I've been asked to do some concert photography at a local venue for a friends band. I've never been a low light junkie, but I've had my eye on the EF 100mm 2.0 for a while, so this could be an excuse for me to get it.
Accordingly, I'm also thinking about wider (28, 35, 50) lens to go with it? How does the Sigma handle low light AF situations on a 1D MK II? Am I asking for trouble, or does it play nice with the 1D series AF system? OR, should I just stick with the Canon? Maybe I'll try and rent the Sigma first?
How much difference is there (light, DOF, AF speed, etc.) between a 1.4 and a 1.8?
Does anybody have any input along these lines about the Sigma?
Roger’s take: It's become apparent through many tests and online forums that the Sigma 50 is a ‘special’ lens. I was glad to find this out because it was driving me nuts. Its a very nice lens when you use it just right, with superb sharpness and smooth bokeh. But here’s the summary:
1) It works very well on crop frame cameras and at middle (5 to 15 feet) distance, so its a wonderful indoor lens.
2) On full frame cameras and to a slight extent on crop frame cameras the lens exhibits what I will term ‘schizophrenic autofocus’: Closer than 5 feet it will front focus, further than 20 feet it will backfocus. This is not a calibration issue, its just how it is.
I hear this lens is a smoker. Which would you reccomend: (1) Sigma 50 1.4, (2) Canon 50 1.4, or (3) Canon 50 1.2L? I trying to decide. My main interest is (1) Sharpness wide open, & (2) Creamy smooth bokeh.
philbinley wrote:
I hear this lens is a smoker. Which would you reccomend: (1) Sigma 50 1.4, (2) Canon 50 1.4, or (3) Canon 50 1.2L? I trying to decide. My main interest is (1) Sharpness wide open, & (2) Creamy smooth bokeh.
Sharpness wide open: pretty even among them all...the 50L and Sigma 50 are probably a bit sharper, but you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference in a print.
Bokeh:
Sigma 50 is best (in my book), followed VERY closely by the 50L, with the 50 f/1.4 lagging far behind.
RustyBug wrote:
Below is a bit from www.lensrentals.com
2) On full frame cameras and to a slight extent on crop frame cameras the lens exhibits what I will term ‘schizophrenic autofocus’: Closer than 5 feet it will front focus, further than 20 feet it will backfocus. This is not a calibration issue, its just how it is.
Thanks,
Kent
When I wrote that comment I didn't really understand focus shift. Diglloyd later wrote about focus shift in the Sigma 50 f1.4 and I found that was the explanation for what I called "schizophrenic autofocus". After reading his blog I went back and kept the lens wide open and it wasn't much of an issue - but stopped down to f2 where I usually shoot it shows up.
I've micro-adjusted the Sig to center the DoF on target at F/1.7-F/2.0, on both the Canon and the Nikon system (all AF-calibrated bodies). This works for me.
The only thing to think about is that used wide open it will focus a very tiny bit closer than the camera planned. The amount of front-focus this gives me is bordering between psychosomatic and nil.
This gave the most consistent through-the-stop-down-motion AF accuracy for me... YMMV.
On the 50L I found any kind of compromise setting to be useless - you just have to learn the lens "personality" and adjust your technique for it when shooting.
My autofocus results with the Sigma were generally almost as good as the
(very accurate) Canon 50/1.4 on my 5D as long as the distance was 15ft or less.
The Sigma is less accurate at longer distances, but this will be covered by the
depth of field at most normal long-distance shooting apertures. I still use and prefer
the Sigma over the Canon 50/1.4, but the AF performance could still be a bit improved.
See my results here:
www.pbase.com/tswen/sig50af
The lens is so good optically that I work around any AF limitations it has.
AF microadjustment would likely help, but I don't have any of the newer bodies
to try it on.
The lens has a special look, and is only equalled/bettered by the Canon 50/1.4 in
long-distance stopped-down shooting.
This kind of wide-open performance is hard to obtain anywhere else for under $500.
Essentially no purple fringing at all. Great sharpness and saturation.
