Hi guys! I'm planning to upgrade my canon 50mm f1.8 to the f1.4. I'm deciding whether to go for canon or sigma. Anyone here tried the sigma 50 1.4? Is it better than the canon 50 1.4? And how about for those who have the canon 50 1.4, how is it optical wise & build quality wise? Thanks everyone!
Hey mate,
I'm a lucky Sigma 50mm 1.4 owner and I'm very happy with it. You must notice the "lucky" part in my sentence, because these lenses seem to have focus-issues. Pretty much every one of them 50mm Sigma lenses if you may believe the stories.
In short words: the Sigma can be a lot better than the Canon. Mine had just a little front-focussing which was solvable by micro-adjustment. Now it's usable sharp at f1.4 (better than the canon) and it gives me amazing sharp results from f2 and on.
My advice: if you're buying from a local dealer where you can easily try it out and have the opportunity to return it if it turns out to be a real disaster, buy the Sigma. Oh of course if you have micro-adjustment, that would be great too. Else you better go to the safe side and buy the Canon which is softer wide open, but doesn't have(or less) focus-issues.
An even safer bet would be the canon 85mm 1.8, but it would be a different focal length...
Jan
I personally am not a fan of the Canon 1.4. I always chose a zoom over it unless I really needed the two stops of light. I really didn't like the images shot under f/2. The AF seemed to search and miss a lot also. I didn't own mine long enough but I have read and witnessed others having issues with the focusing motor after a couple years or lots of use. It definitely won't handle being banged around.
I have seen some really great shots from the Sigma 1.4 and was close to buying it, but I had read so many reviews talking about the focus issue, I held off.
After reading later reviews of the Canon 1.2, people believe there has been a change in it's production in the last year or so and it's focusing issues have been improved (fixed?). People are now raving about it. So I ordered one of those.
That is probably out of the price range you are looking at, so I'd say if you aren't too concerned about build quality and IQ under f/2.8 go with the Canon 1.4. If you are concerned about those things and are willing to deal with some returns or servicing, try the Sigma.
One last note; from all the reviews and reports I've read in my quest for the "perfect" 50mm lens, it seems they all suffer from focusing issues even the the Zeiss manual focus. I'm guessing it is something technically/physically to do with the focal length.
I just bought the Canon f/1.4. Here's the excuse I used: my kid (Jr High) signed up for a summer photography class at the local college and needed a DSLR. Rather than renting one, my 7D became a loaner. My 24-70 USM and 20-200 f/4 IS USM were too big for those little hands, so i "HAD" to buy a smaller lens. At least that's what I told the wife. I am pretty happy with this lens; it makes my camera feel like a toy in that it is so lightweight now. I am heading to the "O.C." this weekend for the sawdust festival and the Pageant of the Masters. I am going to take just this one lens as my walk-around and see what I can do with it. I've never travelled with just one lens, so this will be a first.
I cannot speak to the Sigma, but I am sure both will produce fine images. I shot this one in the backyard using the Canon f/1.4 a couple of weeks ago.
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Can't speak for the Sigma as well, but you can see the versatility of the Canon 50mm f/1.4 through these 2 shots (posted in 2 other forums here also). It can be soft for effect in one and tack sharp in another.
You know, I had a very long reply typed out when my browser unexpectedly navigated to a previous page--and I lost everything. So, instead of posting 5 or image samples taken with the Canon 50mm f/1.4, I'll direct you to a page where you can view all my images taken with that particular lens.
Sheesh...
As far as my observations, the build quality is certainly a step up from the plastic wonder, however, on the same note, it isn't fantastic either. As long as you aren't abusive, it should hold up well. I have had the focus fail me on a couple of occasions, but only under the dimmest of circumstances (where all my lenses would have hunted for focus).
Originally Posted by cxr
I have the Canon 50 1.4 & am very happy with it. It was my first used lens purchase so I was pretty nervous about it but all turned out good for me. It was one of the lenses I used at my granddaughter's birthday party and I was very pleased with the results.
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Good luck making your decision!
Denise
I have had both, and now currently have the Sigma 50. I bought when they first came out, returned one, then got another. They do have focus issues, but when they're on, it is much better than the Canon 50 1.4. finally, after getting tired of the focus issues, I sent it under warranty to https://www.criscam.com/. they fixed the front/back focusing issues, and it has worked excellently for almost a year. I think that it is better than the Canon 1.4, and probably as good as the 1.2(IMHO). I have tried several copies of the 50 1.2, and http://www.lensrentals.com/ has sales of their used equipment every now and then. Bought a 1.2 from them, compared it to my Sig, and wasn't to impressed!! It's great, and I mean great when it focuses correctly at 1.2...but they were few and far between...and I sent it back to Lensrentals.com.
Then more recently, having heard the same thing as a previous poster that very new versions of the 1.2 are spot on, I bought one from Amazon, 3 weeks ago. It was a 2010 model, brand new, and couldn't wait to see how it worked! Much to my chagrin, nothing had gotten better. I mean, yep it was good at 1.2, but NOT $1000 more better than my Sigma. To be honest, I still wasn't impressed. So I promptly returned it. It still had focusing issues!!
Maybe I just got another bad copy. I don't know, but I think my money is better spent elsewhere!! I have sent the Sigma to get re calibrated again,(and found out that it is covered under extended warranty!!), so if you do get the Sigma, there is that option, too. And to be honest, I really don't see that much difference from 1.4 to 1.2. Here are 2 real world examples of the 1.2 vs 1.4. Processed in LR3 with "punch" the only added editing. Let me know what you think??
Canon 50 1.2
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Sigma 50 1.4
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I've used the 1.8 on crop and now I'm using the canon 1.4 FF. It's a bit hard to compare the two since I switched formats, but I will say that I really enjoy the 1.4 and for the money I can't fault it. Build wise I am a bit disappointed. I was expecting it to be inline with the 85 1.8 and 28 1.8 and it simply isn't. Maybe that's not fair since those lenses are more expensive, but the focus ring just isn't nearly as nice and the external movement makes it feel a lot less sturdy
thank you everyone for all your comments and suggestions. I really appreciate it, what I'm planning to do is probably go to a local shop and try both lenses and decide which one should I go for. Most of the replies here are for the canon 1.4 and I think its a good oneandI'm leaning towards itbut I'm not counting out the Sigma just yetbecause I haven't tried it. Folks, thanks again!
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