Introduction
For my first prime lens on my Canon 30D, I've choosen the new Sigma AF 50mm f/1.4 EX HSM DC
I've made some shot of the ISO 12233 chart. I've found a pdf version on cornell university
printed it into a A3 paper (laser print), and hung it on the wall and shot it with the camera fixed on a tripod with AF active.
I've developped the RAW CR2 file with Canon Digital Photo Professional (DPP) 3.4 with monochrome white balance setting, RAW sharpness set to 3 and the rest left by default (RGB sharpness to 0).
I've converted the CR2 to JPG.
The following pictures are 100% crop @ 640x480 from these shots.
ISO charts: 100% crop in the center
| f/1.4 |
f/1.6 |
f/1.8 |
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| f/2.0 |
f/2.2 |
f/2.5 |
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| f/2.8 |
f/4.0 |
f/5.0 |
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| f/5.6 |
f/7.1 |
f/8.0 |
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|
100% crop in the top-left corner
| f/1.4 |
f/1.6 |
f/1.8 |
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| f/2.0 |
f/2.2 |
f/2.5 |
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| f/2.8 |
f/4.0 |
f/5.0 |
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| f/5.6 |
f/7.1 |
f/8.0 |
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Conclusion Sharpness
The lens is quite soft by big apertures and almost as soft and sharp in the border as in the center.
100% crop in the top-left corner
| f/1.4 |
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f/1.6 |
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| f/1.8 |
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f/2.0 |
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f/2.2 |
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Pictures
Tamron @ f/5.6 
Sigma @ f/5.6 
Closed at f/5.6, the Sigma prime lens is very sharp, and more than the Tamron 17-50mm.
Tamron @ f/2.8 
Sigma @ f/1.4 
The maximal aperture of both lenses (f/2.8 vs f/1.4)gives of course different bokeh!
Sigma @ f/5.6 
