Sigma 35mm F14 Art Dg Hsm Lens for Canon Review
This is an in-depth review of the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art prime lens that was announced at one of the largest photo shows in the industry, at Photokina in Germany on September 17, 2012 for Sigma, Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sony mounts. The announcement came on the same solar day with Sigma's new restructuring of its lens lineup, with three new categories that would differentiate different types of lenses: "Contemporary" for small and lightweight consumer lenses, "Art" for professional zoom and prime lenses and "Sports" for long lenses targeted at sport and wildlife photography. Being a professional person-level lens targeted at a variety of photography needs, including portraiture, landscapes and travel, the 35mm f/1.4 is the first Sigma lens that falls into the "Art" category.
Cheers to its large discontinuity of f/one.4, the lens is not only smashing for low-light photography, but it also can finer isolate subjects from the background due to shallow depth of field, beautifully rendering background highlights, also known every bit "bokeh". Unlike cheaper cropped-sensor lenses, the Sigma 35mm f/i.4 is designed to work on both APS-C / DX and full-frame / FX sensors. The lens rivals other fast 35mm primes from Nikon, Canon and Sony, and unlike the branded versions that are in the $1500 range toll-wise, the Sigma is actually the cheapest of the grouping at $899 MSRP.
In the by, Sigma lenses were mostly regarded equally "second class" when compared to the big brands. This had to do with a number of factors, one of which was poor quality control that resulted in a lot of variances. During recent years, Sigma has taken steps to not only tighten its quality assurance processes, but it has also been spending a lot of resource on R&D. This resulted in new optical designs similar Sigma 200-500mm f/2.viii APO EX DG and Sigma eighteen-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM that have no equivalents on the market. In fact, the Sigma xviii-35mm f/one.8 was world'due south first fast-aperture DSLR zoom lens. In addition, starting from the new line of lenses, Sigma is now allowing photographers to update firmware on lenses and adjust lens parameters such as focus, which again, no other manufacturer currently offers. Typically, when there is a heavy back/front focus divergence, yous accept to send the lens to the manufacturer.
Is the Sigma 35mm f/ane.4 better than other Nikon 35mm primes? How does it perform broad open up and when stopped downward? How does it handle? In this review, I will do my best to reply these and other questions and will show y'all samples from the lens, with comparisons against the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G, Samyang 35mm f/1.four and Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/1.4 lenses.
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Specifications
- Mount Type: Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Sony and Pentax
- Focal Length: 35mm
- Maximum Aperture: f/1.4
- Minimum Aperture: f/16
- Lens Structure: xiii Elements in 11 Groups
- Angle of View: 63.4ยบ
- Number of Diaphragm Blades: 9
- Minimum Focusing Distance: 30cm/11.8in
- Filter Size: 67mm
- Maximum Magnification: 1:5.2
- Dimensions (Bore x Length): 77x94mm/3×3.7in
- Weight: 665g/23.5oz.
- A lens hood, forepart & rear lens caps and carrying case are included with the lens
Other technical information, including manufacturer-provided MTF nautical chart tin can exist institute in the Sigma 35mm f/1.iv DG HSM page from our lens database.
Lens Handling and Build
The Sigma 35mm f/i.iv DG HSM is built very differently compared to previous Sigma lenses – information technology has a very overnice all-metal butt instead of a plastic barrel like on the Sigma 50mm f/ane.iv and a metal mount. The lens feels very solid in hands and it has a better feel to it than the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G – I would say it is like to the loftier quality Zeiss lenses in terms of treatment. Not quite as heavy and bulky as the Zeiss 35mm f/i.4 though, which is built like a tank with its thick metal exterior. The Sigma 35mm f/i.4 features a 67mm filter thread, which is the same as the one on the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G (the Samyang 35mm f/1.4 is the only lens in the group that has a 77mm filter thread). Also, the pocket-sized plate with the letter "A" shows that the lens belongs to the "Art" category of lenses that I mentioned earlier in the review.
Here is how the Sigma compares to other 35mm lenses (From left to right: Sigma 35mm f/1.4, Nikon 35mm f/1.4, Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 and Samyang 35mm f/1.4):
Equally you lot can see, most of these 35mm lenses are of well-nigh the same size, except for the Samyang 35mm f/1.4 that is visibly taller than the balance of the group. The Samyang 35mm f/i.4 and the Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 also characteristic aperture rings, while neither the Sigma or the Nikon accept them. Here is how the Sigma 35mm f/i.4 compares to the Nikon 35mm f/ane.4G:
Interestingly, both lenses have a very similar structure from superlative to bottom. The focus ring of the Sigma 35mm f/one.four is large and very polish to rotate, which makes it easy to utilize the lens for transmission focusing. If you accept been shooting with Nikon lenses, all the same, go along in mind that the Sigma lenses rotate in the opposite direction like Catechism lenses do. Not an consequence for nearly people, but can have some time to become used to, especially because Nikon viewfinders prove the opposite direction of rotation when looking at the focus assist indicators.
There is a switch on the side of the lens to motion between Autofocus and Manual Focus, similar to the switches found on Nikkor lenses. The Sigma 35mm f/1.4 comes with a plastic petal blazon hood that stays securely locked once mounted on the front of the lens.
There is actually zip to complain nearly in terms of the lens build except i area – weather sealing. While the lens itself probably can take plenty of abuse, the lens mountain is not sealed with a rubber gasket like the new Nikon lenses. This means that you accept to scout out for dust between the lens and the photographic camera mount or it will easily arrive into the camera and potentially fifty-fifty into the lens. As I explained in my "what to practise with dust inside lenses" article, it is quite normal for lenses to suck air in and out when focusing or zooming in/out, so I recommend to try to keep the rear metal mount area clean at all times.
Autofocus Functioning and Accuracy
The Sigma 35mm f/1.four features the same high quality "HSM" hyper-sonic motor found on other recent Sigma lenses, which provides fast and quiet autofocus operation. Autofocus accuracy is besides splendid and I used the lens on a diversity of Nikon DSLR photographic camera bodies, including the high-resolution Nikon D800E – none of them had whatsoever front or back focus problems. I ran a number of different AF accurateness tests with the LensAlign lens calibration tool and the lens was spot on at all times. I have also been receiving reports from our team members and readers that highly regard the Sigma 35mm f/one.4 for its AF accuracy. This speaks for the new QA controls at the Sigma plants and their high standards, which Sigma deserves to be praised for.
Source: https://photographylife.com/reviews/sigma-35mm-f1-4
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