mh2000 wrote:
I am completely baffled by the people claiming the Sigma has too smooth a bokeh... worried that somehow a background is going to magically be smeared completely away with a 50mm lens. Stop down to f2 or f2.8 if you think you are getting too much blur. Much easier to deal with smooth than a harsh and busy bokeh.
I think there is an anti-Sigma anti-nonalternative lens bias going on here (honestly, I probably suffer that a little myself... nothing sexy or cool about a Sigma 50/1.4, right?)
Wow, that's exactly what I was going to say. From what you hear here, I would expect if you shot a Canon 50/1.4 next to a Sigma 50/1.4 at f/11, the Sigma's background would like Monet threw up on the background, while the Canon would be razor sharp. Clearly this Sigma has some sort of dark magical power!
Some people here have spent the last few years (and untold thousands of dollars) buying and testing all varieties of exotic lenses to find The Perfect Bokeh. When they find a particularly good lens, they post images with some noisy background thrown out of focus, and other members coo "Look at the bokeh! It's so creamy! Better than that Canon crap the peasants use!"
Fast forward to today, as Sigma releases a 50 with perhaps the creamiest bokeh of all. Sigma!? Perhaps predictably, the nobility staggers for a moment, but quickly regains its composure and comes up with a plan of attack: "The bokeh is too smooth!"
TOO SMOOTH!?
I expected the exotic lens evangelists to find something on the Sigma to attack. Perhaps the "Sigma yellow"? Or Sigma's typical hyper-sensitive AF? Perhaps a build quality] criticism ("eek, I saw plastic!")? Or if all else fails, the old Sigma chipping horrors? But too smooth?
I understand that image quality is completely subjective, but I never expected the faithful to rally around the very quality that they praise in their own lenses. This is a baffling new height of snobbery. It's also a great litmus test to see who here is truly looking for high performance lenses, versus who is just looking for the most exclusive lenses to bring to show & tell.
Sigma should call up Zeiss and ask them if they would like to produce a rebranded version of this lens. They could sell it for $1000 to some folks here.
I am very excited about the IQ of the Sigma. I WANT the creamy bokeh - as a portrait shooter that is highly desirable.
However, the one thing that concerns me are the multiple reports of AF issues. I doubt that many copies of the Sigma have been sold yet, and I have already read at least four accounts of AF problems (there may be more). It would be a shame if the wonderful IQ of the Sigma were obscured by persistent focus issues.
Once I receive mine I plan to do a focus test, and if there are any problems I may just return it for another one, or I may send it back to Sigma for calibration. I guess I want to know that they can be successfully calibrated before I decide to keep it and lose the chance for a return/exchange.
With my copy, on the Mark III, AF doesn't do the nasty swtich from front- to back-focus at short/long distance, but even with a lens calibration setting of +20 it still front focuses, so I won't be able to keep this one.
Could someone please describe the "switch from front-to-back focus at short/long distance" issue in more detail so I know what to look out for when I receive my copy on Tuesday?
Well the sample I tested twice focused totally wrong at distance, probably far behind the subject.
I first thought I did something wrong but it apperared again when testing the lens again.
It's something that can happen... simply miscalibrated or broken but it doesn't give me enough confidence to buy one without testing.
Mine seems to autofocus as well as most Canon lenses, but I admit that
I don't trust the AF on my XT and 30D bodies, so I'm perpetually using the
"pump the * button then adjust manually" trick.
This is the main reason I'm so tempted to get a 5D. I want a larger viewfinder.
Manual focus is fine for 90% of what I shoot, but I want a viewfinder that
allows accurate manual focus.
Those worried about the Sigma should just consider getting it from Amazon
and then promptly sending back (or sending it to Sigma) if it doesn't meet
expectations. Amazon has the simplest return procedure in cyberspace.
I got mine from Canoga Camera and it has worked out fine.
trumpet_guy wrote:
Mine seems to autofocus as well as most Canon lenses, but I admit that
I don't trust the AF on my XT and 30D bodies, so I'm perpetually using the
"pump the * button then adjust manually" trick.
This is the main reason I'm so tempted to get a 5D. I want a larger viewfinder.
Manual focus is fine for 90% of what I shoot, but I want a viewfinder that
allows accurate manual focus.
Those worried about the Sigma should just consider getting it from Amazon
and then promptly sending back (or sending it to Sigma) if it doesn't meet
expectations. Amazon has the simplest return procedure in cyberspace.
I got mine from Canoga Camera and it has worked out fine. ...Show more →
What what might be the "pump the * button" trick? havent heard this one.
CKrueger wrote:
Wow, that's exactly what I was going to say. From what you hear here, I would expect if you shot a Canon 50/1.4 next to a Sigma 50/1.4 at f/11, the Sigma's background would like Monet threw up on the background, while the Canon would be razor sharp. Clearly this Sigma has some sort of dark magical power!
Some people here have spent the last few years (and untold thousands of dollars) buying and testing all varieties of exotic lenses to find The Perfect Bokeh. When they find a particularly good lens, they post images with some noisy background thrown out of focus, and other members coo "Look at the bokeh! It's so creamy! Better than that Canon crap the peasants use!"
Fast forward to today, as Sigma releases a 50 with perhaps the creamiest bokeh of all. Sigma!? Perhaps predictably, the nobility staggers for a moment, but quickly regains its composure and comes up with a plan of attack: "The bokeh is too smooth!"
TOO SMOOTH!?
I expected the exotic lens evangelists to find something on the Sigma to attack. Perhaps the "Sigma yellow"? Or Sigma's typical hyper-sensitive AF? Perhaps a build quality] criticism ("eek, I saw plastic!")? Or if all else fails, the old Sigma chipping horrors? But too smooth?
I understand that image quality is completely subjective, but I never expected the faithful to rally around the very quality that they praise in their own lenses. This is a baffling new height of snobbery. It's also a great litmus test to see who here is truly looking for high performance lenses, versus who is just looking for the most exclusive lenses to bring to show & tell.
Sigma should call up Zeiss and ask them if they would like to produce a rebranded version of this lens. They could sell it for $1000 to some folks here. ...Show more →
rattymouse wrote:
What what might be the "pump the * button" trick? havent heard this one.
I have custom function 4 set to value 3.
This moves the autofocus from the shutter button to the * button.
I am in one-shot AF mode. Push the * button and it focuses.
Push it again to have it re-lock focus. It is often in better focus
after the second acquistion.
I like having the focus separated from the act of taking the picture.
badlydrawnboy wrote:
However, the one thing that concerns me are the multiple reports of AF issues. I doubt that many copies of the Sigma have been sold yet, and I have already read at least four accounts of AF problems (there may be more). It would be a shame if the wonderful IQ of the Sigma were obscured by persistent focus issues.
I got the 50/1.4 shipped on Day #1 June 14th, yet my serial number was *still* 2905... (my 30/1.4 is 1861, and that was ordered almost two weeks after release). There are clearly thousands of copies out there already - and sold (reports that stores were sold out of the initial batch). I hadn't read about "fear of" and then discovering "focus issues" on the Japanese boards - but it was common on the English forums.
All too predictably, some people have problems getting their Sigma's to focus right...
trumpet_guy wrote:
I have custom function 4 set to value 3.
This moves the autofocus from the shutter button to the * button.
I am in one-shot AF mode.
I do the same but keep AF mode as Ai-Servo. When I need focus tracking I hold down on the star, but usually I focus once with it (20D with the 3x precision center point), recompose, and shoot. Having AI-Servo available at all times is critical with my candids... even center framing necessitates a crop in post.
I need one AF 50, and the Sigma is just what I was hoping for, reading this thread. 