Hi,

I want to buy a 50mm lens for my Canon 7D. i read many reviews about the Sigma lens ( i worked with the Canon 50 f/1.4) and many people are saying Sigma is a much better lens compared with Canon especially for the crop sensor cameras.  3-4 out of 10 people has reported focus problem with Sigma 50mm...

My questions are: is that good Sigma 50mm f/1.4 compared with canon??? It's worth the price difference???

br,

Nik

I was at the same situation- I choose canon in the end and love the lens...

I can't believe Sigma, Soligor, Tamron, Tokina, Etc. make any lens better than Canon. That's my answer for all lens questions. Buy name brands and you can't go wrong.

Of course I may be a brain washed robot and want to pay 2 to 3 times more for a pretty color or a name. LOL

Doesn't someplace like DP review or an unbiased review site, do scientific lens comparisons? I'd trust them over my personal biased opinion.

First time I bought a "real" Canon lens instead of a Zeiss, Vivitar or something else, I could see what I had been missing. Colors started to pop, better contrast, sharper images. And that was with film...

Same would go for Nikon if I had their equipment.

I was tempted by a Canon 1.2 last week, but I believe you are right, the 1.4 is more than adequate without worrying about the extra .2 difference. $369 vs $1499, I think I'm not making any brilliant decision. It was easy. 

Also if you consider resale value, which may mean nothing to you, Canon holds value better. The other side is, if the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM really is a better design, you can find it used on Amazon for the same price as a Canon, new. Canon drops $30 from new to used, while Sigma drops $100 from new.

The only Canon 50mm better than the Sigma is the f/1.2L. For the rest, get the Sigma and you won't regret it. The bokeh quality is very close to the Canon L.
Btw, am eu unul de vanzare, compadre

you cant beat canon L glass
good point on the reslae value mentioned
if money were not a consideration then it would be Zeiss lenses all around

I have both and must confess that I only use the Canon nowadays main reason for this is that the Canon is much smaller and lighter than the Sigma. The Sigma is at fully open aperture sharper in the center but overall performance is pretty much on par at least in practical use. My first sample of the Sigma had a frontfocus but I did send it back to the dealer and the second sample is 100% accurate.

Quote from: grp_photo on August 03, 2012, 12:50
I have both and must confess that I only use the Canon nowadays main reason for this is that the Canon is much smaller and lighter than the Sigma. The Sigma is at fully open aperture sharper in the center but overall performance is pretty much on par at least in practical use. My first sample of the Sigma had a frontfocus but I did send it back to the dealer and the second sample is 100% accurate.

You use canon lens on FF or crop sensor? At what aperture canon starts to mach the sigma?


Nik,

Quote from: RacePhoto on August 03, 2012, 04:23
I can't believe Sigma, Soligor, Tamron, Tokina, Etc. make any lens better than Canon. That's my answer for all lens questions. Buy name brands and you can't go wrong.

At any price band, Sigma can be better than Canon. I've got a 'cheaper' Canon 70-300 that's worse than the corresponding Sigma and I actually think my Sigma 100-300 f4EX is sharper than my Canon 100-400 L, though I use the latter for its longer reach and IS. Had a nice 28-70 EX in my film/Pentax days too. (I've actually still got it.)

Cheaper Sigmas have a disconcerting habit of dropping screws etc.

Quote from: nicku on August 03, 2012, 13:05

Quote from: grp_photo on August 03, 2012, 12:50
I have both and must confess that I only use the Canon nowadays main reason for this is that the Canon is much smaller and lighter than the Sigma. The Sigma is at fully open aperture sharper in the center but overall performance is pretty much on par at least in practical use. My first sample of the Sigma had a frontfocus but I did send it back to the dealer and the second sample is 100% accurate.

You use canon lens on FF or crop sensor? At what aperture canon starts to mach the sigma?


Nik,

I use fullframe. It isn't that easy: in the center I would say that the Sigma is always a little better (but most at open aperture) but  the Canon is better at border ( the center sharpness of the Sigma looses quickly apart from the center it is certainly relevant for APS-C too but probably not that much as with fullframe). Border Sharpness is much better with the Canon especially wide open. Both lenses are excellent they just behave a little different.

I think Sigma is better. Although it is no perfect lens, it has not any significant disadvantage (a little bit of CA, but sharpness and contrast is good, it has almost everything slightly above average and it is very usable even wide open). Canon is a mixed bag. It has some better characteristics like better contrast with low F numbers but with the most wide open aperture, Sigma is slighlty more user friendly (Canon has small focus shift). Also CA is more visible. I will buy Sigma (it is more fool-proof :-)) but it does not mean that Canon is not good.

I have tried also Canon 50mm F1.2L and I think it is one of the worst "L" glasses. Of course, it hase very nice apeture, gorgeous bokeh and very nice contrast but it also suffer form enormous CA and the focus shift is unacceptable for me. 

Hi,

Today i received a new Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM..... the problem with the lens is that i must microadjust the lens at +20 (7D body) to get sharp images at f/ 2.2 - 2.8 when the subject is over 2m from the lens. When the subject is at 1m the microadjust lvl must be at 0 to get the best results. Is this normal or i get a copy with problems???

br,

Nik

send it back