Otus 55 or Sigma 50mm ART

[Scott Pultz]

I have rented the Otus 55mm three times now. I either need to stop renting it or just buy one. The price is tough to swallow. On the other hand I love the image and operation of this lens for video work. Photo work as more hit and miss for me due to the lack of AF.

Is the lens perfect? No. It doesn't have manual iris and it vignettes some but perhaps not a worrisome amount on non-FF sensors.

So of course I consider the Sigma Art as it is known to compete with the Otus, being worse in some categories and better in others with a much lower price tag.

Any advice from those who have used both? The Otus delivers magic but often I wonder if it is placebo

 

[Phil Holland]

Both are rather tremendous. The Zeiss Otus 55mm squeaks out ahead against the Sigma 50mm ART, but not by much.

The Otus 85mm slaps around the Canon 85mm f/1.2 in a few ways.

Both Zeiss and Sigma are killing it lately and I admire their efforts.

However, I've been told directly by Canon that some "interesting new things are on their way". I have no idea what that means, but the same dude has told a few news sites this in the last few weeks.

 

[Erich Roland]

hope Canon finally figures out how to make a L series wide angle lens between 14mm and 24mm..... !!

 

[Scott Pultz]

A competing Canon lens would be welcome since the AF performance would probably be better than that of the Sigma. I have been super happy with their zoom and macro lenses (24-70 F2.8 II, 70-200 F2.8 II, 16-35 F4 IS, 100mm IS L Macro) but their high speed primes leave much to be desired in my opinion!

 

[Marcos Montenegro]

Back to the original question, I bought the ART series and sent it back. Great looking pics and overall IQ, but unless you're planning on cinemizing it a la GL OPTICS Sigma 18-35mm, the ART will feel every bit plastic and fragile in your hands. Of course, it was designed as lightweight as possible for the DSLR world, but for me it was a compromise I wasn't ready to deal with.

 

[Timothy Jones]

The build of the Otus is magnificent, would be hard to imagine a better built still lens . The feel of the focus is like butter the focus throw is long it's easy to focus and the out of focus areas are very nice . (i refuse to use the term "Boke") .
I have the Sigma Art 18- 35mm and build wise, there's no caparison. As, is there no comparison between the prices ...
I think you would find majority difference is in the build and not that much in the optics . I have read the Otus beats the Sigma in smoother out of focus rendition too.
So, i think it comes down to is better build and smoother out of focus worth 3,000.00 difference.
i'm currently debating selling my otus at the moment. I'm finding i actually like canon glass better.
My 2cents.
Thanks,
Tim
www.tjphoto.net

 

[MIKE TESTIN]

The Otus 55mm vignettes?

Also, I believe GL makes a rehouse of the sigma art primes

 

[Maik Müller]

I have both (and the Canon 50/1.2L), didn't plan to keep all three but ended up not being able to sell or send back one of them.

Zeiss: Optically the best still lens you can get. Mechanically the best manual still lens you can get. Feels fantastic. Great for cine-usage, even without cine-mods. Together with the even more impressive Otus 85 it's a great start for a set. I would call them the "master primes" in still-lens world. You can use them together with a SIGMA 18-35 without running into trouble.

SIGMA: Optically damn close to Otus. Mechanically better than the Canon. AF-Motor is actually a nice option to have, not just for DSLR-usage (on RED: Rack Focus, EFF). Smaller and lighter than Otus. A possible set is growing faster, there is already that wonderful 18-35/1.8 and the 35/1.4.

To be honest, OTUS is fantastic but i'm not sure what would happen if i make a decision based on blind-tests and only considering image-quality and that huge price-difference.

I'm curious to see what Canon is planning, they obviously have to refresh some lenses because of their plans to release a high megapixel-camera next year.

 

[Scott Pultz]

The Otus 55mm vignettes?

Also, I believe GL makes a rehouse of the sigma art primes

On a FF DSLR there is more vignetting with the Otus compared to the Sigma. Not an issue with smaller sensors though.

 

[Scott Pultz]

I have both (and the Canon 50/1.2L), didn't plan to keep all three but ended up not being able to sell or send back one of them.

Zeiss: Optically the best still lens you can get. Mechanically the best manual still lens you can get. Feels fantastic. Great for cine-usage, even without cine-mods. Together with the even more impressive Otus 85 it's a great start for a set. I would call them the "master primes" in still-lens world. You can use them together with a SIGMA 18-35 without running into trouble.

SIGMA: Optically damn close to Otus. Mechanically better than the Canon. AF-Motor is actually a nice option to have, not just for DSLR-usage (on RED: Rack Focus, EFF). Smaller and lighter than Otus. A possible set is growing faster, there is already that wonderful 18-35/1.8 and the 35/1.4.

To be honest, OTUS is fantastic but i'm not sure what would happen if i make a decision based on blind-tests and only considering image-quality and that huge price-difference.

I'm curious to see what Canon is planning, they obviously have to refresh some lenses because of their plans to release a high megapixel-camera next year.

Besides the difference in focal length, why do you find the 85mm even more impressive?

 

[Maik Müller]

Besides the difference in focal length, why do you find the 85mm even more impressive?

The gap between the 85mm Canon's and Otus 85mm looked more impressive than the one between the fifties i had and the Otus 55mm. Thats subjective. I intentionally avoided doing too much scientific testing. And yes, that focal length might play a role too (and things like that huge front element ).

And there is this:
http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compa...-ZF2-Nikon-on-Nikon-D800E___1242_814_1384_814

Otus 55 is superb, don't get me wrong here.

 

[Josh K]

Depends what you're shooting, I guess, but I would think that most traditional cine environments would consider the focus throw and related ergonomics of the Otus sufficient justification for the price difference.