| Author: | | Forum Member Registered: February, 2009 Location: Finland, Vantaa Posts: 95
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 12, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $470.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Fast, super sharp, Hsm, nice bokeh, size in K20D, solid build, lense hood is good | | Cons: | Hmmm, maybe filter size 77mm.. | |
-Best lense i own at this moment! I was amazed how silent this lense is, thanks to Hsm.
-Fast and accurate focus
-Bokeh is smooth and creamy.
-It´s sharp even at f1,4!
-Build quality is superb! Its like a tank
-Good flare resistant
I Just love this lense, it´s my favourite now. Good for walk-around lense, portraits and some special shots when it´s wide open.
I allmost bought pentax fa 50mm f1,4, but now i´m glad i got this.
Buy it, you wont regret it.  | | | | | | | Senior Member Registered: August, 2007 Location: Perth, Australia Posts: 268
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 25, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $524.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very sharp wide open, fast, focus spot on, very nice bokeh | | Cons: | Hugh! quick heavy and big filter | |
Just got this lens instead of the Pentax DA* 55mm. I've used DA55 for a week thanks to my mate who lent it to me. 
Compare to DA55, this is shorter, but fatter, and heavier. I feel that the focus is slightly faster than the DA55. Hood is shorter, typical petal hood, unlike the hood on DA55, which i think got more character.
Anyway, the reason to buy this lens is because it provide a cheaper alternative to DA55, but also still provide:
Fast HSM quiet focus
Sharp at f1.4
Nice bokeh
Good build
I can live with the weight, overall size, 77mm filter and no weather seal.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: April, 2009 Location: New York Posts: 2 | | Review Date: August 29, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $499.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness and bokeh | | Cons: | not 50mm (46) | |
I got a very good copy and using it all time. Pros: F1.4 - F2.5 best standart lens.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: May, 2009 Location: Chicago Posts: 25
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 13, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $500.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Fast, slient, sharp | | Cons: | expensive than FA 50 1.4 | |
-Unbelievable sharp and creamy bokeh!
-Accurate focus and silence will beat DA*55 with no mercy!
-77mm fliter size will startle layman!
-No flaw in built quality!
Have been hesitating between sigma 50/1.4 and DA*55/1.4, finally bought this lense, brilliant decision!
Never changed lenses ever since I put this simga on! | | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2009 Location: Bucharest Posts: 482
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 24, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $550.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | excellent IQ, fast AF, good build | | Cons: | big and heavy | |
Excellent lens. Not much for street shooting due to appearence.
The lack of weather sealing and the bulk compared with the 55mm SDM and the FA 50mm respectively is counterbalanced by the faster AF and frankly more trust that HSM will not fail over time.
Regarding IQ, compared with the A 1.4 and the F 1.7 that i owned, the Sigma delivered consistently better results, not by a wide margin but still.
The affordable price (compared with the DA 55mm) earned the final 10 in my rating.
Some test photos here http://kytra.zenfolio.com/p196631905 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: August, 2007 Location: YMML Posts: 1,879
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 25, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $480.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | HSM, F1.4, sharp | | Cons: | none really | |
I've had my Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM for about a week now, brought brand new from a local brick and mortar vendor, and here are my thoughts on this lens
- Size - it's big lens, with a 77mm front filter, so it's not the most discreet lens out there
- Weight - there's a bit of heft to this lens, but it goes well with a gripped K-7
- Build Quality - a Sigma EX lens, the build quality is nice and it feels solid and like it means business. The focusing ring has a bit more resistance than I would like, but it may loosen up a bit over time. The lens is a DG lens (can be used for FF), and hence the lens hood isn't as effective as it could be and can let in some stray light. A longer lens hood might help.
- AF - fast and quiet, and much preferred over my screw-drive lenses. Focusing ring doesn't turn while AF focusing
- Sharpness - centre sharpness from F1.4 is good, but the edges are a bit soft. From about F1.8 or so, starts to be sharp across the frame
- Bokeh - really nice and creamy. However, there is a bit of "onion ring" bokeh that might not be to everyone's tastes
- Image quality - there's a bit of a contrast loss wide open at F1.4, but stepped down to about F1.8 and beyond and it's not a worry. Otherwise, it's a sharp lens. Very happy with the images from it
- CA/Fringing - haven't really noticed too much to bother me
The Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM, I like it!
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: April, 2010 Location: New Orleans Posts: 3,053
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 10, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $480.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp pictures; HSM; built like a tank; nice bokeh | | Cons: | Big and heavy for a prime | |
Optically and mechanically this is a superb lens. It is quick, quiet, and accurate when focusing even in low light situations. It is sharp in the center wide open and even sharper at f2, beyond f2 it is tack sharp from edge to edge. I chose this lens because it seems to be one of the best available in any mount at this focal range and because the motor on closest competitive pentax, the DA* 55 MM f1.4 SDM, is reported to be slower and less reliable than the motor on this one.
This focal length and this lens is great for portraits and indoors photography. Combined with a k-x you can get away with very good handheld photos even under very low light conditions such as candle lighting without a flash.
It also supports quick shift focus, which the FA 50 f1.4 does not, and the focusing ring moves smoothly which is nice for shooting video in poor lighting conditions.
If I could rate in half point increments I would probably give a 9.5 because the heft which is the lens’ only significant drawback IMHO because it can get to you some days. It seems that the weight is typical for Sigmas lenses, especially their EX line. The weight is not enough to make me want to exchange this lens for something lighter like the Pentax FA 50 f1.4. The experience I have had with this sigma so far has made me put the 30 mm sigma on my wish list despite its similar stature.
People also complain about the filter size being 77 mm, but as I don’t use any filters I don’t really view this as a drawback.
Other thoughts: Nice hood, not so nice lens caps the front one is easily knocked off and sometimes difficult to put on and the rear one is always difficult to put on although it covers all contacts which is nice, supports FF (but who knows if that will ever come in handy)
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: August, 2011 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 46
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 18, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $499.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | IQ, Color Rendering | | Cons: | Size, Weight | |
This has been the primary lens on my K7 for nearly two years. This lens really stands out for portrait work: at short to medium distances it produces fantastically sharp and detailed images and the bokeh is very pleasing.
This lens is big and heavy, especially compared to any of the limited offerings, but I find that it balances well on the K7 and I have no complaints so far about the build quality.
The biggest complaint I have about my copy that it has some difficulty getting a good focus at infinity. Of course this could be operator error. Either way, I'm usually shooting at distances closer than this and so I have no real grudges against this lens.
If you can get past the size and weight, I highly recommend this lens for portrait shooting.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: April, 2011 Location: near Berlin Posts: 9
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 24, 2012 | Not Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | well build, bokeh, sharp | | Cons: | unreliable AF because of focus shift, expensive compared to FA 50/1.4 or 50/1.7, CAs (until f/3.5), a bit heavy, QC | |
I thought, this would be a great lens in my collection of glas, but it wasn't. When i got the lens, I recognized a huge front focus. I sent it to Sigma Germany, but when I got it back, -10 focus correction was neccessary to rely on focus. I sended it to Sigma again and then focus fits without any correction. Then I recognized, that the lens a slight focus shift from f/1.4 up to f/2.8. There are more users that have such problems and also tests figured that out.
Now I use a Pentax FA 50/1.7 and I don't want to change it. If the Sigma had no AF-Probs, it would have been a nice lens to me because IQ and Bokeh were nice.
Greetz, Paul
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: February, 2011 Posts: 274
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 3, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $499.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | great IQ, fast and silent auto focus, well balanced on gripped K-5 | | Cons: | not so sharp at f/1.4 | |
I chose this lens over FA 50mm f/1.4 even it costs about $150 more. Extremely fast and silent auto focus and really sharp at f/1.8 and above. I love the feeling of holding this lens with my K-5 quipped with grip, greatly balanced. For the money, I gave its at 9/10 due to its sharpness and fast and silent auto focus compared to FA 50mm. Overall, this Sigma 50mm f/1.4 HSM deserves a 9.5/10, which I rounded up to 10.
f/8.0
f/3.5
f/2.0
HIEP3148 by ngnhuhiep, on Flickr
HIEP3166 by ngnhuhiep, on Flickr
HIEP3114 by ngnhuhiep, on Flickr
HIEP3226 by ngnhuhiep, on Flickr
HIEP3251 by ngnhuhiep, on Flickr
| | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2011 Location: Seattle Posts: 6 | | Review Date: December 13, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $450.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | well made, modern optical design, fast AF | | Cons: | A bit heavy, slight front focus problems | |
As usual when I get a new lens, I spent a day or so looking for any faults that have been reported by others. At first I found no problems but eventually I noticed that there appears to be front focusing issues at f1.4 to f2.0 and medium (more than 3m) range, which is correctable by fine tuning the focusing to between -7 and -10. This appears to be a design problem and I suspect that adjusting the lens internally to correct it would then make the lens back focus at short range. I intend to discuss this problem with the technicians at Sigma and will update this review to include what I find out.
CAs are minimal. Full open the lens may be very slightly 'soft' but, compared to many cheaper lenses, it's sharp enough to keep me happy. (I'm using a K-5). Stepped down to f5.6, this lens is very sharp indeed.
For the moment - I think, providing you are willing to fine tune the focusing when working with very large apertures and big prints (A3 or larger), you will be happy with this interesting lens. For smaller than A4 size prints, one can mostly forget about any focusing issues at large apertures as they become hard to detect. Relax and don't pixel peek!
And in response to the people who grumble about the weight and size - I also think that the laws of physics and optics dictate that good lenses with big apertures will be larger and heavier than cheap lenses with small apertures!
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: July, 2012 Location: Perth, Australia Posts: 42
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 24, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $225.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, solid, nice bokeh | | Cons: | nil | |
Purchased a mint used copy. loved the f1.4 on my Kx, gives me huge low light ability, but of course a narrow DOF.
Nice colour rendition and beautiful bokeh.
Addendum: Now used it on my K5IIs and a recent second hand K-01. Interestingly, the micro adjustment may have been a minor issue on the other cameras, but when tried on the K-01...WOW. Soooo sharp, I have never seen that before. Absolutely no need for PP sharpening or the subjects skin flaws would be far too obvious.
The colour continue to impress me with this lens, loving it's tones.
As a low light option with the K5IIs......what a killer combo.....a super fast lens and a camera that can shoot in the dark. If your into night clubs or bands, then have a good look at this combo !!! Awesome. | | | | | Senior Member Registered: June, 2012 Location: London Ontario Posts: 149 | | Review Date: November 8, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $399.99
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Weight, Build | | Cons: | Front Focus | |
I got a bad copy of the lens  , I needed front focus change on my k3 of -10 to come close to fixing the problem so I decided to send it back to get a new one! hopefully I get a good copy this time. The lens is great value, I took some great shots even with the bad copy I got above 2.0. In the 1.4-1.8 the front focus was an issue thats why i send it back. Once the focus hits, WOW you get some great shots, clear and crisp. Bokeh is amazing, havent seen a lens perform this well in that area. Handling is a 9 because you almost cant manual focus because the throw is so short, however i do like in af mode that the ring does not turn. HSM is GREAT, its so much faster than pentax motor . I would recommend this lens to anyone in the market for 50mm over pentax or another brand. Just hope that you get a good lens off the bat so you dont have to do the return hassle!
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: October, 2006 Location: North Face of Mount Shasta Posts: 120
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 28, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $399.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Build quality, Silent focus, Optical quality, New finish | | Cons: | None so far | |
After reading all of the Professional and User reviews of this lens, I was a bit leery of the widely reported focus issues. Knowing that B&H would be there if I received an inferior copy of the lens, I decided to make the leap.
When I received the lens, I was anxious to put it through its paces and determine once and for all if this lens was sharp and if the focus system was accurate and consistent. I made direct comparisons with my F50 1.7 as well as extensive focus tests to determine if I was experiencing any back/front focus issues. I also took a series of critical focus shots at all apertures to see just how sharp this lens was.
I'm very happy and relieved to report that it passed and exceeded my expectations. It is sharper at f1.4 than I was expecting, it focuses accurately and consistently and at f8.0 is razor sharp. The build quality is very good, the new finish is a huge improvement over the previous textured finish, the weight and balance is excellent with my K20d with grip.
This lens is a pleasure to use and I once again am excited to get back to my workstation to work on my images. This lens is not the smallest, lightest or even the cheapest but it can give any 50 on the market one hell of a run for the money.
(example of sharpness and bokeh)
 | | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2014 Posts: 1
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 2, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $425.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp even at 1.4, very fast AF | | Cons: | Heavy, CA | |
Excellent portrait lens with the fastest AF I've ever seen for Pentax mount.
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