p.14 #1 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
Dustin needs less bank notes and more people to take photos of, besides himself. It's a mixed bag from his video - the Sigma has much better skin tones but really spiky micro-contrast, ouch for the ladies.
But, skin tones are the biggie, that Sony red-orange 'sunburn' shift is much more troublesome - it just gets in the way of seeing the person well. And since portrait sharpness handling is easy in post it's a win for Sigma for me for its major purpose. And the performance will help with more second duty shooting needs.
[Colour and micro-contrast are inextricably interwoven through the mid-tones, partners in arms.]
p.14 #2 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
mike_the_kraken wrote:
I generally like his reviews, although there are times when I think what he's saying isn't really illustrated by what he's showing. I also wish he'd work a little more on normalizing exposure, at least, if not exposure and white balance. He can tell us about transmission differences without giving us underexposed test samples. Also, as to the greater magnification reached with the Sigma- if he was only using AF on the GM, he wasn't getting to MFD. You have to manually focus that last inch or so (at least that's how it was at release- I don't know if there have been firmware updates since that removed the limitation).
The Sigma looks to be class-leading sharp, assuming we ignore it's resolution monster big brother as a DSLR hold-over, and corrected, which is very impressive for the size and weight. In terms of all-around performance, there's probably very little it can't do well. Specific to portraiture, though, is the sharpest lens the best choice? While I already have a preferred portrait lens and am not in the market for a change, I find the GM's lower resolution draw more pleasing
p.14 #3 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
Dustin's video is a lot more informative than Jared's. It's not as black and white as it seemed initially, for what it does GM seems to still have the (slight) upper hand for portaiture... sharpness-wise too in some cases.
p.14 #7 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
jtra wrote:
Most likely it was not DS version even tough the lens page with price shown in video is of DS version.
DS is not mentioned anywhere else.
I checked the text below the video in youtube:
Jared Polin writes "I used Canon's 85 1.2 RF and Sigma's 85 1.4 DG DN".
In the video there is a page with a price shown of a DS version. That makes the review a bit confusing.
Thanks for your remark!
Outstanding performance, the best 85mm lens for the e mount?
One thing about that review (which does provide some useful info) that is very misleading is his claim that “The Sony GM should be limited to 42 MP max”
What I’m about to say has been said often, but this sort of nonsense is a misconception that you see often still so it’s worth repeating.
EVERY LENS IMPROVES ON A HIGHER RESOLUTION SENSOR
Total resolution is lens resolution x sensor resolution; so increase either and you get more resolution.
The idea that a lens might get worse with a higher resolution sensor maybe comes about because, if you have more pixels, you are inclined to magnify more because you can easily - and looking at 1:1 is in fact a different magnification for different resolution sensors. If you look at 1:1 on a 61mp sensor, you are magnifying more than looking at 1:1 on 42 MP, for example, so of course you see diffraction, camera shake, and lens aberrations more easily.
But viewed at the same magnification (of the sensor physical dimensions) - Ie the same print size, or the same whole image size viewed on screen, more pixels will never make things worse (unless the sensor is worse in other ways).
Of course what *might* be true of the GM, though I doubt it, is that you get such little extra benefit from sensors of more than 42 MP that it’s not noticeable. But that is not “should be limited to 42 MP”. It’s not as though if you have a 60MP sensor You should borrow a 42 MP one to use the GM because you will get better results! You won’t. You’ll get (very slightly) worse ones.
Outstanding performance, the best 85mm lens for the e mount?
Certainly looks that way to me...
I note that per his other tests only two autofocus e-mounts offer comparable IQ at a given aperture: the 50mm f1.4 Sony Zeiss and the 135 f1.8 GM. Considering the Sigma's size, focus speed, etc I'd say it's not just the best 85mm but it makes a case for being the best all around lenses for E mount period. Though the 24 and 135 GMs would each have something to say about that...
My impression from the pics there is that flare is quite pronounced, both in ghost and veil forms. There is also CA present including "purple fringing". The bokeh is also rather "structured" and swirly. And some strong vignetting present too. So those already with the 85mm GM may have some good reasons to keep it.
My impression from the pics there is that flare is quite pronounced, both in ghost and veil forms. There is also CA present including "purple fringing". The bokeh is also rather "structured" and swirly. And some strong vignetting present too. So those already with the 85mm GM may have some good reasons to keep it.
I was tempted by the Sigma but I think I'll keep the GM. The Sigma is a very impressive lens, but selling my GM and buying this would basically be a wash, and from what I've seen so far I definitely prefer the rendering of the GM. I'd love the smaller size and faster AF of the Sigma, but since my GM is used almost exclusively for portraits, I find the extra sharpness and contrast kind of....useless? The GM is plenty sharp as is, and it does a thing with backgrounds: aside from the smoothness of the bokeh and the relative uniformity of its circles, the contrast in the background appears subtly but noticeably lower than objects in the plane of focus. I believe the reviewer on Phillip Reeve's site pointed that out, and it's what convinced me to sell my Canon 1.2 and give the GM a shot. All of which is to say that I think the GM, like the old 85L, is one of those magical lenses, rendering-wise. The Sigma doesn't appear to have that kind of quality.
That said, if I was looking for a more general purpose lens, I'd take the Sigma hands-down.
Aug 26, 2020 at 10:21 PM
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p.14 #16 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
My impression from the pics there is that flare is quite pronounced, both in ghost and veil forms. There is also CA present including "purple fringing". The bokeh is also rather "structured" and swirly. And some strong vignetting present too. So those already with the 85mm GM may have some good reasons to keep it.
I like what I see in those samples. Sure the lens flares when shooting into the sun like every other lens I know of but the CA (including purple fringing) is very low in those samples and every other review that I have seen. I do like the bokeh better from the GM, but I find the bokeh still quite good from this new Sigma Art.
All in all I think a very nice lens and this review doesn't change my thoughts at all. Some great samples actually is my predominant thought.
p.14 #19 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
Lens will be out next week (01.09.2020 to be precise) here, on the outskirts of EU, in Poland, I'm really tempted to order one and compare to SY85 but on the other hand I don't shoot 85mm that much...
p.14 #20 · In Stock: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art ($1,199)
I just picked up my copy. I only have a9 and a7iii so max is 24mp. night time now though so did not do much test shot.
Looks sharp and very little Color fringing. Can’t tell bokeh.
stationary AF looks decent but tracking movement seems a bit off, maybe dof too small at close range Indoors. will test more tomorrow morning.
