p.1 #2 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
Will Sigma continue their roll of fantastic E mount lenses? How will the AF performance, sharpness, bokeh compare against Sony and Samyang? Would you consider leaving any of your short tele lenses for this? I'd assume it's the same size as the Samyang, or slightly heavier.
I thought the Samyang 85/1.4 fit my preferences for image quality perfectly - great sharpness and character. However, I wasn't sure if I wanted the AF performance of a 1.4 lens vs. 1.8 at the time. I picked up the Batis 85 after, and while the AF was amazing, the MF on the Batis lenses drives me insane. I struggled heavily on a recent backpacking trip with landscapes.
p.1 #4 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
Interesting. Considering it was already the sharpest 1.4 lens for Sony across the frame and its bokeh was neck to neck with the GM (aside from rounder bokeh balls of the Sony), I am intrigued what they are doing next. Would have been better to go all in for 1.2!
p.1 #5 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
There’s a pic up. It’s smallish. I have a hunch this lens will be no slouch. If it’s faster than the GM to focus, has round bokeh, sharp across the field. and nice transition zones I think it’ll be a winner.
p.1 #6 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
I'm very curious. I love the Sigma 105 but it definitely doesn't get outside a lot. If Sigma can bring the same magic to this new lens I would be very excited.
p.1 #8 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
I'm actually really excited for this lens. Personally I don't really care for the rendering of the Samyang 85 1.4. Too much cat's eye bokeh and sometimes harshness on difficult oof areas. Plus the colors are always so warm. Now, the rendering on the GM is superb. Probably the best I've ever seen, but then the AF is slow and the price is quite high. If this lens can render like the GM with quick AF, has the aperture ring + focus hold buttons, and is priced under $1000 it will fly off shelves.
p.1 #10 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
Pretty excited myself. I definitely would be interested depending on its size/weight performance ratio i guess. We'll see! Not that i really would use a 85 1.4 for hiking but hey I've hiked with the sigma 14-24 2.8 for dslr before
Given the experience I've had with the 24-70 so far I'm willing to look at whatever they put out under $999. The value proposition is just so good in my eyes it's hard to look the other way.
p.1 #14 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
It's been reported that this lens is about half the size and half the weight of the current 85mm f1.4 ART. If this indeed turns out to be the case when launched next week, then I think this is a very welcome shift in Sigma's lens design philosophy; after all, its pretty easy to make a huge lens good optically - much more difficult to make it relatively small and light and retain that same level of optical quality - lets wait and see if Sigma can pull that off before passing judgement.
Also Fred, I would add those f1.8 lenses Sigma patented recently to your list...
p.1 #15 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
If they have dual focus groups that focus at comparable speeds to Sony's modern offerings (seriously doubt they'll actually be as good or faster, AF is kinda Sony's hat), retain most of the optical excellence of their current offering, and price it competitively... expect the 84 GM II to be loooooooong delayed. Sigma's optical prowess for the price is probably unchallenged save for a few outright steals like the Tamron 35 1.4 or the 50 1.8 s.
Whether or not I get it (prob not) I'm excited that Sigma is throwing so much heat at 1st party manufacturers. The market owes a huge credit to Sigma for pushing optical performance to a very high bar since their Art line launched.
p.1 #17 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
GabrielPhoto wrote:
Interesting. Considering it was already the sharpest 1.4 lens for Sony across the frame and its bokeh was neck to neck with the GM (aside from rounder bokeh balls of the Sony), I am intrigued what they are doing next. Would have been better to go all in for 1.2!
Indeed, and their 85mm 1.4 Art is one of their newer, already-got-a-lot-right "Art" designs (it came out at about the same time, and does as much right, as the 135mm 1.8). Splendidly sharp, and relatively low vignetting when stopped down only a little, compared to just about anything else you can get. If I needed an 85mm for astrophotos it's a lens I would own.
I would have hoped that Sigma would come out with some kind of 50mm f/1.2 by now, perhaps, to follow on from their superb 35mm f/1.2. Their 50mm f/1.4 Art was one of their first in the Art lineup, and has been bested by lenses released afterwards. It's still pretty nice, but at least in that market segment there's a little bit of room for improvement. It's arguably still the best astrophoto lens at around 50mm you can get for Sony, still relatively low vignetting and relatively good optical performance across the frame... but less so than later, more refined Art designs. I've considered getting the "old" 50mm f/1.4 Art regardless, and it would be an improvement on my Zony 55mm f/1.8 (which has immense vignetting, a fair bit of CA and coma, even when stopped down to f/2.8... but still works 'sort of OK' for astrophotos). But there's not quite enough of an improvement to justify spending on an extra lens. Whereas a really polished 50mm f/1.2 design would be just the thing, a worthy upgrade, and a diversification (I could use the 55mm when I want portability, and the 50 1.2 when I want to go all-out on optical performance, or take night sky photos).
But then I'm thinking about designs in terms of their optical performance alone, and to heck with everything else - I can understand why others would prefer a smaller lens.
It's good that Sigma work so hard to introduce so many lens options for us. We're lucky.
p.1 #18 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
Within this Sigma patented list, I would be interested by the 16mm f2 and 28mm f1.8. And if someone (Sigma, Tamron or Sony) could make a new highly qualitative 16-30 (or 35mm) f4 zoom, that would really be great (granted that Sigma 14-24mm is a marvel but having to fiddle with a (additional) huge dedicated filter holder system (or rear-filters) is a pain (plus f4 vs f2.8 would contribute to a lower weight).
