SIGMA 50 MM F/1.4 DG HSM (Art)
In recent times, Sigma has been giving a hard time to the main players, proving that they can make lenses as good as or even better than the competition. Their high-end lenses are marked as ‘Art’-series and this 50mm f/1.4 lens that we have on review is an ‘Art’ lens with Canon mount. According to the Company, “the Sigma 50mm 1.4 DG HSM has been redesigned and re-engineered to set a new standard for the Art line”. The lens is available in Sigma, Nikon, Canon and Sony mount. Going by its price, it seems that these lenses are meant for the highend market. Let’s put the lens through our gruelling test...
Design & Build Quality
Heavy, large in size, and excellent build quality; that’s how I would describe the Sigma 50 mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens. The body is mainly in matte black colour and looks every bit professional. The lens mount is made from metal. A flower shaped lens hood is provided. The lens weighs 845g without front and rear caps, but including the hood.
Key Features
The Sigma 50mm 1.4 DG HSM (Art) lens is designed for the full-frame 35mm format and is constructed with 13 elements in 8 groups that include Special Low-Dispersion (SLD) glass and Super MultiLayer coating to provide superior performance even at wider apertures. A plastic window covers the distance scale in meters and feet. DOF scale is provided only for f/16. An AF/MF focus switch is available on the left of the lens. The aperture diaphragm is made with 9 blades to provide smooth bokeh. Accurate and silent autofocus is ensured by the use of a Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM). Filter thread is 77mm and the lens dimensions are 85.4 (Dia.) x 99.9 mm (L). Sigma offers (at extra cost) a USB Dock which, when used with Sigma Optimization Pro software, allows you to update lens firmware, finetune autofocus, and perform few other upgrades.
Ergonomics
We tested the lens using a Canon EOS 6D body. The combination felt quite heavy but the lens was otherwise easy to use. The DOF scale being only for f/16, wasn’t a great help. A white, raised plastic dot at the lens mount was useful in quickly aligning the lens to the camera body. The front element does not rotate during focussing and this makes it easy to use PL and Graduated ND filters. Thick-rimmed filters can cause vignetting, but Sigma’s
instruction sheet clearly mentions so.
Performance
This is a peach of a lens! Images shot outdoors with the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM (Art) lens were sharp, with perfect contrast and superb tonality. Autofocus was smooth and quick, but let’s give some credit to the body too which has a part to play in it. Manual focussing was smooth too. We did not notice any lens distortion, which is good. Test shots indoors – of a newspaper stuck flat on a wall – at a distance of around 5 feet, and using a firm tripod, were not as sharp as we would have liked them to be. But do remember that ‘normal’ lenses are not designed for maximum sharpness at such close distances. In the indoors test, corners/ sides were not as sharp as at the centre but by f/2.8, corners/sides sharpness improved. Darkening of corners/sides could be seen at every aperture, though reducing at narrower apertures. Flare was reasonably well controlled but some purple fringing could be seen around dark objects in strong against-thelight shots.
Value for Money
The lens is available at an MRP of Rs.72,900. In spite of its great performance, it is one of the most expensive ‘normal’ lenses other than the Zeiss Otus 55mm APO Distagon T* which is reviewed on page 106 of this issue.