Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM

Charlie wrote in post #16984737
the way I judge a lens is pretty basic: find the highest quality wide open. based on one good photography, you can really assess the performance of the lens. Skill of photographer varies too greatly among lens owners, and anyone can take a bad photo. Also, being a third party lens, less working professionals will use it because they cant get serviced by CPS. The 18-55 stm is an entry level lens that has great optics, but I'm sure the sample thread is probably not very impressive due to the target market.

quite frankly, at this focal length, speed of AF is not terribly important either, so that becomes a small factor for the AF argument.

The thing with this lens is it's sharp and that's great (but also not most important), but also it produces very busy backgrounds wide open. I am not speaking about AF's, build quality, or whatever else. I think the 35L produces nicer images overall. More - I think the Samyang's 35mm makes nicer images, too bad it doesn't have AF.

Ahh and to others:

Trolls are your mothers (the same kind of an argument as yours - "he is troll, because he is troll").

Digital Story wrote in post #16985207
The thing with this lens is it's sharp and that's great (but also not most important), but also it produces very busy backgrounds wide open. I am not speaking about AF's, build quality, or whatever else. I think the 35L produces nicer images overall. More - I think the Samyang's 35mm makes nicer images, too bad it doesn't have AF.

Can't disagree there. The sigma 35's bokeh can be pretty busy....but if you look at direct comparisons to the 35L, it really isn't much better. Such is the nature of wide primes.

The sigma 50 has much smoother bokeh.

I know that's the nature of wide primes. I have Sigma 24/1.8.

But any way, I think the 35L have much much creamier bokeh (as much as it is possible with such focal length, of course). I like it more.

Digital Story wrote in post #16985329
I know that's the nature of wide primes. I have Sigma 24/1.8.

But any way, I think the 35L have much much creamier bokeh (as much as it is possible with such focal length, of course). I like it more.

We are happy for you. Now move along.

Interesting little conflict, expectable outcome. Now back to more pictures!

Pictures!

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/nMAx​yQ

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/nLvr​xJ

^great tones on top one

ShallowDoF wrote in post #16980651
Great shot (and the others on flickr) . I was hoping to use this lens (when it finally gets delivered) for some similar BMX work, but didn't know how it would perform (AF speed, etc...). Nice to see how well it worked. Well done.

Thank you! That particular one is pre-focused though but I think the other ones are shot with AF if I remember correctly, and I'd say that it's fast enough for these types of sports. Have fun when it arrives!

Mowglee wrote in post #16985526
Thank you! That particular one is pre-focused though but I think the other ones are shot with AF if I remember correctly, and I'd say that it's fast enough for these types of sports. Have fun when it arrives!

Good to hear. Thanks for the reply!

I have some really weird experiences with this lens. I've uploaded a couple of shots lately in this thread, and when the lens hits focus, it's razor sharp, and really makes the focused subject stand out!
However, when I first got the lens, I noticed that the AF was all over the place, and I couldn't count on it.
So I got the dock, microadjusted the lens at the 4 focal lengths, and got out in the field to try it out.. And still, it f*cked up.

Now, 10 minutes ago, I just put the lens in the dock again to reset the 4 values, and just for fun I tried it out again, with the lens resetted, so now it must be like when it got out of the factory.. And now it seems to hit focus every time, from every focal length.. I don't know what the h*ll is happening, as this makes me completely bonkers. I get a lens, AF has a will of it's own, I get a USB dock to microadjust the lens at 4 focal lengths, it still works against me, I reset the lens to 0 at all focal lengths (like it was when I bought it), and now it seems to nail focus every time..

Anyone else had this experience, or have heard of it? The firmware on the lens were the latest when I bought it, so nothing's changed there.
It drives me insane, because I can't wrap my head around it, but I have to test it out a little more, before my head explodes

JacobSchmidt wrote in post #16986920
I have some really weird experiences with this lens. I've uploaded a couple of shots lately in this thread, and when the lens hits focus, it's razor sharp, and really makes the focused subject stand out!
However, when I first got the lens, I noticed that the AF was all over the place, and I couldn't count on it.
So I got the dock, microadjusted the lens at the 4 focal lengths, and got out in the field to try it out.. And still, it f*cked up.

Now, 10 minutes ago, I just put the lens in the dock again to reset the 4 values, and just for fun I tried it out again, with the lens resetted, so now it must be like when it got out of the factory.. And now it seems to hit focus every time, from every focal length.. I don't know what the h*ll is happening, as this makes me completely bonkers. I get a lens, AF has a will of it's own, I get a USB dock to microadjust the lens at 4 focal lengths, it still works against me, I reset the lens to 0 at all focal lengths (like it was when I bought it), and now it seems to nail focus every time..

Anyone else had this experience, or have heard of it? The firmware on the lens were the latest when I bought it, so nothing's changed there.
It drives me insane, because I can't wrap my head around it, but I have to test it out a little more, before my head explodes

What lighting scenarios are causing the troubles? The only time I notice differences in my lens is outdoors. I have it adjusted indoors with a combination of indoor and window lighting, and it usually nails focus 100% of the time. Only time I notice it sometimes off is outdoors, as it seems the settings are required to be different depending on exactly which kind of lighting.

Also, which camera and which focus points are you using? The 5D3 nails it usually when using a cross type point, but it can get a little wonky with some of the outside/non cross type points.

GuitarDTO wrote in post #16987075
What lighting scenarios are causing the troubles? The only time I notice differences in my lens is outdoors. I have it adjusted indoors with a combination of indoor and window lighting, and it usually nails focus 100% of the time. Only time I notice it sometimes off is outdoors, as it seems the settings are required to be different depending on exactly which kind of lighting.

Also, which camera and which focus points are you using? The 5D3 nails it usually when using a cross type point, but it can get a little wonky with some of the outside/non cross type points.

Thanks, maybe this is the answer to my problems. 20 minutes after I posted, it started messing up again. It did fine inside, but when I got outside it couldn't nail focus.
It were on a tripod, and no camera shaking or moving could be causing it. Keep in mind that this is with the lens at it's default settings.. It's frustrating that it were messing up before I got the dock, it messed up after I got the dock, and now it's inconsistant, with the lens at it's default settings nailing focus some of the time.
I know that lenses do perform differently indoors and outdoors, and that is very frustrating in general, as we microadjust either our lenses or houses/lenses to nail focus, and put some work in it too.. And still it ain't enough to get a realiable AF.

I'm using a Canon 6D, and only the center point!

And another example of how nice the lens is, when it nails focus (not wide open at all though, so better odds for a correctly focused image):

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/o4DV​TP