M Vers wrote:
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.
How come you get away with a statement like that, while I get always tarred and feathered?
I think the defenders of the 50/1.2L have given up trying to defend it so strongly.
For those it works for, they are happy and enjoying the really nice bokeh from the
lens. Those scarred away by the focus shift or those living through it continue
to mourn what could have been.
stanj wrote:
How come you get away with a statement like that, while I get always tarred and feathered?
trumpet_guy wrote:
Let the tarring and feathering begin.
I think the defenders of the 50/1.2L have given up trying to defend it so strongly.
For those it works for, they are happy and enjoying the really nice bokeh from the
lens. Those scarred away by the focus shift or those living through it continue
to mourn what could have been.
stanj wrote:
How come you get away with a statement like that, while I get always tarred and feathered?
well for one this isn't a 50L thread and secondly you own the lens and openly criticize it for what it is. Others who own the 50L who either choose not to recognize the lens' faults or deny any at all see this--enter the 'If you're not with us, you're against us' mentality. That's not to say every 50L owner feels this way, but most are overly defensive about the lens.
Got mine yesterday. I noticed immediately that it front focused badly. I dialed in +15 on my 5D MKII and its usable, however my wife shares lenses with me and her camera has no MFA...so I guess it will be going back.
I also noticed that at longer distances the MFA adjustments make it back focus to much. So I guess this copy goes back for a replacement.
I will say that on the 5D MKII at 10ft or less with +15 MFA its an amazing lens. At 1.4 I could see pores in my wife skin, and F1.8 and F2.0 its even better.
M Vers wrote:
Really? Does it focus accurately at distances up to, at and around 10ft?
Perhaps I should have explained myself in more detail.
If I MFA the lens to close distances, pics will be OOF at longer distances.
If I MFA at longer distances, it will be OOF up close.
I use it mainly for available light indoors, so it's usually set up to close distances.
But if I open the front door of my house and shoot the tree in my neighbors front-yard, it will look just like the pic you posted...
I haven't exactly measured if it's 10ft or not.
Sorry for not being more explicit.
No problem, just wanted a bit of clarification since I have never heard of any other primes performing this badly. Have you considered a replacement for the lens--just seems to me like you got a lemon.
I guess I will have to send it back for calibration.
I haven't done it already because I live on an Island in Portugal and will have to send it back all the way to the Netherlands...
I already got one 50d stolen in the mail, so I'm a bit apprehensive in having it shipped back to the seller.
Regarding the large number of people discussing focus issues with the Sigma 50 1.4... Has anyone considered the possibility that their camera body autofocus system may be slightly out of calibration from the factory?? I had exactly this scenario about 1.5 years ago with a 40D body and didn't know it for a couple months.
The Sigma 50 1.4 is definitely more sensitive to variations in the body focus electronics than canon lenses are. I was one of many who returned 2 of these lenses before keeping the 3rd copy which worked OK. But wait, I don't really know if the first two were "bad" because I ended up getting my 40D re-calibrated at Canon Service just before receiving the 3rd copy which I kept. Important details coming..
At the same time I was also experiencing focus issues with a new Sigma 70-200 2.8 Macro, sent it back to Sigma service and they returned it saying it was fine, I contacted them and argued for a while, because I had decent results with all Canon lenses I tried including the 24-70L, 70-200 f4L, 100-400L, and 28-135. Sigma asked me to send my 40D body with the lenses so they could adjust the lenses to match the body. I was worried that might void the Canon warranty so I sent the body to Canon service for evaluation instead. A few days later I got the email from Canon stating it had back-focus issues and they repaired it. No focus problems with the Sigma lenses after that.
I'm not saying all focus issues are caused by the body, but I am saying "do not assume" the body is not playing a role. Canon knows they have variability in the focus calibrations and added the Micro-Adjust feature to newer cameras primarily to reduce visits to the Service centers. (and some thought they were just being nice to us!)
I hope Sigma has learned from all the returns how to re-design the focus system so it can better handle the range of problems Canon is shipping to consumers around the world. Most customers do not understand the complexity of the electronics and physics involved here, and they shouldn't need to!
Well I got my 2nd Sigma 50mm F1.4 today and the 5 shots I just took are dead on with my 5D MKII! I still need to try it on my other bodies but this is a very good sign.
I have a boudoir shoot on Saturday so I will be using this lens almost exclusively!
