out of these..which one is the sharpest wide open? or maybe stop down a bit.
i currently have the zeiss but i find it little soft for my taste. (wide open)
which one is the sharpest??
thanks.
The Zeiss ZF 50 f:1.4 is indeed slightly soft wide open. It corrects that by f:2.0, and becomes stunningly sharp from f:4.0 to infinity. The Sigma f:1.4 is optimized the other way around: at its best close up and wide open, and least impressive stopped down and at infinity.
The quest for the "perfect 50" has yet to be successful.
From F/1.4 to F/2.8 I prefer the Sigma for general photography. It's better than my AIS50/1.4 (same as the AFD50/1.4) and has better small-level contrast than the 50AFS at wide apertures (inverse at smaller apertures). A good copy of this lens that functions well with your AF is probably the best overall bet. If you can take the F/2 limitation, the Zeiss F/2 macro is most probably better. But then, If you're on DX - try the Tamron 60F/2 macro... :-)
jaehoppa wrote:
is zeiss 50mm f2 macro good for general use? aren't macro's designed for close up shots or doesn't matter?
It depends on the lens, the ZF 50 f/2 looks to be an excellent all around lens. If I had the cash for one and planned on upgrading to 30-40mp FX bodies in the future, it'd be the standard lens to own.
most, if not all, Nikon mount ~50mm macros are going to be amazingly sharp wide open.
a VERY good and also very cheap option would be the Nikon 50mm f2.0 AI. This lens is small, cheap, and just amazing wide open to one stop down. It takes such beautiful pictures.
because is the only working at this focal!
Or perhaps just mine is special 
