About to order a Sigma 85mm 1.4!

An Exception · 20 Feb 2012 at 20:34

About to order one of these lenses for my D700, but after having focus issues with some older Sigma lenses, it would be nice to hear from some actual user experiences of this promising lens!?

An Exception · 21 Feb 2012 at 15:37

Cheers Calum, just ordered mine and should get it tomorrow. I'll post up a few samples tomorrow assuming I get a good copy.

An Exception · 21 Feb 2012 at 16:04

^^^
I bit the bullet after reading the below review.

http://hofferphotography.com/2010/11/16/my-sigma-85-f1-4-vs-canon-85l-review/comment-page-1

An Exception · 22 Feb 2012 at 15:26

Just got it, but it seems it has backfocus, needs -10 to be spot on. Not sure whether to return it or get it calibrated under warranty.

That aside, below are my initial thoughts...

Build and weight.
I'm not used to dealing with a lens of such size and weight. I'm used to being able to hold my camera one handed without shake if I need to, with this lens I can't without getting a blurry image at or below 1/160. I also use a lens pouch on a belt for fast lens changes, this lens with the petal lens hood made this more difficult due to it's length and girth. Much of this problem was resolved by using the APSC lens hood extender as a lens hood instead of the petal lens hood. I like to use a lens hood to protect the from element.

Size comparison
I feel the 'Keg' would be more lens than I could handle.

AF
Focus speed is nice a quick, I'd say nearly as fast as my 85 1.8 on a D700, so good enough, and also focus's well in very low light to, both of these areas are very important to me, the slower AF speed of the 1.4G kind of put's me off, although no doubt I'm sure it's a great lens.

IQ
Due to the extra heft etc. I would send this lens straight back, but the IQ is gorgeous! Really really pleased with IQ, love the bokeh and sharpness at 1.4. Some CA but that doesn't worry me.

Below are some samples and 100% crops. ISO's are not that low, so there might be a little grain.

An Exception · 22 Feb 2012 at 21:51

^^^
Have you micro-adjusted (AF-finetune)?
Also why not get it calibrated?

An Exception · 25 Feb 2012 at 13:21

Finally got to venture outside with it today.
The background is pretty distracting, but the 1.4 helps, as otherwise it would be really UGLY.

An Exception · 25 Feb 2012 at 14:34

An Exception · 25 Feb 2012 at 15:46

^^^
Lot's of very bright but small highlights that are not very far away make smooth challenging.
Also because the lens is so sharp at 1.4 (sharper than the 85Lii link), the OOF discs are quite defined as well.

An Exception · 25 Feb 2012 at 16:28

Here's another...

An Exception · 25 Feb 2012 at 19:17

^^^
Yeh, I'v done some bokeh smoothing before, I find you need to be very careful how much you apply though, and blur looks like blur and tbh hurts my eyes. However bokeh doesn't, so I generally would only soften the bokeh slightly, as well as may reduce contrast.

An Exception · 25 Feb 2012 at 19:33

Thanks Rojin,
He often get's compliments by passers by also, he seems to enjoy having his picture taken and is more than happy to pose in exchange for a biscuit.

I thought about making a little sign saying "will pose for food".

An Exception · 25 Feb 2012 at 19:51

Ksanti said:
Yeah I know what you mean, generally it's just a couple of irritating ones that really pull focus away from the subject if I sort anything out. The obsession with the dreamy softness of the 85L has been rubbing off on me to convince myself I can get the same effect with the Sigma

There isn't much in it from what I can tell from peoples samples, although apparently the sigma isn't really 85mm, it's something like 82mm as it's slightly a wider angle.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=11118103

An Exception · 25 Feb 2012 at 22:25

Sorry Ksanti, forgot to say, he is a 'goldie' btw...