Jman13 wrote:
If you don't want to risk Sigma's QC..then pay $1300 and get the Canon 50L. Of course, I tried two 50Ls, both of which frontfocused like mad, and my Sigma 50 was great out of the box. Since I would say the Sigma 50 is every bit as good optically as the 50L, I think the $800 savings is worth a 2-3 week hassle if you need to send it in, but that's just me (especially since there's no guarantee you'll get a perfect 50L either).
Anyway, I love my Sigma 50. Beautiful bokeh, sharp, wonderful color, and an exquisite contrast curve...it just has a presence.
radioblurs wrote:
tangle, it all depends on if you're willing to be patient until you get a good one-there have been at least 3 people on this forum who have reported sending back multiple copies and others dealing with sigma service, etc.-it's not an isolated incident or a blown up internet scare-i just sent back my 2nd copy to adorama b/c it was a bad copy-if you're willing to do that, go for it-warranty will cover it but it certainly is frustrating
i will say, when it does hit focus, it produces gorgeous images
daniel
Well I am impatient and I think has a lot to do with my BS FB
tanglefoot47 wrote:
I have decided to go with a few primes, I have the 85 1.8 now and a friend of mine has a Sigma 50 1.4 and swears by it and some of the sample shots I see here it's a very nice lens. But seeing this other post with the AF issues now I am worried and would like to know how bad is this issue with the Sig. There are other options like the Canon 50 1.4 any input would be nice
Thanks
Mike
AF sucks on the canon 50mm 1.4 so I can't see you doing worse with the Sigma (for that matter i think the Zeiss may come in a close second when it comes to AF )
i'd almost be willing to be the sigma will be more likely to focus well out of the box and more precise given what amounts to a good copy of each (and i say this as someone who tried 4 70-200, 1 120-300 and 1 28-70 at a newspaper, all sigma and not one focused well ) although i have never tried the 50 sigma first hand
I have tried 3 copies of the lens and returned them all. Two on a 40D and one on a 5DMkII. They all front-focused at close range and back-focused when shooting over 10 feet.
And I have had no luck with Sigma Service either. I've sent two lenses in (one 50mm and one 70-200 f/2.8) and neither came back even the slightest bit better IMO.
-Mike
FWIW the story seems to be similar with the canon 50mm 1.4
I didn't have that experience with either of the Canon 50 f/1.4s I owned. They were both tack sharp but so was the Sigma I owned between them. The Siggy had one problem out of the box- it was slow to focus. Not hunt slow, just slow to move the elements. Sigma sent it back much snappier and still optically perfect. Just so you know, I may be in the minority in my experience, but there is at least one person who was happy with both in those regards.
For what its worth, I preferred the Canon, simply because it was more forgiving. I got better out of the camera results with the Sigma in controlled conditions where I had time and could use an off camera meter. But in those conditions, I had other lenses I'd reach for first. For me, the 50 was an event walk-around lens on the 20D, and under those conditions, the Canon was simply more of a pleasure to use.
freaklikeme wrote:
I didn't have that experience with either of the Canon 50 f/1.4s I owned. They were both tack sharp but so was the Sigma I owned between them. The Siggy had one problem out of the box- it was slow to focus. Not hunt slow, just slow to move the elements. Sigma sent it back much snappier and still optically perfect. Just so you know, I may be in the minority in my experience, but there is at least one person who was happy with both in those regards.
For what its worth, I preferred the Canon, simply because it was more forgiving. I got better out of the camera results with the Sigma in controlled conditions where I had time and could use an off camera meter. But in those conditions, I had other lenses I'd reach for first. For me, the 50 was an event walk-around lens on the 20D, and under those conditions, the Canon was simply more of a pleasure to use....Show more →
I got mine last week and I haven't really had time to really test it, but it seems on the 5D II with MA at + 12 it's looks really good. I'll see if I have time this week and really test it out. I'll post the results here.
My copy does require a +10 micro-adjust on both my 5D2 bodies, but it focuses consistently, which can be by far the biggest issue. Since I no longer have cameras without MF adjust, I haven't bothered to have Sigma try to "fix" it.
Seems interesting to me that the majority of people I've seen in recent threads who have been happy after MA are all setting between +10 and +14 or so. I don't remember hearing of any at -10 or +5 or things like that. Is this consistency in the inconsistency ? Just an observation.
Well I just got mine, and tested it briefly on the 5D. I can't draw a conclusion yet as the results are variable. On one test it seemed to consistently front focus, but on others it did very well. It does seem like it's perfect at distances well away from mfd though. I want to try it on my 1D II as well, and see how that goes. I still prefer to use mf for close-up type shots though, especially when shooting at f/1.4-f/2.8.
Masahara wrote:
Seems interesting to me that the majority of people I've seen in recent threads who have been happy after MA are all setting between +10 and +14 or so. I don't remember hearing of any at -10 or +5 or things like that. Is this consistency in the inconsistency ? Just an observation.
If I could get one that focused perfectly (I don't have micro adjust) on my 5D's at every distance then I'd buy it to replace my much used 50 1.4 but I don't have time or patience for the potential hassle so I'll just wait till someone puts a perfect one on B&S!
Beni wrote:
If I could get one that focused perfectly (I don't have micro adjust) on my 5D's at every distance then I'd buy it to replace my much used 50 1.4 but I don't have time or patience for the potential hassle so I'll just wait till someone puts a perfect one on B&S!
I am so tempted but like you I have no MA and not so sure I want to deal with any issues.
garyvot wrote:
I love mine and will never be parted with it. Every photograph at this recent event I shot was made with the Sigma wide open at 1.4 on a 5D2:
My copy does require a +10 micro-adjust on both my 5D2 bodies, but it focuses consistently, which can be by far the biggest issue. Since I no longer have cameras without MF adjust, I haven't bothered to have Sigma try to "fix" it.
Very nice shots.
Mine focuses consistently too. The Sigma 50, along with the 35L and 85/1.8 are my most-used lenses.
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