The-Digital-Picture has completed their review of the brand new Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, another great lens in the Sigma Art series.

28mm has always been my favourite travel and walkaround focal length, it's probably why I love the Leica Q (and now Q2) so much. I've always wanted Canon to make an EF 28mm f/1.4L, but I'm likely in the minority.

From the review:

The most notable differentiator among the Art series prime lenses is the focal length. When 24mm is too wide and 35mm too long, the Sigma 28mm f/1.4 Art Lens is the right answer. With its superior image quality, the 28mm option will often be the best choice over the other two and over the competitor brands as well. This focal length avails general purpose use and the ultra-wide f/1.4 aperture, unsurpassed by any 28mm DSLR or MILC lens currently produced, extends that use to seemingly any light conditions while providing the strongest 28mm background blur possible. Read the full review

At $1399, the Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art isn't a cheap lens, but it looks like it's worth the price of admission. For folks that don't want to own both a 24mm or 35mm prime, you should give 28mm a try, I think a lot of people will be surprised how much they like the focal length.

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12 comments

  1. When 28mm is too wide and 50mm too long, the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art Lens is the right answer.

    What a well thought-through argument ;).
    I guess that‘s true for any prime lens.
    In addition I would suggest buying a 24-70. :P
  2. "..... I’ve always wanted Canon to make an EF 28mm f/1.4L...."

    I agree with you on the 28mm lens, but:

    I have asked Canon and Sigma many times, please make a 28mm f 2 (and a fresh 85 f2)
    Not a 1.4!!

    The Canon 35 f2 is a great lens, sharp as a tack, light and small enough to put in a pocket. It is just a touch too tight.
    28mm is a perfect walk around lens.
    I have the 28 2.8 IS, it is an ok piece of glass. just ok.
    I had the 28mm 1.8, it is a piece of $#@{ glass! Real piece of $#@{.

    Why does everything have to be 1.4 or faster?
    Canon says they foresee the sales of interchangeable lens cameras falling seriously in the communing years. No wonder when every new lens requires a Sherpa to carry it and second mortgage to finance it!

    The basics in photography are being neglected for trophy items.

    This path will lead to corporate peril over time!
  3. The basics in photography are being neglected for trophy items.

    This path will lead to corporate peril over time!

    The basics of photography are being taken-over by phone-cameras and compact mirrorless. Most college "introduction to photography" courses dictate something pocketable but with M mode. Show-up with a 6D and 50mm 1.4 and you'll be considered a clueless poser with too much money.

    A beginner can still move up into ILC photography today but it's going to be with an APS-C system, not any of the EF / RF stuff we read about here. That stuff is now high-margin which is what Sigma & Canon have chosen to chase.
  4. Really nice to see, that Sigma still delivers premium optics - for premium prices. ;)

    But...


    ...but:

    I have asked Canon and Sigma many times, please make a 28mm f 2 (and a fresh 85 f2)
    Not a 1.4!!

    The Canon 35 f2 is a great lens, sharp as a tack, light and small enough to put in a pocket. It is just a touch too tight.
    28mm is a perfect walk around lens.
    I have the 28 2.8 IS, it is an ok piece of glass. just ok.
    [...]

    Why does everything have to be 1.4 or faster?
    ...
    So true.
    I am no WA artist, that needs f/1.x at these FLs. I want a decent priced, small(!) and still great IQ.
    I suppose, I'll have to take a closer look at the EF f/2.8 IS lenses due to the lack of alternatives.
  5. "..... I’ve always wanted Canon to make an EF 28mm f/1.4L...."

    I agree with you on the 28mm lens, but:

    I have asked Canon and Sigma many times, please make a 28mm f 2 (and a fresh 85 f2)
    Not a 1.4!!

    The Canon 35 f2 is a great lens, sharp as a tack, light and small enough to put in a pocket. It is just a touch too tight.
    28mm is a perfect walk around lens.
    I have the 28 2.8 IS, it is an ok piece of glass. just ok.
    I had the 28mm 1.8, it is a piece of $#@{ glass! Real piece of $#@{.

    Why does everything have to be 1.4 or faster?
    Canon says they foresee the sales of interchangeable lens cameras falling seriously in the communing years. No wonder when every new lens requires a Sherpa to carry it and second mortgage to finance it!

    The basics in photography are being neglected for trophy items.

    This path will lead to corporate peril over time!
    They should go the Leica way: F 2,8 and F 2 lenses are usually as good as the F 1,4 , but cost and weigh less!
  6. Alternatively, get the Canon 24mm f/1.4L and just crop your image a bit.

    No thanks!

    Alternatively, I reluctantly went 28mm 2.8 IS.

    The 24mm 1.4 does not fit a jacket pocket, nor is it discreet in the street.
  7. They should go the Leica way: F 2,8 and F 2 lenses are usually as good as the F 1,4 , but cost and weigh less!

    100%
    Leica and Nikon get it.

    I have the Leica 28mm f2.0, GREAT lens.

    Nikon has the G series 1.8 primes.

    Canon has......odd choices and trophy items.
  8. The 28 f/1.4 Art looks like a very good lens - and the 40 f/1.4 Art looks like an absolutely spectacular lens - but price and weight are off-putting to me for lenses of those focal lengths. 1.2kg for the 40 Art! I guess maybe that's what's necessary to get the sort of performance. Anyway, interesting that the 35 Art and even 50 Art now lag a little behind for sharpness, but I'm still a fan of those lenses - especially the 35 Art (because I like the 35mm focal length) and they are big, heavy and expensive enough for me as it is.

    Since Sigma seem willing to make primes in less common focal lengths, I think it would be interesting if Sigma had a crack at a fast prime between 50mm and 85mm, say around 60mm or 65mm (or even 58mm, like the Nikon 58 f/1.4). I reckon I'd be interested in that, provided they kept the size/weight/price to no more than about the level of the 50 Art. I often feel like I'd like a fast prime a bit longer than 50mm, to differentiate it more from 35mm, but not as long as 85mm. (In fact, I'm trying to decide whether to sell my 50 or 85 at the moment. If there was something in the middle I might well sell them both and switch to that.)
  9. "..... I’ve always wanted Canon to make an EF 28mm f/1.4L...."

    I agree with you on the 28mm lens, but:

    I have asked Canon and Sigma many times, please make a 28mm f 2 (and a fresh 85 f2)
    Not a 1.4!!

    The Canon 35 f2 is a great lens, sharp as a tack, light and small enough to put in a pocket. It is just a touch too tight.
    28mm is a perfect walk around lens.
    I have the 28 2.8 IS, it is an ok piece of glass. just ok.
    I had the 28mm 1.8, it is a piece of $#@{ glass! Real piece of $#@{.

    Why does everything have to be 1.4 or faster?
    Canon says they foresee the sales of interchangeable lens cameras falling seriously in the communing years. No wonder when every new lens requires a Sherpa to carry it and second mortgage to finance it!

    The basics in photography are being neglected for trophy items.

    This path will lead to corporate peril over time!

    RF 35 IS is small, cheap, light, and f.18 at that. So they should be able to do something similar for 28 mm. On the RF mount it is the best you can do in terms of a small package anyway.

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