Canon 50mm f1.4 vs Sigma Art f1.4 50mm: A Lens Comparison

It’s time for a lens comparison. If you are looking for a fast and versatile prime lens for your Canon DSLR, you might be wondering which 50mm lens to choose. There are many options available, but two of the most popular ones are the Canon 50mm f1.4 and the Sigma Art f1.4 50mm. Both lenses offer excellent image quality, low-light performance, and shallow depth of field, but they also have some differences that might make one more suitable for your needs than the other. In this blog post, I will compare these two lenses based on their design, features, performance, and price, and share some sample photos I took with both of them.

Design and Features

The Canon 50mm f1.4 is a compact and lightweight lens that weighs only 290g and measures 73.8 x 50.5mm. It has a metal mount and a plastic barrel with a rubberized focus ring. The focus ring is smooth and precise, but it is not very wide and it does not have a distance scale or a depth of field indicator. The lens has an autofocus/manual focus switch on the side, but it does not have image stabilization or weather sealing.

The Sigma Art f1.4 50mm is a much larger and heavier lens that weighs 815g and measures 85.4 x 99.9mm. It has a metal mount and a metal barrel with a wide and textured focus ring. The focus ring is also smooth and precise, and it has a distance scale and a depth of field indicator. The lens has an autofocus/manual focus switch on the side, as well as an aperture ring that can be locked or de-clicked for video use. The lens also has image stabilization and weather sealing.

Performance

Both lenses have fast and accurate autofocus systems that work well in most situations. However, the Canon 50mm f1.4 tends to hunt more in low-light or low-contrast scenarios, while the Sigma Art f1.4 50mm is more consistent and reliable in those conditions. The Sigma lens also has a quieter and smoother autofocus motor than the Canon lens, which makes it more suitable for video recording.

Both lenses produce sharp and detailed images with beautiful colors and contrast. However, the Sigma Art f1.4 50mm has an edge over the Canon 50mm f1.4 in terms of sharpness, especially at wider apertures and across the frame. The Sigma lens also has less chromatic aberration, vignetting, and distortion than the Canon lens, which means less post-processing is required to correct those issues.

Both lenses have a maximum aperture of f1.4, which allows them to create a shallow depth of field and a smooth bokeh effect. However, the Sigma Art f1.4 50mm has a more circular aperture with nine blades, while the Canon 50mm f1.4 has an octagonal aperture with eight blades. This makes the Sigma lens produce more rounded and pleasing bokeh shapes than the Canon lens, especially when there are bright highlights in the background.

Price

The Canon 50mm f1.4 is a more affordable lens than the Sigma Art f1.4 50mm. It costs around $400 USD, while the Sigma lens costs around $950 USD. However, the price difference reflects the difference in quality and features between these two lenses. The Sigma lens offers better image quality, performance, build quality, and functionality than the Canon lens, but it also comes with a higher weight, size, and cost.

Conclusion

The Canon 50mm f1.4 and the Sigma Art f1.4 50mm are both great lenses for portrait, street, wedding, or general photography. They both have their strengths and weaknesses, and they both appeal to different types of photographers. If you are looking for a small, light, and budget-friendly lens that can still deliver good results in most situations, you might prefer the Canon 50mm f1.4. If you are looking for a high-end lens that can produce stunning images with superb sharpness, bokeh, and low-light performance, you might prefer the Sigma Art f1.4 50mm.

I hope this blog post was helpful for you to decide which lens to get for your Canon DSLR. If you have any questions or comments about these lenses or my photos, feel free to leave them below or contact me here through my website.

This was a test PLEASE READ

This test was to see how well this could be put together with minimal input. I have skimmed over the information in this blog post and the image in it.

What you might not have recognized was that the photo and the words before the “THIS WAS A TEST PLEASE READ” were all AI generated in a style of comparison between two different lenses in my own writing. I literally had it use all my blog posts and documents over the decades I’ve had online, and create my own writing style.

I am a little floored, because it’s pretty spot on. I love AI.

However, just like AI assisted photo editing, I will always go through and touch up the information in the future to sound more like me or clear up weird spots.