Sigma 35mm F/14 Dg Hsm Art Lens for Canon Review

In summary

The 35mm focal length has provided a classic angle of view for general photography always since the days of film, and it'southward just as relevant for 'full frame' cameras in the digital era. Whether information technology'due south every bit useful for cameras with APS-C sensors depends on how much y'all need lens speed.

This is an excellent 'walkabout' lens and keen for street photography. Information technology'southward rugged plenty to have bushwalking, although on the heavy side and not water-resistant. Only if you lot're looking into the future and seeking lenses that volition match the 24-36-megapixel sensors of current high-end DSLRs, this lens won't let you down.

At that place'due south plenty of contest for this lens in both angle of view and lens speed, with Canon, Nikon, Samyang, Sony and Zeiss all offering 35mm f/1.4 lenses and virtually also having slightly slower lenses with the same focal length in their ranges. The Sigma lens is very competitive in 3 fundamental areas: performance, build quality and toll.

Only the Samyang lens is cheaper than the Sigma model, which is much more than solidly built. The Sigma lens is roughly half the price of the cheapest 35mm f/ane.4 lens from Canon, Nikon, Sony or Zeiss.

Full review

Sigma'south 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM is the showtime model in the company'south 'Art' series of lenses. Designed primarily for cameras with 'full frame' (36 x 24 mm) sensors, it tin can likewise be used with APS-C sensors, where information technology covers a focal length equivalent to 56mm on Canon cameras or 52.5mm with other brands (Nikon, Pentax, Sigma and Sony). Nikon and Pentax mount lenses lack an aperture ring.

Side view of Sigma's 35mm f/one.4 DG HSM Fine art lens. (Source: Sigma.)

The Fine art range represents premium-quality lenses and Sigma is one of the few manufacturers whose products are solely fabricated in Japan. Every lens is checked before leaving the manufacturing plant with a proprietary MTF measuring system that can observe faults previously undetectable with normal quality control inspections.

The optical design of the lens is relatively complex with 13 elements bundled in eleven groups. Exotic elements include 2 aspherical, three SLD (Special Low Dispersion) drinking glass and one FLD ("F" Low Dispersion) glass, which has depression-dispersion characteristics equivalent to fluorite.

The diagram above shows the arrangement of the exotic elements in the optical design. (Source: Sigma.)

Sigma's Super Multi-Layer Blanket reduces flare and ghosting to evangelize precipitous and high contrast images and is effective in backlit conditions. The lens is supplied with front and cease caps and a petal-shaped lens hood that attaches via a bayonet mountain. This mountain on the review lens was rather stiff but the hood carries an 'in-out' mark to help you lot orientate it correctly for easier attachment.

Who's it For?
The 35mm focal length has provided a classic bending of view for general photography always since the days of picture and it'south just as relevant for 'full frame' cameras in the digital era. Whether it's equally useful for cameras with APS-C sensors depends on how much you need lens speed.

This is an excellent 'walkabout' lens and not bad for street photography. It's rugged enough to have bushwalking, although on the heavy side and not h2o-resistant. But if you're looking into the future and seeking lenses that will match the 24-36-megapixel sensors of current high-end DSLRs, this lens won't let y'all downwards.

In that location's plenty of competition for this lens in both angle of view and lens speed, with Catechism, Nikon, Samyang, Sony and Zeiss all offer 35mm f/1.4 lenses and virtually also having slightly slower lenses with the same focal length in their ranges. The Sigma lens is very competitive in 3 key areas: operation, build quality and price.

Only the Samyang lens is cheaper than the Sigma model, which is much more solidly built. The Sigma lens is roughly half the price of the cheapest 35mm f/1.four lens from Catechism, Nikon, Sony or Zeiss.

Build and Ergonomics
Like Sigma's other 'Fine art' lenses the 35mm f/i.4 is made mainly from TSC (Thermally Stable Composite) plastic and metals, with a brass mountain that is ruggedly synthetic and has treated surfaces to ensure immovability. TSC combines minimal thermal shrinkage with outstanding hardness and has 25% greater elasticity than conventional polycarbonate. Information technology matches well with metal parts and enables designers to produce slimmer zoom rings and scaling rings

Positioning a big-discontinuity aspheric lens at the front of the series of lenses in the design has enables Sigma to design the lens with a relatively slim barrel. This lens too helps to minimise both distortion and vignetting. A single FLD glass lens with the same performance as a fluorite lens is combined with four SLD glass lenses to minimise chromatic aberration.

In combination, they minimise chromatic aberration, astigmatism and field curvature and optimise lite distribution in the lens. This enables it to achieve high resolution from the eye to the edges of the frame, along with make clean and aesthetically pleasing bokeh.

Autofocusing is controlled past a Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM), which moves internal elements to ensure quiet, fast and authentic autofocusing forth with superior optical functioning at shut focusing distances. The diagram below shows how the floating internal focusing system operates. This system reduces amount of lens movement required and provides additional abnormality control.

The focusing ring is approximately 45 mm wide and located x mm behind the forepart of the lens. Information technology carries a 35 mm wide rubberised grip band with fine ridging. The ring turns smoothly with a nice corporeality of resistance to minimise adventitious adjustments. It rotates through about 95 degrees with soft stops at each end of the range.

A distance scale is inset into the butt just behind the focusing ring. It's marked in metres and feet, ranging from 0.three metres to infinity. Unfortunately the dark grey pigment used for the marking can exist difficult to read in dim lighting through the small window covering the scale.

Merely behind the distance calibration is a depth-of-field marker, which applies to the Æ'/sixteen discontinuity setting. No infrared alphabetize marking is provided.

This section of the lens butt is matte finished, with ridges on the base of operations to better handling comfort and security. A slider switch on the left side provides AF/MF option.

A circular metal patch carrying an 'A' is embedded between the distance calibration and AF/MF slider, indicating information technology is an 'Art' series lens. The barrel between this section and the mount has a shiny black finish that ends with the mounting plate. Engraved on the lower side of this section are three figures that indicate the year the lens was released.

The inner side of the lens hood is ribbed to suppress reflections and rubber is incorporated into the bayonet attachment to ensure a secure fit. The lens cap features a new design, which Sigma says is an improvement; simply it'south even so a pinch-mode attachment that's not noticeably superior to others of its type.

This lens is threaded for 67 mm diameter filters, which is the same diameter as required for Nikon's 35mm f/i.four lens but smaller than the 72 mm filters used on the Catechism equivalent. It is compatible with the optional Sigma USB dock and Optimisation Pro software, which enable users to arrange and fine tune focusing parameters.

Performance
Shots taken with the review lens were similar in character to those nosotros took with the 18-35mm DC zoom we reviewed at the same fourth dimension. They independent plenty of particular with natural-looking colours and nicely nuanced tones, regardless of which camera we used the lens on.

Our Imatest tests were with the lens on a Canon EOS 5D Mark II body merely we also took test shots with the EOS 7D and EOS 1100D bodies to bank check its performance with crop-sensor cameras. With all three bodies, the review lens produced excellent results.

Our tests showed the 'sweetness spot' for sharpness to be a stop or two on either side of f/4 where resolution was highest. Nonetheless, even at f/1.4 this lens showed good centre-of-field sharpness, although the expected edge and corner softening was apparent. Interestingly, information technology was less than we expected for such a fast lens.

Resolution remained high through to f/11, at which bespeak diffraction limiting took event, although the drop in resolution between here and the minimum aperture of f/1.vi was less than we normally come across. The graph beneath shows the results of our tests.

Lateral chromatic aberration was well controlled and remained within the negligible ring at all aperture and focal length settings. In the graph of our Imatest results, below, the cerise line separates negligible and depression CA.

Autofocusing was very fast and very quiet, thank you to the Hyper Sonic Motor, which makes this lens ideal for photographers who enjoy recording movies. Even in depression light levels, the review lens locked on quickly and accurately and showed no tendency to hunt for focus.

Some flare artefacts were captured when the lens was pointed towards a bright lite source, although it was relatively difficult to force the lens to flare. At that place was no loss of dissimilarity in strongly backlit shots due to veiling flare.

With a minimum focusing distance of thirty cm, this lens isn't suitable for macro work. But it can be used for shooting shut-ups of larger flowers and insects. The f/1.4 maximum aperture produces a very shallow depth of focus, making information technology like shooting fish in a barrel to blur backgrounds.

The nine-bladed iris diaphragm ensures background highlights remain circular throughout the aperture range. Bokeh was generally attractive with very smooth transitions between dark and lite tones and very little outlining of highlights.

Vignetting was much every bit we had expected for such a fast lens. At f/ane.4 in that location was a noticeable darkening effectually the periphery of the frame, especially in the corners. However, this was barely visible when the discontinuity was stopped downwardly to f/two.8 and gone by f/iv.

The peripheral illumination correction function in the Canon camera bodies nosotros used could non pick up correction information from this lens so no corrections were applied whatever the aperture setting. This factor should be borne in mind if you rely on in-camera corrections for this aberration. (If you don't, it's easily correction with editing software.)

Rectilinear baloney was besides much as we predicted, with very slight barrel baloney occurring. This is depression for a lens of this type.

Equally part of Sigma's Global Vision pattern, this lens is compatible with the new Sigma USB dock, which enables users to customise AF microadjustments to adjust their personal preferences. Sigma's MSRP for this product is United states of america$79; it's selling in Australia for around AU$85).

Conclusion
As a walkabout prime number lens, Sigma's 35mm f/1.iv DG HSM Art lens is a winner, combining a very competitive price tag with fantabulous resolution and skilful all-round functioning. Despite being on the large side, it is very well counterbalanced and not out of identify on smaller DSLR bodies, although it is best matched to cameras with 'full frame' sensors.

This lens would also make an excellent 'workhorse' for a photojournalist, who would observe its depression-light capabilities very useful. The fact that it focuses rapidly and well-nigh silently makes information technology every bit useful for video shooters.

SPECS

Motion picture bending: 63.4 degrees
Minimum discontinuity: f/16
Lens structure: 13 elements in 11 groups (including 2 aspherical elements, iii SLD elements and one element of FLD drinking glass)
Lens mounts: Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sigma, Sony
Diaphragm Blades: nine (circular aperture)
Focus drive: Hyper-Sonic Motor
Stabilisation: No
Minimum focus: 30 cm
Maximum magnification: 1:5.2
Filter size: 67 mm
Dimensions (Diameter ten Fifty): 77 x 94 mm
Weight: 665 grams