The evolution of a classic
Superb optical performance and usability.
The 35mm F1.4 Art is reborn
power up the most popular focal length.
An “Art F1.4 35mm” reborn for mirrorless and empowered through SIGMA’s technology to date.
AN UPGRADED VERSION OF A CLASSIC!
When I first heard about an upgraded version of the35mm ART lens specifically for mirrorless mounts itwas hard not to get excited. I used the older copy ofthis lens extensively on my Canon 5DS DSLR beforeswitching over to mirrorless with a Sony A7Riii at theend of last year.
As a photographer who specialises in both cityscapeand landscape photography the 14-24mm Sigma ARTF2.8 accounts for the majority of my work along with atelephoto 70-200mm lens to capture the finer detailsand compress images to fit more into the frame.
The 35mm is however a great medium between thatwide angle and telephoto which I turn to often whenshooting high from rooftops around Dubai. We rarelyexperience cloudy skies in this city apart from a briefperiod over winter. As such this focal length allows meto shoot tight whilst also eliminating the negativespace of that boring sky. With an ultra wide angle, youwill always crop in to remove that negative space andsuffer from mild resolution loss as a result.
The 35mm is also a perfect lens for macro, product,street and most other genres too. It is a true allrounder and versatile for most of your needs.
The new and improved aesthetics of the buildquality
After unboxing this lens, there are some very noticeable improvements and upgradescompared to the previous version. As always there is the inclusion of a Sigma cushionedblack protective lens bag which is great to keep and transport your lens in.
The biggest addition to the lens itself is a manual aperture ring which has the option to twistsmoothly or with a click in between stops. At first, having been used to adjusting theaperture on my camera I thought this would benefit videographers more than stills shootersbut it quickly won me over and I enjoyed it’s convenience.
Sigma ART lenses have always been built like tanks and this lens is no exception. Comparingit to the DSLR version there was actually no change in weight but it was slightly longer whichI understand is due to the incorporated mirrorless mount and of course new aperture ring.
The glass of the new lens is now flat and no longer protrudes like the older more bulbousversion and I find it far easier to clean. When shooting in the desert, grains of sand got stuckeverywhere and removing the particles wedged between the glass and plastic was always abit of a challenge. Now all it takes a quick wipe and you are good to go!
We also benefit from a new dust and splash-proof structure with a water and oil repellentfront coating. Clearly in Dubai, the dust proofing is more important than the splash but stillgreat to know when carrying this lens to more tropical climates or shooting seascapes.
The focus ring is typically smooth and I found the autofocus to be very fast. There have beencomplaints about a touch of focus breathing when the lens draws in whilst focusing toreduce the field of view but as a landscape photographer I am used to manually focusing sothis was not an issue for me personally.
Inside the lens are 11 diaphragm blades and as a result we get beautiful clean sun stars in thestreetlights when shooting at dusk/night between F11-F16. There was a touch of ghosting andflare but definitely an improvement from the older version due to the new lens coating.
The diameter is the standard 67mm which is perfect for most filter systems.
Finally and perhaps most importantly for landscape shooters, this lens is weather sealedwhich is a huge upgrade on the previous version which wasn’t.
The Sigma ART lenses are well known for theirfast apertures and incredible sharpness.
Being a prime ART lens, that trademark Sigma sharpness we have grown accustomed to isprevalent from edge to edge. I tend to shoot apertures between F8-F16 as I need a largedepth of field in my cityscapes and from F8-F11 this lens is tack sharp across the frame with aslight softening when stopping down each time from F11-F16 due to diffraction. In all honestythey should start thinking about issuing warnings on the boxes about just how sharp these
Sigma always have a minimum aperture of F16 on their ART lenses and this does make itslightly difficult to underexpose for very bright car trails up close. For example, yesterday inthe image below I was only able to expose for about 4s at F16 to capture the light trailswithout blowing out the highlights beyond repair. If I could shoot at F22 it would allow for alonger exposure and as a result it did take me a few attempts to really capture that curve.
What about shooting at large apertures?
The maximum aperture of this lens is F1.4 which means it is a very fast lens. It is perfect forstreet photography, low light shooting, portraits, product and astrophotography. One of themost important prerequisites for shooting the milky way is having a lens that gathers asmuch light as possible to the sensor. Ideally we want a lens with a number below F2.8 so wecan shoot without having to bump up our ISO which produces less noisy images.
The Sigma ART lenses have always been my favourite lenses to use for astrophotographywith their ability to gather light quickly whilst controlling ‘chromatic aberration’ and ‘coma’.The former produces purple colour fringing around the stars and coma distorts their shapeso that they no longer look pinpoint but more like flying saucers!
The 35mm ART DG DN lens does a great job at controlling both. It is good when shooting”wide open” at F1.4 but if you stop down to F2 any aberration, coma and vignetting improvesdramatically and is fully eradicated at F2.8.
Testing the lens on the streets at night also showed similar results. Stopping down to F2.8produced sharper, more contrasty images across the frame with less vignetting in thecorners. Below, the text on the traffic lights in the left image taken at F1.4 is noticeably softer:
How about distortion and bokeh?
What better place to test out if there is any distortion in a lens than underneath a bridge?!
Al Garhoud Bridge in Dubai is a popular spot for photographers and making sure my camerawas leveled evenly on my tripod, I took the below image multiple times from F2.8 to F16.There were minimal levels of distortion which was pretty easy to correct post production.
There is a touch of perspective warping but It is worth pointing out that there is no lenscorrection on Adobe yet for this new DG DN version. I am sure the perspective could beimproved upon further once it has been updated.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Sigma 35mm ART DG DN lens is a superbaddition with visually stunning optics andsome very welcome upgrades especially inthe form of weather sealing, the new lenscoating and an aperture ring. It is a versatilelens which can be used across all styles of photography.
It is perfect for shooting in low light andimages are incredibly sharp across the frameespecially at F2.8 for portraits and F8-F11 forcityscapes.There were very low levels ofaberration, coma and vignetting at theseapertures. Sun stars in streetlights had atouch of ghosting and flare but still animprovement from the older 35mm version.Stopping down to F16 gets pinpoint sunstarsbut you suffer from a slight loss of sharpness.Distortion was barely noticeable whenshooting in landscape but a bit of barreldistortion creeps in when shootingarchitecture in portrait mode.
Sigma have a reputation for listening tofeedback from their users and actingaccordingly. Not only are you getting top ofthe range ART lenses that compete and insome cases outperform their rivals but youwill always get them at a fraction of the pricetoo – Let’s hope Sigma doesn’t listen toocarefully when I say that!!
This lens currently retails at $849 and you canpurchase your copy at MK trading in Dubaiusing my 10% discount code (STEVIE10).