Sony vs Sigma 50 mm/1.4

[ajuday]

<p>I'd like to buy a fast prime for the Sony DSLR I will soon buy, and currently all the Zeiss primes are out of my budget.. <br>

As for the 50 mm, I've read that the Sigma version is better wide-open than the Canon 50/1.4. Is the same true for the Sony version? Is one or another more sharp or better overall?<br>

Thanks.</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>Sorry, can't compare it to the Sony per se... but I can tell you I really like the Sigma, having compared it to other 50's (in the Nikon universe). The Sigma is large, but it really grows on you, especially the quality of the out-of-focus rendering. Definitely a matter of taste, though. The Sony is less money, less mass, and less bulk. If it's optically as stellar as the Sigma, that would be a great deal. If it's close, it still bears real consideration.</p>

[andylynn]

<p>A Sigma 50/1.4 lens is $499. I'd take a used Minolta lens for $200-300 less.</p>

[ricardovaste]

<p>The Sigma is meant to be sharper at wider apertures. It's also considerably larger and more expensive. If sharpness at wider apertures is important to you, you might want to get it. Personally the slight softness and aberrations at wider apertures of older designed lenses (like the Sony) are what make them interesting to me :).</p>

[peterblaise]

<p>

<p>David Kilpatrick nicely reviewed the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 in February 2009 and found it to be comparatively more immune to light fall-off vignetting even at full aperture (most important at the edges of full frame sensors), has virtually silent hypersonic motor focusing, has no focus shift throughout the aperture range (the Konica Minolta Sony model does and is therefore subject to front / back focus inaccuracies between wide open composing and stopped down exposure), but the Sigma has a little more distortion and is not capable of being as "sharp" in close-focusing as the Alpha/Dynax/Maxxum 50mm f/1.4.<br>

<a href="http://www.photoclubalpha.com/2009/02/11/equal-among-firsts/">http://www.photoclubalpha.com/2009/02/11/equal-among-firsts/</a> </p>

</p>

[andrew robertson]

<p>I have used the old Maxxum 50 f/1.7 and it was great. It'll rip your finger off though, so look out!</p>