Art SIGMA 35mm F1.4 – first day
After the long deliberation and reading on the forums, finally i have it – the Art SIGMA 35mm F1.4 lens. I can’t compare it to Carl Zeiss 35mm 1.4 and even to the same type of Canon lens because i haven’t ability to have both, so this “review” will less technical, more practical and i promised to few of you to write about and to post some first images. More than this – due to my not sponsored and self paid practice, i can say the truth and not to feel guilty or obliged to anyone. Big part of the popular reviews are very positively oriented, ordered by sponsor and you never can know the negative sides.
First of all – i don’t like the superficies of this lens. Very shinny, plasti{k}y and not practical – if you have the habit to sell your photographic stuff after some time – not sure if it possible to avoid scratches on this lens. Correct me if i’m wrong, but I feel much better with a rough finish of Canon lenses.
Next and more important part – attaching to the body. Upper half of this long lens (94 mm length) just turns with your fingers when you hold it and trying to attach it with the usual rotation. Holy cr*p – every time when i put it, I am reminded (later) of this mechanical feature. Looks like Sigma engineers use other brand’s lens or never attach or detach their creature.
Next physical “drawback” is the CAP of Sigma. Who said that Canon’s caps are the first in inconvenience of lens’s closing. Damn – try Sigma and sleep well. These delicate flicks make me crazy, you never know whether your closed your lens or it still half-opened.
Let’s go to the samples of the first day. The weather was surprisingly not sunny and even a little bit foggy. All images in this gallery are taken with different Aperture values and corrected in Lightroom with minimal intervention. Next time i’ll talk about the images quality. Have fun and ask questions.
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Oh, that second shot is brilliant!
Thank you Dan !
victor, good day to you…. as i see in color with your new equipment….very nice indeed…always be well….
Hey Mary !
i decided to put all images in color because of minimum correction for better understanding of the quality.
Part of them looks much better in BW 🙂
thank you for taking a look – have a great day !
I will be very interested in reading more about your experience with this lens – I have been considering buying this for some time. Your comments on the functionality are not minor. The physical features of a lens are just as important as the picture quality, so your observations are illuminating. As you say “Looks like Sigma engineers use other brand’s lens or never attach or detach their creature.” – it is amazing how bad design gets through to production. Is the camera you used Full Frame or cropped? I look forward to your thoughts on image quality. Your shots look quite good, but the day was not so good for the test.
Thank you for your post.
~Bernard
Hi Bernard ! i use Sigma on 5dMKii – Canon ff camera. Next time i’ll talk about the image quality and will bring a more samples with different light condition and different kind of photography.
have a nice time !
Victor
Hi Victor, I have this same lens and am curious about your findings. My thoughts are different. First, the finish is mostly a smooth matte, with only a gloss on the rear 1/2 inch or so. I do agree that the matte finish will probably show scratches sooner than Canon’s textured finish.
Second, the upper half is a nice wide focusing ring with a relatively long focus throw which is better for manual focus. The fixed mid section of the barrel is ribbed for grabbing when attaching and detaching the lens. I found it sufficiently wide to give me a good grip on the barrel without grabbing the wide focus ring. This ribbing is similar to the Zeiss Planar 50mm only the Sigma’s is wider since the lens is longer. My only complaint here is how pronounced the AF/MF switch is. I would prefer something more streamlined.
Lastly, the lens cap is a bit fiddly but not as much as the cap on my 50mm Zeiss. Haven’t tried the new style Canon caps. I am using the cap on a slim line UV filter so maybe there isn’t enough for it to grab on to.
Physically, I think it is well designed, has a solid feel, good heft and approaches the Zeiss Planar in style.
I loved picture #2, the bicycle tied to the wall is great. this would be true regardless of which 35mm you used.
thank you Jose !
Surprise- I am trying to learn so let me try this. I really only love shots 1, 11, 12. Shot 1 the lens is very good for capturing the contrasts and slight bit of reflected light in the dark painted alley. I see the walls are structurally uneven because the lens does this so well . It is like magic the walls are wavy.
In shot 11, which is actually your clearest with the lens. It is a great shot to me. The light that you have you use very effectively. The geometric shapes and the true contrasts in this area are separated better . The lens has a wider view of this area too.
My last favorite is just preferential # 12 the blue auto on the curb next to a boarded up building with many colored stickers. The lens still picked up reflections and light with the glass and shadowy light of a cloudy day. This is just a art photo I like with this lens. It is good. I am no pro but that is what I have noticed. 🙂
Hi Victor, thanks for this report! I think the shots are great, I like the color and bokeh from this lens. It seems from your report that the Sigma build quality is a bit fragile and of course the bad lens cap! I only keep stuff that I think are really good and if the finish scratches easily, that would be a bad thing for resale. How about sharpness? Do you think this lens is over-rated? Thanks for giving us another side to this lens!
It sharp but all the modern lens are sharp enought maybe not in full range but sharp. my one is still without scratches but im not a good sample again – i always care well on my stuff even dont know to resale it ;-))) about the colors – i shot RAW and mostly convert to BW so i dont care.
Thanks Victor, you gave me a very good and honest insight into this lens! As you said, all modern lenses are sharp enough. I will probably stick with my Rokinon and manual focus for the time being. You saved me some money, thanks! 🙂