Sigma 56mm f1.4 with Olympus or Fuji?

Hi,

I have decided to buy this lens used and am debating for which camera I should get it...

In m43 I will mainly use it with the EP7 whereas with Fuji with the XT3. Main use will be portraits, maybe some nature and street if the increased FL suits me.

In Fuji I will have a FL of 85mm/f2.2 while in m43 I will have a FL of 112mm/f2.8. Where will I see the biggest subject separation related also to the distance? In Fuji I have a larger aperture but smaller FL and in m43 a smaller aperture but larger FL...

Thanks

Yannis1976 said:

Hi,

I have decided to buy this lens used and am debating for which camera I should get it...

In m43 I will mainly use it with the EP7 whereas with Fuji with the XT3. Main use will be portraits, maybe some nature and street if the increased FL suits me.

In Fuji I will have a FL of 85mm/f2.2 while in m43 I will have a FL of 112mm/f2.8. Where will I see the biggest subject separation related also to the distance? In Fuji I have a larger aperture but smaller FL and in m43 a smaller aperture but larger FL...

Thanks

Click to expand...

The lens is 56mm f/1.4, so the entrance pupil diameter is 56/1.4 = 40mm in diameter. This is the case whatever camera you use it on. The size of the background blur relative to the subject is determined by the entrance pupil diameter.

A distant background will be blurred by the same amount relative to the subject, whatever camera you use.

Only the perspective will change when you change cameras, because to get your subject to fill the frame, you will need to be at a different distance for the two cameras.

Yannis1976 said:

Hi,

I have decided to buy this lens used and am debating for which camera I should get it...

In m43 I will mainly use it with the EP7 whereas with Fuji with the XT3. Main use will be portraits, maybe some nature and street if the increased FL suits me.

In Fuji I will have a FL of 85mm/f2.2 while in m43 I will have a FL of 112mm/f2.8. Where will I see the biggest subject separation related also to the distance? In Fuji I have a larger aperture but smaller FL and in m43 a smaller aperture but larger FL...

Thanks

Click to expand...

It's brilliant with m43. Can't speak for Fuji. My fave lens of all time on any camera. Background blur/separation also depends on where your subject is relative to the background...

I consider my Fuji setup as portrait and street with mainly prime lenses and my M43 as travel with zooms. So I sold my Sigma 56 of M43 and (still waiting to) buy the XF mount version. Sigma 56 is just a brilliant lens itself, you still need other lenses to complete your portrait setup. Maybe you should consider it from a system point of view instead of a single lens.

Since it's the same glass for both versions you'll get the same amount of object separation.

Just the FoV will be different for the different sized sensors. Actually, the MFT picture is just a center crop of the APS-C image. So you might want to choose the mount depending on AF performance and/or pixel density of your cams.

For portrait I'd choose a 4:3 aspect sensor over 3:2 anytime.

Hum... can you adapt an M43 lens to Fuji? Normally you wouldn't do that for the smaller image circle of the M43 lens, but not an issue with the Sigma. I know you can't adapt Fuji to M43 fo the smaller registration distance, but M43 to Fuji?

RSTP14 said:

Hum... can you adapt an M43 lens to Fuji? Normally you wouldn't do that for the smaller image circle of the M43 lens, but not an issue with the Sigma. I know you can't adapt Fuji to M43 fo the smaller registration distance, but M43 to Fuji?

Click to expand...

This lens is available in both mounts.

Satyaa said:

RSTP14 said:

Hum... can you adapt an M43 lens to Fuji? Normally you wouldn't do that for the smaller image circle of the M43 lens, but not an issue with the Sigma. I know you can't adapt Fuji to M43 fo the smaller registration distance, but M43 to Fuji?

Click to expand...

This lens is available in both mounts.

Click to expand...

It is, but why buy it twice if you can adapt it, and if it can be adapted, chose the mount consequently.

RSTP14 said:

Satyaa said:

RSTP14 said:

Hum... can you adapt an M43 lens to Fuji? Normally you wouldn't do that for the smaller image circle of the M43 lens, but not an issue with the Sigma. I know you can't adapt Fuji to M43 fo the smaller registration distance, but M43 to Fuji?

Click to expand...

This lens is available in both mounts.

Click to expand...

It is, but why buy it twice if you can adapt it, and if it can be adapted, chose the mount consequently.

Click to expand...

I didn't read it that way.

I thought that the OP had the option to buy in either mount, and is trying to decide based on which body to use

--
See my profile (About me) for gear and my posting policy.

RSTP14 said:

Satyaa said:

RSTP14 said:

Hum... can you adapt an M43 lens to Fuji? Normally you wouldn't do that for the smaller image circle of the M43 lens, but not an issue with the Sigma. I know you can't adapt Fuji to M43 fo the smaller registration distance, but M43 to Fuji?

Click to expand...

This lens is available in both mounts.

Click to expand...

It is, but why buy it twice if you can adapt it, and if it can be adapted, chose the mount consequently.

Click to expand...

Sigma agrees with you that you shouldn't buy it twice, but you have to pay Sigma a price for that: https://www.sigma-global.com/en/support/purpose/mcs/?mode=insert

Not through any adapter available, unfortunately.

Yannis1976 said:

Hi,

I have decided to buy this lens used and am debating for which camera I should get it...

In m43 I will mainly use it with the EP7 whereas with Fuji with the XT3. Main use will be portraits, maybe some nature and street if the increased FL suits me.

In Fuji I will have a FL of 85mm/f2.2 while in m43 I will have a FL of 112mm/f2.8. Where will I see the biggest subject separation related also to the distance? In Fuji I have a larger aperture but smaller FL and in m43 a smaller aperture but larger FL...

Thanks

Click to expand...

I have an OM-1 and also got the 56 f1.4 Sigma mainly for portrait work. It is super sharp and instant focus isn't an issue. The focus system on an OM-1 is quite beyond anything Panasonic is offering as they are stuck in the DFD world. Not much use for faster moving subjects that's for sure. For portraits only Panny would work.

Only you can answer that question based on your own practical experience with each camera in terms of handling, convenience, performance and quality of output images within the genre intended, which is portraiture -- "quality" being relative to the ultimate use of the images.

I am sharing some images created with Panasonic G9 + Sigma 1.4/56mm -- in rather challenging light conditions. I mostly use Aperture Priority and Auto ISO with minimum shutter speed (which I determine for a certain scenario) .

Side note: the G9's Face/Eye-detection AF is quite useful.









Plenty of fast movements in a dark environment. No posed portraits.



Adding this "action" image for fun:

Yannis1976 said:

Hi,

I have decided to buy this lens used and am debating for which camera I should get it...

In m43 I will mainly use it with the EP7 whereas with Fuji with the XT3. Main use will be portraits, maybe some nature and street if the increased FL suits me.

In Fuji I will have a FL of 85mm/f2.2 while in m43 I will have a FL of 112mm/f2.8. Where will I see the biggest subject separation related also to the distance? In Fuji I have a larger aperture but smaller FL and in m43 a smaller aperture but larger FL...

Thanks

Click to expand...

I have it in m4/3. It is one of my sharpest lens. Great for portraits.

Peace.

John

Yannis1976 said:

In m43 I will mainly use it with the EP7 whereas with Fuji with the XT3. Main use will be portraits, maybe some nature and street if the increased FL suits me.

Click to expand...

for street and portraits I would go with the xt3, the focal length is better for portraits with fuji.

Yannis1976 said:

In Fuji I will have a FL of 85mm/f2.2 while in m43 I will have a FL of 112mm/f2.8. Where will I see the biggest subject separation related also to the distance? In Fuji I have a larger aperture but smaller FL and in m43 a smaller aperture but larger FL...

Click to expand...

no they are both a 1.4 aperture if you want 2.8 get the sigma 60mm it is a great lens with 2.8

when you take that c mount lens that is 1.4 and mount it to whatever camera you try to it still is 1.4 regardless if it fits the image circle.

I bought a manual 55 1.4 lens for my olympus and I enjoy it, but I already own 43mm glass.

if you care about portraits then get one that renders for your taste.

if you want to know what 1.4 at a 55mm can do with ISO 12800 then check the link below.

https://radioradiox.com/2022/09/20/...monument-square-next-to-518-craft-09-16-2022/

ProDude said:

Yannis1976 said:

Hi,

I have decided to buy this lens used and am debating for which camera I should get it...

In m43 I will mainly use it with the EP7 whereas with Fuji with the XT3. Main use will be portraits, maybe some nature and street if the increased FL suits me.

In Fuji I will have a FL of 85mm/f2.2 while in m43 I will have a FL of 112mm/f2.8. Where will I see the biggest subject separation related also to the distance? In Fuji I have a larger aperture but smaller FL and in m43 a smaller aperture but larger FL...

Thanks

Click to expand...

I have an OM-1 and also got the 56 f1.4 Sigma mainly for portrait work. It is super sharp and instant focus isn't an issue. The focus system on an OM-1 is quite beyond anything Panasonic is offering as they are stuck in the DFD world. Not much use for faster moving subjects that's for sure. For portraits only Panny would work.

Click to expand...

What does Penny have to do with my question??? It will be either the EP7 or the XT3

Satyaa said:

RSTP14 said:

Satyaa said:

RSTP14 said:

Hum... can you adapt an M43 lens to Fuji? Normally you wouldn't do that for the smaller image circle of the M43 lens, but not an issue with the Sigma. I know you can't adapt Fuji to M43 fo the smaller registration distance, but M43 to Fuji?

Click to expand...

This lens is available in both mounts.

Click to expand...

It is, but why buy it twice if you can adapt it, and if it can be adapted, chose the mount consequently.

Click to expand...

I didn't read it that way.

I thought that the OP had the option to buy in either mount, and is trying to decide based on which body to use

Click to expand...

You read it absolutely right.

Thank you! I don’t see so much subject separation but then it may be that subjects were quite a bit far from you.

You can achieve the same separation with either combo, I'd think about it in more practical terms: A) which body would you rather use for this and B) working distance to your subject. Another useful way of looking at it could be that if you were to use the 56/1.4 on a Fuji 26MP and cropped it a little (1.32x) to match the resulting FL of using it on a M4/3 body, you'd still end up with about 15MP... Which isn't a far cry from 20MP.

You can always crop in, can't always back away for more room... OTOH there's use cases where the longer FL is totally clutch, I've loved using the Sigma 60/2.8, 56/1.4, and Oly 75/1.8 for concerts for instance, and I usually end up cropping those anyway unless I had really good seats heh. The last thing I'd add is that Fuji is about to launch a 40MP body, further increasing the potential cropping leeway on that system...

All that being said, the E-P7 is a smaller and less conspicuous body, and for candid portraits as well as street that can be a huge benefit, as well as for certain events... Goes back to why I enjoy using the 75/1.8 on my little GX850. Like I said at the start, don't sweat the small stuff, figure out what body you'd actually rather use it on.

Yannis1976 said:

Main use will be portraits, maybe some nature and street if the increased FL suits me.

Click to expand...

Get it for Fuji APSC, i find 85mm is much more useful than 112mm for your intended usecases and you can always crop to 112mm if you need to, you can't zoom out from 112mm.

I have never used 112mm but 135mm i find is often too long for portraits and hardly usable indoors (unless big events/venues with stage).

Also IQ will be better on the larger sensor.

Yannis1976 said:

Thank you! I don’t see so much subject separation but then it may be that subjects were quite a bit far from you.

Click to expand...

The rendition of “subject separation” depends on various factors: aperture, lens design, sensor size, distance between sensor plane and subject, and distance between subject and the picture elements behind it.

The images I shared above were downsampled from their original resolution, not cropped.

I use cameras of different sensor sizes -- sub-1”, 1”, MFT, APS-C, 35mm (FF) -- and personally find “subject separation” is rendered most noticeably (and dramatically) with FF cameras.

I don’t use Sigma 1.4/56mm on Fujifilm XF cameras but do use it on Canon EF-M cameras, and prefer the rendition of “subject separation” by the Canon to that by the G9.

Simply for comparative reference:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/63176600

Ultimately, it depends on which camera body you would enjoy using for certain contexts and use-cases. If I were you, I would lean toward the X-T3.