Spoiled by the Sigma Art Lenses...

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hsiehjon

Senior Member
The sharpness, color, contrast, bokeh, along with everything else about these Art lenses is just amazing! I was even tempted to return my Nikon 85g cause the IQ coming out of it just wasn't on the same level as the Art lenses...

Anyways, I just purchased a 24mm 1.4 Art! Woohoo! Anyone have experience with this lens? Not many reviews out there.
 
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Whiskeyman

Senior Member
I don't have that lens, nor do I own any other third party lens. However, I'm seriously looking at the upcoming release of the Sigma Art Series 20mm. I've read reviews of the advance releases, and this lens is supposedly stunning.

Time will tell, but if it is that good, I plan to own one very soon,

WM
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
hsiehjon said:
The sharpness, color, contrast, bokeh, along with everything else about these Art lenses is just amazing! I was even tempted to return my Nikon 85g cause the IQ coming out of it just wasn't on the same level as the Art lenses...

Anyways, I just purchased a 24mm 1.4 Art! Woohoo! Anyone have experience with this lens? Not many reviews out there.
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Could not agree more. They are, hands down, the best lenses I own. I have the 50mm f/1.4 Art and I had the 35mm version as well... Right up until the girlfriend discovered what it does on her D5300 and, well, that was the last time I saw THAT lens; it's pretty much permanently attached at this point. I'm holding my breath in anticipation of an 85mm f1/.4 Art series lens. The only thing I can think of that's going to suck, when it does come out, is how badly demand will outstrip production.

The 24mm is tempting me, too... Not all *that* badly but this is how it starts.
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hsiehjon

Senior Member
Whiskeyman said:
I don't have that lens, nor do I own any other third party lens. However, I'm seriously looking at the upcoming release of the Sigma Art Series 20mm. I've read reviews of the advance releases, and this lens is supposedly stunning.

Time will tell, but if it is that good, I plan to own one very soon,

WM
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I was deciding between the 20mm and the 24mm as well, but ended getting the 24 only because there was a good deal on Adorama lol. I'm sure you'll love any of the Art lenses!

Horoscope Fish said:
Could not agree more. They are, hands down, the best lenses I own. I have the 50mm f/1.4 Art and I had the 35mm version as well... Right up until the girlfriend discovered what it does on her D5300 and, well, that was the last time I saw THAT lens; it's pretty much permanently attached at this point. I'm holding my breath in anticipation of an 85mm f1/.4 Art series lens. The only thing I can think of that's going to suck, when it does come out, is how badly demand will outstrip production.

The 24mm is tempting me, too... Not all *that* badly but this is how it starts.
...
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I agree, the Sigma Art 85 1.4 is a lens many of us are waiting for... Not sure why Sigma decided to release 24mm and 20mm consecutively.

The only problem I have with these lenses is that they're not weather sealed! :(
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
Not to hijack or divert this thread, but there are those of you on this thread using the art lenses. Have any of you compared it to the zeiss lenses? I ask because a friend of mine has a number of their lenses and he raves similar to those of you with the art lenses. What was really powerful to me was when it was said by the OP that the 85mm wasn't up to the same standard.
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Moab Man said:
Not to hijack or divert this thread, but there are those of you on this thread using the art lenses. Have any of you compared it to the zeiss lenses? I ask because a friend of mine has a number of their lenses and he raves similar to those of you with the art lenses. What was really powerful to me was when it was said by the OP that the 85mm wasn't up to the same standard.
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I don't own any Zeiss glass because Zeiss lenses won't auto-focus and (for me) they're prohibitively expensive. I have had opportunity to shoot some Zeiss lenses on a few occasions and while I've always come away very impressed I've not done any side by side comparisons. If there are some good side-by-side comparisons "out there", I'd be interested in reading them.

As for the comment regarding the Nikon 85mm... I don't know if I agree with that assessment or not. I'm certainly not ruling it out but I'm not willing to confirm it based on personal experience either. One of the nice things about the Sigma Art lenses though is just how rock solid the feel in your hand and how smoothly they operate. I'm all about function over form: the proof of the pudding is in the eating and all that. Still I can't help but notice, after using an Art series lens, how they make a lens like the Nikon 85mm feel like a cheap child's toy.
.....
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
Hmmmm... this makes it no easier. I'm not looking to purchase a lens, but always trying to stay on top of things so I know at a drop of a hat I could pick something if say a couple thousand dollars landed in my lap.
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Moab Man said:
Hmmmm... this makes it no easier. I'm not looking to purchase a lens, but always trying to stay on top of things so I know at a drop of a hat I could pick something if say a couple thousand dollars landed in my lap.
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Mmm hmm... It's good to be prepared for situations like the one you describe. . :D
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
Horoscope Fish said:
Mmm hmm... It's good to be prepared for situations like the one you describe. . :D
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LOL, it really does happen that way. Except the person that will sometimes spring that on me is my wife and I need to be prepared. I know, I know, it's a difficult burden to have, but someone has to bear it so why not me.
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
I'd love to own the art series, but the price difference is enough for me to NOT own 'em right now. I'll just sit here and drool over y'all's posts. (yes, that WAS a double apostrophe, just because us Okies can)

105mm macro is next on my list, then the 85mm 1.8G. At this rate, it'll be the end of next year before I actually purchase, though. LOL
 
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Blacktop

Senior Member
Somehow I just can't get excited over this. I was much more excited this morning, when the rain stopped. All the junk in the air cleared up and for a few hours, it was a crystal clear day.
Grabbed Dolly and the 24-120, and headed up to the mountains with Max.
However, don't let me stop ya'all from droolin".:encouragement:
 
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Whiskeyman

Senior Member
Blacktop said:
Somehow I just can't get excited over this. I was much more excited this morning, when the rain stopped. All the junk in the air cleared up and for a few hours, it was a crystal clear day.
Grabbed Dolly and the 24-120, and headed up to the mountains with Max.
However, don't let me stop ya'all from droolin".:encouragement:
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It's still raining here, having done so solidly Sunday through this morning, and then off-and-on up to now. It kept me from working on focus fine-tuning yesterday, but it also allowed me to take a long nap during the day off from work. I'm not sure which I wanted to do more, work on focus or take a nap, but it was likely better for me to take the nap. :sleeping:

I've read that the Sigma 20mm Art gives the Nikkor 20mm f/1.8 a run for its money, and also that the Nikkor beat the Zeiss in image quality, so I'll just take for granted that the Sigma is good. Even though the Zeiss is manual focus only, my immediate wants for this lens make manual focus better in some ways. (Using hyperfocal settings for maximum depth of field.) I'm really looking forward to more comparisons between the Sigma, Nikkor, and Zeiss.

WM
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
I had the Sigma 35 1.4 Art, definitely one of the best Fx lenses I've owned. Besides image quality, the build quality and finishing really outshines Nikon's (sorry). Now if they would just make them for M4/3rds!
 
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salukfan111

Senior Member
Moab Man said:
Not to hijack or divert this thread, but there are those of you on this thread using the art lenses. Have any of you compared it to the zeiss lenses? I ask because a friend of mine has a number of their lenses and he raves similar to those of you with the art lenses. What was really powerful to me was when it was said by the OP that the 85mm wasn't up to the same standard.
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The Nikkor 20mm F1.8 is supposed to be even better than the Ziess Distagon. Why spend more for a sigma when the Nikkor is better and will last a lifetime?
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
If someone has a raw file of a portrait (upper body - not whole body or head shot) I would love to have a shot dropboxed so I could pull it down and compare to my 85mm. Just curious to see an art lens portrait side by side with my lens.
 
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salukfan111

Senior Member
Moab Man said:
If someone has a raw file of a portrait (upper body - not whole body or head shot) I would love to have a shot dropboxed so I could pull it down and compare to my 85mm. Just curious to see an art lens portrait side by side with my lens.
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go to flickr for lens comparisons
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Moab Man said:
If someone has a raw file of a portrait (upper body - not whole body or head shot) I would love to have a shot dropboxed so I could pull it down and compare to my 85mm. Just curious to see an art lens portrait side by side with my lens.
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I can't promise anything, but I might be able to accommodate that... Let me get back to you later today or tomorrow.
...
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
salukfan111 said:
go to flickr for lens comparisons
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Thank you for the suggestion, however, that still doesn't really show the difference. What I mean is some time ago I would have told you that a great image (setting composition know-how to the side) is 30% edit and 70% the photo. Eventually, as my editing skills got better, I was at 50-50. Today, I semi-jokingly say 30% photo and 70% edit. I further elaborate that in 5 more years time I won't even need the picture to make a great image.

The point being that with today's software, and my own personal ever growing editing skills, there is so much that can be done to improve a photo that is not up to snuff that it can appear to be shot on better equipment than it was. And of course there are online comparisons to be seen, as I'm sure you're suggesting with Flickr, but you still have an upload compression, a download to display, and the browsers interpretation of color display. The only way to truly see that difference is two nef (raw) files. I know the ability of my equipment and my own skills. To see these two raw files, mine and one originating from an Art lens, I can truly scrutinize the two. It will also give me the opportunity to see how far I can push an Art lens file when I already know what can be achieved with a lesser lens, or in my opinion, an outstanding lens like the Nikon 85mm.

PLEASE, do not take my reply as a snub to your suggestion. It's not and I appreciate the suggestion.

p.s. We haven't met on here before I don't think. Welcome, this is a great forum.
 
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salukfan111

Senior Member
Moab Man said:
Thank you for the suggestion, however, that still doesn't really show the difference. What I mean is some time ago I would have told you that a great image (setting composition know-how to the side) is 30% edit and 70% the photo. Eventually, as my editing skills got better, I was at 50-50. Today, I semi-jokingly say 30% photo and 70% edit. I further elaborate that in 5 more years time I won't even need the picture to make a great image.

The point being that with today's software, and my own personal ever growing editing skills, there is so much that can be done to improve a photo that is not up to snuff that it can appear to be shot on better equipment than it was. And of course there are online comparisons to be seen, as I'm sure you're suggesting with Flickr, but you still have an upload compression, a download to display, and the browsers interpretation of color display. The only way to truly see that difference is two nef (raw) files. I know the ability of my equipment and my own skills. To see these two raw files, mine and one originating from an Art lens, I can truly scrutinize the two. It will also give me the opportunity to see how far I can push an Art lens file when I already know what can be achieved with a lesser lens, or in my opinion, an outstanding lens like the Nikon 85mm.

PLEASE, do not take my reply as a snub to your suggestion. It's not and I appreciate the suggestion.

p.s. We haven't met on here before I don't think. Welcome, this is a great forum.
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I get what you are saying. My suggestion was geared to you seeing photos that hadn't been through an enormous amount of post processing and just compression. Manufacturing images seems to be all the craze nowadays. You might wait a bit for the Tamrom Primes to hit the street - Tamron is basically making the other third party stuff look bad lately and these should as good or better than the art lens without the problems.
 
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