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Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review

  
 
Jman13
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p.4 #1Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
tbpeur01 wrote:
I’m a big fan of this lens so far - the combination of sharpness, size, and rendering, along with the extra bit of reach, means this one will see lots of use. The first image is to simply show the bokeh and sharpness wide open. The last few were added for good measure.


The rendering looks nice here, but it would look even better on the wide open shots if you were in full mechanical shutter - there's noticeable bokeh clipping due to electronic first curtain in the wide open shots that reduces the quality of the bokeh a bit. But nice shots nonetheless!
Mar 26, 2021 at 12:18 PM
chiron
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p.4 #2Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
GMPhotography wrote:
I’m going to pass on the 45 and 24. Not sure I need them with the Sony 20 which I like that size okay


I can see that. I just sold my 20mm. I had 5 offers in 5 minutes.
Mar 26, 2021 at 12:32 PM
offtraildog
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p.4 #3Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
nehemiahphoto wrote:
.....

Not sure if you've all seen--but this might help you understand how cleanly this renders in addition to Fred's testing.

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1685214/0


I missed reading this thread. Huge thanks for doing the randomized testing.
Mar 26, 2021 at 12:49 PM
nehemiahphoto
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p.4 #4Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
chiron wrote:
nehemiahphoto wrote
chiron wroteI got the Sigma 35 i a week ago and have been liking it so much that I have ordered the other three in the i series. Got the 45 last evening (worried about how the AF will be, but we'll see--there is a new firmware update addressing some aspects of AF just out for this lens) and the 65 and 24 arrive today (just got my orders in before B&H stopped processing for Passover).

I like the rendering of the 35 very much and I hope the others will be as appealing. I find it beautiful but not overdone. Colors and contrast are lovely and have depth and shapeliness.

And I very much appreciate the size of these lenses. They fit the Sony bodies very nicely. I think they all would work well for candid, travel, and street shooting where you don't want a big lens catching everyone's eye and making them self-aware.

I still have orders in for the 35GM and the 50GM. But I am thinking about canceling them, at least for now. I'll need to see how these perform in use, especially AF, both eye and tracking--those are important components of a lens for me--getting sharp pictures in fluid, unposed human settings.

Here's hoping!!!
I have found the 35i AF to be quick, not fast.

When using Animal Eye-AF on AF-C while shooting "tracking: expanded flexable spot" and "wide" WO on an a7c with "tracking sensitivity at 1 (locked on)" with "aperture drive in AF: focus priority" (the combo of settings I have found best) with high burst rate in overcast to sunny light at normal shooting distances (3-20 feet), I can track my dogs when they are walking with ease, trotting and a light jog. But once they start running at a moderate jog or better clip towards me, the lens can't keep up. I also notice it takes a half-second to "think" sometimes before starting to nail the first focal instant. I'd say you're going to be pretty happy with it, unless you want fast erratic running kids or animals with Eye-AF.

Aside from the smooth rendering and pleasant size and great ergo, I find the axial CA correction excellent. Shooting high contrast subjects is just simply a non-issue. It's far head of the RX1, ZA 35, FE 35 and Samy 35 in for axial.

Not sure if you've all seen--but this might help you understand how cleanly this renders in addition to Fred's testing.

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1685214/0
Great work on the comparisons. You've created a classic thread. Now to update with the 35 GM and then to do the 50/55mm lenses when the GM is here. Then the 40/45 lenses.

Then the 85's!


Too much work and those are no my preferred FL's!!!!!! But, I do hope do a comparison with the GFX 45, GM 35, 35i with one or two others at some point. Lately I have been into diffusion filters of different types, which are vastly underrated IMO. I think I might do some more posting on those, though people probably don't care that much.
Mar 26, 2021 at 01:28 PM
nehemiahphoto
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p.4 #5Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
Fred Miranda wrote:
GMPhotography wroteHmmm and more than twice the price less
Perhaps minority here but I really like that the Sigma 35/2 is noticeable wider than 35mm. Similar to what I had with the RX1.


I love it too.

Do you know of a way to calculate/tell actual FL beyond shooting crops/comparing lenses?

The stated FL's aren't that accurate often--the three (35/2, 35/1.7, 35/1.2iii) CV's and CY 35/1.4 are much tighter than the RX1 and 35i.
Mar 26, 2021 at 01:29 PM
Patrick Kolb
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p.4 #6Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
Just received the 65mm this afternoon and went for a walk to local garden and captured this image. Not a pretty image and shot at f11, but I do like the rendering.






Mar 26, 2021 at 04:05 PM
philip_pj
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p.4 #7Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
I want to save readers, especially nehemiahphoto, a wade in the swamp that surrounds the terms 'Field of View' and 'Angle of View'. Some love this kind of thing as much as I do not. A fair reasoning is this:

'whilst AOV and FOV are different things, they are both measured as angles...it states that AOV is a property of the lens and does not change no matter what size of sensor is in the camera, whilst FOV is a function of the lens AND the sensor size.' Much more on the subject here if you are in the 'need to know' camp:

https://shuttermuse.com/angle-of-view-vs-field-of-view-fov-aov/

Now all that matters is what makers report and what actually happens. The reason for the second part of the sentence is (i) the alarming rise in the tendency for distortion correction, and its implications for stated AOV/FL, together with (ii) the often outrageous levels of breathing in stills lenses.

Makers report AOV in the places I look for the data, usually B&H, or Cosina or Sony, probably others too. So you get numbers like 62.0, 63 or 63.4, and whole integers will most likely be rounded and will not be perfectly accurate, but are still better than nothing. Back when makers treated users with less contempt, Carl Zeiss used to report minutes as well as degrees (there are 60 minutes to a degree for the angle calculation).

Most spec sheets report AOV - here are examples:

https://www.sony.com.au/electronics/camera-lenses/sel35f14gm/specifications
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1605136-REG/sigma_35mm_f_2_dg_dn.html/specs
http://www.cosina.co.jp/seihin/voigtlander/english/e-e-mount/e-50mmf2.html

Once you have these AOV data, you can search all the technical waffle (the data swamp) for a simple text entry field that converts AOV to focal length. I use this one below not because it is 'better' but the other sites bury this very useful feature amongs the impenetrable related information they want to assail you with:

http://kmp.pentaxians.eu/technology/fov/

Of course it is called 'FOV', but we all use the same sensor dimensions give or take, so I believe you can press on here. Enter your AOV in the right side text entry field and read off the equivalent FL to the left.

To complete the exercise here are the derived FLs of the lenses you cite, gained from the Pentax site:

CV M 35/2 APO - 34.9mm
CV E 35/2 APO - 35.9mm (different!)
CV 35/1.7 - 36.0mm
CV M 35/1.2iii - 36.3mm
CY 35/1.4 - 35.7mm
RX1 - 35.3 (post correction, we can be certain of this!)
Sigma 35i - 35.0mm

AOV data are almost aways listed in 'Full Specifications' or similar page titles. Others will likely have better formulas/calculators - the topic should be an Alt lens FAQ, I think. Or somewhere easier to find than here. Of course if we had breathing data, we could see close and infinity FLs, then we could get ready for a real surprise:

'The AOV of a lens is based on the lens *focused to infinity* using the sensor (or film) size for which it was designed.' Breathing varies greatly among lenses, leading to incorrect assumptions on 'taken image AOVs/FLs' shorter than infinity. Imagine knowing the true FL of a portrait lens at acceptable portrait distances, say 2m? From the DPR lens reviews (they do this well now as they know video is getting bigger) it seems breathing is fairly linear as one pulls focus.
Mar 26, 2021 at 06:29 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.4 #8Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
nehemiahphoto wrote:
Fred Miranda wrote
GMPhotography wroteHmmm and more than twice the price less
Perhaps minority here but I really like that the Sigma 35/2 is noticeable wider than 35mm. Similar to what I had with the RX1.
I love it too.

Do you know of a way to calculate/tell actual FL beyond shooting crops/comparing lenses?

The stated FL's aren't that accurate often--the three (35/2, 35/1.7, 35/1.2iii) CV's and CY 35/1.4 are much tighter than the RX1 and 35i.


No easy calculator for that. Usually manufactures provide 'precise' angle of view numbers for their lenses (measured at infinity) and whenever lenses with equal FL have different AOV numbers, it's a good hint.
For example, Sigma says the 35/2 DG DN AOV is ~0.5 degree wider than the new GM. Not sure if this is before or after correction so this number may not consistent between brands.

Since I usually test lenses at infinity using the same subject and framing, it's noticeable when a lens is wider or narrower than another but the 'real' FL is only an approximation. I would also add that I never correct for distortion (in-camera or in post)
Mar 26, 2021 at 07:40 PM
LBJ2
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p.4 #9Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
nehemiahphoto wrote:
Fred Miranda wrote
GMPhotography wroteHmmm and more than twice the price less
Perhaps minority here but I really like that the Sigma 35/2 is noticeable wider than 35mm. Similar to what I had with the RX1.
I love it too.

Do you know of a way to calculate/tell actual FL beyond shooting crops/comparing lenses?

The stated FL's aren't that accurate often--the three (35/2, 35/1.7, 35/1.2iii) CV's and CY 35/1.4 are much tighter than the RX1 and 35i.


Someone from this forum passed this on to me for the same:

https://vahonen.info/fov/

If I understand this correctly... *Toggle the lens FL/MM and compare Angle of View or sometimes presented as Horizontal, Vertical and Diagonal AOV or Field angle or just one AOV number provided on the lens data sheet, this will give an approximation on the true FOV based upon Angle of View specs
Mar 26, 2021 at 07:50 PM
ramesesthe2nd
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p.4 #10Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
I am thinking about replacing my 35 ZA and 35 Bigma with 35I. I have a fast toddler and both my 35s can keep up with her. I feel 35 ZA is slightly faster, but both lenses are pretty fast. Is 35I slower than Bigma? If yes, that will be a deal breaker for me. GM is nice, but still big and I really don't want any of my lenses to be over a lb.

35I is ticking most boxes for me, but Sigma 45C has my confidence shaken in Sigma's AF capabilities. 45C and CV 50/1.2 are my most frustrating lenses for toddler photography and two of my best lenses IQ wise.
Mar 26, 2021 at 08:21 PM
 


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nehemiahphoto
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p.4 #11Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
offtraildog wrote:
nehemiahphoto wrote.....

Not sure if you've all seen--but this might help you understand how cleanly this renders in addition to Fred's testing.

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1685214/0
I missed reading this thread. Huge thanks for doing the randomized testing.


You’re welcome.
Mar 27, 2021 at 11:23 AM
tbpeur01
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p.4 #12Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
ramesesthe2nd wrote:
I am thinking about replacing my 35 ZA and 35 Bigma with 35I. I have a fast toddler and both my 35s can keep up with her. I feel 35 ZA is slightly faster, but both lenses are pretty fast. Is 35I slower than Bigma? If yes, that will be a deal breaker for me. GM is nice, but still big and I really don't want any of my lenses to be over a lb.

35I is ticking most boxes for me, but Sigma 45C has my confidence shaken in Sigma's AF capabilities. 45C and CV 50/1.2 are my most
...Show more →

I sold my 35i for the reasons you mention needing it above - couldnt quite keep up with my kids. Granted I shoot on the older a7rii, but it wasn’t as reliable as the ZA or 35/1.8.
Mar 27, 2021 at 12:13 PM
GMPhotography
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p.4 #13Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
A7rII is not AF fast at all. I had a lot of issues with it on the speed side
Mar 27, 2021 at 02:18 PM
tbpeur01
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p.4 #14Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
GMPhotography wrote:
A7rII is not AF fast at all. I had a lot of issues with it on the speed side


Yeah, I seem to be in the minority on this topic, but one of the earlier posters on the 35 gm thread had both the 35i and 35 gm on the a7r iv, and he felt the gm was considerably better in af among other areas (member lifeandmylens).
Mar 27, 2021 at 02:26 PM
nehemiahphoto
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p.4 #15Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
Fred Miranda wrote:
nehemiahphoto wrote
Fred Miranda wrote
GMPhotography wroteHmmm and more than twice the price less
Perhaps minority here but I really like that the Sigma 35/2 is noticeable wider than 35mm. Similar to what I had with the RX1.
I love it too.

Do you know of a way to calculate/tell actual FL beyond shooting crops/comparing lenses?

The stated FL's aren't that accurate often--the three (35/2, 35/1.7, 35/1.2iii) CV's and CY 35/1.4 are much tighter than the RX1 and 35i.
No easy calculator for that. Usually manufactures provide 'precise' angle of view numbers for their lenses (measured at infinity) and whenever lenses with equal FL have different AOV numbers, it's a good hint.
For example, Sigma says the 35/2 DG DN AOV is ~0.5 degree wider than the new GM. Not sure if this is before or after correction so this number may not consistent between brands.

Since I usually test lenses at infinity using the same subject and framing, it's noticeable when a lens is wider or narrower than another but the 'real' FL is only an approximation. I would
...Show more →

Thanks. I only know from comparing lenses on tripod but often as real shooting distance, but that's a laborious way figure it out, and doesn't' account for focus breathing and such.

Mar 27, 2021 at 04:54 PM
nehemiahphoto
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p.4 #16Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
philip_pj wrote:
I want to save readers, especially nehemiahphoto, a wade in the swamp that surrounds the terms 'Field of View' and 'Angle of View'. Some love this kind of thing as much as I do not. A fair reasoning is this:

'whilst AOV and FOV are different things, they are both measured as angles...it states that AOV is a property of the lens and does not change no matter what size of sensor is in the camera, whilst FOV is a function of the lens AND the sensor size.' Much more on the subject here if you are in the 'need to
...Show more →

Very interesting. Thanks for taking the time to compile this response with links. The values you've stated line up with my experience. One point of interest here. According to the Zeiss data sheet for the CY 35/1.4, the actual FL is 36.5, while the nominal is obviously 35mm, with a FOV of 62 degrees.

However, on the linked Pentax calculator above, the FL is 36.003 mm when plugging in Zeiss measured horizontal FOV of 62 AOV value. Not the 36.5mm stated on the Zeiss data sheet. Maybe it's a breathing differential?
Mar 27, 2021 at 05:43 PM
Grahamc
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p.4 #17Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
I thought this was the 65mm thread??
The last 10 posts were about the 35mm or not 35mm??
Just asking.
Mar 28, 2021 at 05:27 AM
chiron
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p.4 #18Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review

What kinds of experiences with autofocus, especially af-c, are people having with the Sigma 65i?
Mar 28, 2021 at 08:06 AM
GMPhotography
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p.4 #19Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
Grahamc wrote:
I thought this was the 65mm thread??
The last 10 posts were about the 35mm or not 35mm??
Just asking.


Photographers break the rules. Actually it is quite common to see how a lens renders along with its brother or sister in the same class . Given the 65 for me I wanted to match it with a 35 than would be both small and render similarly. I’ll get the GM even though I may not keep it but now I’ll have a 2 lens combo that will match each other. Secondly you don’t learn shit unless we talk about these things. I’ve been around forever and I always still learn something , so if you don’t want to learn and be a better shooter than don’t come along at all and stick to the same beer daily. At least we did not jump to canon or Nikon which makes me want to puke every time they are brought up.
Mar 28, 2021 at 08:15 AM
lukecookphoto
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p.4 #20Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary Review
tbpeur01 wrote:
GMPhotography wroteA7rII is not AF fast at all. I had a lot of issues with it on the speed side
Yeah, I seem to be in the minority on this topic, but one of the earlier posters on the 35 gm thread had both the 35i and 35 gm on the a7r iv, and he felt the gm was considerably better in af among other areas (member lifeandmylens).


I wonder if that is because the 35i seems to only use contrast detect in AF-S, I'm not sure if that is common with third party lenses (and maybe even Sony's own) but I was shocked at how much faster the 35i is in AF-C. It's like a different lens, I am using an A7R III.
Mar 28, 2021 at 08:28 AM


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