Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art vs Canon f1.4 and f1.8 in 4K: Developing a New Model & Primes vs. Zooms
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Tony & Chelsea Northrup I’m wondering if you would recommend the 50 1.4 or 50-100 1.8. I shoot apsc so that 50 is like my 85 portrait lens, but there are obviously benefits to the zoom. I’m mostly wondering if there is a significant difference in sharpness and focus accuracy. Love the videos!
The 50 1.4 is sharper but not that great on video. Too much focus noise from the USM compare to STM. Sigma...will lose so much money when resale...you better not planning on selling it ever.
I know you did this a LONG time but I have to let you know how valuable these videos are. I love when you (plural) spitball and just chat about the gamut of aspects and let the conversation just unfold naturally. Thank you for your magnificence!
The guy in the backseat shooting was working so hard,he deserves credit :],great video ,good team good clear info, thankyou .
Yeah, Justin works very hard, and he did an awesome job with this video. You should see the stuff he's working on now! Well, I suppose you will, though much of it won't be out for a few months.
Tony & Chelsea, ultra professional as always. It's always a joy to watch you shoot.
fishcommander100 Thanks!
Nice job on the 1440 and 4k options for the video. Mmmmm, delicious pixels.
I love your methodology of real world and lab results. It's the exact info people like us need to make decisions on gear. I can't even use these lens but it was still very informative. Thanks for your great videos!
Charles Li Thanks!
Thank you Tony, Chelsea and crew. I found this video very informative and helpful.
You two are so entertaining to watch! Love it, learning at the same time! Thanks guys.
thank you for demonstrating us that professional equipment not necessarily have to end up in professional results.
Great video, really enjoyed it and love this format, really interesting to see the process you go through and get a good range of examples of the lenses!
Awesome video, relevant information ten years later!
Chelsea and Tony great video and model advise. The sigma looks amazing. You couldn't have asked for a better day to shoot with the overcast.
Cool video I like the fact that your trunk has illuminated or glow-in-the-dark emergency release...
I like the glow in the dark handle, too. If Tony ever kidnaps me I'll be able to easily escape.
Best Videos I have found - TY Tony Northrup!!
Great video. The review was excellent and it was great to see some of the video setup you guys use. Seems like Justin has one of the best jobs in the world.
Thanks for watching, Philip! Justin is a great guy, so I hope we're giving him a good job :)
I'm becoming addicted to your videos. Great stuff!!
Great job guys, on the whole production of this one!
PS: I have the Canon 50mm f1.8 and have taken it out a few times, usually as an 'effect' lens
Thanks, Joe! We're stepping up our production values and appreciate you noticing :).
Great location, lens, model, and people to work with.
I love the way this video went hope to see more in the future
This video helped me settle on which lens I want/need, and now I'm watching it again with my girlfriend, because she is considering getting her own nifty fifty (we don't live together so we can't share most of the time). This video is also helpful for showing how to behave around models, and how to make them perform better. Thanks, Northrups!
***** Thanks, glad to help!
I’m just now getting around to watching this one because I am researching 50mm lenses. Got a weird vibe. Tony was a champ, but there was some tense chemistry coming from Chelsea Northrop. I think model Chelsea sensed it too. At first I thought she wasn’t at all photogenic, but when Tony got behind the camera she came alive.
Thank you for this effort to make this video material seen by more than once.
Awesome video. Really liked the extra production on this one
Thanks for noticing, Andrew! We're trying to step our game up.
16:50 The home alone moment where they realise they left their model at the shoot. :)
I ordered the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART with all the outstanding reviews of it on TH-cam. Can't wait to use it during the Rose Parade in Pasadena Ca. Jan. 01, 2017. Been using the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 in the past a lot so this is gonna be more interesting.
Awesome location, beautiful model, and great review. I had a great time with you guys last week. Oh and by the way, I'm officially a stunner!
Thanks! Good hanging out!
Congratulations for the video. Your work really rocks!
The model have a wonderful face, and the pictures reveal a special kind of the purity that exist in the Model!
Congratulations! And God Bless you All !!
Thanks!!
Well done, this feels like we're tagging along in person on one of your shoots - thanks for the outing.
You're welcome, and thanks for tagging along!
Thanks for the positive feedback! And hey, thanks for being you!
Chelsea is phenomenal girl...❤❤❤ I thing to buy 50 or 85mm art ,which one,please?
After two years i saw again this beautiful and honest video clip...bay bay DSLR cameras!!!
Did you do a Micro focus adjustment for each lens? I have the Canon 50mm f/1.8 and it was giving me slightly soft images, but I went into the Canon settings and changed the MFA and am now getting amazingly sharp images out of that little lens
Nice job on the vid production. If you weren't specifically doing a 50mm lens comparison, would you have gone with the 85mm or 135mm on the head shots?
Yes, we normally work at 200mm. The perspective was a HUGE challenge.
I dug on listening to your dialogue. Very insightful. Thanks!
The first prime I invested in was the 1.8. Loved the shots (for a nubie) but the build quality was horrible. It fell apart at a friends wedding. I then went to the 1.4 and did not know until now why some parts of a subjects face were out of focus. Thanks! Last year I picked up the Canon EFS 17-55 f/2.8 and use it as my carry around lens. I've been extremely pleased with it. Two things: 1 - really love your ride, and 2 - Chelsea your right on with your Rob Base quote below :-).
Tony & Chelsea, I'm a big fan of you from Asia. This is educated and this video makes me feel like being in a oversea trip with you for one day :D
I really liked this video! Lots of great tips and I like that you showed all the products you use.
Aneta Kudasik Thanks! Glad to help.
34g6bccxx
On the Len comparisons, you mixed up, is it the sigma lense that is SHARP or the camera,Lense /Camera
Hi Tony, great video. If I may ask, what Canon body were you using, and can you share 4K video camera you used.
Very pretty model.
What camera did you use for the video camera aside from the various GoPros. I was thinking of picking up a Lumix FZ1000 for 4K duties.
Great location! Thank you for sharing your findings.
Did you forget the blonde Chelsea on the trip back.
Great vid as usual, you should mention that the Sigma is not weather sealed. I love mine, but not taking it out in the rain.
really smart how you fast forward the ending annotations... i actually wanted to click one when something caught my eye...
Is a $950 lens slightly better than a $120 lens... yes. I just saved you over 18 minutes.
Thanks :D
I still want the $$$$ one, though.
WomackPhotoKCMO Me too. :)
Tinhe32 Always welcome. ;)
Knockout :DDD
Silly question time. Though I started out with a Minolta fully manual in the late 70's, I have forgotten a great deal of the details. Is there a happy medium 'Optimus Prime?' made by Sigma that has a better depth of field, or do they only make high end, as in high dollar equipment?
Just wanted to say thank you for sharing this video, I learned a TON from watching it! You answered many of my questions about primes vs zooms. Kudos for your digital photography book, too. I've learned a ton from it, as well.
Thanks, Steve! Glad I could help.
You should probably Micro Adjust the 24-105mm because my copy is Tack Sharp.
It's hard to MA a zoom lens, b/c you might get one part of the focal range in tact, but then throw out the rest. I have that issue with my 24-70, so I just deal with it.
Just got into photography a few months ago but if I had a dollar for every time someone defended a lens by using the exact phrase "my copy is TACK SHARP" I could already buy a 1DX mark II and the whole L lens lineup lol
@@kingalias My Canon allows me to MA both at 24 and 105 and I found this lens to have very, very acceptable sharpness after proper micro-adjustment.
Ok , just to say thanxs to you guys!! i keep an eye on you everytime i can and u always have something fresh and new to offer, not just the same boring test i always see in the internet, and u keep improving in editing and in audio too, and Chelsea is so... Chelsea. Keep up guys!!! Greetings from Andorra!!!
*and u are totally right about the crop factor issue!! that's why professional cinema lenses are measured in T stops.
Thanks, Ronnie!
Just discovered your channel, your voices... I do not know why but, are quite enjoyable to listen, and the effect of using music when you are talking at the end, inside the car. Is nice.
Glad you liked it Chelsea and I take credit for the voices, but our producer Justin handles the music :).
Justin knows about it!
Thanks for taking the time to do these awsome videos Tony!
One thing I like your video is that the price of tested gears is very up-to-date. Many videos just have the MSRP, which in most cases is useless.
Just got a used Canon 50mm f/1.4, based primarily on this review here. I need it for night photography, and I'm going to test it tomorrow evening! I can't wait! :-)
15:41 Yep, I tried to shoot a concert manually focusing with a 50mm F1.8. Out of 500 photos, 50 were in focus and only about 10 were somewhat good.
Was this with sigma
Good demonstration .... good advice ... entertaining as always.
I am shopping for a 50mm prime at the moment, I expect to buy the mid priced Canon 1.4.
Liked the fake sheep, which was a good link to the fake castle.
amazing video. what light metering mode did you use on your camera for these shots
I am reluctant to call my 24-105 L terrible, although I've heard people say it's worse than a kit lens as far as sharpness goes which I find hard to believe! Nice review, I really want this lens.
Thank you for making such a wonderful and informative video. I really learned a few things, especially about directing a model.
Willy Cerda Jr. Thanks, and you're welcome!
I've been watching your videos for just a little while and they are great to watch. :-) You make everything simple and fun.
thank you guys for the review, I work a lot with High school seniors and I do a lot of sports, I have a 24-70 -70 - 200 85 1.8 17-35
I have been using the 85 for basketball games but I am really thinking of going to the 50 1.4 for in close stuff.
I will let you know how that turns out
I once criticised your videos but lately, I really enjoy them. Thanks
Hey Tony. I was wondering what extender/monopod was being used with the Lumix video camera. It seemed to work pretty well. Thanks for the answer and the great videos!
What happened to the model on the drive back? In the trunk or buried back there?
Peichen01 Shhhhh!
the cam man are busy panning left and right while drive back ROFL
I wondered the same thing! :)
@@TonyAndChelsea
😂😂😂
Best video yet. Superb.
Like the ambient music while Chelsea's taking the pictures, what song is it?
youve said you dont like using full body lenses on crop sensors. Is there a aps C lens you recommend for portraits?
Hey guy's here is a dumb question for you, Chelsea re you running the camera in manual mode or aperture priority? and with the ISO are you shooting on auto ISO or are you adjusting the ISO manually? Thanks Tony and Chelsea love your videos. :)
This was fun watching one of your older videos. Hearing a point of view from 2014. And having Canon as part of the comparison. As apposed to Nikon from you guys. And Chelsea saying its ok to let the sky get blown out to get the face exposed correctly lol. I need to watch some more of these old vids.
I see chelsey focusing and recomposing, doesn't that change the plane of focus? Or did I see it wrong?
Tony, nice car and nice ND hat! Good vid production and review!
In the future are you going to do reviews on straps?
great editing in this video . great info as well . thanks ( :
My apologies that this is not in regards to this video itself, but... Tony, any possibility of a review of the Sigma 120-300mm 2.8 OS (Sport) lens? If not owned, think Sigma might lend one to you?
I appreciate this video, great one as usual but I don't agree with what u said at 10:36
The Canon 24-105mm F4 is a very sharp lens, I use both prime and zoom lenses, and this lens do a great job even for makeup portraits at studio.
And by the way on this pic the focus was on the side of her hair not her eyes :)
I don't know if it varies lens to lens, but my 24-105mm L was terrible (was: because I gave it away as a hand-me-down to my brother) I found it interesting that Tony hates it as much as I did. I call it a walk-around-and-come-back-with-nothing lens
is the Canon 1.4 really better than the 1.8? I saw a review from slr lounge testing the three canon lenses and in their review the order from better to worst: 1.2 -> 1.8 II -> 1.4. But in your video the 1.4 looks sharper than the 1.8 II... Tony Northrup I've seen the DxO comparison but I'm still not sure which is better.
What about the Canon 50 1.2? How does it stack up to the Art lens?
you are great photographers and a perfect couple.
Thanks, Kadu!!
"It takes two to make a thing go right. it takes two to make it outta sight!"
I feel honoured to get a reply from you both, you are great :)
Chelsea Northrup Can you please explain the two comments you made with regards to Puerto Rico? What do you mean by ""put the Puerto Rican side up here"" @ 12:40 ???
M D A M A D I'm Puerto Rican, so I was joking that the gold side made her look tan like me.
Though, even I could use the gold side these days. New England falls are a real tan killer.
i have the canon 1.8 and i love it but would like a better lens so idk if i want the canon 1.4 or the sigma I'm 15 and im getting pretty serious about photography people keep coming to me for pics i just wish i could give them better quality which lens do you think i should purchase
What do you do for a living nice bmw by the way
Hey, guys .. could you please do a review on the Sigma 85mm 1.4 Art paired with a crop sensor Nikon? Maybe a D7100, which I plan to upgrade to soon.
Great video! I of course have the nifty-fifty, but also bought the Sigma 18-35 1.8 after realising how great my shots would look with a high quality lens. I can´t tell you how much you comments meant as to the out of focus shots, not getting both eyes sharp etc. with the shallow focal plane these apertures make. I thought I sucked, but lately realised that my sigma back focuses and my 60D can´t microadjust (useful feature it turns out). I´ve wound up doing f2.8 mostly as that still blurs the background yet is easier to work with.
Tony have you tried the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Micro lens super fast and very sharp.
I know you can't try every lens in one test, but I've always read that the older Sigma 50 1.4 ($500) is a better choice over the Canon 50 1.4...thoughts? I have a 24-105 and the 50 1.8 and I'm looking to get something better (leaning towards the Tamron 24-70 f2.8 VC) so this was very interesting for me. I'm also renting the new Sigma 50 1.4 Art this weekend. Great review, keep up the nice work!
great video on making portraits -
suggestion: ditch the Beemer and get a minivan to carry all your equipment
Interesting...just curious, you guys typically use the 50>85 for your portraits?
Hi, i am a penal lawyer with more than 15 years of litigation experience who also just finished a forensic photography course. I have a Canon 550D and i can't decide if i should buy a Sigma 30mm or 35mm f/1.4 in order to be able to capture natural looking (close to 50mm on a full frame) pictures of crime scenes even un low light conditions, so i wanted to ask which one would you recomend.
what lenses are better for landscaping and wildlife
My compliments on the video, content and production. Very enjoyable. Thanks.
Who the hell has fake sheep?!
People who look like Billy Bob Thornton?
Great teaching video for me. My question goes back to my experience, 1983, Canon A-1 package, no auto-focus, choice was 50mm at f1.2, f1.4, or f1.8. Knowing the limitations of me old school techniques/knowledge, with T5i, which 50mm would you recommend?
+Rojo Kelly Start with the 50 f1.8 (sdp.io/c50).
thank you.
Tony are you going to review the 50mm lens from Nikon too?
It's not something we have lined up now, but it's a possibility!
great review love it! Gives a real world example with gear that people can actually afford, which really sets your channel apart from others! I had the 24-105 f/4 with my 6D and it was just terrible i now have a disposable income of $1,000 to spend and i'm really looking into the sigma 50 1.4 or the 85 1.4 seeing that DXO mark rated those the two best lenses. I am purchasing your book now very excited to see what s inside!
Kyle Potter Thanks, Kyle! Check out the Sigma 24-105 f4; it blows away the Canon: Sigma 24-105 f/4 vs Canon 24-105 f4 Comparison Review: Should you trade in your kit lens?
what all around Lens is good, for sports, portraits and video?
70-200 f2.8 :)
Kyle Potter would this be too close for portraits to use
nice video! But can you tell me what is the camera that you used to shoot this 4K video? Thanks.
***** Panasonic GH4s, a Samsung S5, and a GoPro (at 2.7K, scaled up)
im confused about the two f's. the first one is the aperture size on the lens what is the second one?
Hi tony, I want to give for a lens review request on he new canon 135mm f/2 L series lens for portraits. I heard that is darn sharp and has fast autofocus speeds. Thank you.
I just bought a 1 year old Canon 50 f1.4 from a local guy. I had watched this video before and, while I really would love the Sigma, I fell this Canon 1.4 is a lot of bang for the buck (I picked it up in excellent condition for $250). Maybe someday I'll get the Sigma, but for now I'm having a lot of fun with the Canon.
Thanks for sharing your opinions and findings. 2 of my friends (and 1 of them has a friend) who have the Canon 50mm 1.4 and all of their auto focus mechanism stopped working after a year. Do you know anything about that? Also, what GoPro are you using in the car? It has no rolling shutter issues and I like that.
I also appreciate Tony's philosophy on specific lenses, where you can get the cheap one and if it is a focal length you will use a lot, then you can upgrade to a more expensive lens that will give you better quality.
Tony, why upload in 4K when the compression is so bad on youtube? 2k is more than enough I guess.
I got the 1.8, and i dont like it. But as a rookie, it's pushes me to fight for great sharpness, and move around so i really experience the angles. I gonna need the 1.4 at some time tho. not the sigma. but gonna buy the 35mm art soon. Thanks for sharing the video.
around 13:10 the problem with these shots is that either you can expose the subject or the background, how can you find a way to get best exposure for both???
Rizwan Ul Haq By adding fill light (via reflectors or flash) one could help balance the light ratio between the subject and the background.
Tony Northrup I own a Canon 600D/T3i with the 18-55mm+50mm /f1.8. I consider to buy the Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 OS to have a better walkaround lens because the kit lens sucks or I will save some money and get a Canon 70-200mm f/4L.
I don't know if the Sigma is actually worth it compared to the Canon L.
Very impressive 4K video Tony, does the Panasonic GH4 suffer from the 30 mins continous recording restriction as the Canons? If not how does it get round it as I thought that it was because of some Eurpoean trade directive.
Thanks, Paul! The US-spec GH2s, GH3s, and GH4s have no recording limit, which makes them quite unique. The European-spec models do have the recording limit, but it's fairly easily bypassed on the GH2s and GH3s (I don't know about the GH4s).
Tony Northrup
Thanks Tony, so do US Canon DSLR's have this problem as I thought I have heard that Magic Lantern gets round it? Perhaps I should buy a GH4 from the US and not here in the UK !
Magic Lantern automatically restarts recording, but it skips a few frames. Better than nothing, but not good enough for what we do.
Good review, love the high def!