Sigma 35mm f/1.4

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Love the look of this lens, love the apparent sharpness of it.  I'd still like to see more samples of the bokeh in different situations before I put the money down.  I'm not blown away by what I've seen to date, and ooF rendering in this kind of wide aperture lens is pretty huge.  I'd be very happy to be wrong about this.

I'm also interested in seeing more images from the new 35mm f/2 IS and would love to see some head to head comparos.  We've seen very few samples from that lens.

[bchernicoff]

These are all shot RAW on a 5D MK III and exported full-size from Lightroom with sharpening set to 0.

This picture of the orchid is blowing my mind at how sharp it is at 1.4:
http://chernicoff.us/images/9Z9C1275.jpg

Another sharp flower at 1.4:
http://chernicoff.us/images/9Z9C1290.jpg

Kitty cat f/2:
http://chernicoff.us/images/9Z9C1208.jpg

Inside candid at f/1.4:
http://chernicoff.us/images/9Z9C1330.jpg

OOF lights at f1.4 showing mild ringing/onion:
http://chernicoff.us/images/9Z9C1183.jpg

OOF lights at f2 showing mild ringing/onion (the orange cast is from mix of fill flash and the light behind me):
http://chernicoff.us/images/9Z9C1184.jpg

[drjlo]

OOF lights at f1.4 showing mild ringing/onion:
http://chernicoff.us/images/9Z9C1183.jpg

At f/1.4, aren't the round lights overly football-like in shape? 

[bchernicoff]

OOF lights at f1.4 showing mild ringing/onion:
http://chernicoff.us/images/9Z9C1183.jpg

At f/1.4, aren't the round lights overly football-like in shape?

only when your subject is very close to the lens. At the distance you would really shoot people they are round. I'll have to post an example tomorrow.

[jeffabbyben]

I recently posted about the horrible onion ring appearance on my new Canon 35mm 1.4 L.  A guy gave me this great link to help me learn about this.  Basically my understanding is that it is a property of the way the lens is formed as well as a myriad of other things.  Again my understanding is that it does not signify a "bad lens".  Here is the link to the Zeiss booklet.  Look at page 32
http://www.zeiss.com/C12567A8003B8B6F/EmbedTitelIntern/CLN_35_Bokeh_EN/$File/CLN35_Bokeh_en.pdf

You will probably have to copy the link and paste because it doesn't seem to work otherwise.

[bchernicoff]

From a little further away... see...round.

[kubelik]

cherni, thanks for sharing!  overall, looks pretty darned good, especially for the price (I'll bet the price looks even better once the 35 L II shows up)

[dirtcastle]

overall, looks pretty darned good, especially for the price (I'll bet the price looks even better once the 35 L II shows up)

If Sigma can maintain this level of quality and price across more lenses, Canon might have to reconsider its pricing. Canon's near monopoly on the high end AF lens market might be coming to an end finally. Of course, this could also be a "loss leader" or gouge from Sigma. Time will tell.

[bchernicoff]

If Sigma can maintain this level of quality and price across more lenses, Canon might have to reconsider its pricing. Canon's near monopoly on the high end AF lens market might be coming to an end finally. Of course, this could also be a "loss leader" or gouge from Sigma. Time will tell.

Their 85mm is just as good, so this isn't a brand new thing. I'm glad to see them competing not only on price but also on quality. I still think they have a significant hurdle to overcome before Canon has to worry. Their still seems to be an issue of people being leery of third party lenses due to uncertainty and hearse concerning problems. A good PR campaign and maybe a loaner program would go a long way.

[sandymandy]

Wish i had this lens. its really nice. i will just miss my old zeiss 35mm 2.8 minimum focus distance of 18cm (7 inches!).

[wickidwombat]

overall, looks pretty darned good, especially for the price (I'll bet the price looks even better once the 35 L II shows up)

If Sigma can maintain this level of quality and price across more lenses, Canon might have to reconsider its pricing. Canon's near monopoly on the high end AF lens market might be coming to an end finally. Of course, this could also be a "loss leader" or gouge from Sigma. Time will tell.

agreed I nearly bought the 120-300 f2.8 until i found out it was gonna get another update
its flat out awesome and for the money its amazing so i'm looking forward to the new one coming out which i'm certain i'll buy and most likely sell one of my 70-200 mk2s

[dirtcastle]

I'm thinking I might need to sell something now too. 

[dirtcastle]

If Sigma can maintain this level of quality and price across more lenses, Canon might have to reconsider its pricing. Canon's near monopoly on the high end AF lens market might be coming to an end finally. Of course, this could also be a "loss leader" or gouge from Sigma. Time will tell.

Their 85mm is just as good, so this isn't a brand new thing. I'm glad to see them competing not only on price but also on quality. I still think they have a significant hurdle to overcome before Canon has to worry. Their still seems to be an issue of people being leery of third party lenses due to uncertainty and hearse concerning problems. A good PR campaign and maybe a loaner program would go a long way.

I've heard the 85mm has focusing issues. Whether that issue is an across-the-board thing or a quality control issue, I do not know.

I haven't heard any AF complaints about the 35mm f/1.4 yet. As with many people, for me, unreliable AF is a deal-breaker, which is why I'm finally excited about a Sigma that has solid AF.

[wickidwombat]

If Sigma can maintain this level of quality and price across more lenses, Canon might have to reconsider its pricing. Canon's near monopoly on the high end AF lens market might be coming to an end finally. Of course, this could also be a "loss leader" or gouge from Sigma. Time will tell.

Their 85mm is just as good, so this isn't a brand new thing. I'm glad to see them competing not only on price but also on quality. I still think they have a significant hurdle to overcome before Canon has to worry. Their still seems to be an issue of people being leery of third party lenses due to uncertainty and hearse concerning problems. A good PR campaign and maybe a loaner program would go a long way.

I've heard the 85mm has focusing issues. Whether that issue is an across-the-board thing or a quality control issue, I do not know.

I haven't heard any AF complaints about the 35mm f/1.4 yet. As with many people, for me, unreliable AF is a deal-breaker, which is why I'm finally excited about a Sigma that has solid AF.

my 85 was front focusing heavily i sent it in to sigma who recalibrated it and it was back within a week now its pretty much bang on and i haven't even done any AFMA on it
its an awesome awesome lens

[NickPerkins]

Taken with a 5D Mark III. Cropped