Good question. Probably just an arm, not both arms.
Luckily, I'm ambidextrous. :-)
Jerry
Posted 12 March 2020 - 10:01 AM
Good question. Probably just an arm, not both arms.
Luckily, I'm ambidextrous. :-)
Jerry
Posted 12 March 2020 - 10:55 AM
I had a 40mm that I used for a week, and it was not perfect in the far corners of a full frame.
It was excellent however, and I would recommend to use it wide open. Why pay for expensive glass you are not going to use?
In my experience, I have found two things:
One is the newer Sigmas are better for astro than the older ones, say comparing a 35mm to the 40mm.
Two is it's always harder to correct the corners the wider you go. In my experience with two samples of these, I think the 40mm was not quite as good as the 105mm in the corners in absolute terms. But it's so much wider, I can live with that.
Now, remaining to be answered, can Sigma out-design Canon on new Mirrorless designs for astro performance in the corners on full frame.
We have seen what Sigma can do on the old DSLR flange-distance cameras. They should be able to do much better with the mirrorless flange-distances.
Of course, now that Canon and Nikon has seen what Sigma can do if you don't care about cost and weight, and only care about performance, I would expect them to be at least as good and also hopefully know how to deal with those problems of the artifacts mentioned in post 3 by Tom.
Canon seems to be there first in a big way with the RA glass. Nikon seems clueless with their f/1.8 lenses. I'm talking about pro glass here, and pros want and need f/1.4's and f/1.2's.
Does anyone know if Sigma has an entirely new PRIME lens design for mirrorless E and L mounts that been released?
Jerry
Thanks for the excellent analysis.
Posted 12 March 2020 - 10:56 AM
I would say the 40 Art is a zero-risk option, comparing to other lenses of similar length. It's very good.
A large-aperture mirrorless prime from Canon is a low-risk (though not zero-risk), potentially very high reward option. It can be even better than the 40, based on the recent trend we see on mirrorless lenses and on what Canon is capable of. Unfortunately the mirrorless lenses are all too new, and we need to wait for a while to see real reports. This part is based on my educated guess, while the part on 40 is based on the real images I saw.
Thanks for the response.
Posted 12 March 2020 - 02:11 PM
I think the 40mm was not quite as good as the 105mm in the corners in absolute terms.
<the Digital Pictures.com> website has tested both Sigma lenses.
In the review they took also images of stars made with a Canon 5Ds R which show some distortion in the very corner.
40mm: https://www.the-digi...M-Art-Lens.aspx
105mm: https://www.the-digi...M-Art-Lens.aspx
If you want virtual coma free stars in the very corner check the Canon EF 35mm F1.4 type 2:
https://www.the-digi...I-USM-Lens.aspx
Edited by garret, 12 March 2020 - 02:22 PM.
Posted 12 March 2020 - 09:34 PM
<the Digital Pictures.com> website has tested both Sigma lenses.
In the review they took also images of stars made with a Canon 5Ds R which show some distortion in the very corner.
40mm: https://www.the-digi...M-Art-Lens.aspx
105mm: https://www.the-digi...M-Art-Lens.aspx
If you want virtual coma free stars in the very corner check the Canon EF 35mm F1.4 type 2:
Thanks for the links. Too bad they don’t have the star pictures in the corners for the 35mm and 50mm Sigma ART lenses.
The Canon looks great, but $1700 is too pricey for me.
Posted 12 March 2020 - 09:57 PM
The 40 Art is listed as $1400, not too much lower than the $1700 tag you mentioned. The question is only whether the Canon worths that $300 difference.
If you have a hard limit around $1400, then 40 Art is indeed the best option.
Posted 12 March 2020 - 11:00 PM
Posted 13 March 2020 - 06:53 AM
I have the Sigma Art 40 and use it with the Nikon D810a. It has some field curverture thus has some coma in the corners wider open focused in center.
I use it therefore at f/1.8 and focus about 2/3 towards center. Still i mess up some frames for you really need to nail it.
When you carefully test this lens with different apertures you might find a similar result. It is far better than the Sigma Art 35 which I had before. The best astro lens of the Art line is the 135mm though, which is a bit better than the 105. Sigma lenses can suffer from decentering errors. So I'd never trust a single lens test completely and would alway test any new lens.
Posted 13 March 2020 - 08:02 AM
Im curious, has anyone tried sigmas 45mm f2.8?
Posted 13 March 2020 - 09:07 AM
The 40 Art is listed as $1400, not too much lower than the $1700 tag you mentioned. The question is only whether the Canon worths that $300 difference.
If you have a hard limit around $1400, then 40 Art is indeed the best option.
My "hard" limit is actually $1000. I have so many Canon, Nikon, and Pentax lenses I run out of fingers and toes when I count them. But I have heard a lot of good press on the Sigma ART lenses and was wanting to try one. The 50mm is currently $949 and the 35mm is $699 at bhphotovideo currently, and that's not on sale. If and when they go on sale, maybe the 40mm will be $1000. If not, I'll probably get the 50mm for like $749 or the 35mm for $599?
Edited by SandyHouTex, 13 March 2020 - 09:08 AM.
Posted 13 March 2020 - 09:21 AM
The 50mm/1.4 is about $650 on amazon right now... Just picked it up a couple of weeks ago.
Posted 13 March 2020 - 12:57 PM
My "hard" limit is actually $1000. I have so many Canon, Nikon, and Pentax lenses I run out of fingers and toes when I count them. But I have heard a lot of good press on the Sigma ART lenses and was wanting to try one. The 50mm is currently $949 and the 35mm is $699 at bhphotovideo currently, and that's not on sale. If and when they go on sale, maybe the 40mm will be $1000. If not, I'll probably get the 50mm for like $749 or the 35mm for $599?
You can also look at the option of renting any of these lenses to try them out. Or I've found I use them so infrequently for astro due to weather and any number of not gettin' to it reasons, I now regularly consider renting if going to a real dark zone or star party of several days instead of dropping a bundle on one. Of course you might not get a 'great one' but you take the same risk buying and having the return hassles anyway. And you can try several models before dropping a bundle for one on 'sale'. lensrentals.com has been hassle free for me. Others are out there I'm sure. I think they even have the Canon Ra for rent, so no doubt will be adding any new lenses to try as they come out.
Edited by Ron359, 13 March 2020 - 12:58 PM.
Posted 14 March 2020 - 09:19 AM
The 50mm/1.4 is about $650 on amazon right now... Just picked it up a couple of weeks ago.
Thanks. I just checked and it’s $601. I think I’ll get it.
Posted 14 March 2020 - 05:10 PM
Thanks. I just checked and it’s $601. I think I’ll get it.
Then again, you might want to wait a bit if ultimate performance is what you are looking for... Sigma is probably dumping all of their old glass now that they are totally committed to mirrorless.
Of course, the new lenses will be more expensive, so if that price looks good, it might be a bargain.
Hmmm, ain't I a lot of help? :-0
Jerry
Posted 14 March 2020 - 06:17 PM
Then again, you might want to wait a bit if ultimate performance is what you are looking for... Sigma is probably dumping all of their old glass now that they are totally committed to mirrorless.
Of course, the new lenses will be more expensive, so if that price looks good, it might be a bargain.
Hmmm, ain't I a lot of help? :-0
Jerry
Huh? You're saying they won't be making any more are lenses for DSLRs??? Makes no sense.
Posted 14 March 2020 - 09:12 PM
Then again, you might want to wait a bit if ultimate performance is what you are looking for... Sigma is probably dumping all of their old glass now that they are totally committed to mirrorless.
Of course, the new lenses will be more expensive, so if that price looks good, it might be a bargain.
Hmmm, ain't I a lot of help? :-0
Jerry
Actually Jerry, you are a lot of help. I always learn a lot from you.
But I didn’t know they were moving into the mirrorless world. I have a Canon Ra that hasn’t seen a lot of use yet. Do you have any info on the Sigma mirrorless lenses. It seems like they’re really stepping their game up.
Posted 15 March 2020 - 06:08 AM
Huh? You're saying they won't be making any more are lenses for DSLRs??? Makes no sense.
That's not what I'm saying, that's what Sigma is saying.
All the camera manufacturers seem to think mirrorless is the way to go, because they can make money by making you buy all new bodies and lenses.
Some won't survive the coming global pandemic/recession. Nikon might be one of them.
Canon will definitely be around though.
I'm a pessimist so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
On the third hand, the potential distraction of millions dying in this pandemic, might really delay customer's switching.
On the fourth hand, you could argue that a huge percentage of folks own more DSLRs than mirrorless, and it would be stupid to ignore that market, and they make money on lenses, that they won't abandon the DSLR market, but Sigma apparently has.
Jerry
Edited by Jerry Lodriguss, 15 March 2020 - 06:20 AM.
Posted 15 March 2020 - 06:13 AM
Actually Jerry, you are a lot of help. I always learn a lot from you.
But I didn’t know they were moving into the mirrorless world. I have a Canon Ra that hasn’t seen a lot of use yet. Do you have any info on the Sigma mirrorless lenses. It seems like they’re really stepping their game up.
Yea, they announced they are all in on mirrorless.
We have to remember that there is, or should be, a large design change in the great ART lenses that Sigma has now for DSLRs and the new mirrorless lens designs.
The shorter flange distances allows some new stuff.
I don't know if we will see lenses that are an order of magnitude better, they if they are designed specifically for astro, like Sigma seems to do, then the new gen of mirrorless lenses should be better.
So you have the Canon RF lenses. I would assume that Canon really went out of their way to make them as good as possible with the new shorter flange distances.
Now Sigma is going to start making nothing but mirrorless lenses, so, if they can optimize for astro, they might be better. And even if they are not, they should be cheaper, and if we are lucky, just as good.
Jerry
Edited by Jerry Lodriguss, 15 March 2020 - 06:15 AM.
Posted 15 March 2020 - 11:32 AM
Jerry, please provide a real link to what you are saying. All I see is that they are focusing future development on mirrorless. That does not mean they will not produce more of their existing DSLR lenses.
Honestly, you are sounding a little extreme overall. Nikon is not likely to go out of business. Even if their balance sheet was terrible, they would file for bankruptcy and restructure their financials and operating cost structures.
Getting a little silly.
Posted 15 March 2020 - 11:58 AM
Yea, they announced they are all in on mirrorless.
We have to remember that there is, or should be, a large design change in the great ART lenses that Sigma has now for DSLRs and the new mirrorless lens designs.
The shorter flange distances allows some new stuff.
I don't know if we will see lenses that are an order of magnitude better, they if they are designed specifically for astro, like Sigma seems to do, then the new gen of mirrorless lenses should be better.
So you have the Canon RF lenses. I would assume that Canon really went out of their way to make them as good as possible with the new shorter flange distances.
Now Sigma is going to start making nothing but mirrorless lenses, so, if they can optimize for astro, they might be better. And even if they are not, they should be cheaper, and if we are lucky, just as good.
Jerry
I did a search on Sigma lenses at bhphotovideo.com and it seems they’ve been designing quite a few lenses for Sony, which are all mirrorless. Many of the Sony ART lenses are similar in price to the Canon Sigma ART lenses, so there’s hope.
Canon is designing great Rf lenses. Ken Rockwell thinks the 50mm f/1.2 is fantastic, but it’s $2300.
Posted 15 March 2020 - 02:08 PM
Great straight from the source. I read that, but here is a quote:
“Most new products in the future will be the DN series designed exclusively for mirrorless cameras,” reads the machine translated tweet. “The DG DN series for full-size mirrorless, which is frequently requested, will be the center, but we believe that we need to expand the DC DN for APS-C (+ MFT), which is currently popular.”
Most NEW products will be for mirrorless. There is a HUGE installed base of DSLRs. They didn't say they were not going to continue producing their existing DSLR lenses. Why would they do that? The installed base of existing DSLRs is much larger than mirrorless cameras. Why would they abandon that market?
All they are saying is that they are going to expend their future resources on mirrorless. Why shouldn't they do that? They have a full line-up of DSLR art lenses. And the quote says MOST new products.
Jeez.
Posted 15 March 2020 - 03:56 PM
Jerry, please provide a real link to what you are saying. All I see is that they are focusing future development on mirrorless. That does not mean they will not produce more of their existing DSLR lenses.
Honestly, you are sounding a little extreme overall. Nikon is not likely to go out of business. Even if their balance sheet was terrible, they would file for bankruptcy and restructure their financials and operating cost structures.
Getting a little silly.
Ok. We shall see.
40% probability of Nikon Bankruptcy.
And this was before the gobal corona virus pandemic, and the coming global recession/depression.
Maybe you would like to bet a beer that Nikon is not in business in, say, 3 years?
Jerry
Edited by Jerry Lodriguss, 15 March 2020 - 04:01 PM.
Posted 15 March 2020 - 05:04 PM
Ok. We shall see.
40% probability of Nikon Bankruptcy.
And this was before the gobal corona virus pandemic, and the coming global recession/depression.
Maybe you would like to bet a beer that Nikon is not in business in, say, 3 years?
Jerry
I would bet a beer that someone buys them. It would be a sad day indeed if they ceased to exist
Posted 15 March 2020 - 05:25 PM
Jerry,
Well you strongly implied that Sigma was exiting the business of making lenses for DSLRs. That is not true. If so, please point to some decent source for this.
As we all know the camera companies are struggling. As I am sure you know Nikon does more than just cameras and lenses.
I'm an investment guy. Despite the operating loss in the camera business their precision equipment business is profitable. Nikon's balance sheet is fairly strong with cash of 356 billion Yen versus debt of 140 billion Yen. That's not imminent bankruptcy. Yes they will likely have to further shrink their cost structure as it does seem likely their sales will be under pressure. Maybe mirrorless changes that. Who knows?
Almost as many people died in Italy today and every day from heart disease than have died from the corona virus in total. Maybe the world is coming to an end.
I doubt it.
I've got nothing against you and years ago bought a couple of your CDs. But I'll tell you what, forget the three years. I'll buy you a beer today. Seems like you need it.
Nikon financials here:
https://www.nikon.co...library/result/
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