Comments about Sigma Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Auto Focus Lens for Canon EOS Cameras:

I like it....and I also have the Canon version. Of course my opinion is subjective and I have no intention in doing any objective tests. It seems brighter and a bit sharper than the Canon and the Canon is no slouch. The heft of the Sigma is a comfort to me....all subjective. I recommend as long as you can afford the difference and you're willing to send the Sigma back for calibration. They are prone to focus issues but you couldn't prove it by me.

Comments about Sigma Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Auto Focus Lens for Canon EOS Cameras:

Great lens

Comments about Sigma Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Auto Focus Lens for Canon EOS Cameras:

This lens is a real bargain for its performance. It produces extremely sharp pictures and highly defined colors. Auto focus is lightning fast and accurate. This lens is now the " Flagship of my collections " for many shooting years to come. Try it because it is an investment of a life-time you don't want to miss.

Comments about Sigma Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Auto Focus Lens for Canon EOS Cameras:

This lens, if it works correctly, is fantastic. Very large glass, solid feel, well built. However, about 80 percent of my shots with it were soft. After a lot of testing, I found that it was front-focusing and the micro adjustment when maxed out still didn't fix it. Adorama was great about sending me a shipping label and taking it in for exchange, and I'm excited to get a sharp copy back. If the focus is accurate, I very much recommend the lens.

Comments about Sigma Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Auto Focus Lens for Canon EOS Cameras:

Used it with Canon 5D and 40D. The lens behaves better on 40D than 5D. Went through 3 different copies and finally give up for refund. The only negative for me is its iffy AF on low contrast subject wide open in indoor light (not low light, pretty bright indoor light). The AF is consistently off. When aiming on shiny high contrasty targets the AF works perfectly under the same condition. Switch to my good old Canon 50/1.4, which I accidentally dropped on the hard ground twice in the past, on the same cameras, AF locks perfectly. I have to say that either I am extremely unlucky (3 in a row with different serial numbers from B&H) or the lens design is flawed somehow. The reason I want to post my review here is that I myself was mislead by these perfect reviews in the past into getting into the Siggy hoping to find an improvement over my Nifty Fifty. 3 copies of defective Siggies later, I gave up. Just a word of caution to whoever happens to wandering by here and open to the other side of the story.

The pro on the Siggy is obvious: better build, fantastic look and feel and handling, great bokeh. But the one thing I wanted out of this lens - wide open at 1.4 is disappointing. No go for me. Sorry Siggy.

Comments about Sigma Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Auto Focus Lens for Canon EOS Cameras:

About a month ago, I uncrossed my legs while sitting at the kitchen table and my foot caught the end of the strap on my 450d. It didn't fall to the floor, it was catapulted to the floor, and the Canon 50mm f/1.8 II that was on the camera ultimately saved the camera, sacrificing its own life (it was a good little lens).I started researching all the 50mm's out there and the consistently highest rated one was this beauty. I read that even if you got one with the aforementioned front focus or back focus problems, you could get it recalibrated and voila, you'd have the best 50mm out there.Well, I ordered mine [...] I grabbed it up and immediately rushed inside to mount it up!One thing I didn't bargain for (but was forewarned) was the immense size of this lens. I'm a big guy, so my 450d is small in my hands, but this lens DWARFS my 450d! I'd say it even weighs several ounces more than the bare 450d as well. It is something I'll get used to, but if you think you're gonna be discreet with this lens, think again! The 77mm filter size is huge so you can use two filters without encroaching on the corners (though the 77mm filters are a bit more costly than the 52mm's and 58mm's that the other primes use - something to think about).Out of the box, there is no issue with front focusing or back focusing at all. It's sharp as a tack, even at f/1.4. Bokeh is smooth as ice and absolutely perfect. The f/1.4 aperture also helps with lower light shots. I bought this lens for concert shots primarily as the Canon 50mmm f/1.8 would allow me to shoot at 1/25 - 1/30 sec at my 450d's usable ISO 800 with only a 40 watt soft incandescent. With the same light and the Sigma, I had no problems shooting at 1/100 sec at ISO 400! I've only had it for two days, so I'll have to re-report about the durability, etc... but I think it will be pretty durable.Otherwise, this Sigma 50mm f/1.4 is perfect! Now I kinda want to get their 30mm f/1.4 and am interested in looking at their 70-200 f/2.8. I know there are a lot of "Canon or nothing" lens folks (I was one), but this lens has sold me on Sigma.

Comments about Sigma Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Auto Focus Lens for Canon EOS Cameras:

If you spend some time with this product and learn how it can be used you will see this is a great 50mm lens is capable of producing great sharp pictures with a lot of DoF and great Bokeh. Sharp focus creates beautiful portraits. I did compared this lens to Canon's 50mm 1.4 and I can tell you Sigma's 50mm much better product. I am very happy with my purchase.[...] I am using this lens with Canon 40D.

Comments about Sigma Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Auto Focus Lens for Canon EOS Cameras:

I like the sigma 50mm/ 1.4 I have used it for kids . On a canonT1i . on a 1.6 crop its a little to long in tight place , But takes very good clear shot . Its a Little heavy but you get use to it . all and all yes I have no complaints at all . I was a Little worried about buying it from ADORAMA at frist only because I have never bought any thing from them . They are very helpful and Good about there stuff , and Reliable .

Comments about Sigma Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Auto Focus Lens for Canon EOS Cameras:

I own a Canon F1.4 wich was terrible until F2.8 . Unusable soft and frontfocus. (I had the frontfocus fixed, but still not very useful at big apartures)From f1.4 to f2.8 all is much much better with the Sigma. And I use FF. It is even better then my already very good Canon 35 mm F1.4. I think a comparison with the Canon F1.2(cost you a little bit more)is more reasenable. No question about it, the best 50 mm around for a very very good price.

Comments about Sigma Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Auto Focus Lens for Canon EOS Cameras:

This lens has excellent optics for its price. It is much sharper than the Canon 50mm F1.4 wide open and performs optically better overall. However, its auto focus is relatively slow and inaccurate occasionally.
For me, the greater image quality out weighs the slow A.F. and makes this a clear choice if you want a fast 50mm prime but cannot afford L quality glass.

Comments about Sigma Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Auto Focus Lens for Canon EOS Cameras:

I compared this side-by-side with a Canon 24-70 f/2.8 L lens at 50mm. The image quality was very similar, I couldn't tell the difference between these two except that Sigma seems to produce a smoother bokeh. Definitely worth the money, this lens is great in low light and produces wonderful images.

Comments about Sigma Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Auto Focus Lens for Canon EOS Cameras:

I bought this lens mainly for its focal length and aperature size. I needed a good low light lens for flashles indoor phtography. My first use was a dimmly lit night wedding. It performed great. While my Canon 16-35f2.8L was noticably faster focusing, this lens performed well for the price, had sharp and clear results, and was very quiet.
My only real complaint is that is did produce a noticable yellowing of pictures taken with it, not produced with my other lenses. This was easily corrected with a custom WB map, but it was something I've never had to do with any other of my lenses, Canon or secondary manufacturer.
I highly recommend this lens if you need fast shutter speed in low light and your subjects are not terribly fast paced. Sport photography will leave the af lagging behind, but anything else is a fine use for this lens.

Comments about Sigma Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Auto Focus Lens for Canon EOS Cameras:

I bought this lens a few weeks ago and have shot a wedding with it and used it for a pinup studio shoot. This lens is very sharp even at 1.4 and becomes amazing from 2.0 on. There is very little CA, the bokeh is creamy smooth and it is solidly built. I have read where some users had back focusing issues with this lens, but I tested my copy when I received it and the focus seems right on at all distances. It may become my new favorite lens even over my Canon 24-70 2.8L and Canon 70-200 2.8L IS.

Comments about Sigma Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Auto Focus Lens for Canon EOS Cameras:

Let me start out by saying that this lens was designed to be shot wide-open (whereas the older designs from the other manufacturers were not), and it shows.
I get reasonably sharp results all the way open at 1.4, even on a crop sensor body, and it just gets better stopping down.
Bokeh is incredibly smooth thanks to the 9 rounded diaphragm blades; no noticeable chromatic aberration.
Autofocus is fast and silent, but it does have a tendency to make a second adjustment and occasionally mis-focus (although I can usually tell when it does, and it's simple to tweak it with the full-time manual focusing).
Build quality is very high, with a satisfying heft and almost felt-like finish on both the lens and hood.

Even with the occasional focusing problems, this lens is absolutely worth the premium it commands over the other first-party 50mm f/1.4 lenses.