Ef 50mm F14 Usm Lens Vs Sigma 50mm Art
Summary
The Sigma 50mm f1.4 Fine art is without a incertitude a very high quality standard lens with autofocus for Canon, Nikon, Leica L-mount or Sony total-frame cameras. Y'all'd wait information technology to out-perform the cheaper Canon EF 50mm f1.iv USM and Nikkor 50mm f1.4G lenses because it's roughly twice the price, but the large surprise is how information technology as well delivers ameliorate performance in virtually aspects than the Catechism EF 50mm f1.2L USM and the Nikkor 58mm f1.4 and is neck-and-cervix with Sony'due south Iron 50mm f1.4 ZA despite both these lenses coming-in at almost twice the price. And if you're a Leica Fifty-mount possessor, information technology's a bargain compared to the 50mm options from Panasonic and especially Leica itself. When you also consider Sigma offers a service (paid) to switch mounts should you lot bandy camera systems in the future, in that location actually isn't any reason not to become the 50mm Art if you can afford it. The only downsides are greater longitudinal chromatic aberrations than the more expensive rivals and the fact the body isn't weather-sealed. And so the Sigma 50mm f1.4 Fine art is a very good lens, out-performing models costing even twice the price. It sets a very loftier bar for price / operation ratio of 50mm f1.4 lenses and easily keeps our Highly Recommended award even several years afterward its original release.
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Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art review -
- Written past
Intro
The Sigma 50mm f1.4 DG HSM Art is a standard prime lens from 2014 designed for full-frame bodies and bachelor in Nikon F, Canon EF, Sony E and Sigma mounts, with a Leica L-mount version arriving after in 2019. A 50mm lens delivers 'normal' coverage on a full-frame torso and is ideal for general-purpose use, and becomes equivalent to 75mm on APS-C/DX camera bodies (80mm on Catechism), making information technology ideal every bit a brusque telephoto for portraiture. Its bright f1.4 focal ratio is skilful for isolating the subject confronting a blurred groundwork and is brighter by 2/3 of a end than f1.8 lenses which allows for improve background isolation and shorter shutter speeds and/or lower ISO values. The Sigma 50mm f1.iv Fine art is also compatible with Sigma's USB dock for fine-tuning or firmware updates, and if you lot change bodies, you can pay to have the mount swapped for your new system.
As a fellow member of Sigma's renown Art serial the Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art is expected to perform on a very high level. Information technology is positioned roughly betwixt standard 50mm f1.4 lenses and the top-end models from Canon, Nikon, and Sony in price. The large question then is how does information technology to compare to those below and above it in price? Does information technology offering a sufficient step-up from normal 50mm f1.four lenses to justify the price, and does it give the pricier models a run for their coin? To find out, Thomas and Gordon teamed-upwardly to give the Sigma 50mm Art a real workout and compared it against a whole slew of other lenses including the Zeiss Otus 55mm f1.iv, Canon EF 50mm f1.2L USM, and Sony FE 50mm f1.4 ZA. Nosotros've completely updated our original review from 2014 with test-shots on the 46MP Nikon Z7 and the 42MP Sony A7R II. So if you lot're interested in which high performance standard prime lens to cull for your camera system, you've come to the correct identify!
Facts from the catalog
As usual I'll accept a look at the technical data of the Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art first. I've rated the features with a [+] (or [++]), when it's better than boilerplate or even state of the art, a [0] if it's standard or only average, and [-] if in that location'due south a disadvantage. For comparing I employ the Sony FE 50mm f1.iv ZA, Nikon Z 50mm f1.8 Due south, Nikon AF-S 50mm f1.4G, Zeiss Otus 55mm f1.four, and Catechism EF 50mm f1.4 USM and simply dub them "Sigma", "Sony", "Z-Nikkor", "F-Nikkor", "Canon", and "Zeiss" to make the comparison easier to read.
Size (diameter x length): The Sigma is a large and long lens at 85 x 98mm (3.3 x three.9in.) for F-mount plus 47mm for the lens hood (96mm diameter). The F-Nikkor (73 x 54mm + 32mm) and Canon (74 x 51mm) are minor in comparison. The Zeiss is the biggest lens (92 x 117mm + 32mm lens hood). Adding the necessary adapter to mount the Sigma, Zeiss, F-Nikkor, and Catechism on a modernistic mirrorless camera body makes those lenses fifty-fifty longer by effectually 30mm. Of the lenses already designed for mirrorless bodies the Sony is likewise quite large at 83 x 108 + 53mm lens hood while the Z-Nikkor at 76 x 87mm + 40mm lens hood is of medium size. [-]
Weight: The Sigma is a pretty heavy lens at 805g (28.4oz.) plus 43g for the lens hood merely topped by the Zeiss at 945g + 64g lens hood. The Canon and the F-Nikkor are the lightest of the bunch at below 300g. The Z-Nikkor with its focal ratio of f1.8 is somewhat in between at 412g + 27g lens hood. The Sony is 780g + 33g lens hood. Keep in mind though that if you want to utilise the Sigma, Zeiss, Catechism or F-Nikkor on a mirrorless trunk you lot need an adapter which weighs another 100 to 130g or in case of the Sigma get the respective mirrorless version which weighs 910g. [-]
Eyes: All the modern designs since 2013 are pretty complex at 12 to xiii elements in 8 to x groups and utilize aspherical elements. But the F-Nikkor (8 elements in 7 groups) and the Canon (vii/half dozen) are much simpler designs but even the Catechism employs an aspherical element. [+]
Closest focus distance of the Sigma is 0.38m (1.2ft.) in manual focus with a magnification of one:5.iv. The Z-Nikkor yields 1:6.0 at the same distance while the others offer a maximum magnification of around ane:half dozen.five at 0.45 to 0.5m distance. The Sigma achieves a magnification of 1:x at 0.61m distance. [0]
Filter-thread: Sigma and Zeiss 77mm, Sony 72mm, Z-Nikkor 62mm, F-Nikkor and Canon 58mm. [+]
Paradigm stabilization: No lens in this comparison has an optical stabilization. Only the modernistic mirrorless bodies from Sony and Nikon provide congenital-in sensor-shift stabilization. [0]
Automobile focus: all the lenses in this comparing except for the Zeiss have a built-in AF drive. Transmission-focus override is by merely turning the focus ring. The Sigma, Zeiss, Canon and F-Nikkor have a direct linear mechanical coupling between the focus ring and the focus activity. They as well offer the distance and dof markings that usually come with lenses designed for DSLRs. The focus ring on the lenses designed for mirrorless camera bodies operate as focus-past-wire with no distance or dof markings. The Sony has a linear gearing while the Z-Nikkor has not-linear gearing which makes smooth focus pulling almost impossible for videographers. [+]
Covers total frame/FX or smaller. Same with the alternatives. [+]
Price: The Sigma (690 EUR / 950 USD) is more expensive than the 50mm f1.iv lenses from Nikon (410 EUR/USD) and Catechism (300 EUR / 350 USD w/o lens hood) or the Z-Nikkor (360 EUR / 600 USD). But the Sigma is comfortably cheaper than the Sony (1500 EUR/USD) and especially the Zeiss (3200 EUR / 3600 USD). [0]
The Sigma and the Sony come up equipped with a nice padded pouch, the Nikkors take flimsier pouches and the Zeiss and Catechism come without a pouch at all. All lenses likewise have their lens hood included (reversible for send) except for the Canon where you accept to purchase the lens hood as an extra – which I would recommend to exercise. [+]
Sigma'south service can alter the mount of the lens betwixt Nikon, Canon, Sony, Sigma, and L-mount (at a cost). This is a unique feature that no other manufacturer offers. [++]
Discontinuity ring: Only the Sony and the Zeiss have an aperture ring. The Sony with one/3 stop clicks which can be turned off for continuous, shine, and noise-free performance. The Zeiss offers only i/2 stop clicks which cannot be turned off. [0]
Sealing: The Sigma has no weather sealing which is a shame considering its premium status. The Sony and the Z-Nikkor have special conditions-sealing throughout the construction only the Sony lacks a prophylactic sealing at the lens-mount. [0]
The score in the "features-department" is two[-]/5[0]/vii[+]. On paper only the large size and weight is on the negative side, although for the money some conditions sealing would have been nice. On the positive side is the unique option to become the lens-mount swapped.
Three standard prime lenses with Nikon mountain
Above from left to right: Nikon Z 50mm f1.eight Due south, Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art, Zeiss Otus 55mm f1.4 (Sigma and Zeiss in Nikon F-mount version)
Three standard prime number lenses with Catechism EF mount
Above from left to right: Nikon Z 50mm f1.8 S, Sigma 50mm f1.4 Fine art, Zeiss Otus 55mm f1.four (Sigma and Zeiss in Nikon F-mount version)
Alternatives
There'south no shortage of 50mm lenses on the market place, and many photographic camera and lens companies actually offer a choice of apertures too. The f1.8 versions are definitely worth considering: they are smaller, lighter, cheaper, less obtrusive and often deliver like – or fifty-fifty superior – epitome quality than their bigger brothers. The loss of 2/3 of a end may not be as relevant as the marketing literature wants y'all to believe. Just if you absolutely want or need f1.4 (or brighter) then you have the following alternatives with autofocus:
- Canon offers the EF 50mm f1.4 USM at 300 EUR / 350 USD or the EF 50mm f1.2L USM at 1350 EUR/USD. See Gordon'due south Canon EF 50mm f1.2L USM review. Total-frame Catechism mirrorless owners can alternatively go for the native RF 50mm f1.2L at a considerable 2300 USD; run into Gordon's Canon RF 50mm f1.2L USM review.
- Nikon has the AF-S 50mm f1.4G (410 EUR/USD) and the AF-S 58mm f1.4G (1600 EUR/USD). See my Nikon 50mm f1.4G review and my Nikon 58mm f1.4G review.
- Sony offers the Atomic number 26 50mm f1.iv ZA for 1500 EUR/USD. Run into my Sony Atomic number 26 50mm f1.4 ZA review.
- Samyang has the AF 50mm one.iv Iron for Sony East-mount simply from 2016 which sells for 480 EUR/USD.
- Leica L-mount owners have the Panasonic offers the Lumix S PRO 50mm f1.4 for 2300 USD or the Leica Summilux SL 50mm f1.4 for 5300 USD, making the arrival of the Sigma a very welcome 'budget' option.
Other alternatives include transmission focus lenses or lenses with slower focal ratios or shorter focal length:
- Sigma has their 40mm f1.four Art for 1200 EUR / 1400 USD. The lens is huge and heavy merely optically excellent. See my Sigma 40mm f1.4 Art review where information technology earned a Highly Recommended. With its shorter focal length y'all have to crop 25% to achieve the same angle of view every bit a 50mm lens which reduces the resolution of a 46MP full-frame image to 29MP.
- Sony offers the FE 55mm f1.8 ZA for 830 EUR / 1000 USD. It is a much smaller and lighter lens than its bigger sibling but you lose ii/3 of a stop of low-cal gathering power and endure some reduction in groundwork isolation. I'll be soon completing my Sony FE 55mm f1.viii ZA review. There's likewise the budget but bones Atomic number 26 50mm f1.8 to consider.
- Nikon has come up out with a new standard lens for their mirrorless organisation, the Z 50mm f1.8 S costing 360 EUR / 600 USD. See my Nikon Z 50mm f1.8S review.
- Samyang has several transmission focus 50mm lenses one of which is the 50mm 1.4 Every bit UMC which sells for around 350 EUR/USD.
- The 800 pound gorilla in the group of MF lenses is the Zeiss Otus 55mm f1.4, and I wish it cost 800 pounds! At a toll of 3200 EUR / 3600 USD and over 900g weight plus a completely different optical design than other "normal" lenses it set up a new benchmark in 2013 on optical functioning in this group. See my Zeiss Otus 55mm f1.4 review where information technology earned a Highly Recommended. Zeiss also offers the manual focus Loxia 50mm f2 and the autofocus Batis 40mm f2.
Focus
Focus accuracy and repeatability is critical to consistently produce abrupt shots especially with large discontinuity lenses. Repeatability (the accuracy of focus on the same subject after repeated focus-acquisition) of the Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art is good (measured 97.seven% in Reikan FoCal) with no outliers over a series of 40 shots. At that place is only a very slight focus variation whether the lens focuses from a closer distance or from infinity.
The lens focuses in around 0.7 sec on a Nikon Z7 from infinity to 0.61m (1:ten magnification), which is swell. On a Nikon D800 it focused fifty-fifty faster in 0.6 sec. The Sony and the F-Nikkor motion in around 0.9 resp. 0.8 sec. Simply the Z-Nikkor is faster at 0.5 sec. The focus ring has no slack/play between its movement and the focus-action and a throw of around 90 degrees, which is very short for accurate focus wide open. The focus ring has a 2.5 cm wide finely ribbed condom surface that is easy to grip and moves smoothly albeit a fleck tight. The other lenses have a smoother AF operation. The focus-ring turns the same way as on Canon and Sony lenses. Unfortunately that is the reverse direction to what Nikon users have come to expect.
If y'all tape video with the built-in microphone the focus-motility produces just a slight "ballyhoo" at the start and the cease of the move and the AF-drive itself is also not besides annoying. The F-Nikkor has a more irritating focus noise while focus-operation of the Zeiss, Sony and Z-Nikkor is inaudible from the outside and if you record video with the congenital-in microphone. As y'all pull focus, y'all'll notice some focus breathing: the image of the Sigma 50mm f1.four Art becomes vii% more magnified when I adjusted the focus from infinity to 0.61m. This could be distracting when shooting videos but is par for the course: most other lenses in this comparing increase their magnification betwixt 5% and 7% except for the Z-Nikkor which shows almost no focus breathing (-0.7%).
The lens needed some AF micro adjustment for optimal AF on my D800 depending on the distance from the subject. Fortunately the lens can be adjusted for four dissimilar distance ranges (around 40cm, 70cm, i.5m and infinity) if you get Sigma'south USB dock and use their optimization pro software. Only beware: this is a pretty irksome process. If y'all only use the AF micro adjustment in your camera then go for the aligning which best matches your typical shooting distance with this lens.
Adjacent cheque out my quality results!
Check prices on the Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art at Amazon, B&H, Adorama, or Wex. Alternatively become yourself a copy of my In Camera volume or treat me to a coffee! Thanks!Pages: 1 two iii four
Source: https://www.cameralabs.com/sigma_50mm_f1-4_dg_hsm_art/