Picked up the Sigma 85mm 1.4...mini review with pics

[Teshi]

Well maybe too early to tell but I am enjoying my purchase so far...Please note all samples are copied over from Facebook at the same quality and res to make it easier.

Now I have always been a sucker for the Canon 135L for its focal length and its background separation. On a 5D, for me that was golden.

Since coming back to Canon, I went down the route of a 1D mkII so needed something similar. I have been putting it off for a while but since Sigma announced it, I have wanted to try one out. Being the UK, it is nigh near impossible to find one of these so thought to buy one instead. Lucky I found a shop who had them in stock and after a few minutes, I was good to go.

Some sample images from day one.

As the light was going down quite quick, it was unfair to say it hunted badly or the focus was off so I thought I would wait till tomorrow where I would have good light and a proper chance to test.

The next morning, I got to have another go and things were different since I could spend as long as I wanted shooting and having to cope with a variety of situations especially harsh light!

Once again some more samples.

Here is what to expect in relation to the background and foreground bokeh

So what do I reckon? Honestly I am actually wanting to shoot more and more...the length is great and overall the image quality it delivers is actually what I would want form a lens that carries this kind of price tag.

A few things

First of all, CA can be quite severe especially when the sun is out. I am not using a newer body so the results could be interesting to compare. This, I would say was a worse case scenario. Still not as bad as the Canon 85mm 1.2L for the money you pay.

The next is the lens hood. Sigma are nice to give you one...well actually two. You get one for shooting full frame and one extension which you use also if you shoot with a 1.5/1.6x sensor. The problem is if you shoot inbetween on a 1.3x sensor...there is no clarity on which to use so I need to try them both to see if there are any differences on a days worth of shooting. The petal hood itself is plastic BUT a pain when using in conjunction with a circular filter! Unless you have long thing fingers, be prepared to not use the hood or take it off constantly.

I would not say the above points are going to make your world crumble but worth noting. I am honestly not going to talk about AF accuracy since I need to spend more time on it but at the same time, its hard to rule out user error.

Pro's
- Bokeh is smooth
- Build feels solid
- Two lens hoods supplied
- Good colour reproduction

Con's
- Could be a little cheaper
- AF/MF switch feels cheap
- AF (even with HSM) is not as fast as Canon's USM

So would I recommend it? Well yes and no...If bokeh is what you are after and the Canon 85mm 1.2L (or equivalent) is out of reach, this would be what you would be after.

If you were after low light performance with speed in mind, the Canon 85mm 1.8 (or equivalent) is also worth considering. Personally I would rather spend the extra and just stick with the Sigma.

Maybe will update this as time goes on.

 

[gramps]

Interesting review, thank ... for the non-Canon reader, were you shooting full frame or crop?

 

[Siilver]

I love my sigma 85mm, it always stays at 1.4, thats what she was designed for and thats what i paid for lol

i like the one with the side of the bmw, but has that been enhanced?

 

[Teshi]

Interesting review, thank ... for the non-Canon reader, were you shooting full frame or crop?

Crop body but 1.3x factor on the 1D series so it falls in line with a 135mm equiv on a FF body. I would like to compare this lens on a FF to see what its like,

I love my sigma 85mm, it always stays at 1.4, thats what she was designed for and thats what i paid for lol

i like the one with the side of the bmw, but has that been enhanced?

At 1.4, it is quite special. Only enhancements are a few colour tweaks in Lightroom.

 

[j07cmt]

I like the bokeh in shot 2 especially. Looks like a nice lens in general

 

[gramps]

Crop body but 1.3x factor on the 1D series so it falls in line with a 135mm equiv on a FF body. I would like to compare this lens on a FF to see what its like.

Thank you, I had seen a review that suggested the lens was quite soft at the edges on FF, hence my question as your photos don't give that impression.

 

[woof woof]

I have one of these and use it on a 5D and I think it's fantastic. Actually I bought the 5D mainly to use two lenses, this and the Sigma 12-24mm although their 50mm f1.4 is also very good on FF.

This is a full image shot I took some time ago followed by a 100% crop. The sharpness (these are via photobucket so will not look as good as on my screen) at f1.4 has to be seen to be believed

 

[Ksanti]

- AF (even with HSM) is not as fast as Canon's USM

It's a lot faster than any other fast 85. Nikon's 85 1.4 and Canon's 85 1.2 focus noticeably slower than the Sigma. The 135L does focus very quickly, but no 85 faster than 1.8 focuses very quickly.

I have this lens on a 5D classic and love it. Obviously I'd like a 1.2 eventually but that will have to wait until I have a 5D3 or a 1DS body. I have had a couple of focusing issues in terms of accuracy but as long as I'm careful to shoot each critical frame a couple of times I'm usually okay, and often it's just me moving a couple of cm the wrong way between focus lock on and shooting

 

[BacktotheFuji]

Images look great! I really like the rendering, lots of pop like Zeiss

 

[Teshi]

I like the bokeh in shot 2 especially. Looks like a nice lens in general

Im going to give it more of a test run hopefully this weekend around London without any polariser to see what results I get. Seems to be good so far.

Thank you, I had seen a review that suggested the lens was quite soft at the edges on FF, hence my question as your photos don't give that impression.

I am a bit dubious about reviews in general (hypercritical I know) since they tend to focus on the little things like pixel peeping. Personally I read a lot of the reviews and kind of dismissed them in the sense that it could be a good or bad copy and had a go myself.

I have one of these and use it on a 5D and I think it's fantastic. Actually I bought the 5D mainly to use two lenses, this and the Sigma 12-24mm although their 50mm f1.4 is also very good on FF.

This is a full image shot I took some time ago followed by a 100% crop. The sharpness (these are via photobucket so will not look as good as on my screen) at f1.4 has to be seen to be believed

Interesting. They look good as they are. I had the 12-24 for my 5D also, very fun bit of kit!

It's a lot faster than any other fast 85. Nikon's 85 1.4 and Canon's 85 1.2 focus noticeably slower than the Sigma. The 135L does focus very quickly, but no 85 faster than 1.8 focuses very quickly.

I have this lens on a 5D classic and love it. Obviously I'd like a 1.2 eventually but that will have to wait until I have a 5D3 or a 1DS body. I have had a couple of focusing issues in terms of accuracy but as long as I'm careful to shoot each critical frame a couple of times I'm usually okay, and often it's just me moving a couple of cm the wrong way between focus lock on and shooting

This is where I am stuck, the 135L vs this lens is difficult to compare but the more I look at the photos from this, I prefer the depth separation although the bokeh is a touch better on the 135L. Not sure if I would switch now though.

Images look great! I really like the rendering, lots of pop like Zeiss

It does remind me of Zeiss in a way. It could just be the PP applied

 

[Ksanti]

Well I don't know what you shoot in general, looks like it might be motorsport i.e. the crop of the 1D might be useful. If not, it might be worth to move to a 1DS body?

The bokeh of the Siggy in my experience has been every bit as good as the Canon 135 and 85, but it looks like you've put it through some very tricky situations, that first photo in particular.