Sigma 85mm f1.4 – New Medium Telephoto Lens For Canon EOS Cameras
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| Sigma 85mm f1.4 Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon |
The Sigma 85mm f1.4 EX DG HSM Lens, is exciting for two reasons:
- Wide Aperture for a reasonable price
- Bokeh
And now, after a long wait, the alternative to the Canon EOS 85mm f/1.2 actually became available in November.
The Sigma 85 turns out to be a wonderful alternative to Canon’s own 85mm f1.2 because the price is almost $1000 less than the Canon model.
Right up front, I will admit that if you are a Canon shooter, and money is not an issue, go ahead and get the f1.2 version.
However, if you are not yet decided, by all means check out this comparison, because this new lens has gotten the attention of some “pixel peeping” experts in terms of its excellent performance.
Bokeh with Sigma 85mm f/1.4 is amazing
Bokeh
I was personally interested in the release because of the perfect focal length and aperture for portrait photography. At f1.4, you will get superior Bokeh, as good as the more expensive lenses. And this is the goal of portrait photographers. It turns out the the Sigma really delivers Bokeh, so much so, that when I first viewed the images from my Canon 30D, I was literally shocked at the background creaminess and the image color. In the absence of a human model, I took a photo of my dog, Colby, sitting on my office chair.
As you can see, the background is nicely blurred, and, although it looks better in full resolution, you can see the nice color and contrast. This is without any post processing or enhancement of any kind. Taken at f/1.4, there is a very shallow depth of field, as you would expect. I was about 4 feet away from Colby for this shot, so even parts of his head are out of focus due to the wide aperture.
Wide Aperture
Aside from portraits, there are two other aspects of a really fast medium telephoto lens.
Low light images are the specialty of a wide aperture lens, because you can take pictures in areas that are impossible with other lenses hand-held.
The first is indoor sports. The wide open aperture will get you some extremely fast shutter speeds in low light at events like basketball (my personal favorite). I have used my Canon 70-200 f4.0 lens with mediocre results. The Sigma 85mm f1.4 with its HSM (hypersonic motor) is “the cat’s meow” in this type of light and action.
The second place this lens really shines is when using the video function on your digital SLR. The prime lens has such good image quality that it makes video look absolutely amazing. Again, the bokeh in your video (if taken at the wide open aperture) will look smooth and professional.
Tests against Canon and Nikon have placed the Sigma lens at equal or just below equal in image quality. And Sigma has been working hard to gain the trust of the expert photographic community.
This handsome lens deserves your attention.
Go to http://www.sigma85mm.com for more about the Sigma 85mm f1.4 medium telephoto lens. You will like what you see… guaranteed.
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Canon EOS Lens Features (Vocabulary)
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| Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM |
Lens Features for Canon Lenses
When you look at the names of lenses, you find weird combinations of letters and numbers that are not normally part of the English language unless you are part of the photographic community. Here are the letters you may come across and the meanings for those letters.
F-stop – Aperture. This is the size of the opening of the camera lens when a photo is snapped. Usually given as a number with a decimal, such as f2.8. The lower the number, the wider the aperture. So a lens with an aperture of f2.8 will have a wider opening than a lens with an aperture of f4.0. The F-stop is always given as the widest possible aperture for that particular lens.
L - Contains Aspherical Elements. A premium line of optical glass suited for demanding professional photographers and artistic purposes
IS – Image Stabilization. A gyroscopic stabilizer built into the lens which compensates for camera shake in order to achieve sharp photos. With IS it is possible to take good quality shots with 2-4 stops slower shutter speeds than possible without IS.
USM – Ultrasonic Motor. Lenses with the USM designation feature faster and quieter focusing operations.
EF - Electro-focus. Through a series of electronic contacts, the control of lens focusing is provided by the camera body.
EFS – Electro-focus (Short). A slightly different EF mount that is compatible with digital slr cameras that employ a “crop sensor”, also designated as APS-C sensors. Cameras that qualify for EFS lens mounts are: Canon Digital Rebel, XT, XTi, XS, XSi, T1i, T2i, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D, and 7D.
DO – An alternative approach to lens formulation that yields compact telephoto lenses and decreased chromatic and spherical aberrations.
Macro - Macro is a special lens that has been specifically formulated to get up close to objects to give higher magnification and focus at very close distances.
Canon 85mm f/1.8 USM Portrait Lens
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The Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens is a very practical portrait lens. It is a medium telephoto lens with excellent build, not so massive as to make it cumbersome after long periods of shooting and carrying. The Canon EF 85mm lens produces sharp and clear images at all apertures. It has been designed to give very nice bokeh (or background blur), while at the same time bringing the portrait subject into crisp view.
Techy Stuff:
- Focal length: 85mm
- Maximum aperture: 1:1.8
- Lens construction: 9 elements in 7 groups
- Diagonal angle of view: 28 degrees (at 30 feet)
- Focus adjustment: Rear focusing system with USM
- Closest focusing distance: 2.8 feet
- Filter size: 58mm
- Dimensions: 3 inches in diameter, 2.8 inches long
- Weight: 15 ounces
Order a Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Lens from Amazon.com
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Some observations from happy Canon EF 85mm buyers:
“Bar none, the best “portrait” lens I own. There’s just something about this 85mm focal length + f/1.8 that brings out detail….faces have so much dimension with this lens, they look 3 dimensional.”
“I love this lens. I love how dramatic my pictures come out in their natural settings. The bokeh adds so much more emotion to each photo. And since you can shoot with such a wide open aperture, you’ll catch the moments when they happen without it blurring away from a too-slow shutter speed or a bright flash of blinding light!”
“I can’t state this enough, if you are concerned about the financial implications of purchasing L series glass, you can NOT lose by picking this lens up. It retains it’s resale value very well.”
“There’s allot to be said for a non “L” lens which consistently winds up on my camera when I own several “L”s which cover the mm of this lens. To me, its an L: built like an L, color and saturation comparable to an L It’s my “L” lens that doesn’t have a red stripe.”
Here are a few sample images to show the versatility of the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Lens
Canon portrait lens does very well in low light
Portrait of a cat with Canon 85mm f/1.8
Contrasting light is handled well with the Canon 85mm lens
You have to be fast with babies - the 85mm f/1.8 is up to the task
