Canon 50mm 1.4 vs Sigma 30/50mm 1.4

[hehe]

I have a Canon XSI, 50 1.8 and 85 1.8, mainly taking picture of my daughter (close to 1 y.o. - moving around a lot) within an indoor low light environment.

I'm currently debating getting one of the following lens (the 50 1.8 focus doesn't hit the spot all the time and the 85 1.8 is good but a bit too close for indoor shots):
1) Canon 50mm F1.4 USM
2) Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM
3) Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM

Any suggestions on these lens would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

[Elisha]

Out of the 3 listed, the Siggy 50mm f/1.4 will be the sharpest and nicest bokeh.
I believe the 30mm may not have the fastest AF but that's common when you go wider.

[kay188]

Crop body or not?

On a crop body, the 50mm's will give you a 80mm FoV.
The 30mm, will become more of a 50mm.

Indoor low light, I would suggest the 30mm for indoor.
As for the 50's the Sigma 50 blows the Canon 50 out of the water.

[KevC]

I love my 28/1.8. USM is wicked fast. Many have been happy with the Sigma 30/1.4.

[sfu_engineer]

I've used the Canon 50mm F1.8, Canon 50mm F1.4, Sigma 50mm F1.4, and the Canon 50mm F1.2. They all have their own respective issues. I am using the 50mm F1.2 version right now but the F1.8 is seriously the best value.

All of them have their own focusing issues and the Canon 50mm F1.4 is not that much better than the F1.8. The Sigma is faster but more unreliable an the F1.2 is just a bit wonky up close.

I suggest keeping what you have and just picking up the 30mm F1.4.

[SENSEI]

Out of the 3 listed, the Siggy 50mm f/1.4 will be the sharpest and nicest bokeh.
I believe the 30mm may not have the fastest AF but that's common when you go wider.

Wha?

I don't think there is a correlation between focal length and focus speed. Your focus speed will be dependent on the motor in the lens.

My 135L focuses faster then my 35L; and my 85 1.8 seemed to be faster then both of these...

I've had the Canon 50 1.8, Canon 50 1.4, Sigma 30 1.4, Canon 28 1.8, Canon 35L.

On cropped bodies, the 50's are just too tight for my style of shooting. I'd second what Spencer said and grab yourself a Sigma 30 1.4.

Find it used for $300-350 and make sure there is a receipt...the EX lenses have 10 year CAD warranty and it's transferable.

[rayt-]

I've had the Canon 50 1.8, Canon 50 1.4, Sigma 30 1.4, Canon 28 1.8, Canon 35L.

On cropped bodies, the 50's are just too tight for my style of shooting. I'd second what Spencer said and grab yourself a Sigma 30 1.4.

Find it used for $300-350 and make sure there is a receipt...the EX lenses have 10 year CAD warranty and it's transferable.

Mind giving a quick review of the Sigma 30mm? I'm looking to replace my Canon 50mm with it. Not too many cheap, used ones though. :/

[SENSEI]

Mind giving a quick review of the Sigma 30mm? I'm looking to replace my Canon 50mm with it. Not too many cheap, used ones though. :/

Hmmm...it's been a while since I had it, but the build quality is much better than both the Canon 50 1.8 and 1.4. Bought it to replace the Canon 28 1.8.

The motor is a bit louder than the 1.4 USM motor and slightly slower for focusing. I use center AF only and really had to make sure there I was focusing on something with high contrast. (Used on XT, 20D, 30D, 40D at the time.)

I really liked the portability and size of it, was able to throw it in pocket when traveling with lens hood reversed.

My copy wasn't tack sharp at 1.4 but I had it calibrated 5 times and it didn't have any front/back focusing issues. It was very sharp by F/2. Bokeh and color were acceptable.

It only really came out for low light shooting in places like theaters, indoor sections of zoos, dining room tables on cruises etc...

If you need something in that focal range, the Sigma is affordable and bang for the buck...if you want top quality, sharpness, and focus speed skip to the Canon 1.4L

[rayt-]

Thanks for the review. That is exactly what I'm looking for, bang for the buck. I just read a lot about the focusing issues. How much does it cost to get it calibrated? Or is it covered under warranty?

[lz7j]

Thanks for the review. That is exactly what I'm looking for, bang for the buck. I just read a lot about the focusing issues. How much does it cost to get it calibrated? Or is it covered under warranty?

Calibration is free under warranty. You can drop it off at Gentec in Markham. I loved my old 30 1.4 (took 3 tries to get it 'working')

[SENSEI]

Thanks for the review. That is exactly what I'm looking for, bang for the buck. I just read a lot about the focusing issues. How much does it cost to get it calibrated? Or is it covered under warranty?

As Nikko said, all you need is a receipt to prove it was bought in the past 10 years. Dosen't matter who was orig owner, as long as it has purchase date and its from a authorized dealer.

Gentec is just off 14th and Warden, they have a service desk you can bring it to and they will fix and you can pickup for free...

Usually takes 24-48 hours. All free as long as you have the receipt...

[kay188]

Gentec is way too awesome.

If you're gonna be dealing with Gentec service, ask for David Reese if you can. Excellent representative.

Bought a used Sigma 24-70 with no receipt, but the original box with the store sticker on it.
The lens has a history.
It was brought in for service before and the guy had no receipt, and they found out that it's an American lens imported by the store.
They made the previous, previous, owner pay for it.

David took it in, and he said he'll take care of it, as he didn't want to give me a hassle.. :D

I deal with him every time, and with my Sigma 24-70 now, even with no receipt, he said don't worry about it. He'll look after me.
The lens was bought in Sept 2008. 10 years warranty here I come.

Bringing my lens back tomorrow.. focusing is still very iffy.
Hit and miss wide open. :(

Also, if you're bringing your lens in for service, and you need to use it, just ask the guy you're dealing with, and he SHOULD loan you a lens while yours is in service.
I was loaned a Sigma 70-200 F/2.8 (the newest one), for mine being in service, and mother fudging lens was front focusing... Probably bad luck.
Went back, and explained to them the problem with the loaned lens, and they offered another. (Sigma 50-500, as they didn't have another 70-200).
Lucky me, my lens was done when I went back. :D


LOL, SENSEI, I was going to correct you on the location of Gentec. Not woodbine, but Warden.
I see you did that already!

[rayt-]

Oh that's good to know. That place is like 10 minutes from my house then. :P

[sfu_engineer]

@kay188
I actually see no point in having really good customer service when the lens itself is still no good to use after all those repairs! :P

[CSAgent]

While I agree with kay188's assessment on great service at Gentec, (I know one of their marketing managers) it's that particular lens you have that's the problem. All of the reviews said it's bad, has focus issues no matter what. How many times have you taken it in?

If it were me, I'd get rid of it somehow and get the new HSM version which fixes most if not all of the issues the one you have. That's the reason why it was created in the first place as Sigma rarely updates their line of lenses.

Sorry for the tangent, but to the OP, I'd check out more in-depth reviews of the two lens you're comparing:

The Sigma 50 1.4:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Sigma-50mm-f-1.4-EX-DG-HSM-Lens-Review.aspx

The Canon 1.4:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-50mm-f-1.4-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

Between the two, I would go with the Sigma - costs a little more but it has better image quality.

If you want a really cheap alternative, try the Canon 50mm 1.8
It can be found for less than $100. The image optics from the Canon's 1.4 to 1.8 are negligible. But keep in mind the crop factor of your camera.

50mm becomes 80mm on your Rebel. Consider something like a 35mm instead. :) There's also a 20mm F2.8 by Canon, but at 2.8 it's slower than what you're looking for but will give you that wide angle that would assist in taking photos of your daughter running around.

[kay188]

Good CS means I'll buy Sigma's products more! ;)

It was brought in once by the previous, previous owner, and recently once by me.
After tomorrow, it's going to be the 3rd time it's been in for service.
I'm not giving up on this lens just yet!! :o
Especially when the warranty is of 10 years! So I got 9 years left to keep trying! :lol:

I have thought of getting rid of the lens, and investing in the newer HSM version...
Or investing heavily on a Canon 24-70, just to shut myself up on bad image quality from lenses other than Canon L's. ;)
I believe you, Matt, said that the HSM version comes close to the IQ of the Canon 24-70.

Either way, it's going to cost $500 more, by investing into either lenses. :(

Sorry to sidetrack on OP's thread. :D

[shaolinmonk]

what's the best price people have found for the sigma 30mm 1.4?

[hehe]

Thanks for all the replies, I think I'll probably go for the Sigma 30 1.4.