I have the 14mm Sigma as well. I love it for its effect, and its plenty sharp. I do get a lot of flare if I'm not careful, but I've always been able to eliminate it by flagging the lens with my hand or a gobo. Best $300 I've spent in a while [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
count yourself lucky if you got a rare good one.
mines a p.o.s. below f5.6.
I have had three of the 50/1.4 and they were all satisfactory. My current one is only slightly less sharp/brilliant/contrasty than my 85/1.2L, and it is about the same quality as my current 85/1.8. I have no complaints at all. I use it on a regular basis.
I would recommend to all who want a straight-forward appraisal of lenses to check out www.photodo.com. Unfortunately they haven't upgraded their site for about four years, but what they have on file correlates closely with my experiences.
Bill/SOB
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
well, you know, read the many posts on the forum, and you'll find I'm far from the only one who is disappointed with the 50mm lens below f5.6
all I can say is that I thought mine was ok too till I tested a Zeiss one, then I saw what I'd been believing was good was not remotely close to what was actually obtainable.
but hey, if you are lucky and happy with what you get from yours, then fine, thats all that matters, and good luck to you.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
It sounds like you are one of the very few that wound up with a "bad copy." It seems to me that it would be unwise to rate all lenses from your one experience, or a few unhappy others.
It has been my experience that as a photographer gets longer and longer lenses that Canon winds up with no peers. Check out the events that I find myself, e.g. sidelines at football games, where 90% or more of the lenses are Canon. The same holds true for golf, tennis, basketball, baseball, etc.
It has also been my experience that Zeiss and Canon are on about a par from 35 to 85 in their best, and below 35 that Zeiss starts getting the better grades. BTW I have tested my lenses against Zeiss, and they are similar except above 85, and below 25.
Best Regards,
Bill/SOB
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
I own a 50mm F1.4 that I haven't been able to find for a few months (can you imagine?).
But I did a whole lot of test photos to test the focus accuracy of the EOS-1Ds auto-focus. The lens pleased me. And the auto-focus was right on (I placed a vertical, small, piece of wood, covered with textured material on a table covered with textured material and, when focusing, I placed the chosen focusing sensor on the vertical piece. Then I could see if the vertical thing was sharp and could see on the material on the table, exactly where the focus is, and how far forward and back it extended).
If mine doesn't show up, I will eventually replace it.
As far as the 135mm F2, it is a fun lens. The focal length is less necessary. The only lens i have used similarly, was an Olympia Sonar 180mm F 2.8 during the 60s. That lens, used with a Kilfitt support grip, was an excellent focal length for many things. More interesting to use than a 135. But there were no F2 135s back then.
But I still have one perfectly functioning Nikon F with a messraster left and a 4x5 Messraster in a Sinar. If i am ever going to do manual focusing, it would be with the Nikon, or the Sinar for extreme technical stuff. Certainly never ever with a Canon camera and normal ground glass or any other other available focusing device. Those were passe already in the 60s. The world just didn't know it.
Mark
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
I use the 135/2 mainly for fashion. I also own a 50/1.8 and find it razor sharp on the 1DsII. Too sharp for use on females over 20 [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Greatest bargain in the Canon lineup.
Edmund
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
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I use the 135/2 mainly for fashion. I also own a 50/1.8 and find it razor sharp on the 1DsII. Too sharp for use on females over 20 [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Greatest bargain in the Canon lineup.
Edmund
[/ QUOTE ]
Truer words never spoken! For the money, the 50 1.8 is one heck of a lens! I just like the "family resemblance" between the 85 1.2 and the 50 1.4 at around 1.6 [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
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