've had to AF fine-tune ALL of my lenses on both of my D800s to get acceptable results wide open. The high res sensors present serious challenges to PDAF when coupled with the shallow DoF of fast lenses. AF fine tune is built-in to Nikon bodies for a reason. Having to use it doesn't mean your lens (or camera for that matter) is broken.




Sep 29, 2015 at 05:23 PM
gfinlayson
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p.5 #18 · p.5 #18 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


Almass wrote:
I strongly advise to avoid Sigma lenses as they are utter rubbish

Guess the Sigma or Nikon?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/Duke_1/_DSC0661%201_zpsok6mow73.jpg


Sigma!




Sep 29, 2015 at 05:26 PM
Alaarx
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p.5 #19 · p.5 #19 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


Great lenses - if they would make a fast 28mm Art that would be the dream. I know the 28/1.8 is good but the field curvature gets to me sometimes and a 28/50/85 kit would be great. Unfortunately with the just released 24mm its looking doubtful for a while.


Sep 30, 2015 at 03:49 AM
Pavel
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p.5 #20 · p.5 #20 · What's all this hoopla about Sigma art lenses?


Almass wrote:
I strongly advise to avoid Sigma lenses as they are utter rubbish

Guess the Sigma or Nikon?



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/Duke_1/_DSC0661%201_zpsok6mow73.jpg


whichever lens it is ... it is either front focusing ... or someone focused more on the bust rather than the face!

Perhaps the sigma art line is designed to focus on woman's breasts ... making most photographers say " I don't quite know what it is about this line ... but I like it!".



Oct 06, 2015 at 06:55 PM
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