http://www.opticallimits.com/canon-eos/522-sigma50f14eosff
It may shine on APS-C DSLRs but it's not that impressive on full format cameras anymore.
How is your impression about AF accuracy? An sometimes heard
complain is a certain inaccuracy especially in lowlight.
Hello again, I didn't post here for a long time. BTW new forum is quite nice <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
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About the lens: I thought only Canon EF 70-300 DO with its Diffractive Optics has onion-like rings on the out-of-focus highlights...
The DOF ruler shot doesn't indicate a high sharpness at f/1.4. On the contrary everything looks blurred and I somewhat doubt that this deserves a bordering "very good" rating. The DOF ruler shot at f/2 is more like what the MTF-50 suggests at f/1.4, but doesn't really look "excellent" either. f/2.8 does look excellent though, although the focus shift is pretty terrible.
The LoCA setup is more a close focus setup. As mentioned in the review it has some problems here. However, that's true for many other lenses as well.
We'll use another test target for the LoCAs starting in the next reviews which may have a longer focus distance (assuming the DOF permits it).
[quote name='Rainer' date='03 June 2010 - 07:18 PM' timestamp='1275589117' post='140']
How is your impression about AF accuracy? An sometimes heard
complain is a certain inaccuracy especially in lowlight.
[/quote]
Well, RSAs ...
Compared to Canon 50mm f1.8, this lens wins only when it comes to center resolution at large aperture, an absolute disappointment, I am surprised Canon 50mm f1.4 hasn't been tested on full frame, it should be a reference, as someone who knows this lens, I expect that the only advantage would be center sharpness between f1.4 and F2 on all other points Canon should win, especially the borders.
I was enthusiast for this lens, dunno if still it makes any logic getting it for use on full frame
My first impression when looking at the charts was that this was not a good lens but if you compare it to the 50L it is a bit better everywhere (except at f/1.2, I know). That's quite something regarding the price of those two lenses.
So if you want a good 50mm lens on FF just get this AND the nifty fifty? <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
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Hi Toni-a,
This lens is stil the second-best fast AF 50 out there right now.
Most fast 50s (F/1.4 and faster) only become good or excellent at F/2.8, and generally are mediocre at larger apertures. They often even share the same characteristics when it comes to performance, i.e., not so good wide open up to and including F/2.5, and suddenly great from F/2.8 onwards, The Canon 50 F/1.4 is a good example of that, as is the Zeiss 50 F/1.4. If you look at the manufacturer's MTFs, this is corroborated, too, especially close to MFD.
When it comes to slower 50s, most are really good to excellent wide open, you normally only need to stop down 1/3 of an f-stop to have an eminently usable lens. A lens like the 50 F/2.5 CM is absolutely great from wide open, and has great bokeh to boot. It is an often overlooked gem, but for the noise of the ArcDrive AF motor.
If you need a fast 50 mm lens for Canon, on FF, there are really only 2: the 50L and the Sigma 50 F/1.4. And despite the tests here, they actually do very well. The thing is that with the current cameras, we get MTF curves like we used to get with film. The AA filter and resolution don't smother the actual rendering capabilities of the lens anymore to a bunch of flatliners <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
' />.This means it looks as if these lenses suddenly don't perform all that well anymore, while in fact they are better than anything produced ever before. Don't forget that even the "lowly" corner resolution is about 40 lines per mm wide open, which is approximately what an amateur would get out of colour negative film in the centre, in the good old days. And you honestly have to see the images of those who have taken the time to get to know how to work these lenses to see what I mean.
And which one you choose, depends on personal preferences and budget, AFAIAC. In my case that is the 50L, basically because I prefer the rendering of the 50L way above anything else in the shorter FL range.
Kind regards, Wim
[quote name='Klaus' date='03 June 2010 - 09:56 PM' timestamp='1275594971' post='149']
Well, RSAs ...
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Can you "deabbreviate" this for me?