Sigma 105mm F14 Dg Art Hsm Lens for Sony Emount Reviews

It'due south hard not to think of the Sigma 105mm F1.iv DGH HSM Fine art ($1,599) every bit a speciality lens, specifically 1 for portraiture. It'southward a big, pricey, chunky piece of glass, but ane with a short telephoto focal length that'due south ideal for framing up headshots. To appointment, only Nikon system owners have been able to accept advantage of a lens like this, in the course of the AF-S Nikkor 105mm f/i.4E ED. The Sigma 105mm brings the same look to Canon owners, and offers a more than affordable 105mm f/1.four design for Nikonians, earning our Editors' Choice in the process.

Brusk and Squat

The 105mm F1.four ($ane,249.00 at Amazon United kingdom) isn't a small lens by whatever means—information technology's big enough to merit its own tripod collar, though it tin be removed if you prefer. It measures five.2 by four.half dozen inches (Hd), requires big 105mm lens filters, and tips the scales at iii.2 pounds. Information technology adds enough weight to the forepart of your camera that taking advantage of the tripod collar is highly recommended when working from a support system.

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If you prefer to work handheld, you can remove the tripod neckband and supercede information technology with the included dazzler ring. The overall build is sturdy—both the lens barrel and tripod collar are metal, and Sigma states the lens is sealed to protect it from dust and splashes.

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The front chemical element is big, every bit is the included lens hood. It attaches around the front chemical element using a thumbscrew to keep it tight, and tin be mounted in the contrary orientation for storage and transport. Standard forepart and rear caps, as well as a soft carrying instance, are included.

Sigma sells the lens in Canon EF, Nikon F, Leica/Panasonic/Sigma 50, Sigma SA, and Sony E mounts. You can use the lens with Canon RF or Nikon Z mirrorless systems with the appropriate adapter. We also expect Sigma to bring an L-mount adapter to market before too long—the full-frame mirrorless arrangement is a collaboration between Leica, Panasonic, and Sigma, and models should come to market afterward this year.

The lens doesn't have any sort of stabilization organization, though it volition accept reward of in-torso prototype stabilization (IBIS) when paired with a photographic camera that has the characteristic; I paired it with the stabilized Nikon Z 7 for field testing. I had no problem getting blur-free shots at one/sixty-second handheld speeds with the pairing, though I'd recommend shorter speeds when working with a camera without IBIS—I'd experience safe making handheld one/125-second exposures with the 105mm F1.4.

The only toggle switch is the AF/MF control on the left side of the barrel. The only other control is the manual focus ring. It turns comfortably and adjusts focus mechanically, making the 105mm a good fit for video productions that apply transmission focus control. The ring is covered in textured condom and is comfortable to turn even when wearing gloves.

The lens focuses every bit close as 3.3 feet (one meter). It's not a macro, but the bending of view volition still let you get pretty tight on subjects. At its closest focus altitude, the 105mm F1.4 offers i:8.3 life-size macro reproduction.

Background blur is piece of cake to get with well-nigh f/1.4 lenses, only it's even blurrier when working with a longer focal length. Sigma has nicknamed the 105mm F1.4 the Bokeh Primary, and it's an apt nickname. Assuming you're not photographing a distant scene, you'll savour shallow depth of field with the 105mm even when stopped down. Its 9-bract, rounded diaphragm ensures smooth backgrounds. While the quality of bokeh is dependent on a multitude of variables and can be extremely subjective, the 105mm F1.4 is definitely a lens for photographers who prefer cleaner backgrounds.

Out of focus highlights do take on an oblong shape equally yous motion toward the center of the frame, which is something portrait photographers should proceed in heed. In that location are lenses out in that location that provide perfectly round, feathered highlights right upwardly to the edge of the frame, merely they tend to be specialized designs that use internal apodization filters to go there. The downside to this type of filter is light-gathering adequacy—a lens like the Sony FE 100mm F2.8 STF GM OSS draws the prettiest backgrounds yous'll ever come across, but has a two-end disadvantage in light gathering, acting more similar an f/v.6 lens than an f/2.eight one for the purposes of exposure calculation.

Razor Sharp and Very Bright

Let's exist fair—even on the budget end of the spectrum, most modernistic short telephoto prime lenses evangelize results with stiff sharpness. Sigma's take on the design is no exception. I tested information technology with the 45.7MP Nikon D850 and Imatest software to come across just how sharp the lens is.

At f/i.4, the combination delivers excellent results. It scores 4,403 lines on a eye-weighted evaluation, which is more plenty item to make big prints and ingather aggressively every bit needed. Edge resolution does lag behind the average, but the periphery still shows a very good 3,784 lines. I had no qualms well-nigh framing a portrait subject toward the border of the frame while using the widest aperture.

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Resolution ticks up slightly at f/2 (4,521 lines), just there's no real improvement at the edges here. At f/2.8 the average resolution remains strong (iv,646 lines) and the periphery of the frame improves a bit besides (three,957 lines). Results are nearly identical at f/four.

If you lot're thinking about using the lens for a landscape shot, be happy to know that it is at its absolute sharpest at f/v.vi. The average resolution ticks upwards to an outstanding 4,820 lines, and even the periphery of the frame shows 4,330 lines. This is the f-stop you'll want to employ if yous do determine to take a landscape shot and are aiming for edge-to-edge clarity in the resulting photo.

Diffraction starts to cut into resolution at f/8 (four,624 lines), merely you should all the same experience fine using the setting when needed. The same is truthful at f/11, where resolution is about the same as at f/ane.iv (4,364 lines). The minimum f/16 setting is best avoided, as calorie-free scatters through the small iris, cut into resolution. The 105mm F1.iv shows 3,584 lines when set to f/16.

Don't worry most distortion—the Sigma 105mm controls it just as well as a good macro lens, showing a purely academic 0.i pct. There is a visible vignette, which may be desirable for some portrait work, and can exist lessened using in-camera corrections or mail-processing software for photographers who don't similar the look.

The D850 supports vignette compensation—Nikon calls information technology Peripheral Illumination Correction—for third-party lenses. I haven't been able to test the lens with a Canon or Sony camera, but the most recent Sigma lenses we've tested in both mounts, the lx-600mm Sports for Catechism and the 70mm Macro for Sony, have supported in-camera vignette correction when shooting in JPG format.

I left the D850 to its default Normal correction setting; it likewise offers Low, High, and Off options. (Nikon is the only manufacturer to offer this level of in-photographic camera adjustment for JPG correction.) At f/1.4 information technology shows a small-scale, but visible, -two.2EV drop in corner illumination. It is negligible at narrower f-stops.

The vignette event is more than pronounced when correction is disabled, or if you lot are shooting in Raw format. We meet a stronger -3.4EV drop at the corners at f/i.4 and a more modest, simply visible, -1.8EV at f/two. At narrower f-stops the vignette result is negligible.

A World-Class Portrait Lens

When it comes to lenses there are crowd-pleasers and there are specialized tools. And while it'due south perfectly possible to use the Sigma 105mm F1.four DG HSM Art to capture landscapes, abstract fine art images, and anything in between, its start and best purpose is for portraiture. Its focal length grants plenty working distance between y'all and your subject to minimize odd distortions—like you get when shoving a wide-angle lens into someone'south face—only isn't so long that y'all can't easily communicate with and instruct your subject.

And if that's what you lot're shopping for, the 105mm F1.iv DG HSM Art is a fine pick, peculiarly if yous like the focal length, which is a little bit longer than 85mm and shorter than 135mm, two other very popular focal lengths for portraiture.

A 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom may be a more practical, versatile tool, only it won't go yous the aforementioned level of command over depth of field. And the reason you're shopping for an f/1.4 prime number in the first place is the ability to mistiness out the background and focus in on your bailiwick's eyes.

The Sigma 105mm F1.iv DG HSM Fine art earns our Editors' Pick, with every bit enthusiastic a recommendation as the Nikkor 105mm F1.4E. If you use a different photographic camera arrangement and have been lusting over Nikkor for the past couple of years, or are but turned off by its $2,200 asking cost, the Sigma 105mm hits all of the aforementioned notes, and does so for $600 less.

Sigma 105mm F1.4 DG HSM Art

Cons

The Bottom Line

Sigma calls its 105mm F1.4 DG HSM Art lens the Bokeh Master, and it'southward an apt nickname—it blurs backgrounds like a gnaw.

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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/sigma-105mm-f14-dg-hsm-art

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