Sigma 56 1.4 focus

[kamajan999]

How fast is AF on the 56 1.4? Can it double as a "sports" lens, the few times when I shoot stuff running towards me with my A6000, like dogs, horses and people. 

Is it fast enough for AF-C tracking for above purpose?

Edited March 30, 2020 by kamajan999

[Pieter]

From my own experience, it's decently fast but considerably slower than native Sony lenses like the 50mm f/1.8 OSS. Focus is very accurate.

That being said, I've never had much succes in photographing my kids running towards me with any lens on the a6000: focus is always behind the subject, especially with large aperture lenses as the thin depth of field leaves less room for error. Since I tested several lenses, I think it's more due to the lacking autofocus of the a6000 than the lens AF performance. For me it was reason to replace my a6000 with a newer model.

Edited March 31, 2020 by Pieter

[kamajan999]

Have anyone tried it with the A6400? How fast is it focusing on that body?

[cmycycle]

I just bought the Sigma 56mm f1.4.  I haven't taken it out for a real-world spin yet.  I don't have the Sony 50mm f1.8 OSS to compare, but I do have the 35mm f1.8 OSS for my A6400.  Just testing the AF speed around my room in normal light on still objects, the Sigma 56mm seems slower to focus compared to my SEL35F18.  There's a few times it had to search a bit for focus, whereas the SEL35F18 is super quick on the AF speed.

[cmycycle]

I went out this weekend to take photos of cyclists along a local road that I know they frequent with my A6400 and the Sigma 56mm F1.4.  The 56mm on the A6400 grabbed focus quickly and accurately.  Looking through the shots I took, the only time it looked like the focus wasn't always 100% was during high interval shooting of a group of cyclists as they passed through.  So when my original subject was moving out of the frame and the camera was searching for a new subject, it was out of shot for 1 frame, but found a new subject the next shot.  Not a very scientific test, but I really enjoyed taking the Sigma 56mm out on a photo walk.

Edited August 17, 2020 by cmycycle
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