Sigma 50mm F1.4 Art DG HSM Lens for Canon

Love this lens. When I replaced my zoom kit lens with this one it was night and day... like using a different camera altogether. That zoom lens has never made its way back to my camera. The only zoom used here is my feet and the Photoshop crop tool. I am using this with a Canon D70, which means with the 1.6x crop factor, this is the equivalent of an 80-85mm lens. For film purposes, the large size of the lens with the huge focal ring is an advantage if you are doing continuous manual focus. For people with a strong, steady hand, the weight is not a big deal and can help keep things steady if no stand or steadicam equipment on hand. As mentioned by another reviewer, this kind of extreme sharpness in a lens is a tradeoff from the desired bokeh that portraiture photogs like. I bought this for making short films, so the sharpness and lack of prutty bokeh is a plus for me. I don't necessarily need pretty glowey faces in a tense Tarantino-esque scene that turns into a shootout. I need the characters to pop in contrast to the background, and I want to see their ugly pimples and all. Having said that, first thing I learned from experimenting with this lens is the value of taking pictures in raw. A few adjustments when importing into Photoshop, and you can make the pictures soft if you need to using the initial import screen. See examples. When you are getting this much information through the lens, you have a lot of versatility and options as to how you use it. So even if you are a glamour or portaiture photog, I would not be too quick to dismiss it. I am so paranoid about getting dust or scratches on this investment, that I leave my Tiffen circular polarizer on full time, even indoors. Indoors the polarizer is great for reducing light bouncing off shiny foreheads or cheeks (choose your poison). I also like the deeper, richer colors the polarizer seems to give. On the autofocus, I probably should use it more, but I am never quite happy with it, sometimes to my own chagrin, as I don't always get it right when taking pictues. The Canon D70 has continual auto focus with video, and I have test it and it does work good enough with this lens for commercial purposes. It is quiet, although, if you are using it for professional use, you should be using a wireless lavalier and boom combo. For short films, I don't know, I would say it depends on how short staffed and short on time we are. It is definitely great to have that option. Several years ago it was not available on cameras below 3,000 . Overall I am happy with my purchase and feel I made the right decision for what I will be using it for. I am going to save up for the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Zoom, known for good everything including sweet bokeh, so I imagine these two lenses will be the only ones I need when going out to do a guerilla shoot. Not doing weddings, so no need to carry 8 crappy lenses.

Update: 9-3-14 This lens is still my favorite 50, but the back focusing has become a slight concern. I shot the Sigma Art consistently throughout a wedding, and during the reception, it back focused almost 50% of the time. To get an idea of how dark it was, I was shooting at 1/80th, ISO3200, and f/1.4. I realized it's a dark room, but still. My canon didn't back focus near this much. Still five stars for me, as I am absolutely stunned at the sharpness of the images I get and beautiful, natural contrast it produces. Whenever I'm about to purchase one of two comparable lenses, (if I don't already own one) I buy both on separate credit cards and do a side-by-side test. I've uploaded the photo for you to see. I am a professional wedding photographer, I own two 5D3's and two 6D's, as well as every prime lens Canon makes from the 14 to the 100, and my zoom is a 70-200 2.8 IS. I don't care if my lenses are Canon made, I only want the sharpest and best for my clients. I've owned the 50L for two years now, and was pretty excited when Sigma announced their 50art. Out of the box, it's a long lens. Way longer than the L, with a 77mm filter thread as well. Totally unexpected for a 50mm lens. I tested my lenses without any UV filters on them, and by far, the Sigma was sharpest. Better contrast, better color, and sharper than the Canon L. Here's what seemed a little odd to me: In my test, I stopped down to F/8, and while it was still superior to Canon's 50, it almost looked...noisier at the same ISO! Very strange to me, and I'm not sure why. It is still a better image, but I can't explain why the same camera body at the same settings wouldn't produce the same noise level. Huh. The Sigma backfocuses a little bit more than the Canon in a dimly lit room, but this isn't a major concern to me. Yet. I have yet to test this at a wedding, but I've taken several photos inside my own home, and, while faster to lock focus than the Canon, if the Sigma backfocused, the Canon won. As far as sharpness, everything you've read so far is true. Lines are more clear, contrast is more defining, and if I had to label the Canon with one word, it would be "soft". Never before this lens would I have said that about the Canon, but Sigma knocked it out of the park. I'm proud to have this in my arsenal, and can't wait to deliver the images it produces to my brides and grooms. Chromatic Abberation is almost nonexistent, and something I found totally strange but incredible: I could not get the lens to flare. Not even shooting directly at the sun. I was pretty amazed. I hope this review helps, and I hope the photo helps as well.

As others here and the almost universal praise this lens has received from the professional reviewers have all said, this lens is astonishing. The Sigma team has been making remarkable lenses now for many years often filling niches left empty by other third party lens makers and the OEM ones as well. A good example of a niche lens from Sigma only available from it is the 'Bigma' a 50-500mm big mama bazooka with a range not found anywhere else. Here the target was the Otus from Carl Zeiss and the target is not only hit but superseded if you consider the addition of AF to be of value to you. It exists here but not in the Otus. So many today rely on AF that in all likelihood, the Otus would be a poor choice for many even if costing 1/2 of the Art. In fact, it costs four times as much. The special part of this lens is that it retains its optical quality no matter the aperture chosen. Even at f1.4 there is almost no loss of edge quality with only a slight decrease in contrast which itself is easily fixed in post assuming you can detect it. I can but only on test snaps. In real world use I see no fall off. However, and this is very important, this lens is not magic. Once stopped down to f4, it performs about where the lesser cost Sigma 50mm f1.4 standard lens does. Sure, this probably would blow away the standard in an optical test but as far as real world use, the difference won't be enough to make or break an image or any image I can think of anyway. Worse, the inherent sharpness of this lens, especially if coupled to an ultra high rez body like the D810, will mean any trivial error in technique will scream out in the finished image. This is a very serious lens and it demands great expertise in use - just as the higher rez bodies from Sony and Nikon demand now and maybe some year, Canon will demand someday Real Soon Now. Yes, I"m a Canon shooter. If your work will fall into ranges where you'll be using apertures between f1.4 and f4 so you can live with the thin DOF AND you demand only the highest quality images, then this lens or the Otus is your lens. If you wish AF, then it's the Sigma or nothing. However, if you work using normal apertures of f4 to f16, (especially above f8) then this lens will bring you nothing much added to justify the added cost of 2x the lesser cost Sigma or the OEM 5Xmm f1.4 offerings. In the case of Canon, there is the f1.2 which is highly specialized so if you wish this trade of very thin DOF but can accept its serious limitations, then you know who you are. I am glad I got this lens. It's a keeper for me but I'm a tech quality screwball who almost always works from a tripod. For many folks, this lens is a trophy lens but not needed over lesser cost offerings from Sigma and other manufacturers.

I have spent a lot of times with 50mm lenses. From the 50 f/2 on my film SLR, to the Canon 50mm f/1.8, then the Canon 50mm f/1.4. I love the versatility of 50mm, and the shallow depth of field that can be had with the wide apertures. So when I read reviews on this lens, I knew it had to replace my Canon 50mm 1.4. The Canon is good. Not great, but good. Sharp. Fast. Terrible at f/1.4. Ok at f/1.6. Starts to get good at f/2.0. It's noisy when focusing, and the minimum focus distance isn't great. The Sigma improves on all of these things, a tremendous amount. Super sharp, even at f/1.4. I have never used a sharper lens. It's crazy. Even the corners are sharper than the canon was at the center! And this is on a full frame camera. The focus is fast and quiet. It did need a few adjustments to be spot on. The Sigma dock and about a half hour dialed everything in nicely. I really like the ability to set different focal adjustments at different subject differences. I needed that, as everything but the closest distance was off, and by differing amounts. I also like that it has a pretty close minimum focusing distance. Still not macro, of course, but an extra 4 inches over the Canon makes a huge difference when trying to compose up close. The only knock is how big and heavy this is for a 50mm f/1.4. It's about twice as big as the canon, and over twice as heavy. Makes walking around with it definitely more noticeable. But I'm a big guy. I sometimes walk around with the sigma 150-600. So this is a cake walk compared to that. I will certainly be buying more into Sigma's art line after this. Update: I have been using this lens more than any other lens in my bag, and I wish I could give it 6 stars. It's easily my go to lens for walking around. Normally I go with a zoom lens for the versatility while walking, but it's hard to pass on the sharpness of this amazing piece of glass. I have attached a few photos that show off this lens.

Facts: - It's expensive for a 50mm 1.4. - It is heavy for a 50mm 1.4 - It is huge for a 50mm 1.4 - It is ridiculously sharp (even wide open) for a 50mm 1.4 Opinion: - It is hands down the best 50mm lens I have used (I have owned the 50L, the Canon 50mm 1.4, Canon 50mm 1.8, and the old Sigma 50mm 1.4). - Compared to the 50L, the Sigma beats it in almost every category other than speed (1/3 stop of light), bokeh and size. The AF on the 50L was far more inconsistent than the Sigma 50mm Art copy that I own. There are very, very few scenarios where I would choose the 50L over this Sigma (rainy or questionable weather, as the 50L is sealed). When it comes to bokeh, the 50L has no 3rd party 50mm rivals, and this includes the Sigma (maybe the Zeiss Otus, but I don't have that kind of cash!). The best part about the Sigma is that it is sharp wide open. Extremely sharp. Comparing it to the 50L, its actually usable at f/1.4. The 50L is rarely usable at f/1.2-1.4. I always shot my 50L @ F/1.6+. In regards to usability, the Sigma is just plain better. - Compared to the Canon 50mm 1.4, the Sigma is better in every category other than size, weight and price. Optically, there is no questions the Sigma outperforms the Canon 50mm 1.4 in every way. The only scenario I would use the Canon 50mm 1.4 over this Sigma is if you didn't have the cash to drop on the Sigma, you rarely shoot with a 50mm prime and just need something to fill a gap just in case, or you are shooting in a situation where the lens might get destroyed. - Compared to the Canon 50mm 1.8 is about the same as the 1.4 - except the margin is much larger. The Nifty Fifty is an awesome value lens, especially if shot @ f/2.8+. But this is in a completely different category than the Sigma. If you find yourself with the Nifty Fifty always attached to your body, and you want a significant upgrade, this might be a great option!

I've had this lens for a week now and it is very good quality! Can't complain with the sharpness, or the focus. Didn't even need to buy that silly USB Dock... Mainly because I did Micro-AF adjustments in my camera (Canon 5D Mark II) and those adjustments were good enough for me (though lens snobs may have you think other wise :p) People who have complained about the accuracy of focus may just not be used to working with a such a shallow depth of field (The nature of a F-1.4 Lens). Once you get the hang of it, you'll find this lens very useful in low light situations. It also produces some wonderful Bokeh Balls ;-) There are a few cons though. NO weather sealing. NO Image Stabilization (but neither does the canon L50 1.2). & it's heavy (1.8 pounds) if you aren't used to shooting with the canon L70-200mm 2.8 lens (2.8-3 pounds) All in all, i'm very happy with this lens for it's versatile, well constructed, and produces great images which is all you could look for in a lens... right?

This lens is insane. Absolutely worth every penny. I shoot on a Canon 6D. Also a fantastic value for the money. I've seen generally two "complaints" on this lens. Firstly, it's big. Well. It is. It's massive, in fact. Much bigger than the 50mm Canon L and the Nikor 50. For folks looking for that lower profile standard prime...This ain't it. If the size and weight of the lens is largely irrelevant to you as it to me, then this is the killer lens to buy. Secondly, I've seen a few reviews that lament the lack of bokeh on this prime, as if this may have been potentially sacrificed for ultimate sharpness. I have been pretty happy with out-of-focus blur in general. But i shoot this wide open a lot and typically try and get plenty distance between my subject and the background anyway. This lens can resolve well beyond the sensor capability of both Canon and Nikon (which is actually Sony now), so you should be well future proof. Also Sigma has their mount conversion service available for $150 should you buy a Canon variety of this lens and later change to Nikon bodies. Sigma can change you mounts for you! No more buying all new glass! There really isn't enough positive I can say about this beast. I also own the 35mm ART and I am anxiously awaiting the release of the 85mm ART (hopefully unveiled at Photokina in a couple weeks along with the 24mm ART) Buy it, and don't look back. Then go buy the 35mm too

I was very sad upon initially putting this lens on my camera and it having awful focusing issues. I didn't want to spend more money on calibrating tools as the lens is already pretty expensive itself. BUT I noticed it focused fine in LIVE MODE. If this is the situation for you, you need to put your camera on a tripod, focus it on something, then go to the little dial next to your view finder, it's called the diopter, and scroll it notch by notch until your photo is crystal clear. Mine was about set at 3 notches up on a canon 5DIV. That being said, this is my new favorite lens. It's EXTREMELY sharp, I can see people's pores/baby hairs. Edit: coming back a few months later. Changed my rating to 5 stars because this lens is just so beautiful and I haven't had any issues since. It's crisp as heck and produces some of the most amazing images.

Nachdem ich bestellt hatte konnte ich es kaum abwarten das Objektiv in den Händen zu halten! Wenn man im Internet recherchiert findet man ausschließlich top Bewertungen. Alle Berichte versprechen eine herausragende Schärfe und preisen dieses Objektiv als den absoluten Maßstab in seiner Klasse an. Sicher, es ist schwer und ja, es ist nicht gegen Spritzwasser geschützt. Ob einen das stört sollte man allerdings vor dem Kauf abwägen. Die Verarbeitung ist top und es macht einen sehr wertigen Eindruck. Alle anderen Vorteile kann man zuhauf in jedem Testbericht nachlesen. Als das Paket ankam habe ich es natürlich gleich an die Kamera geschnallt und getestet. Getestet wurde auf einer EOS 7D mit Stativ. Zunächst Nahaufnahmen bis ca. 1m. Super! Bereits bei einer Blende von 1.4 knackscharf mit Butterweichem Bokeh, wirklich sehr schön! Dann kam jedoch die Ernüchterung. Bei über einem Meter Abstand waren 3 von 4 Bildern leicht unscharf. Bei den unscharfen Fotos war ein leichter Fronfokus zu erkennen (ca. 2-3cm). Nicht viel aber bei Blende 1.4 leider zuviel. Nur ab Blende 4 oder höher waren zuverlässige Treffer möglich. Ab 2-3m Abstand 100% Ausschuss. Bilder komplett matschig im fokussierten Bereich. Selbst mit Blende 4 oder 8 nicht mehr zu retten. Was eigentlich möglich wäre lässt sich leicht überprüfen wenn man Live View verwendet. Hier fokussiert die Kamera über den Sensor. Zwar deutlich langsamer aber dafür trifft sie nahezu immer! Die Schärfe ist nicht vergleichbar! Liegt es also am AF der Kamera? Nein! Meine anderen Objektive (EF 100mm F2.8 L IS Macro / EF F4 24-105mm L / Tokina F2.8 11-16mm) funktionieren alle einwandfrei an der gleichen Kamera. Normalerweise würde ich sagen "Und tschüss" und zurück damit. Die Abbildungsleistung bei F1.4 und geringem Abstand hat mich aber so überzeugt, dass ich es nochmal über den Sigma Service probieren will. Natürlich nur wenn eine kostenfreie Justage auf Garantie möglich ist. Ab besten in Verbindung mit meiner Kamera. Ich werde den Service nächste Woche kontaktieren und dann alles selber vorbei bringen, da er gleich bei mir um die Ecke ist. Den USB Adapter für 40€ zu kaufen und mich dann hier mit der Einstellung und deren Prüfung verrück zu machen sehe ich ehrlich gesagt nicht ein. Die Einstellungsmöglichkeiten für 4 Abstandsbereiche sind aus meiner Sicht ohnehin zu wenig da lediglich der letzte den Problembereich bei meinem Objektiv berücksichtigt. In diesem Bereich findet aber bei meinem Exemplar eine konstante Verschlechterung der Schärfe statt. Ich bezweifel das ich das Problem mit einer einzigen Einstellung für diesen Bereich korrigieren könnte. Ein Produkt dieser Preisklasse hat aus meiner Sicht einwandfrei zu funktionieren. Ohne Kompromisse! Deshalb keine Spielereien.... Natürlich werde ich dieser Rezension noch ein Update verpassen und ggf. meine Erfahrungen mit dem Sigma Service und dem Ergebnis der Justage schildern. Sollte das Ergebnis gut ausfallen korrigiere ich meine Bewertung gerne nach oben. Aktuell bleibt mir jedoch nur übrig einen Stern zu vergeben, da das Objektiv im aktuellen Zustand schlicht und einfach nicht zu gebrauchen ist. Update 10.08.2014: Inzwischen ist etwas Zeit vergangen. Anstatt das Objektiv zur Justage zu schicken hatte ich mich für einen Umtausch entschieden. Nachdem ich das neue Obejktiv erhalten habe war die Enttäuschung erneut groß. Schon wieder massive Probleme mit dem Autofokus! Auch dieses Objektiv war ab Werk nicht zu gebrauchen. Dieses Mal entschied ich mich dafür selber eine Justage, mit Hilfe des optionalen USB Docks durchzuführen. Mit der Software SIGMA Optimization Pro lassen sich, bei diesem Objektiv, für 4 Entfernungsbereiche verschiedene Front- und Backfokus Korrekturwerte einstellen. Zunächst habe ich, vom Stativ aus, die entpreschenden die Fehlfokussierungen ermittel und mich dann an die besten Korrekturwerte herangetastet. Die Treffsicherheit des AF vom Stativ aus liegt bei Blende 1.4 ca. bei 75%, wenn der AF korrigiert ist. Für mein Empfinden ein akzeptabler Wert wenn man bedenkt wie gering die Schärfentiefe bei 1.4 ist. Bei kleineren Blendenöffnungen verbessert sich das natürlich. Ein weiterer interessanter Punkt der mir aufgefallen ist, ist dass die Korrektureinstellung für den jeweiligen Abstand wirklich nur genau in diesem Abstandsbereich greift. Als Beispiel: Ein Zentimeter mehr oder weniger kann im Extremfall entscheiden ob das Objektiv den Focus um den Wert + oder -40 anpasst! Ein Sprungförmiger Übergang ist definitiv keine gute Lösung! Hier hätte man doch wenigsten auf eine Lineare Funktion zwischen den Übergängen zurückgreifen können. Da die Korrekturwerte bei mir nicht sehr hoch sind fällt das aber nicht ins Geweicht. Zusätzlich zu den Testcharts konnte ich das Objektiv letzte Woche auf einer Hochzeit testen. Fotografiert habe ich überwiegend im Blendenbereich 1.4 - 2.2. Die Ausbeute an scharfen Bilder bewegt sich jetzt nach der Justage in einem Guten Bereich. Ich habe mich entschlossen das Objektiv zu behalten. Durch die Selbstjustage lassen sie die Werksseitigen Mängel sehr gut korrigieren und auch ich komme nun in den Genuss der hervorragenden Abbildungsleistung dieser Optik. Ich werte deshalb meine Rezension von einem Stern auf 4 Sterne auf. Einen Stern ziehe ich ab aufgrund der schlechten Justage mit der das Sigma ausgeliefert wird. Update 2 13.11.2016: Ich verwende das Objektiv jetzt seit ca. 1.5 Jahren an einer Canon 6D. Beim Wechsel von Canon 6D auf 7D habe ich die Konfiguration des Objektivs auf Werkseinstellungen zurückgesetzt und habe ich kein Problem mehr mit dem Schärfebereich! Heisst für mich, die Kamera war das Problem, nicht das Objektiv! Mit diesem Wissen kann ich das Objektiv uneingeschränkt weiterempfehlen denn es macht nach wie vor hervorragende Bilder.

今回も素晴らしい個体でした。有り難うございました。

Arguably the best third-party 50mm lens for Canon, and better than Canon’s entry level and mid-level 50mm lenses.

de los mejores lentes que e comprado

Uso questo obiettivo su una 6D e su una 70D e non ho nessun problema di messa a fuoco (magari sono fortunato io). L'obiettivo è semplicemente fantastico, gli zoom serie L e gli altri fissi che ho provato non si avvicinano neanche lontanamente alla qualità delle foto che produce. Lo utilizzo praticamente sempre a tutta apertura in ambienti poco illuminati, scattando quasi sempre a luce naturale ottenendo risultati strabilianti. L'obiettivo è nitido da impazzire, e ha dei colori fantastici. La maggior parte delle foto scattate non le ritocco, sono già perfette così. L'ho preso preferendolo al 50mm 1.4 canon viste le recensioni su internet e non sono affatto pentito della scelta. Lo uso anche per girare video in notturna e gli effetti di sfocatura sono unici. Unico neo il peso e l'ingombro se confrontato con i prodotti simili, in quanto si avvicina più a uno zoom 24-70 che a un fisso, ma per me che ci sono abituato non è un problema. La costruzione è molto solida ed è corredato di borsa e paraluce.