canon 50mm 1.4 vs sigma 50mm 1.4 vs zeiss 50mm 1.4

[Steve U]

I haven't used those three, but I have used the Zeiss 50/2.0MP, brilliant and the Canon 50/1.2, brilliant these are the best at that length, if I had to choose from those selected I would go for the Sigma 50mm. And then if Canon release a 50/1.4 mk2, I would buy that.
But all of the above lenses produce better images than an unreleased lens.

[HDNitehawk]

Steve; so Zeiss 2.0 or the Canon 1.2? Which would you go for.

[Steve U]

If I had the 24-70 mk2, I would have the Zeiss 50, but I don't so i would probably go for the Canon 50/1.2 as the length of that lens lends itself to AF. 50mm and 85mm I would use for people shots and fast AF is very helpful and the 50/1.2 is fast and accurate and wiiiide.
At 35mm and 21mm the Zeiss wins hands-down for me.

[Busted Knuckles]

No mention of Leica?

[gandhi]

If I had the 24-70 mk2, I would have the Zeiss 50, but I don't so i would probably go for the Canon 50/1.2 as the length of that lens lends itself to AF. 50mm and 85mm I would use for people shots and fast AF is very helpful and the 50/1.2 is fast and accurate and wiiiide.
At 35mm and 21mm the Zeiss wins hands-down for me.

I have never used manual focusing till now, is it easy or does it needs to be mastered before getting zeiss?

[Steve U]

I have never used manual focusing till now, is it easy or does it needs to be mastered before getting zeiss?

Zeiss has a fairly long focus throw, so they are relatively easy to manual focus.
Back focus with 50/1.2 is not an issue if further than a metre away, I have never shot closer than that with it.
These 5 are all great lenses with superior IQ. The two (2) Zeiss are MF and very different and both very good.
Because I have a few 77mm filters and you would also have a few already owning the 24mm, the Sigma offers great IQ and the same filter size and is probably best value for money for you.

[Steve U]

Never even held a Leica, but i do own and love me Zeiss.

[gandhi]

Also read complaints from several users regarding back focusing issue for ef 50mm 1.2

[thekingb]

What you shoot is a big part of the MF AF debate. Still subjects and time to compose and focus? MF isn't a big issue. Otherwise I found MF to be a big hindrance. On my Zeiss 35/2, which I sold, the shots were AMAZING when I got the focus right - which was not often enough when trying to shoot anything moving. The keeper rate was too low for me to justify keeping the lens.

[HDNitehawk]

After reading this thread and reading up on the 50mm lenses, I am thinking about giving the Zeiss 50mm F/2 Makro Planar a go. I think with its close minimum focus distance and sharpness wide open it could be a very creative fun lens to own. The choice would be a new one from B&H for $1,283 or a used one from LensRentals.com for $1,025.

Steve; I appreciate your thoughts, I'm not much of a people shooter and I don't think the AF will be a big issue for what I like to do. Which brings up another thought, you use Manual Focus lenses with the new 5D III. When I went from the 5D II and 7D to the 1D IV I noticed that it is much easier to manual focus with the 1D IV, it seems to have a better clearer view and more light. Does the 5D III seem better than the 5D II for manual focus?