This is the first equipment review I have ever done. I wanted to review the new Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art lens for Nikon, because when I was researching this lens prior to purchasing it, I found few helpful reviews. Most of them merely restated the specs already released by Sigma or were packed full of boring pictures of people's cats and front lawns. Usually when I am researching a lens before buying it, I want to see inspiring photos taken with the lens rather than 100% crops demonstrating the barely-noticeable chromatic aberration when shooting in the most extreme and unrealistic scenarios. So if you are like me, I hope this review helps. But if you enjoy pixel peeping at side-by-side comparisons of 100% crops of somebody's front lawn, then there are many other reviews out there that will pique your interest. However, this is not one.
I got this lens in the mail yesterday as a birthday present to myself. I have always been a wide-angle kind of photographer, but recently I have been re-discovering and falling in love with the 50mm focal length. So I wanted something a little faster to replace my Nikon 50mm f/1.8G. It seemed my only options were the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G (which at $1,700 was way out of my price range), the older Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM, or the much newer and updated Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art. And while I have never been a huge fan of Sigma, I couldn't afford the Nikon 58mm and I have been reading some great things about recent Sigma prime lenses. So, needless to say, I went with the latter. (It also might be helpful to note that I am shooting with a Nikon D610.)
f/4, ISO 100
The build quality of this lens is pretty incredible. The reviews I did find put a lot of emphasis on the weight of the lens, so I did expect it to be heavy. However, I was still pretty shocked by its weight when I took it out of the box. It weighs more than the D610 and 50mm 1.8G combined. And honestly it feels a little unbalanced on the D610 body. I imagine it would feel better on the D810 or D4, but I can't contest to that. But with that said, the thing is loaded with 13 glass elements that make this lens one of the sharpest available wide open. So it is definitely worth the weight for many applications. The one thing I would say it isn't suited for is street photography, merely due to its size and weight. I was originally planning on selling my Nikon 50mm 1.8G once this thing arrived in the mail. However, after picking it up and using it for the day, I think I will keep the 1.8G only for street situations - where a smaller, lighter and more inconspicuous lens is ideal - and use the Sigma for everything else. But enough about the build quality...
f/1.4, ISO 400
My wife and I took the dog on our afternoon walk, so I brought the lens (of course!) to play with it a bit. Despite its weight, the lens actually felt just fine on my Black Rapid Sport camera strap. Then again it might be different during a wedding or something where I am wearing it all day long, but honestly I don't think it will be much of an issue.
One of the first things I noticed when shooting was just how fast and silent the auto focus is. Not to mention precise. For the most part, the lens focused exactly where I wanted. (I say 'for the most part' because there were a couple instances where the focus was actually pretty off. I'm not sure why and I still need to experiment with it a little more and possibly calibrate the auto focus just a tad. It only seemed to be struggling when focusing on subjects from a very far distance, such as in the image of the moon below. However, other than that this thing was spot on.) And did I mention it is sharp? This thing is incredible. It is hard to tell on the computer, but when you take a photo wide open, the subject practically leaps out of the screen!
f/2, ISO 100
I have read a lot of complaints about the bokeh of this lens. However, it seems absolutely fine to me. Maybe I am not a bokeh fanatic, but in most of the photos I took, the out-of-focus areas weren't very distracting and were definitely more than acceptable. They weren't nearly as creamy as my Nikon 24mm f/1.4G, and most likely nowhere near the Nikon 58mm 1.4G. But given the extreme sharpness this lens produces, it does not come as a surprise. You have to be willing to give or take a little, and if you want a lens as sharp and crisp as this Sigma, the out of focus areas aren't going to be spectacular. Nevertheless, I think they are perfectly acceptable, at least for my taste, and I don't find them distracting at all.
f/1.4, ISO 100
I mentioned before that this is not a complete review, and it certainly isn't the be-all-end-all of reviews. However, I hope it is somewhat useful to you in your decision to purchase the new Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art lens. And I hope it gives you a good idea about the kinds of photos this thing can produce. Sure, it has its strengths and weaknesses just like any other lens. However, if you are willing to look past its few imperfections, I think you will find that it is a truly spectacular lens, especially for the price.
f/1.4, ISO 100
f/1.4, ISO 100
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