Sigma 50mm f1.4 HSM Art review release date specs price

 
Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art review

Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art review
One of the top new lens in the previous period is the Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art lens. As I tested it, it is an exceptional lens, like the Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art or the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 Art lenses.

Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art key specs

This is just a main specs, you can see a much detailed specification in the comparison table with other alternative lenses below. The new lens is part of Sigma’s brand new line of “Art” line of lenses, which lenses has fantastic / revolutinary better / class leading image quality most cases.

Coverage: Full frame
Mounts: Canon, Nikon
Focal length : 50mm
MFD: 40 cm
Max aperture : f/1.4
Min aperture: f/16
Aperture blades: 9 rounded blades
Weight: 815g (1.79 lbs.)

Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art optical quality

Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art review 4
The new Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art lens is a top performer, see the pic above wide open at f/1.4. This is currently the best (sharpest) 50mm lens you can get. Even the bokeh is beautiful. If you go close you can totally able to throw the background and the foreground out. This really gives the lens an artistic potential, which is not really there at that level at the other lenses, excepth the Canon 50mm f/1.2 L lens. Unlike with the two cheaper Canon 50mm lens, the flare is not a problem here. Cromatic aberration is very low if any, and the distortion as well. The distortion is little bigger on FF cameras.
Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art review 2
What do you think is it sharp enough ?
See the 100% crop of the 3504 pixel Canon 30d file below. Wide open at f/1.4.
Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art review 5
Click to see the 1728 pixel center crop at f/1.4. Cannot really name many lens this sharp. Not even mentioned wide open at f/1.4 !!!

Bokeh / Out of focus blur

Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art review 6
Unlike all other 50mm alternatives, this Sigma lens has a minimum focus distance of 40cm instead of 45cm of the other lenses (Canon 50 1.2, Canon 50 1.4, Canon 50 1.8, Sigma 50 1.4 Ex). Other than that the Bokeh is very nice.
Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art review 7
Both the background and foreground blur is very nice. The sharp area at f/1.4 around the minimum focus distance (40 cm) is very shallow.
Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art review 8

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Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art mechanical quality

The mechanical quality of the lens is exceptional, the lens is very solidly built, the autofocus is quick and silent as well. If I compare it is much better build than the Canon 50m 1.8 II or Canon 50mm 1.4 USM lenses, but the Canon 50mm f/1.2 L looks better/more desirable to me, because it is smaller, lighter, shorter, feels better built, and more solid.
Sigma uses the TSC material here as well. The lens has 77mm filter size, which is the biggest in the 50mm branch (the Canon 50mm f/1.2 has 72mm filter size). The included hood is a lightweight, but solid plastic.

Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art usability

If you just start photography, perhaps this is not the first lens I recommend to buy. A 16-85mm or 15-85mm would be a better choice to understand what you want to do with photogprapy. You perhaps like macro, wildlife, portraits, etc. This lens is better for portraits. On Full frame camera it is a normal focal length, which is good for general photography, like street or portraits, but narrow for landscapes in most cases. On Aps-C I don’t like this focal length so much, because it is a portrait focal length, mainly for pre-set portraits from close distances, which I don’t do very often, not good for lots of other things. Can be good for children photography, and excellent for weddings for example. As a beginner I would by a higher value general purpose lens first, not this one. The second would be a wildlife lens, after a macro or this one for children photography, or an ultra wide, but as Hungarians say as much house, as much habit, so everybody has an own preference.

Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art lens price

The price of the Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art lens is 800 USD.
In Europe the price is much higher depend on countries.

Alternatives / rivals

You can see the alternatives / rival in the below table in detail.

Item
Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art
Canon 50mm 1.4
Canon 50mm 1.8 II
Canon 50mm 1.2 L
Sigma 50 1.4 HSM
Mount(s):
Canon EF, Nikon F, Sigma SA, Sony A Canon EF Canon EF Canon EF Canon EF, Nikon F, Sigma Sa
Filter size:
77mm 58mm 52mm 72mm 77 mm
Front elements rotates:
No No No No No
Lens elements / groups:
elements 13 / 8 groups 7/6 6/5 8 / 6 8 / 6
Exotic Lens elements:
3 SLD glass No No 1 aspherical element 1 asperical element
Weight:
815 g ( 28.75 oz. ) 290g (10.23 oz.) 130 g (4.6 oz.) 590 g (20.81 oz.) 505 g (17.83 oz.)
Dimensions:
85.4 x 99.9 mm (3.36 x 3.93 ” ) 73.8 x 50.5 mm 6.86 x 4.06 cm (2.7 x 1.6″) 85.8 x 65.5 mm (3.38 x 2.58″) 8.38 x 6.86 cm (3.3 x 2.7″)
Close focus distance:
40 cm (15.75 “) 45 cm 45 cm 45 cm 45 cm
Autofocus:
Ultrasonic Micromotor USM Micromotor USM Ultrasonic
Stabilizer:
No No No No No
Switches:
1 Switch Manual focus autofocus 1 Switch Manual focus autofocus 1 Switch Manual focus autofocus 1 Switch Manual focus autofocus 1 Switch Manual focus autofocus
Lens Mount:
Metal Metal Plastic Metal Metal
Format:
Full frame Full frame Full frame Full frame Full frame
Magnification:
0.179 x 0.15 x 0.15 x 0.15 x 0.15 x
Reproduction ratio:
1:5.6 1:6.7 1:6.7 1:6.7 1:6.7
Aperture blades:
9 rounded blades 8 straight blades 5 straight blades 8 straight blades 9 rounded blades
Distance scale:
Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Focal length:
50 mm 50 mm 50 mm 50 mm 50 mm
Focal length Aps-C FF equivalent :
80 mm 80 mm 80 mm 80 mm 80 mm
Max Aperture:
f/1.4 f/1.4 f/1.8 f/1.2 f/1.4
Transmission value (the real light transmission number):
T 1.7 T 1.6 T2 T 1.4 T 1.6
Min Aperture:
f/16 f/22 f/22 f/16 f/16
Angle of view FF:
46,4°on FF 46,4°on FF 46,4°on FF 46,4°on FF 46,4°on FF
Angle of view Aps-C:
25,4°on Aps-C 25,4°on Aps-C 25,4°on Aps-C 25,4°on Aps-C 25,4°on Aps-C
FTM (Manual focus override):
Yes Yes No Yes
Ring rotates during focusing ?
No No No No No
Constant physical length during focusing ?
Yes No No Yes, but the inner lens tube is moves inside Yes
Focus limiter:
No No No No No
Tripod mount ring:
No No No No No
Tilt / shift:
No No No No No
Sealing against dust and moisture:
No No No Yes No
Special coatings against flare:
Yes No No Yes Yes


Sigma 50mm f/1.4 non Art lens

The previous generation of Sigma 50mm f/1.4 lens is also not bad, but the new Sigma 50mm f1.4 is even better. Don’t mix the two they looking quite differently. The older lens is wider and has a yellow strip around, I can imagine, and saw as well at some places try to sell the older version under the new name. I would not buy the older version, the new one is much better, especially at wider apertures where most people wants to use it.

Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM

I like this lens very much as well. The Canon 50mm 1.4 was the usual logical choice in most cases, because it is well built (but nowhere near as good as the Sigma), relatively affordable and not bad optically as well. It is much smaller and lighter than the Sigma. The differences ? At f/1.4 Night and day, the new Sigma is tach sharp, the Canon is artistically soft. The Sigma is sharper at f/1.4, than the Canon at f/2.5.

Tanon 50mm f/1.8 II

Optically not bad, but nowhere near to the Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art, especially at larger apertures. Mechanical quality is very low, if any:). I knock can give a way for replacement. Most people has a love hate relationship with this lens, because of the low built and nice optical quality.

Canon 50mm f/1.2 L

Compare to the Canon 50mm 1.2L the Sigma 50mm 1.4 is sharper, but the Canon lets more light in. The Canon is significantly more expensive. I would buy the Sigma, but this is my preference. The Canon is a nice lens, but the price tag is not realistic. The Sigma is much better. The Canon has little better contrast, as I see but this can be exposure difference as well. Regarding look / feel / build quality the Canon is more desirable, because it looks nicer, darker black, shorter (I like this one the best), and lighter. The Canon not bad at f/1.2 screen size at closer or middle distances, nice colors, contrast, but not as sharp as the Sigma, and the dof is also very shallow at f/1.2. Compatibility with future cameras are more likely with the Canon. Bokeh of the Canon is approximately same as the bokeh of the Sigma. The Sigma focuses 5cm (2″) closer.

Nikon concurrence

I haven’ tested the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G and 1.8 D versions, I tested the Nikon 50 f/1.4G. The Sigma plays in different leage, a class difference between the two lens, the Sigma is so much better, especially at wider apertures. I would be really surprized if the Nikon 50 f/1.G (which is better than the f/1.4 version) can compete with the Sigma. The Sigma is tack sharp at f/1.4

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 non Art price

The price of the Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art lens is 949 USD.
You can order at below link.

Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art accessories

You get a a nice case, a plastic hood, a front lens cap, and a back lens cap.

Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art Pros

– Class leading image quality
– Very sharp wide open at f/1.4
– Very low distortion
– Very nice bokeh, 40cm MFD
– Nice case, for the lens, supplied hood

Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art Cons

– Bigger, heavier and longer than the competition
– Not cheap
– Future compatibility is not for granted

Bottom line / recommendation

Highly recommended, this is currently the best lens you can get if you are after 50mm f/1.4 image quality. The lens is very sharp wide open, for the most likely usage (portraits, close ups) the lens do not need to stop down just for dof reasons, because it is very sharp already. If you stop down it will be even sharper. The bokeh is very nice and the lens focuses 5cm closer than the Canons.

Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art order link

The lens can be pre-ordered at link below.
Canon 11-24mm f/4 L pre order at BH

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Sigma 50mm f1.4 HSM A

Sigma 50mm f1.4 HSM A

sigma 50mm f1.4 dg hsm a

Introduction – Sigma 50mm f1.4 HSM A

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Sigma has announced the new redesigned Sigma 50mm DG HSM Art lens. It is a a very high quality Full frame lens. Full time manual focus override is supported. I wouldn’t by it for crop sensored cameras unless there is some financial reason/job behind it, because the field of view is little narrow. This is not the same as the current 50mm f1.4 lens, this lens is a new redesigned lens. The new lens looks very similar to the new 35mm f1.4 model, see my Sigma 35 f1.4 rewiew here The new lens has a floating element for improve focusing as well wider elements in the front lens group to improve the wide aperture performance of the lens. The new lens is substantially bigger than even the earlier version of the lens, but better optically as well with a ring type ultrasonic focusing system.

Sigma 50mm f1.4 Hsm A specification

Lens formula: 13 elements in 8 groups
Aperture: f/1.4-f/16
Close focus distance:40cm (15.75″)
Weight:815g
Aperture blades:9 rounded
Filter size:77 mm
Size:85*100mm
Availability:already available
Special elements: SLD and asperical elements
Mounts: Guess Canon Nikon Sigma Sony

Sigma 50mm f1.4 HSM A review

Seems the new Sigma 50mm is an extremely good lens with excellent sharpness, almost zero distortion, very low chromatic aberration, and only 1.5 EV vignetting wide open which is very good for an f/1.4 lens.

Sigma 50mm f1.4 HSM A release date

The Sigma 50mm f1.4 A is released.

Sigma 50mm f1.4 HSM A alternatives

This new Sigma easily beats any Canon Nikon and other 50mm lenses in terms of optical performance only perhaps some Zeiss marvel is a very little better. Not a cheap lens, but very sharp even wide open.

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