Incredible review, and incredible lens! It's lenses like this that make me want to ditch all my Canon gear. The fact that R mount still remains closed in 2024 is getting ridiculous.
I just did, after waiting for ages i finally went to Sony after shooting Canon for 15 years. Im not doing pro work any more, so solid options at lower pricing is key for me.
I really love what Sigma is doing value wise - the one fly in the ointment for video or hybrid shooters like myself is that for reasons I don't understand, Sigma still has a non-linear, speed based manual focus implementation on Sony (on L mount you can decide from the camera) which makes focus pulls using manual focus or follow focus a lot less consistent. Tamron, Samyang and Viltrox at this point all use (or offer via their apps) linear manual focus on their newer lenses. Just seems like an odd oversight considering they have so many nice options for video (especially their i-series)
Dustin, always enjoy your videos and your impartial take on this stuff. There's a top tier of trusted reviewers, and you're in it. Doesn't hurt that I want to move back north and to the mountains. Keep it up brother!
Thank you Dustin for yet another telling review. TBH, all the lenses in this review are phenomenal. The differences are like splitting hair. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.
@@DustinAbbottTWI you're awesome man! I'm rewatching WCW week-by-week from 95-99 and I'm on August of 97' now and everytime I hear Mike Tenay give color commentary and insight that others are unaware of...it sounds a lot like your vocals and you also give insights that all the other commentators gloss over. That is why whenever a new lens is released I never miss what "The Professor" says!!!
I went to your B&H link to order it, but I don’t see an option for Canon RF??? Does that mean I have to get rid of my R6 and buy a Sony body instead? Another great video Dustin!
Hello Dustin! Thanks for the review! Please tell me which lens provides a higher resolution if the aperture is closed? Which one is sharper and clearer? Sigma 50 1.2 or Sony 50 1.4? I want to buy one of them and I need maximum clarity and resolution for advertising photography.
For a wedding photographer who's already carrying a ton of gear, would you suggest this over the 50mm f/1.4 GM? F/1.2 looks amazing and I frequently shoot at unideal lighting, but I'm already carrying a second body, 24mm, 85mm, and the 35-150mm.
Two off my best pics I’ve done which was back in the 90’s on film was done with a Canon EOS 10s with a Sigma lens done in B&W. Current Sigma lens is a 20mm Art on a Canon DSR.
Great for you, Dustin, nice job. Sigma is definitely starting to hit it out of the park and is quite competitive on the Sony ecosystem. Where they are almost a no-brainer decision is on the l mount. I recently picked up the sigma 70 to 200 and it is a superb lens. Works quite well with the sigma 16 to 28 and sigma 28 to 70 as well. It’s funny, while we were on the Sony ecosystem we primarily had prime lenses, but on, our Lumix cameras, we almost always use one of the sigma zooms. The one exception is the excellent Panasonic, 50 F1.8 lens. Now we just get rid of our Sony, the FX 30 and replace it with the new high resolution Panasonic. That will make it three Lumix cameras.
Thanks for the review. The bokeh comparison was particularly good. As you say it wasn't exactly apples to apples, but this is where the GM lenses are worth their cost. Excellent!
Interesting, you're the first on UA-cam to mention that the bokeh isn't the best - from what I've seen, my 50mm 1.4 DG DN renders nicer, despite more CA - perhaps a too well corrected lens isn't great for bokeh smoothness. Would love to see a direct comparison of the 1.2 and 1.4 50mm DG DN...
Sigma can sometimes fault to the side of a bit too well corrected, which makes for good sharpness but less amazing rendering. Sometimes the flaws are what add the character.
How does it compare to the Sigma 35 f1.2. I own that lens and I find that it has excellent colors and bokeh. Would you say that the bokeh on the 50 is worse? Otherwise I would be interested in Switching to get a smaller more manageable lens.
Performance for most things is going to be about equal. The edge for the Sony is if you want to do bursts - you can shoot up to the maximum speed of Sony's sport cameras, while the Sigma will be limited to 15FPS.
Quick q... Does it provide a good linear manual focus for focus pulls or does it change with speed. Looks linear from the quick shot in the video. Thanks Dustin!
Man each time a 3rd party releases a lens for Sony E-Mount it makes it harder and harder not to make Sony the default recommendation for new buyers. Sure Sony ergonomics aren't everyone's cup of tea but aside from sports and wildlife photography glass is more important then the body and with E-Mount you just have more choices. Also even with the 15fps cap on high speed Alpha bodies that should be plenty for anything not action/wildlife related anway.
thx a lot for your efforts... But for what reason does one need a 1.2 50 mm lens? most people already have their 1.4 or even 2.0 nifty fifty... very late, too. so I will stay with my 40 1.4 mmm
I guess that argument for any lens. Lens makers aren't going to stop making new lenses just because a lot of lenses for a platform already exist. They are in the business of making lenses.
Appreciate the look into this lens..this lens is very intriguing!..dont usually shoot 50mm but this is a great alternative to the GM... Hopefully Sigma will release an 85 1.2 Art for E mount just like this!..because so far it looks like Sony is not going to make that lens any time soon..unless they did a reverse on us..release the upcoming 85 1.4 GM II than a 1.2 later..like they did with the 50 1.2 GM was first than the 1.4..haha
I have a chance of buying a very good consition Zeiss Otus 55mm atthe same price as this lens but how does the Zeiss Otus 55mm compare with Sigma 50mm f1.2 Art optically and mechanically?
The Otus is a pretty special lens. The rendering is more magical than this lens, though it isn't sharper. The Sigma has far more features and versatility.
@@DustinAbbottTWI I shoot videos so sharpness is not the absolute, whats I'm after is good colour separation, well controlled CA, consistant sharpness across the field wide open, minimal distortion, artefact free clean image and minimal focus breathing.
I'm definitely hearing that from people, and I'm sure that lens has to be on Sigma's roadmap. Sony probably wants to release their 85mm F1.2 GM first, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Sigma follow up within a year.
Personally I would choose the GM1.4 as I just don’t need 1.2 and it’s lighter and at virtually same price and without compromising AF/FPS it just strike me as a better deal for me personally… It dos look like an amazing lens if you need 1.2
I'm honestly torn now. I was settled on buying the gm 1.4 but now I can get 1.2 for the same money. I'm planning a trip at the end of the year so I will sit on it for 6 months
@@SourDonut99 It really depends on use, video and loads of full body tight dof go sigma, if there any sort of need for fps or high speed AF-C go Sony… Personally for travel unless doing loads of video I save the weight, 1.4 is plenty fast enough imho.
I could definitely see that lens coming. It's been nearly four years since the release of the 85mm F1.4 DN, and Sigma is demonstrating here that they've got the engineering ability to make it.
Sigma has 50ART 1.4 DSL bokeh better than the new 50 1.2.bokeh ~The 100$ 50 1.5 is more beautiful than this bokeh. It can't turn win the Voigtlander. . Halier What do you think about bokeh? Congratulations to Sigma for making a rag~~
Thank you for the excellent review, as always. Very interesting lens. As for the young woman dressed in dark clothing in your video... the expression on her face looks like that of a young teenager who is extremely annoyed at her Dad for embarrassing her in front of her friends. It looks like she wants to murder the cameraman . RBF not working out here.
@@DustinAbbottTWI who knows what's going on behind the scenes and who's pockets are being filled. But first hand, I'd say you're right. Sure thing; they won't get any more pennies from me.
@@stephangauthier911 It's a shame, as I have always been a Canon guy, but I've had a hard time supporting a lot of their decisions in the transition to mirrorless.
God forbid this gets released on Canon RF mount, or Fuji X, or Nikon Z. Why are they only catering to the worst 2 brands? Leica is a ripoff and Sony makes junk.
I suspect Nikon Z is probably going to happen, but Canon has still not opened its full frame RF protocols to anyone, and frankly this lens (a big, heavy, full frame lens) makes little sense on Fuji X.
The number of 50mm FE mount lenses is ridiculous. There is no way the 50mm FE market can support 14 lenses (7 from Sony themselves). 50/1.8, 50/1.4 ZA, 55/1.8 ZA, 50/1.2 GM, 50/1.4GM, 50/2.5, 50/2.8 MACRO, 50/2 Loxia, 50/1.2 SIG, 50/1.4 SIG, 50/1.2 ROK, 50/1.4 ROK, 50/1.4 SAM, 50/0.95 MITA...
@@DustinAbbottTWIHow in hell does ANYONE make money in this segment? It's not like R&D or tooling is free! Maybe Sony is OK with losing money to help "sell the platform", but the same cannot be said of the independents.
@@DustinAbbottTWIThe sad truth is that the Camera Business is a shrinking pool in the Smart Phone Era and that everyone is trying their darnest to drink from. Think about it. The compact point and shoot camera (both film and digital) was a big thing for these makers. That's gone. The camcorder which used to be a vibrant and individual segment. That's gone. The prosumer APS-C stuff was bigger than the FF market because it was affordable. That's going away because people who going to leave their smart phones and go to a big camera system will go FF or go home. Even the FF stuff is getting eroded by the recent advancements in "Fake Bokeh" smart phone portrait modes. Yet we are seeing this explosion in offerings from lens makers trying to stay relevant... somethign tells me it is not sustainable.
This video is sponsored by Fantom Duffel. Visit store.fantomwallet.com and use code DUSTIN20 to get 20% off
Incredible review, and incredible lens! It's lenses like this that make me want to ditch all my Canon gear. The fact that R mount still remains closed in 2024 is getting ridiculous.
I'm afraid I agree with you. It is very frustrating. I love my R5, but it is desperate for some reasonably priced third party lenses.
Same thing! F that Canons business thing🤬👎.. i have thinking chance to Fuji gfx 100 ii and only one lens, or maeby some zoom and one prime.
I just did, after waiting for ages i finally went to Sony after shooting Canon for 15 years. Im not doing pro work any more, so solid options at lower pricing is key for me.
100% agree
Wake up canon!!!
Thanks!
My pleasure. Thanks for the donation.
I really love what Sigma is doing value wise - the one fly in the ointment for video or hybrid shooters like myself is that for reasons I don't understand, Sigma still has a non-linear, speed based manual focus implementation on Sony (on L mount you can decide from the camera) which makes focus pulls using manual focus or follow focus a lot less consistent.
Tamron, Samyang and Viltrox at this point all use (or offer via their apps) linear manual focus on their newer lenses. Just seems like an odd oversight considering they have so many nice options for video (especially their i-series)
That's a fair critique. I'm not quite sure why they haven't done something app based for Sony like they have on L-mount
Thank you very much， you are my lighthouse on picking lenses
Happy to help!
Dustin, always enjoy your videos and your impartial take on this stuff. There's a top tier of trusted reviewers, and you're in it. Doesn't hurt that I want to move back north and to the mountains. Keep it up brother!
Glad to help out!
Thank you Dustin for yet another telling review. TBH, all the lenses in this review are phenomenal. The differences are like splitting hair. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.
That's absolutely right.
Yes! Your video today was the first video I saw on this. I appreciate what you do. I appreciate your technical reviews. Tim.
My pleasure.
Yes!!! It's the "Mike Tenay" of camera reviews, "The Professor Dustin Abbott".
LOL
@@DustinAbbottTWI you're awesome man! I'm rewatching WCW week-by-week from 95-99 and I'm on August of 97' now and everytime I hear Mike Tenay give color commentary and insight that others are unaware of...it sounds a lot like your vocals and you also give insights that all the other commentators gloss over. That is why whenever a new lens is released I never miss what "The Professor" says!!!
Yes he is the benchmark!
Love the portraits at 9:10! As usual, great review Dustin!
Thank you!
I went to your B&H link to order it, but I don’t see an option for Canon RF??? Does that mean I have to get rid of my R6 and buy a Sony body instead? Another great video Dustin!
LOL - I'm afraid so.
comparision of rendering between 50 1.2 GM and this sigma would be super interesting, great lens.
Agreed, though unfortunately I don't have the 50mm F1.2 around and no easy means of getting one.
I think Gordon Laing has one out...ua-cam.com/video/1xiWAn9drJw/v-deo.htmlsi=e5ni2VAu2MrnFY7n
Imagine having Sigma for Canon RF 🥺
It's ridiculous that we are still having to "imagine" this so far into Canon RF's existence.
@DustinAbbottTWcanon disgust me
Hi Dustin! Which lens will be sharper at apertures 4/5.6/8 Sigma 50/1.2 ART or Sony 50/1.4GM?
how does the image quality compare to the Sony 50mm f1.4gm. If size and weight were not an issue, then which one would you choose?
I've got a direction comparison video coming in the next week or two. Stay tuned for that.
Hello Dustin! Thanks for the review! Please tell me which lens provides a higher resolution if the aperture is closed? Which one is sharper and clearer? Sigma 50 1.2 or Sony 50 1.4? I want to buy one of them and I need maximum clarity and resolution for advertising photography.
For a wedding photographer who's already carrying a ton of gear, would you suggest this over the 50mm f/1.4 GM?
F/1.2 looks amazing and I frequently shoot at unideal lighting, but I'm already carrying a second body, 24mm, 85mm, and the 35-150mm.
If saving some weight is a priority, I'd probably recommend getting the GM. It's a fabulous package and very reasonably sized.
@@DustinAbbottTWI thank you!
Two off my best pics I’ve done which was back in the 90’s on film was done with a Canon EOS 10s with a Sigma lens done in B&W. Current Sigma lens is a 20mm Art on a Canon DSR.
Nice!
Good morning Dustin
Morning!
Great for you, Dustin, nice job. Sigma is definitely starting to hit it out of the park and is quite competitive on the Sony ecosystem. Where they are almost a no-brainer decision is on the l mount. I recently picked up the sigma 70 to 200 and it is a superb lens. Works quite well with the sigma 16 to 28 and sigma 28 to 70 as well. It’s funny, while we were on the Sony ecosystem we primarily had prime lenses, but on, our Lumix cameras, we almost always use one of the sigma zooms. The one exception is the excellent Panasonic, 50 F1.8 lens. Now we just get rid of our Sony, the FX 30 and replace it with the new high resolution Panasonic. That will make it three Lumix cameras.
That's very interesting.
Thanks for the review. The bokeh comparison was particularly good. As you say it wasn't exactly apples to apples, but this is where the GM lenses are worth their cost. Excellent!
My pleasure.
Interesting, you're the first on UA-cam to mention that the bokeh isn't the best - from what I've seen, my 50mm 1.4 DG DN renders nicer, despite more CA - perhaps a too well corrected lens isn't great for bokeh smoothness. Would love to see a direct comparison of the 1.2 and 1.4 50mm DG DN...
Sigma can sometimes fault to the side of a bit too well corrected, which makes for good sharpness but less amazing rendering. Sometimes the flaws are what add the character.
If you were to compare the 4 lenses: GMf1.2, GMf1.4, Sigmaf1.2 and f1.4, which has the best ability to make your subject 'POP' from the background?
I would say the GM 1.2
@DustinAbbottTWI Follow up question: which would be your 2nd and 3rd choice?
Great review thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
How does it compare to the Sigma 35 f1.2. I own that lens and I find that it has excellent colors and bokeh. Would you say that the bokeh on the 50 is worse? Otherwise I would be interested in Switching to get a smaller more manageable lens.
No, I wouldn't say worse.
Does this have better resolution than the Zeiss 55? It’s my go to lens for the image quality in such a small package.
It definitely does...though it obviously is a LOT bigger.
Yezz
Thanks for the comparison vs. the 50 1.4GM, IMO the main competitor pricewise on Sony. How would you compare the autofocus between the two?
Performance for most things is going to be about equal. The edge for the Sony is if you want to do bursts - you can shoot up to the maximum speed of Sony's sport cameras, while the Sigma will be limited to 15FPS.
Quick q... Does it provide a good linear manual focus for focus pulls or does it change with speed. Looks linear from the quick shot in the video. Thanks Dustin!
I do have a comparison video done that will release in a week or two...stay tuned.
I will watch this a bit later, but I already checked written review + image gallery. Any idea how it would perform for astro?
I didn't have a chance to test astro, but I see no reason why it shouldn't work fine. Aberrations are well controlled.
Man each time a 3rd party releases a lens for Sony E-Mount it makes it harder and harder not to make Sony the default recommendation for new buyers. Sure Sony ergonomics aren't everyone's cup of tea but aside from sports and wildlife photography glass is more important then the body and with E-Mount you just have more choices. Also even with the 15fps cap on high speed Alpha bodies that should be plenty for anything not action/wildlife related anway.
100% correct.
thx a lot for your efforts... But for what reason does one need a 1.2 50 mm lens? most people already have their 1.4 or even 2.0 nifty fifty... very late, too. so I will stay with my 40 1.4 mmm
I guess that argument for any lens. Lens makers aren't going to stop making new lenses just because a lot of lenses for a platform already exist. They are in the business of making lenses.
Appreciate the look into this lens..this lens is very intriguing!..dont usually shoot 50mm but this is a great alternative to the GM...
Hopefully Sigma will release an 85 1.2 Art for E mount just like this!..because so far it looks like Sony is not going to make that lens any time soon..unless they did a reverse on us..release the upcoming 85 1.4 GM II than a 1.2 later..like they did with the 50 1.2 GM was first than the 1.4..haha
I would be shocked if Sigma didn't release an 85mm F1.2
I have a chance of buying a very good consition Zeiss Otus 55mm atthe same price as this lens but how does the Zeiss Otus 55mm compare with Sigma 50mm f1.2 Art optically and mechanically?
The Otus is a pretty special lens. The rendering is more magical than this lens, though it isn't sharper. The Sigma has far more features and versatility.
@@DustinAbbottTWI I shoot videos so sharpness is not the absolute, whats I'm after is good colour separation, well controlled CA, consistant sharpness across the field wide open, minimal distortion, artefact free clean image and minimal focus breathing.
Looks like a very nice option! Would love to see them also offering a 85mm f1.2. Thx for the video! ✌
I'm definitely hearing that from people, and I'm sure that lens has to be on Sigma's roadmap. Sony probably wants to release their 85mm F1.2 GM first, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Sigma follow up within a year.
Thank you for a review. Could you compare rendering with Sony gm 1.4 ?
I will. That video is ready to go and I'll release it sometime over the next few weeks.
Thank you so much!@@DustinAbbottTWI
Personally I would choose the GM1.4 as I just don’t need 1.2 and it’s lighter and at virtually same price and without compromising AF/FPS it just strike me as a better deal for me personally… It dos look like an amazing lens if you need 1.2
I'm honestly torn now. I was settled on buying the gm 1.4 but now I can get 1.2 for the same money.
I'm planning a trip at the end of the year so I will sit on it for 6 months
@@SourDonut99
It really depends on use, video and loads of full body tight dof go sigma, if there any sort of need for fps or high speed AF-C go Sony… Personally for travel unless doing loads of video I save the weight, 1.4 is plenty fast enough imho.
I've got a comparison video uploaded that might help. I'll release it in a week or two.
I sure would love to see a Sigma 85mm 1.2!
I could definitely see that lens coming. It's been nearly four years since the release of the 85mm F1.4 DN, and Sigma is demonstrating here that they've got the engineering ability to make it.
The Sigma seems to have better light transmission than the GM.
Light transmission has not always been amazing on some of the GM lenses, so I can see that possibility.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thanks and let the light in (GM permitting)!
Also Sony lenses take advantage of Advanced Stabilization (aka Active) ...
True, though I don't actually often use that, myself.
Sigma 35 1.2 is the best lens Ive ever used. So I'm so excited for this
Then you'll love this one.
I dont know how they did it!!!😊
They are definitely getting better and better in producing high performing lenses that aren't huge like the early ART lenses.
Thanks for UA marks))
You're welcome :)
Sigma has 50ART 1.4 DSL bokeh better than the new 50 1.2.bokeh ~The 100$ 50 1.5 is more beautiful than this bokeh. It can't turn win the Voigtlander. . Halier
What do you think about bokeh? Congratulations to Sigma for making a rag~~
I think the overall bokeh rendering is good, but I'd always call it the weakest link in the package here.
Thank you for the excellent review, as always. Very interesting lens. As for the young woman dressed in dark clothing in your video... the expression on her face looks like that of a young teenager who is extremely annoyed at her Dad for embarrassing her in front of her friends. It looks like she wants to murder the cameraman . RBF not working out here.
Thanks for the feedback.
the first❤
I'd like to say there is a prize...but, well, there isn't ;)
Between Canon and Sigma, they wont develop for RF mount; f 'em!
It is disappointing. I don't think that's on Sigma, as these companies are developing for Fuji and Nikon as they start to open up. It's on Canon.
@@DustinAbbottTWI who knows what's going on behind the scenes and who's pockets are being filled. But first hand, I'd say you're right. Sure thing; they won't get any more pennies from me.
@@stephangauthier911 It's a shame, as I have always been a Canon guy, but I've had a hard time supporting a lot of their decisions in the transition to mirrorless.
God forbid this gets released on Canon RF mount, or Fuji X, or Nikon Z. Why are they only catering to the worst 2 brands? Leica is a ripoff and Sony makes junk.
I suspect Nikon Z is probably going to happen, but Canon has still not opened its full frame RF protocols to anyone, and frankly this lens (a big, heavy, full frame lens) makes little sense on Fuji X.
Lol I assume that's your teenage unhappy daughter 😢😢😢😢
It's not, but she's working on her "pouty" face.
My actual daughter LOVES doing portrait shoots.
@@DustinAbbottTWI hehe. Ok. Love your reviews
Same size, same wheight of Sony GM......
Not exactly. The Sigma is narrower and lighter.
The number of 50mm FE mount lenses is ridiculous. There is no way the 50mm FE market can support 14 lenses (7 from Sony themselves). 50/1.8, 50/1.4 ZA, 55/1.8 ZA, 50/1.2 GM, 50/1.4GM, 50/2.5, 50/2.8 MACRO, 50/2 Loxia, 50/1.2 SIG, 50/1.4 SIG, 50/1.2 ROK, 50/1.4 ROK, 50/1.4 SAM, 50/0.95 MITA...
It is crazy, and it looks like Viltrox will be adding high end F1.2 and F1.4 variations within a year.
@@DustinAbbottTWIHow in hell does ANYONE make money in this segment? It's not like R&D or tooling is free! Maybe Sony is OK with losing money to help "sell the platform", but the same cannot be said of the independents.
@@dwightlooi With Sigma, they are also selling on L-mount, and I think they are banking on eventually making more money on Z and RF mounts.
@@DustinAbbottTWIThe sad truth is that the Camera Business is a shrinking pool in the Smart Phone Era and that everyone is trying their darnest to drink from. Think about it. The compact point and shoot camera (both film and digital) was a big thing for these makers. That's gone. The camcorder which used to be a vibrant and individual segment. That's gone. The prosumer APS-C stuff was bigger than the FF market because it was affordable. That's going away because people who going to leave their smart phones and go to a big camera system will go FF or go home. Even the FF stuff is getting eroded by the recent advancements in "Fake Bokeh" smart phone portrait modes. Yet we are seeing this explosion in offerings from lens makers trying to stay relevant... somethign tells me it is not sustainable.