New Sigma 35mm f/1.4.

[Steve U]

You've got some serious glass there and a very good reference point for your conclusions. If I didn't have the Zeiss I think I would be lining up for one of these Sigmas.

[eldarhau]

The Zeiss is awesome. I´ve been so close several times, but I realize I have a threshold to move back to non-AF. I´d be interested in hearing how you use it and what experiences you have. From a build and glass quality perspective, the Zeiss lenses are outstanding.

[Steve U]

I like the MF interaction and there is just some old school appeal to it as well.
My OOF results or miss focus shots are honestly a bit higher than say my 50/1.2, but not that many more. When I review missed shots in daylight with the 70-200/2.8 or 50/1.2 I still end up with shots that I wish I had done something different, or could retake.
The Sigma looks very similar to the Zeiss in size and I think I would find it very comfortable to work with.
I see no tilt shift lens in your line up, does that mean you are saving for the Zeiss 15mm as a landscape prime. I would like to see a review from Bryan on that one, I think no other lens could get close to it.

[Dave Throgmartin]

One thing I've noticed reading about the Sigma is the focus throw is very short... would be limiting if you ever wanted to MF.

Dave

[eldarhau]

Yes Dave, that is worth mentioning. The MF arc is short on the Sigma. That is probably also why the AF speed is so close to the Canon as it is. It could also be an cause for less precise AF, but I have not noticed that as a problem. If it was an 85mm 1.4 lens it probably would.
Your observation that I don´t have a TS lens at the moment is correct. I bought the 24mm f3.5L TS II when it was released, but ended up selling it because i did not use it enough. But of course, as soon as I sold it I had a number of situations where I wish I still had it. It may well be that I buy it again. I have had the same history with the 85mm f1.2L. The one I have now is No.3. The AF on the previous bodys I have used (5D, 5DII, 1DsII and 1DsIII) simply was not accurate enough, so I was constantly irritated that I had ears or noses in focus and eyes out of focus. But the (spot) AF performance of the 5DIII and the 1DX is in a different league. But the very shallow depth of field still makes that lens a challenge.
Steve, with the Zeiss, do you find it sufficient to rely on the AF indicator in the camera viewer, or do you use live view with magnification?

[eldarhau]

Here´s more to the point:
http://www.canonrumors.com/2012/12/c...solution-test/

[btaylor]

I ended up buying the Canon 35mm even though there seem to be a lot of positive reviews on the Sigma. I honestly love it, such a wonderful focal length and the blur is superb. I have no doubt the Sigma is a great lens also, but my Sigma 85mm f/1.4 is still having intermittent AF motor issues so I'm a little gunshy at the moment with Sigma products. Anyway, thought I'd share a quick shot I took today of the pooch.


Matilda by Ben__Taylor, on Flickr

[eldarhau]

Nothing wrong with that IQ I´m sure you´ll be happy with that lens. I had the same worry as you over the Sigma AF, so I´ll continue to check if it stays accurate over time.

[ogrec]

http://www.lenstip.com/359.1-Lens_re...roduction.html

lenstip review

[eldarhau]

There is one thing in this review that I don´t quite get and that is the vignetting. I did not do a real vignetting test before, I just looked at drop-off when I had a large area going to the edges of an even blue sky or evenly lit snow etc. and I concluded that it was very good. But having read this review and the conclusion that vignetting was actually quite bad, I had to be a bit more thorough, so I took a white cardboard, lit it evenly and shot 1.4, 2.0, 2.8 and 4.0 and what I see is different to what lenstip reports. I have (much) less vignetting than they report. My 1.4 result is quite close to their 2.0 and at 4.0 the problem is gone. To me this is a bit confusing. I always thought vignetting would be very stable from lens to lens. Have anyone experienced the same on this or other lenses?