gravygraffix wrote:
central camera Mark... down town.
I bought mine there.
i only have a MA of +2
Thanks, but it was back in June or July that I tried to find a copy locally (after trying and returning two of them from Amazon). I ended up buying my 3rd copy from B&H.
I don't think mine would take much MA to get it spot on. Problem is that I don't have MA with either of my camera bodies (5D, XTI). My copy is perfectly sharp wide open shooting distances greater than about 8 feet. Closer shooting results in front focusing.
Another thing I should add, I personally spoke to the tech at Sigma, and to the CS rep at CRIS in AZ and asked them to optimize the calibration on my lens for close distance, not far. In my case I would rarely shoot landscape or other distant work wide open, I like to shoot wide for portrait work, which for me is typically at distances of about 5-8 feet. Despite my request the lens still is at it's best at longer distances.
All in all it seems to hit focus better within 5ft, but not without mis-focusing at times. At longer distances it tends to backfocus. There are a few more test samples on my www.
Mark Zwiesler wrote:
Are all of these with the lens still adjusted to +20?
Mark
Yes, they are all shot with 'Lens B' with a +20 adjustment. The focus is hit or miss--sometimes its dead on, sometimes its slightly off and other times its way off.
The performance M Vers is seeing on Lens B with +20 adjustment
is pretty much the same thing I saw on my 5D (no adjustment available on that body)
before I sent it in for calibration. The little checking I've done since it returned from
calibration shows the performance has not changed. If it's going to be "off,"
then backfocusing when at far distance is less objectionable than frontfocusing when
at near distance.
The big question is... do you feel you have one that hits and is worth keeping out of the 4 lenses? I'm sitting @ +13 backwards at the moment. I think mine is hitting the mark and hits with distance shots. With yours being at +20... and no room to adjust...do you send them all back and try another set?
hatch1921 wrote:
The big question is... do you feel you have one that hits and is worth keeping out of the 4 lenses? I'm sitting @ +13 backwards at the moment. I think mine is hitting the mark and hits with distance shots. With yours being at +20... and no room to adjust...do you send them all back and try another set?
Hatch, I only have two copies atm, one is boxed up. The other copy is hitting dead on from ~mfd to ~8-10ft, it's when the subject is past 10ft I start to see back focus--which would mean I'd need to scale MA back a few notches for accurate focus at those distances. For example, the focus point was on the larger of the evergreens in this shot, yet the actual focus was either somewhere in the field or on the tree line off in the distance. I have never seen a lens perform like this. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4061/4232220282_33a8571a43_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2766/4232229202_5d3b4b4a40_b.jpg
M Vers wrote:
I have never seen a lens perform like this.
Very strange the way it hits... I hope you can get one that will dial in. I'm pleased with mine at the moment.... time will tell... more shooting is required.
Maybe a couple more tries and you will have one which works as it should?
M Vers wrote:
I have never seen a lens perform like this.
I had the same problem with Canon 50L on 5D mark 2 body. The focus shift is minimal but when focusing wide open on subject 10M away, it will not perform correctly. I sold the lens after used it for 2 weeks.
hatch1921 wrote:
Very strange the way it hits... I hope you can get one that will dial in. I'm pleased with mine at the moment.... time will tell... more shooting is required.
Maybe a couple more tries and you will have one which works as it should?
Happy New Year
Hatch
Happy new year to you as well, Hatch! Frankly if this copy doesn't work out I'll likely cut my losses and stick with me EF50/1.4, which from my experience performs very similar in terms of IQ and seemingly better in terms of AF. I'm going to give this copy another week to see if it grows on me and for some additional testing with my other bodies, we shall see.
Bryan Ko wrote:
I had the same problem with Canon 50L on 5D mark 2 body. The focus shift is minimal but when focusing wide open on subject 10M away, it will not perform correctly. I sold the lens after used it for 2 weeks.
The focus shift issue is the reason I don't own the 50/1.2. The price tag is another. FWIW I don't have a problem spending $1600 on an f/1.2 prime as long as it performs to that standard, which IMO the 50L doesn't.
