The Sigma 85mm F1.4 Art hasn’t been on the market long, but it has already begun to make some serious waves. Lenstip and DxO have rated it the sharpest 85mm lens ever created, beating out even the legendary 85mm F1.4 Zeiss Otus, which isn’t something that we take lightly.
It has, without a doubt, been a pretty big topic of discussion not only amongst our staff members, but also amongst portrait photographers around the world. With that said we just had to get our hands on it to see how it really performs and to see how it holds up next to some very stiff competition at 85mm. The Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM is a very formidable competitor and arguably the best modern 85mm F1.4 on the market (behind the manual focus Zeiss Otus, of course). With that in mind, the question is; can the Sigma hold its own? Our review will answer that question and more.
APS-C
With an equivalent focal length of 136mm and an equivalent aperture of F2.2, this lens can be used on an APS-C camera. Even with its slightly longer focal length, it does still fit into the focal range that’s often used by portrait photographers and the fast aperture does allow for it to be used in low-light situations as well. However, its size, weight and price makes it worth considering 85mm F1.8 lenses instead.
Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG HSM Art headline features
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- F1.4 maximum aperture
- 85mm max fixed focal range
- 2 SLD glass elements
- 1 aspherical element
- Canon EF, Nikon (FX) and Sigma SA Bayonet mounts
Specifications Compared
| Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM | Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG HSM Art | |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $1800.00 | $1199.00 |
| Lens Type | Prime | Prime |
| Focal Length | 85mm | 85mm |
| Filter Thread | 77mm | 86mm |
| Image Stabilization | No | No |
| Lens Mount | Sony FE | Canon EF, Nikon (FX), Sigma SA Bayonet |
| Aperture Ring | Yes (w/ d-click feature) | No |
| Maximum Aperture | F1.4 | F1.4 |
| Minimum Aperture | F16 | F16 |
| Minimum Focus | 0.80 m (31.5″) | 0.85 m (33.46″) |
| Diaphragm Blades | 11 | 9 |
| Elements | 11 | 14 |
| Groups | 8 | 12 |
| Special Elements/Coatings | 1 ‘Extreme Aspherical’ element, 3 ED elements and ‘Nano AR’ coating | 2 SLD glass elements and 1 Aspherical element |
| Autofocus | Yes | Yes |
| Motor Type | Ring-type Supersonic Wave | Ring-type Hypersonic |
| Full Time Manual | Yes | Yes |
| Focus Method | Internal | Internal |
| Distance Scale | No | Yes |
| DoF Scale | No | Yes |
| Full Weather Sealing | Yes | No (dust and splash proof) |
| Weight | 820g (1.81 lb) | 1131g (2.49 lb) |
| Dimensions | 108 mm (4.23″) x 90mm (3.52″) | 126mm (5.0″) x 95mm (3.7″) |
| Hood | Yes ( ALC-SH142) | Yes |
As you can see the lenses are fairly different in terms of build and design. The Sony 85mm has a manual aperture ring that can not only function on its own, but the aperture can also be adjusted with the camera by switching the ring to ‘A’. This ring also features a special de-click feature for smooth, silent aperture changes while shooting video. The Sigma 85mm lacks the weather sealing that the Sony has and there’s also a fairly substantial difference in size and weight as the Sony 85mm is a fair bit smaller and lighter. The price point is one area of the where the Sigma really prevails over the Sony, on paper, at least.
Image Quality
In the following sections we will use DxO data and real life samples to determine just how the Sigma 85mm F1.4 Art compares to the competition.
Sharpness
| Sharpness | The Sigma is extremely sharp wide-open, so much so that as you stop the lens down, you actually start to see the affects of diffraction much earlier than we would normally expect. Best sharpness is achieved centrally when the lens is stopped down to around F4 and at F5.6 in the corners. The overall performance in terms of sharpness is impressive to say the least. |
|---|---|
| APS-C | Again, on an APS-C sensor the lens is sharpest when shot at an aperture of F4. Meanwhile, vignetting and distortion are virtually non existent. |
| Chromatic Aberration | (Lateral) chromatic aberration is handled exceptionally well across all apertures, with only a slight decrease in already low levels of CA by stopping the lens down to F4. |
| Vignetting | When shot wide open at F1.4, the lens does exhibit a 1.3 stop decrease in light in the corners due to vignetting. This is nearly eliminated by stopping the lens down to F1.8, and completely eliminated by stopping down to F2. |
| Distortion | Distortion is handled exceptionally well, with essentially no measurable distortion. |
| Transmission (T-Stop) | The lens’ F-number is a theoretical value, and the actual light transmission value, known as the T-stop, is always fractionally lower due to light losses within the lens. Lenses with more elements, like a complex zoom, tend to be slightly more affected. The measured T-stop for this lens around 1.8, which suggests the lens is letting through a bit less light than the F1.4 rating appears to imply. |
How does the Sigma 85mm DG HSM ART compare to the Sony 85mm GM?
The Sigma is incredibly sharp and ticks all of the boxes in terms of overall lens performance, but how does it stack up against the Sony 85mm GM? When both lenses are shot wide open, the Sigma is not only slightly sharper centrally but also more consistent out to the corners as well. Both lenses are sharpest centrally when stopped down to an aperture of F4, with the Sigma maintaining its edge in both sharpness and consistency. The Sony’s corners never get better than at F4, whereas the Sigma’s sharpen up a little further at F5.6. Achieving the best sharpness in the corners for the Sigma does come at a slight cost to central sharpness but it remains sharper than the Sony ever gets.
In terms of lateral chromatic aberration (CA) both lenses perform very well across the aperture range with Sigma performing better when shot wide-open. By F4 both lenses have eliminated the already low levels of CA present. Vignetting at F1.4 sees a marked increase in the Sony when compared to the Sigma. The Sony experiences a falloff of 1.9 stops in the corners, whereas the Sigma sees a 1.3 stop falloff. Vignetting is completely eliminated in the Sony by F4, as opposed to F2 in the Sigma.
The Sony has a T-stop rating of 1.5, which is nearly a perfect score as the reported aperture is rated at F1.4. Distortion is handled a bit better by the Sigma as the Sony suffers from a small amount of pincushion distortion, while the Sigma is a near-perfect rectilinear projection.
Autofocus
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| As you can see the focus ring on the Sigma 85mm F1.4 Art is fairly large. |
In terms of AF performance the Sony 85mm GM is generally slower to lock focus when comparing it to the Sigma 85mm mounted on a native Canon body (5DSR and 5D Mark IV), particularly while in live-view, using dual-pixel AF on the 5D Mark IV. Hunting can be a bit of an issue with both lenses, but that really becomes more of a problem in low light situations.
Final Word
How did the Sigma 85mm F1.4 Art compare with the G Master? The answer, in short, is that the Sigma beat out the Sony in nearly every category. Sharpness, vignetting, distortion and the handling of lateral CA (though not LoCA, in harsh lighting situations, wide open) all went to the Sigma. It simply outperformed the Sony across the board. In terms of lens character the Sigma does an excellent job in subject isolation and overall bokeh presentation, but so does the Sony. In fact, it’s really difficult to see any major differences in this respect.
So, where do the differences outside of performance lie? The most glaring difference is in price; the Sony is a good deal more expensive, coming in at $1800 as opposed to the Sigma’s price of $1199. The next and most obvious difference is the size, the Sigma is large and very heavy compared to the Sony, (and even the Canon L for that matter). To be more specific, there’s a 311g (11oz) difference between the Sony and the Sigma. Lastly, weather sealing; the Sigma doesn’t have any (dust and splash proof) whereas the Sony does. Now that the pros and cons have been laid out, what’s the final verdict?
Personally, I would choose the Sigma over the Sony, or even the Canon for that matter. Sure it’s heavy, but it out performed one of the best modern 85mm prime designs in almost every category, and at 2/3 of the price, which makes it an absolute bargain for the performance. Now, off to find the nearest gym, so I can get used shooting with it.
