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This guy just got in today! :) It's a Sigma 50mm f/1.4
About a month ago, my Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM died on me, again. I loved that lens, which is why I bothered to send it in to Canon for repair instead of replacing it. The repair lasted about 18 months and then failed again. I gave up.
I decided to upgrade to the Sigma. The Canon, Sigma, and Ziess all sit within about 200 USD of each other, and since the Zeiss is manual focus, I'm giving Sigma a chance. So far it feels much more robust and sturdy than the Canon. The optics are clearly designed around the faster end of the aperture range and testing I've seen suggests that as well.
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In other news, I decided to bridge my prime range with a little Canon 35/2-I've been shooting with a 24/1.8 and a 50/1.4 for years now. It's a tiny, light little thing with a whirly little arc motor and plastic barrel. I'm not entirely sure about it just yet. It's very sharp--even wide open--but it seems to be extremely contrasty and insensitive to shadow detail. The focal length feels really accessible however, so I'm going to give it a try.
I'll be testing both of these lenses in still and video in the coming week. I hope it will help some of you out.
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This guy just got in today! :) It's a Sigma 50mm f/1.4
About a month ago, my Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM died on me, again. I loved that lens, which is why I bothered to send it in to Canon for repair instead of replacing it. The repair lasted about 18 months and then failed again. I gave up.
I decided to upgrade to the Sigma. The Canon, Sigma, and Ziess all sit within about 200 USD of each other, and since the Zeiss is manual focus, I'm giving Sigma a chance. So far it feels much more robust and sturdy than the Canon. The optics are clearly designed around the faster end of the aperture range and testing I've seen suggests that as well.
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In other news, I decided to bridge my prime range with a little Canon 35/2-I've been shooting with a 24/1.8 and a 50/1.4 for years now. It's a tiny, light little thing with a whirly little arc motor and plastic barrel. I'm not entirely sure about it just yet. It's very sharp--even wide open--but it seems to be extremely contrasty and insensitive to shadow detail. The focal length feels really accessible however, so I'm going to give it a try.
I'll be testing both of these lenses in still and video in the coming week. I hope it will help some of you out.
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