I picked up a couple of new lenses for my camera the other day, one of which is a Sigma 50mm f/1.4 prime (no zoom) lens. I had been wanting a super-fast lens so that I could get better blurred backgrounds (bokeh) on portraits and artistic photos. So far, I've been really happy with the lens in all aspects but one: getting it to autofocus on the right part of the frame has been tough. I suspect this back focus problem could be fixed with some adjustments to my camera, so I'll have to figure that out later. In any case, I just shoot with manual focus most of the time and everything is fine.
Anyway, the bokeh is exactly what I'd been hoping for with this lens:
Becca took this photo at her friend's house, and I thought it came out quite well:
The lack of zoom limits your options as far as landscapes go, but the details are very sharp in all corners of images and the colors are very accurate.
All in all, a good purchase.
Here's a fairly rudimentary test you can run on your lens to check for front/back focus: http://focustestchart.com/chart.html
ReplyDeleteYou're lucky you have the 50D which comes with the micro-adjustments... The 40D does so anything that's off, you have to have professionally adjusted.
That is very cool. I wish I knew more about photography. Every time I get a decent photo, it is just luck.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that link, Marcus. I read over the instructions last night and will have to try the test when I get a few minutes.
ReplyDeleteHolly--check your email.