Lightsearcher wrote:
I don't want to start a confrontation here but I have to say the 80% of the pictures (wide open) posted here are very soft, I don't know if it is the nature of this lens?, about the booked I found it just OK, a kind of "nervous" bokeh similar to the D series or AIS lens.
The review at Dpreview state about sharpness:
"Sharpness is unimpressive at F1.4. The centre of the frame improves quickly on stopping down, though, giving excellent results at F2.8. However the corners lag somewhat behind, and only really sharpen up fully at F8"
What is the benefit of this lens over the 50mm 1.4 Nikon/Sigma or the 85mm 1.4 Nikon/Sigma? I am missing something?
Lightsearcher wrote:
I don't want to start a confrontation here but I have to say the 80% of the pictures (wide open) posted here are very soft, I don't know if it is the nature of this lens?, about the booked I found it just OK, a kind of "nervous" bokeh similar to the D series or AIS lens.
The review at Dpreview state about sharpness:
"Sharpness is unimpressive at F1.4. The centre of the frame improves quickly on stopping down, though, giving excellent results at F2.8. However the corners lag somewhat behind, and only really sharpen up fully at F8"
What is the benefit of this lens over the 50mm 1.4 Nikon/Sigma or the 85mm 1.4 Nikon/Sigma? I am missing something?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder buddy Many people find this lens sharp enough and the rendering to be among the best in the whole Nikon, Canon and Sigma line up.
I am quite a pixel peeper, and I own some of the sharpest glass (200 F/2, 300 2.8 II, Sigma 35 1.4, Zeiss 21 2.8), and I find lens to be just fine for any print size.
Lightsearcher wrote:
I don't want to start a confrontation here but I have to say the 80% of the pictures (wide open) posted here are very soft, I don't know if it is the nature of this lens?, about the booked I found it just OK, a kind of "nervous" bokeh similar to the D series or AIS lens.
The review at Dpreview state about sharpness:
"Sharpness is unimpressive at F1.4. The centre of the frame improves quickly on stopping down, though, giving excellent results at F2.8. However the corners lag somewhat behind, and only really sharpen up fully at F8"
What is the benefit of this lens over the 50mm 1.4 Nikon/Sigma or the 85mm 1.4 Nikon/Sigma? I am missing something? ...Show more →
If 80% are soft it means that there are 20% that are sharp?
To be honest, I've also found many samples here on this thread (mine inclusive) not the sharpest but speaking only from my personal experience, it doesn't take much to be just slightly off when it comes to focusing this lens which makes the difference between critically sharp and adequately sharp. But the way the lens render makes the overall image acceptable to me although of course I'd rather every one of my shots to be critically sharp and spot on with focus.
The bokeh can sometimes be nervous. IMO, its the transition area that's the beauty of this lens, not outright creaminess in the completely defocussed portion of the image. This makes the subject pop in a different way. If the fall off in focus is very quick and abrupt, sometimes the subject looks as though it's been artificially pasted in. Whereas for this lens it seems to gently defocus with no abrupt transition zones. Thats why I feel this is one of the best, if not the best environmental portrait lens.
Anyways, its difficult to put into words but if the images don't do anything for you then its all good. Not everyone has to like the rendering.
PS: At 100% view, only the top 1/3 of her right eye and the tips of her lower lashes are in critical focus. That's how narrow the DOF is at f1.4 up close so it really doesn't take much to slightly mis-focus. So this would be considered an image that just missed critical focus but the overall rendering is good enough for me.
Well put and awesome picture! Here's my advice to anyone freaking about about this lens being soft (which it's not). Go rent the sigma 50art and see if all you need is a super sharp picture at 1.4. If you are happy, buy it. If you quickly realize that there is something missing (like I did), I think you know what to do next swifty168 wrote:
If 80% are soft it means that there are 20% that are sharp?
To be honest, I've also found many samples here on this thread (mine inclusive) not the sharpest but speaking only from my personal experience, it doesn't take much to be just slightly off when it comes to focusing this lens which makes the difference between critically sharp and adequately sharp. But the way the lens render makes the overall image acceptable to me although of course I'd rather every one of my shots to be critically sharp and spot on with focus.
The bokeh can sometimes be nervous. IMO, its the transition area that's the beauty of this lens, not outright creaminess in the completely defocussed portion of the image. This makes the subject pop in a different way. If the fall off in focus is very quick and abrupt, sometimes the subject looks as though it's been artificially pasted in. Whereas for this lens it seems to gently defocus with no abrupt transition zones. Thats why I feel this is one of the best, if not the best environmental portrait lens.
Anyways, its difficult to put into words but if the images don't do anything for you then its all good. Not everyone has to like the rendering.
https://swifty.smugmug.com/photos/i-g2xvV6b/0/X3/i-g2xvV6b-X3.jpg
PS: At 100% view, only the top 1/3 of her right eye and the tips of her lower lashes are in critical focus. That's how narrow the DOF is at f1.4 up close so it really doesn't take much to slightly mis-focus. So this would be considered an image that just missed critical focus but the overall rendering is good enough for me....Show more →
What program are you using? Lightroom? If so you need to downsize the resolution. Make 1280px on the long edge. File size I usually select is 700k for 1280.
its been a while since Ive paired up with the ole gal since her repair but she still isnt letting me down. Used the 58 to finish off an amazing session we had last night here in Atlanta. i went through the whole gamut of lenses, from the 20-35, 35 and 50 art, 58 and 85 1.4. all had their specific purposes with the shots I chose them for but I saved the 58 for the evening shots since I knew that it renders light just wonderfully.
nextelbuddy wrote:
its been a while since Ive paired up with the ole gal since her repair but she still isnt letting me down. Used the 58 to finish off an amazing session we had last night here in Atlanta. i went through the whole gamut of lenses, from the 20-35, 35 and 50 art, 58 and 85 1.4. all had their specific purposes with the shots I chose them for but I saved the 58 for the evening shots since I knew that it renders light just wonderfully.
Many people find this lens sharp enough and the rendering to be among the best in the whole Nikon, Canon and Sigma line up.
