Sigma 35mm 1.4 "Art Series" Thread

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Rick M

Senior Member
I just received my new Sigma and thought I'd create a spot for my shots and thoughts. My expectations were very high due to the excellent reviews this lens has received. I must admit, at first I was not happy. I have never had to fine-tune the auto focus on a lens and after extensive testing this one required a +19. It is now spot on, f1.4-f11 at all distances. I have ordered the new dock to see if a firmware update will change this and to use the in-lens focus fine tuning adjustments.

I was looking for the sharpest 35mm I could find for landscapes and one that would produce nice out-of-focus elements. I've also found shooting at f1.4 is a bit more challenging! Here's a few shots to start out with all at f1.4. I've left most of the background so you can see the OoF elements.


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Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Yes Rick, 1.4 is very challenging for focus accuracy. I know since I have a 55 1.2...
 
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gqtuazon

Gear Head
It has a 3D like rendering on the OOF. Some of the bokeh that are posted online are not so great when shooting around 6 ft or longer.

Congrats on another great lens Rick.
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
gqtuazon said:
It has a 3D like rendering on the OOF. Some of the bokeh that are posted online are not so great when shooting around 6 ft or longer.

Congrats on another great lens Rick.
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With such a short focal length, any bokeh will be hard to get further away. I have noticed it is very good with people shots at 1.4. We shall see! I'll post some samples on that asap.
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
So I contemplated this lens for a long time, I do not like duplicate focal lengths. I am very pleased with my new Nikon 18-35g, so why get a 35? I was very impressed with the results I've seen online with this lens at 1.4, creates some very nice separation which is hard to achieve at shorter focal lengths (look at the bokeh difference on a 24-70 2.8 or 70-200 2.8 at their extremes). I could not achieve that effect on the 18-35. The other factor is I really like 35mm on Fx and wanted the sharpest corners I could achieve and lowest distortion. This lens beats out every other 35 on the market across mid-frame to extremes.

The 18-35g is excellent in the 18-30 range. As with most ultra wides, they are pushed to have a wider range for convenience and not quality. So is it really better than the 18-35 at 35? The statistics say a resounding yes. So here is my real world test between the two. I shot the extreme right corners with both lenses using a tripod. Statistically, both lenses are sharpest in the corners/edges at f5.6, so that is what I used. About 100% crops, the first is the Nikon,


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Look at the date in the upper right corner. ​As you can see the Sigma is much sharper and has less distortion, no post except the cropping.
 
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pedroj

Senior Member
Huge difference as you would expect....Flower pics are very sharp....F5.6 with my 50mm D F1.8 lens is about as good as it gets...
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
A few at 1.6,


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I've decide that when the dock comes I will only update the firmware and leave the focus as is, too good to mess with.
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
I decide to try the focus adjustments using the sigma dock since I had bought it anyway. It allows you to adjust in-lens settings at 4 focal distances on a prime and 16 on a zoom. I spent about 2 hours on this narrowing down process and now no longer need the in-camera fine tune setting. The lens is extremely sharp now and only misses occasionally at f1.4 which could be my error or the focusing system (I've read auto-focus sometimes struggles with very wide apertures).
 
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ShootRaw

Senior Member
I see you are enjoying this lens...Is it really a must to mess with it out of the box? I just sent back my 105mm 2.8 to amazon..Couldnt take the auto focus anylonger...I thought it would be alittle sharper as well..Now I just have my 50mm 1.8g and 85mm 1.8g...So in the market for another lens..I was debating between this one and 24mm 1.8g..Thoughts?
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
ShootRaw said:
I see you are enjoying this lens...Is it really a must to mess with it out of the box? I just sent back my 105mm 2.8 to amazon..Couldnt take the auto focus anylonger...I thought it would be alittle sharper as well..Now I just have my 50mm 1.8g and 85mm 1.8g...So in the market for another lens..I was debating between this one and 24mm 1.8g..Thoughts?
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As far as focus accuracy, it really depends on the individual body/lens combo. Some folks do not need adjustments right out of the box and some do. I knew this lens could be razor sharp and the fine tuning made it so. The two you have are great lenses and you definitely need something wider. The problem is with the quest for great OoF elements, the wider you go, the greater the DoF appears. For me, 35 is about as wide as I could go to achieve the about results. Having 1.4 available is also better for the wider angle. I do not think a prime any wider would achieve the result I was looking for.
 
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ShootRaw

Senior Member
Only thing that concerns me about the 35mm you own is they did not put any weather sealing on the lens for moisture and dust..Quite odd for a $900 lens..
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
Someday, I'll replace my 18-35 with an 18mm prime, as soon as Nikon or Sigma build what I want. Along those lines, I'm not expecting an ultra-wide to have great OoF elements. I would be upgrading to the prime for less distortion and higher resolution (if it is possible). For now the new 18-35g (Fx) is great and it will have to be a great prime to make me switch.
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
ShootRaw said:
Only thing that concerns me about the 35mm you own is they did not put any weather sealing on the lens for moisture and dust..Quite odd for a $900 lens..
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Yes, that's a common concern and we are all scratching our heads wondering why. I had to overlook that due to it superior performance compared to the $2000 Nikon. Used correctly, it is a stellar lens. I do not shoot in harsh conditions anyway, so it is really not an issue for me. I highly doubt any dust is going to get through the snug mount.
 
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