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josephus656
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Registered: Jan 14, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 62
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Review Date: Apr 14, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $442.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Best lowlight I have seen around until something comes along and out performs it in price, quality, and overall picture quality at any f stop.
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Cons:
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Flrst one has to get to know this lens is not just another fifty but rather a specilized tool for special image results. no cons to note
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I have this in my tool box where I can pull it out for thoses jobs that is best suited. I am sure of long use for my Art and Design
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 Apr 14, 2009
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kjeldsen
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Registered: Apr 1, 2009
Location: Denmark
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Apr 1, 2009
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: $580.00
| Rating: 3
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Pros:
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1.4, Good build quality.
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Cons:
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Considering the price compared to the standard 50MM i expected more.
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I expected razor sharp images, sadly i didn´t get what i expected so i returned the lens.
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Apr 1, 2009
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dbm305
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Registered: Mar 31, 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Mar 31, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharper than most 50s in a wide area at f1.4-2.8; excellent bokeh, good contrast
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Cons:
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focus shift on stopping down (needs +8 microadjust on my body wide open, but +4 gives better results from f2.5). Perhaps corner sharpness at optimal apertures (5.6 and 8) not quite as high as conventional 50s. Heavy and large.
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This is a marvellous lens to use if what you want is blurred backgrounds at wide apertures. It's sharper in the central area ( a generous central area) than any f1.4 I've used at f 1.4 to about f 2.5. And the bokeh is lovely. So it's exquisite for those purposes. But if you are using it as a general purpose lens at 2.8, 4, 5.6 and 8 then you are probably wasting your dough. It's good at these apertures of course, but no better than a canon 50 1.8 (and therefor I'm guessing any other good prime 50). So you are paying a lot for very heavy lens in that case.
But of course that lovely result at f2 is worth the money for me....
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Mar 31, 2009
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JRKO
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Registered: Jan 13, 2009
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 5
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Review Date: Mar 26, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Great bokeh - super sharp - nice weight - looks serious!
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Cons:
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some focusing issues
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Great lens for walking around with fixed focal length. Still trying to get used to the very limited DOF.
http://jrko.zenfolio.com/p777028168/h1dd6fc15#h1dd6fc15
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Mar 26, 2009
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abam
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Registered: Apr 25, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 4201
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Review Date: Mar 25, 2009
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 6
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Pros:
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nice build quality, very sharp when it hits focus, not terribly expensive for the potential IQ it might be able to offer, includes a hood, mounts nice and tightly to canon bodies...
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Cons:
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back focusing AND front focusing, 60% throwaway rate because of inaccurate focusing, strange finish, which could either come off as trendy - or cheap.
i am selling this at first chance.
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i'll keep this short:
i own the 35L, and know how to shoot a standard focal length at f1.4 -- my copy of this lens is utterly unreliable at focusing, even at f7.
to be fair, it's stunning when it does focus correctly, and the build quality is very reassuring. (the finish is a little... 'hokey,' though.)
unfortunately, because i can't rely on getting the focus i want for any given shot with this lens, and i don't have this problem with any of my other wide primes, and this lens already has a widespread reputation for sample variation, it's going back and will not be replaced.
i'll stick to oem primes from now on. (dear canon: please update the 50 1.4.)
=/
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Mar 25, 2009
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Jman13
Online
Buy and Sell: On
Registered: May 2, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 8071
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Review Date: Mar 20, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $460.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp, absolutely beautiful bokeh, nice color and contrast, good handling and build.
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Cons:
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longitudinal chromatic abberation and some blooming is possible on high contrast subjects at very wide apertures.
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I've had this lens for a little while now, and I also purchased a 50 f/1.2L near the same time to see the difference, and I returned the L. I do not have any focus issues whatsoever....this lens is very accurate for me at any focus distance.
The lens is very sharp right from f/1.4, but can show some blooming at high contrast subjects when shooting at closer distances. It also shows some longitudinal CA, though it's better controlled than the 50L. By f/1.8, the lens is already near its peak resolution, and it's very sharp throughout the aperture range.
Bokeh is stunning. It easily ranks among the best bokeh lenses I've ever used. It destroys the Canon 50 f/1.4, and is as good or better than the 50L.
Color and contrast are very good, and there's little drop in contrast at f/1.4.
Focus for me, as mentioned, has been very accurate. The lens focuses quickly, though not as fast as some of my other lenses (35L, 100 f/2, 70-200 f/4L IS). Build is solid...typical Sigma EX.
Overall, I view this lens as an exceptional value. It rivals the 50L in essentially every way except maximum aperture for 1/3 the price. Hard to beat!
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Mar 20, 2009
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Bobby Yarner
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Registered: May 1, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 407
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Review Date: Mar 17, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp, bokeh, control of CA
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Cons:
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Finish is kinda stupid but I can deal with that
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I haven't had the focus issues that many are experiencing with this lens.
I may have been lucky but maybe sigma is working on their QC.
The lens is pretty sharp at 1.4–close to my 35 1.4 but not quite as sharp.
For portraits this is perfect.
For the record I use this on a 5D mk I
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Mar 17, 2009
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15Bit
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Registered: Jan 27, 2008
Location: Norway
Posts: 2935
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Review Date: Mar 15, 2009
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 5
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Pros:
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Build quality, sharpness wide open, bokeh
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Cons:
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Serious backfocus problems at 10ft+
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I tried hard to buy one of these, but testing of several copies in shop all showed the same backfocus problems on all: Whilst at close distances autofocus would be spot on, at 20ft to target the lenses all backfocussed about 3-4ft. Given the build quality and excellent image quality it is a disappointment that the autofocus hasn't been sorted.
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Mar 15, 2009
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kevindar
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Registered: May 6, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 1926
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Review Date: Mar 6, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $500.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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bokeh, built, price, color, contrast
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Cons:
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some autofocus issues.
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Yes, I consider this lens a bargain, and I paid full retail price when it came out. the color and contrast and bokeh are not far from the 85 1.2. I like it better than my 35 1.4, and even better than that 135 f2 (mostly due to focal length though). Mine did require a visit to sigma for slight front focusing though.
wide open, has very good center sharpness and good corner sharpness. not as sharp as 85 1.2, but still very good. stopped down its excellent as would be expected. handling and finish is very nice.
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Mar 6, 2009
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Steven Myatt
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Registered: Nov 29, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Mar 3, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $460.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp wide open. Low vignetting. Low Flaring.
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Cons:
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Huge size. Pricey. Bug-eyed onlookers.
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After reading other reviews, I was expecting focusing problems on my Canon 40D. Wrong. One of the first pictures I took was the tip of a fence post at 3Ft (f1.4). Razor-sharp. In fact, I took this lens up to State College PA for the weekend and every single shot focused smack-on. 100% keeper rate. So much for focus problems.
I took night shots at f1.4 to test sharpness and low-light focus capabilities. Wow. Focus was again perfect and no other f1.4 lens I've ever had yielded better corner-to-corner sharpness.
During the day, I took pictures with the sun just out of the frame and the results were excellent. Lens hood? Who needs it?
I carefully looked at every picture I took over the weekend and each one was exceptional. Contrast, color, sharpness were all outstanding. In short, this is the kind of lens you want to leave on your camera all the time. The only drawback is that it's a prime lens so you sometimes have to do some moving to get the shot. The results are always worth it.
Some of the reviews here say their Nikon 50 beat out this lens in sharpness. Others say that it won't focus. They could be 100% correct. My copy of this lens didn't show these problems. My copy DESTROYS every 50mm lens I've ever used (Mamiya, Pentax, Canon) in sharpness (especially in the money-area of f1.4 to f2.8). My copy focuses perfectly every time... even when I whip the camera up and fire off a shot.
Because of the differences in reviews, the thought occurs to me that the initial offerings of this lens might have had quality control issues. I wonder if people who are now buying this lens are having experiences like mine. Time will tell.
Anyway, if you can put up with the size, the gaping stares of other people, and the price, this is a lens I highly recommend. If you buy the lens after this review is posted and you have "issues", I'm sure everyone would love to hear about it since it could answer questions about quality control vs. new product growing pains. For me though, this lens has NO "issues" and was worth every penny.
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Mar 3, 2009
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rk-d
Offline
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Registered: Feb 26, 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 109
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Review Date: Mar 1, 2009
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: $438.00
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Bokeh is exceptionally smooth. HSM. Nice carrying case. Balances beautifully on the d700. Considering the construction and elements, the lens is a bargain compared to the Nikon alternatives.
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Cons:
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Multiple copies have had serious front focusing issues. Sharpness is not quite as good as Nikon when wide open. CA. Huge lens negates some of the size advantages of primes (not a big deal for me).
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There is alot to commend in this lens -- it's bokeh is beautiful -- reminds me of the Nikon 85 1.4 in some respects. The HSM motor is reasonably quick and quiet. The sharpness when stopped down >2.8 is excellent. The color is warmer than a more honest lens, but it's a pleasing warmth that's easily 'fixable' with PP.
The problem is that both copies of this lens I used had significant front focusing issues. Both copies required +20 (whereas my other lenses work perfectly fine). Even with correction, the sharpness wide open was not at the level of my old AF-D Nikon lens. I cannot say whether the lenses I bought had uncorrectable front focusing, had unreliable focus acquisition or were intrinsically less sharp than the competition.
I suspect there are other Sigmas that are more sharp and perhaps this problem is exacerbated on the FX d700. If I have to sort through a number of lenses to find a holy grail Sigma, then it's not worth my time.
If the Sigma is simply less sharp than the Nikons, then this comes down to taste. I personally prefer the superior sharpness with the slightly inferior bokeh seen in the Nikon AF-D. Others may choose the creaminess of the Sigma, but I personally find the QC problems I've experienced with this lens to be discomforting. The lens has been returned.
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Mar 1, 2009
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Dumbblond
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Registered: Feb 29, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 20
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Review Date: Feb 16, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $445.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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This lense gives that wonderful buttery appearance to my subject but with sharp focus points. The bokeh is magnificent and I find the auto focus is fast. I love the 4 year warranty from Sigma, the case it comes with and hood. I find the 77mm filter size great because it matches my L series lenses. That too is a plus for me. One of my favorite lenses!
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Cons:
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Price compared with Canon. But I got everything I paid for .
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Feb 16, 2009
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whitetail
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Registered: May 21, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 140
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Review Date: Feb 13, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $449.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Bokeh, sharpness. contrast, low light performance, AF, build, warranty!
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Cons:
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some CA wider open, price
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I loved this lens the minute I pulled it out of the box. It is sharp, the bokeh is creamy, and it performs well under low light. I upgraded to this from the Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, and I'll admit there's leaps and bounds in difference. I haven't had any issues with it at all, though I wish there was less CA. However, my Canon 50 was a lot worse, so I'm fine with it. This locks right on target, even in the dark. I am just shocked with its brilliance. I considered getting the Canon 50mm f/1.4, but after trying it...this blows Canon's 50s out of the water. I'll wager it gives the 50 L a run for it's money. This came brand new with a 4 year warranty from Sigma, case, and hood. I think it's a better deal overall.
I was a little appalled at the price compared to other 50s. But for me, it was worth every penny.
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Feb 13, 2009
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U.C.
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Registered: May 25, 2008
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 457
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Review Date: Feb 7, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $480.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Bokeh, focus speed and accuracy. Build quality.
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Cons:
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A bit heavy and pricey for a 50mm prime. 77mm filters aren't cheap also.
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I have this lens for 6 weeks now and it's a great lens. The bokeh is beautiful and colours are very nice. It's sharp and focussing is fast and accurate, even at f/1.4 . I've tested it in the shop against the Canon 50mm f/1.4 and f/1.8, but the output of the Sigma was nicer than the Canons (the bokeh was far nicer than the f/1.8). Build quality is als superior to the canon f/1.4 . Ok, its heavier and pricier, but it's an excellent choice if you could spend 350-400 euro's.
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Feb 7, 2009
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Vernon Sampson
Offline
Buy and Sell: On
Registered: Apr 29, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 42
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Review Date: Jan 31, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Build is solid. Nice balance on my cameras. Very sharp. Focus is fast. Handles flaring better than Canon 50 1.4; Center resolution is not far from Canon 50mm 1.2; You get the hood & a nice padded case too.
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Cons:
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None what so ever.
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Jan 31, 2009
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Doug Vann
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Registered: Dec 18, 2004
Location: Canada
Posts: 45
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Review Date: Jan 30, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $620.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Solid build, great portrait shots, quality pictures.
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Cons:
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A little pricy.
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I was considering the Canon 50 f1.4 but prefered the build quality of the Sigma to the Canon. This is my first non-Canon lens. Have had some great shots with this lens.
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Jan 30, 2009
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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103
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133693
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Jan 23, 2013
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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80% of reviewers
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$468.74
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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9.02
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8.33
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8.7
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