Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM -SIGMALUX-

[CosmoKid]

Originally Posted by thatkatmat

So......I wouldn't be too happy either (for some reason, I hate dust, had a 100-400 with like 5 specs of dust in it and I obsessed about it, other than that it actually was the sharpest copy of the three I've owned) But..............How does your new Sigmalux shoot?
This is why I only buy gear new....or from here....or FM

I HATE dust. I hate knowing it is there. Drives me crazy.

I haven't had a chance to really test it yet as I went right from the PO to work this morning. I tried doing a battery test but only had 2 batteries and the light in my office sucks.

If it focuses well I am still going to try and get some type of money off what I paid. Paying $440 for a $500 lens that was supposedly one month old with multiple pieces of dust in the glass doesn't seem quite fair to me.

I STILL can't sell my Sigma 30 until this is resolved (or maybe I am looking for excuses to keep it).

[philthejuggler]

[versedmb]

f/2.2 on 5d....

[thatkatmat]

Really liking this one^^^The processing works for me...f/2.2 was a great choice, the Sigmalux loves being shot at 2.2ish..

[stu46]

Got the lens from CRIS today after 5 weeks. Focus looks good and was worth the wait.

[agphotography]

Originally Posted by stu46

Got the lens from CRIS today after 5 weeks. Focus looks good and was worth the wait.

5 Weeks?!?! Oh no! That's less than encouraging

[sethultimate]

Originally Posted by stu46

Here's one before I sent it in for calibration. They CRIS called and said they found nothing wrong and asked what body I shoot. Waiting to hear back.

Did a bunch of test shots and found it was front focusing, so I focused on her right eye. At least it's sharp.

shooting at 1.4 handheld is not the best way to test the AF accuracy. I'm not saying that your lens is good or not good: just that with that aperture and at that distance even a slight movement of the camera/lens will cause a focus shift.
Please mount the camera on a tripod and do another test

handholding at 1.4 or 1.2 often requires me to shoot in servo.

anyway I had the chance to shoot with the sigma 50 1.4 and it is some impressive lens. The only problem I had was when focusing on targets far away, or at the infinity. The canon 50 1.4 seemed a bit sharper, but for normal distances the sigma is better (in my opinion).

[stu46]

I've shot both Canon 50 1.4, 50L and 85L wide open handheld without any problems. I also tested it on a focus chart, but who wants to see a picture of an out of focus chart?

Here's a quick shot before dinner @ 1.4 after calibration from CRIS. My wife was swinging her toward me and I took the picture. Focus is spot on now.

[Jman13]

The thing with this lens...tt just creates magic. Every time I look at pics I take with it, I just absolutely LOVE the drawing style.

A few from this morning, just chilling with my daughter:





Her hand is on my flashgun here:


And trying to figure out off camera flash...unsuccessfully (she's taken a big interest in my photo gear....my budding photographer!):

[thatkatmat]

Originally Posted by Jman13

And trying to figure out off camera flash...unsuccessfully (she's taken a big interest in my photo gear....my budding photographer!):

More like, your misplaced gear...LOL

Nice shots, she's cute, I have 4 kids, youngest is my 2.5 yr old boy... oldest is my 16 yr old girl....They all love shooting, I just make sure I buy them their own gear so they keep their little paws off mine

[Permagrin]

Jordan really nice shots. And I agree with you. This lens is something really special.

I just picked one up and have been hesitant to do so...just because of the focusing issues. I ended up buying one new (just in case I had to return it). I did the whole focus test and it appeared to be front focusing (so I adjusted my cameras accordingly) but then I used it IRL circumstances and it wasn't front focusing (switched the cameras back to 0 and got accurate results). Not sure what that all meant...except that I must have done the test wrong.

In any case, I used it on a senior shoot the other day and was so surprised at the results. It's one thing to run it through it's tests but having something offer results that nice (for a very reasonable price) IRL circumstances was such a pleasant surprise. I'd seen results (both good and bad) on the forum but so many times good results can be attributed to the photographer...not necc. the gear.

Anyway, all this to say that I was really surprised at the IQ on this lens. Thanks to the participants of this thread. It was one of the ones that swayed me towards trying it out.


Cosmokid, I just wanted to say....if you ended up with a good copy, I wouldn't stress over the dust. Lenses get dust in them. It happens. The bottom line is the photo quality. Perhaps the seller didn't know. Perhaps it wasn't an issue to him/her. I know it's not to me unless it's a mark on the back glass that actually interferes with the reason I bought the lens...to take photos.

[Permagrin]

oh and a couple of shots from me

[kevinmcdade]

I'm debating if I should send my copy into Sigma for some calibration. I don't mind it on my 1D3 since I can microadjust (+16) but it is totally unusable on my 5D. The reason I'm debating is because I'm also debating selling my 5D. It doesn't get the kind of attention that it deserves while competing with my 1D.

I'd like to know what other Sigmalux owners would do in this situation: Deal with it or send it in? If I do sell my 5D, it will be replaced with a body that has microadjustment.

[royv]

Originally Posted by kevinmcdade

I'm debating if I should send my copy into Sigma for some calibration. I don't mind it on my 1D3 since I can microadjust (+16) but it is totally unusable on my 5D. The reason I'm debating is because I'm also debating selling my 5D. It doesn't get the kind of attention that it deserves while competing with my 1D.

I'd like to know what other Sigmalux owners would do in this situation: Deal with it or send it in? If I do sell my 5D, it will be replaced with a body that has microadjustment.

You could get a 5D mark II.

Otherwise, definitely send it in. This lens really only comes to life on a fullframe camera like the 5D. What can you lose? Apart from having to miss it for a few weeks (??).

[kevinmcdade]

Originally Posted by royv

You could get a 5D mark II.

Otherwise, definitely send it in. This lens really only comes to life on a fullframe camera like the 5D. What can you lose? Apart from having to miss it for a few weeks (??).

I guess it does make sense to send it in for calibration just for resale purpose if nothing else. I don't see a 5DII in my near future.