Canon Ef 50mm f1.4 vs Sigma 50mm f1.4 ex dg ?

[Eagle430s]

I recently sold my canon ef 50mm f1.8II

I want to upgrade to either the canon 50mm f1.4 or the sigma 50mm f1.4 ex dg (not the art version)

I only have the budget for these lenses so please don't reply with going for the super sharp canon 1.2L lens its way out of my budget

also I already own a canon 100mm f2.8 macro so I am not interested for the 85mm

I am interested about sharpness both in the center and corners. colour resolution and distortion

Which of the two lenses will you recommend me?>

 

[Macro guy]

I recently sold my canon ef 50mm f1.8II

I want to upgrade to either the canon 50mm f1.4 or the sigma 50mm f1.4 ex dg (not the art version)

I only have the budget for these lenses so please don't reply with going for the super sharp canon 1.2L lens its way out of my budget

also I already own a canon 100mm f2.8 macro so I am not interested for the 85mm

I am interested about sharpness both in the center and corners. colour resolution and distortion

Which of the two lenses will you recommend me?>

Six of one, half a dozen of the other. The Canon 50mm f1.8 beats them both by around f2.8 and is comparable more or less at wider apertures.

 

[TrackDayLT4]

I recently sold my canon ef 50mm f1.8II

I want to upgrade to either the canon 50mm f1.4 or the sigma 50mm f1.4 ex dg (not the art version)

I am interested about sharpness both in the center and corners. colour resolution and distortion

Which of the two lenses will you recommend me?>

I have owned the Canon 50 F1.8 (first one with the metal mount, internally the same as the 50 1.8 II), Canon 50 f1.4, and now the Sigma 50 f1.4 ex dg.

For Sharpness, the Sigma is a little better than the other two until f2.8 in the center, at the edges, they are about the same. Probably within sample variation.

Distortion is similar with all three.

Color is similar, I prefer the Sigma slightly, your mileage might vary, but this is very adjustable in post.

The thing I hated about the Canon 50f1.8 was the very harsh out of out of focus background blur due to the 5 bladed aperture. The Canon 50 F1.4 is much better in this regard, and the Sigma is the best.

The Sigma has issues with focus accuracy/consistency even with MFA

The Canon 50 F1.4 is fragile and known for easily damaging the focus motor

Seriously, if I had to buy a 50 now, I would just get the 50 1.8 STM. It is the same optically as the earlier 50 f1.8, but has 7 rounded aperture blades which fixes the main drawback the earlier ones had.

Cheers

 

[Jos van Eekelen]

I have the Sigma. I don't know if this is typical behaviour for this lens but the one I own suffers from serious focus shift at shorter distances. Pretty unusable below about 1 meter distance. Above that a fine lens.

 

[Jura S]

I don't have any problem with both of my Canon 50/1.4s. Sigma supposed to be a little bit better IQ wise and is definitely better made.

Check the exif data.

 

[PaddyC]

I recently sold my canon ef 50mm f1.8II

I want to upgrade to either the canon 50mm f1.4 or the sigma 50mm f1.4 ex dg (not the art version)

For what it's worth:

I had the Sigma for Sony Alpha mount (a850 so full frame) and now that I have a Canon 6D I have the 50mm 1.8 STM.

I liked the Sigma but I was never wowed by it and ended up selling it and getting the Sony 50mm 1.4 (which is a rebadged Minolta). I really liked this lens because it had more character.

I have a feeling that the Canon 1.4 and Sony 1.4 are probably pretty similar designs with all the pros and cons of these designs. I say that having looked at lots of Canon samples and reviews of the various 50mm options before buying the STM.

The Sigma will be sharper wide open and generally give creamier bokeh. The 1.4 suffers from softness wide open due to spherical aberration.

I have found the 1.8 STM to be very good. It's really not that much slower. It's much less expensive, smaller and lighter. In certain situations the bokeh will be busy but it is generally quite nice and can be very good.

If I were choosing between the 1.4s, however, I think I would take the Canon for the character. The Sigma, for me, was not as nice with regard to color and contrast.

As always, YMMV and it is a personal decision based on what you like to shoot and how you like your images to look.

 

[kevindar]

I recently sold my canon ef 50mm f1.8II

I want to upgrade to either the canon 50mm f1.4 or the sigma 50mm f1.4 ex dg (not the art version)

I only have the budget for these lenses so please don't reply with going for the super sharp canon 1.2L lens its way out of my budget

also I already own a canon 100mm f2.8 macro so I am not interested for the 85mm

I am interested about sharpness both in the center and corners. colour resolution and distortion

Which of the two lenses will you recommend me?>

Owned all three and extensively tested them

the sigma has better color and contrast, and is sharper in in the center at least up to f2. the canon at f1.4 has a dreamy soft look. Both canons are better in the corner stopped down on full frame. the sigma is not a good landscape lens. the sigma is slightly wider and I think has slightly more barrel distoriotn if I recall. None are significant.

None of the three are great focusing lenses. but my copy of the sigma is as good, or slightly better than my copy of canon 50 1.4.

If you are primarily using it for portraits, people photography, bellow f2.8 {thats how I use mine) I liked the sigma the best.

 

[nail33]

I recently sold my canon ef 50mm f1.8II

I want to upgrade to either the canon 50mm f1.4 or the sigma 50mm f1.4 ex dg (not the art version)

I only have the budget for these lenses so please don't reply with going for the super sharp canon 1.2L lens its way out of my budget

also I already own a canon 100mm f2.8 macro so I am not interested for the 85mm

I am interested about sharpness both in the center and corners. colour resolution and distortion

Which of the two lenses will you recommend me?>

It seems as though the battle of the “50's” has been going on for years in these forums. Like you, I also own the Canon 100mm 2.8 macro and it's pretty much married to my 6D as it's such a versatile lens. I also own the Canon 50mm 1.4 which I used to use for general snapshots and occasional portraits. Because you mentioned “sharpness” in the center and corners, it seems that you also want to use this lens mainly for snapshots. I bought my 1.4 to be used wide open, and knew I would take a hit on sharpness. At 1.4 I want that dreamy look, and it does just that. Stopped down, it provides excellent sharpness (at least to me) for general snapshots. I rarely use my 50 anymore except perhaps for dreamy portraits. I now use the Canon 40mm 2.8 STM for my general snapshots, as it's extremely sharp wide open from center to corner. And on the plus side, it's so much smaller (being a pancake type lens), thus making it much more portable. It's also much less fragile then the 50 1.4 that's known for having a very fragile focusing motor. And it's so cheap that I consider it to be a no-brainer for a general snapshot lens (on a FF camera). You might want to consider the Canon 40mm for these uses. If you must have a f1.4 / 50mm lens, you might want to wait until Canon comes out with a new design for theirs, which is way overdue in my opinion (and many others in this forum). You also mentioned "color resolution and distortion". I find very little distortion with either the 50 1.4 or the 40 2.8. As to color, I'm happy with both, but color is really a judgment call that should be by the eye of the beholder.

 

[diness]

I recently sold my canon ef 50mm f1.8II

I want to upgrade to either the canon 50mm f1.4 or the sigma 50mm f1.4 ex dg (not the art version)

I only have the budget for these lenses so please don't reply with going for the super sharp canon 1.2L lens its way out of my budget

also I already own a canon 100mm f2.8 macro so I am not interested for the 85mm

I am interested about sharpness both in the center and corners. colour resolution and distortion

Which of the two lenses will you recommend me?>

Honestly, I would save the cash and get the 50mm stm. It's pretty much as good as the other two with a more accurate focusig motor at a much lower price.

 

[OldSchoolNewSchool]

I used to own the Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM lens. I now own the Sigma 50mm f1.4 (non-Art). Why did I get rid of the Canon? That lens was one of the most delicate pieces of photographic equipment I've ever owned and I am extremely easy on my camera equipment. The autofocus system in the Canon 50mm f1.4 USM lens is known for being incredibly fragile. Do yourself a favor and get the Sigma.

 

[Dan_168]

I recently sold my canon ef 50mm f1.8II

I want to upgrade to either the canon 50mm f1.4 or the sigma 50mm f1.4 ex dg (not the art version)

I only have the budget for these lenses so please don't reply with going for the super sharp canon 1.2L lens its way out of my budget

I owned all three 50mm you mentioned above, I got rid of the EF 1.4 the first day I received my Sigma 50 HSM 1.4, to me the Sigma 50 HSM a day and night better lens. SO MUCH better in build quality, better bokeh better sharpness, faster focus, very solid lens, accept 77mm filter.

 

[Suave]

I own both. My Canon is reasonably sharp all the way to 1.4, although of course at that aperture focus precision matters as much if not more than actual sharpness. I feel that it performs well at close to mid-range distances, however, past may be 50 feet and particularly in bad light I get very few keepers. Focusing speed is average, better suited for stills. Basically it's a decent portrait lens. I've never had any issues with reliability.

Sigma is larger and heavier. It focuses much faster and more reliably - in its working range. Working range is main issue with Sigma - the focus is precise only in certain interval. Whether it's a result of its design or inferior AF I don't know. On cameras with AFMA you can tune that working interval to your liking, I think mine is good in 5-30 feet range or so. If you don't have AFMA it's crapshoot.

I used to use both of them quite a bit, but at this point they mostly sit on the shelf and I am considering getting rid of them. For me focus precision trumps sharpness in both cases.

I've owned multiple copies of the original EF 50/1.8. I call it "fitty pity" and struggle to apply word lens to it. I've had better hit rate with a manual focus Planar so bad is its AF.

 

[justlikeit]

For sharpness wide open, color, contrast, Canon 50 f1.2 is the best. Otherwise, these lenses are not so different from one another. A easy choice would be canon 50 1.8 stm.

 

[Eagle430s]

After spending two days reading reviews and watching youtube comparison videos i think i will go for the 1.8stm version

 

[charlieY]

I have 1.8 STM and Sig 50mm non-art.

On my 6D, Sig is better from wide open.

On my 80D, Sig AF is not consistent so I'm not using it.

I think 1.8 STM is good to start and maybe later... try Sig Art or 50L.

 

[Macro guy]

After spending two days reading reviews and watching youtube comparison videos i think i will go for the 1.8stm version

I think that's a very sound choice.

 

[PaddyC]

After spending two days reading reviews and watching youtube comparison videos i think i will go for the 1.8stm version

Great choice IMO. Very good value.