HELP with 50mm F1.4

[pixiedust_photo]

Ok, so I got the SIGMA 50mm F1.4 lens the other day. This post is me complaining so I hope someone can help me or ease me being upset.

My BIL insisted on his photos done today @ 10am at the beach near by so it was super bright. I wasnt very happy but that is what he wanted.

So I had my settings on AV @ F1.4 n my ISO at 100 and most to all my photos are super bright and some are blurry. I am not sure why they are blurry. I am not sure to my Fstop number being so low. Maybe during bright times I need to raise it up.
And I have it on SPOT metering.

Can anyone help me? Advice? Anything?
So far right now I am not fond of this lens....

[Nicole]

Yeah, it's pretty much your camera settings. So don't give up yet.

First, at f/1.4 your depth of field is incredibly small. So it's very possible to get only the smallest detail in focus with everything else out of focus or blurry.

Second, at f/1.4 you're letting in heaps of light, so your shutter speed is going to be struggling to be fast enough to cope with all that light. You said 10am in the bright sunlight, well, for example, the other day it was overcast and I was shooting at f/4 and 1/1200-1/1600 (ISO 200). So, if it were even brighter than that, it's possible you were maxing out your camera's shutter speed and there was still too much light, hence the overexposed images.

Some practice with the lens should help a lot for learning just how shallow the DoF can be and how much light it lets in. Don't be discouraged, it's part of the learning process with a new lens.

[pixiedust_photo]

Ok...I was just thinking maybe at super bright it needs to be a HIGHER F#

Does anyone have a good article for me to read?

Thanks Nicole...still upset but I hope to learn more. I am sooo use to my other lens with the F2.8 and I love it....

[woods]

I have a Canon 50mm 1.8. When there is lot of light, I can be at 1.8, ISO 100 and 1/4000 and still get too bright pictures. Unless you have a special filter, I guess you have to use a higher fStop.

[OsmosisStudios]

Generally speaking you dont shoot wide-open anyways: stop the lens down a bit. You'll get better sharpness and contrast, a more useable DoF and you won't be blowing your images out! Stopping down to f/2 is one full stop, and that's still gonna leave you with a very shallow DoF. Stopping it down to f/2.8 even would still give you a good DoF (especially if your background is in the distance) and you get even better sharpness and contrast.

[LoveDSLR]

You have to know your gears and understand exposure value (EV) - ISO, aperture and shutter speed

Assuming EV was 15 at the beach. Your 50D ran out of shutter speed (max at 1/8000) when you used f/1.4 @ ISO 100 (you got EV 13.9).

EV 15 = f/2, ISO 100, 1/8000. If it was EV 16 then f/2.8, ISO 100, 1/8000. You can consider using a PL or ND filter.

[inkista]

Yeah, to be shooting wide open with an f/1.4 at the beach in the daytime, you'd probably need to have an ND filter on the lens to get the proper exposure (that's how I shoot wide open with my Olympus 50/1.2 in the daytime here in San Diego--with a 2-stop ND filter on the lens). Stopping down (using a higher f-number/smaller aperture) will help get you more DoF, as well as getting you a better exposure. Just because you have f/1.4 doesn't mean you have to use it all the time.

[pixiedust_photo]

Thanks for all the wonderful advice and guidance. I sure need it sometimes. I guess I am so use to my other lens that I have mastered

I wish I knew why they came blurry. I hope this lens doesnt give me blur all the time.

[Saralonde]

Try reading this on the DPS blog "Learning About Exposure".

As for blurriness, what Nicole said:

First, at f/1.4 your depth of field is incredibly small. So it's very possible to get only the smallest detail in focus with everything else out of focus or blurry.

Also, be careful of your distance from the subject. Did you use autofocus? If too close the camera will have trouble focusing. It can happen if your subject is moving or it's windy or if you have a little camera shake.

Try using the lens by yourself under better conditions to get used to it. A little practice can make a world of difference.

[LoveDSLR]

Some AF lenses front or back focus and required fine-tuning or factory calibration. It becomes critical at f/1.4 and f/1.2.

e.g., Flickr: Discussing Just got a Sigma 50mm f/1.4 that front focuses --- should I try a new copy or give up? in Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM