Sigma 40mm F1.4 DG HSM Art For SONY SE Fit Black 332965

Product Information

I think people who will most appreciate this lens are astrophotographers, for its edge-to-edge sharpness at wide apertures. Portrait photographers will also love it, although wedding and event shooters may find its size and weight hard to work with. When it comes to the bokeh rendering the Sigma 35mm 1.2 Art is slightly smoother by comparison, but the 40mm 1.4 is noticeably smoother than the older Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art, you can have a look at my comparison and see for yourself which one you prefer.

There is no built-in optical stabilizer — even though the lens seems to have plenty of space for it — which is to be expected. This lens will spend most of its time on a tripod, and even when handheld, 14mm is an easy focal length to hold steady.I don’t want the substance of this review to get lost in hyperbole or vain platitudes, but in some way, this Sigma 40mm f/1.4 lens really does operate at a whole other level in terms of sharpness. I’ve used sharp lenses before, but nothing quite like this – especially when shooting wide open.

Weight: 1177g (42 oz.) in the F-mount version plus 61g for the lens hood. Sigma does not list the weight of the E-mount version which has a 28mm longer “throat” but I assume that’s an additional 100g. If you use the F-mount lens on a Nikon Z body the FTZ-adapter adds 133g (4.7 oz.). The Sony ZA is only half as heavy at 630g (22 oz.) plus 30g lens hood. The Zeiss Batis is incredibly light in comparison at only 362g (13 oz.) plus 32g for the lens hood. But then it has a one stop slower focal ratio. [-]

A subject measuring approximately 7.3 x 4.9" (185 x 123mm) fills a full-frame imaging sensor at this lens's minimum MF distance. All of the details must be considered for a conclusive lens review, but in summary, the Sigma 50mm F1.4 DG DN Art Lens is beautifully built and provides great utility for a reasonable price.

Mount an extension tube behind this lens to significantly decrease and increase those respective numbers. Best have a look at the comparison to the Sigma 35mm 1.2 Art and Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art with many samples to see which lens you prefer. The shape, intensity, and position of the flare and ghosting effects in an image are variable, dependent on the position and nature of the light source (or sources), selected aperture, shape of the aperture blades, and quantity and quality of the lens elements and their coatings. In the end the 40mm Art’s bokeh is not as smooth as that of the Sigma 35mm 1.2 Art, but it does come pretty close and is certainly smoother than that of many other Sigma Art lenses, like e.g. the Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art. Sunstars Sony A7rII | Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art | f/11

Coma occurs when light rays from a point of light spread out from that point instead of being refocused as a point on the sensor. In the real world, lens defects do not exist in isolation, with spherical aberration and spherochromatism generally found, at least to some degree, along with axial CA. This lens produces a strong change in subject size through a full-extent focus distance adjustment. The sharp-ribbed, rubber-coated focus ring is large and, being raised from the lens barrel behind it, is easy to find. Whereas Sigma’s ‘Contemporary’ lenses are designed to be relatively compact and lightweight, the ‘Art’ lenses in the Global Vision line-up are less compromising. They aim to deliver the highest standards of image quality to suit the most demanding creative photographers. This 50mm prime has a particularly complex optical layout for a ‘nifty fifty’, based on no less than 14 elements in 11 groups. The layout include three aspherical elements and one SLD (Special Low Dispersion) element, with the overall aim of enhancing color rendition, contrast and edge-to-edge sharpness while minimizing aberrations that include sagittal coma, astigmatism and field curvature.

This is a huge boon for astrophotographers who want even detail clear across the frame. I will say there is a healthy amount of vignetting to be corrected but I was very pleased with the f/1.4 performance. Obviously when the aperture is stopped down image quality only improves: the vignetting goes away and sharpness only gets better. This is a very sharp lens. This lens delivers tons of detail across the frame. There’s also a slight barrel distortion, but I never would have noticed it were it not for turning on lens corrections in Lightroom and comparing the before and after images. The optical performance of this lens is simply astonishing.The Sigma 50mm F1.4 DG DN Art Lens is compatible with all Sony E-mount cameras, including APS-C sensor format models, and it is also available in the L mount (Sigma, Panasonic, Leica). The DN lens is noticeably shorter and lighter than the Sony E and Leica L mount versions of the older DG lens. (Image credit: Sigma Imaging) Extension tubes are hollow lens barrels that shift a lens farther from the camera, allowing shorter focusing distances at the expense of long-distance focusing. The score in the “features-department” is 2[-]/5[0]/7[+], the most distinguishing features of the lens being its huge size and heavy weight – unfortunately. On a mirrorless body it looks and feels grotesquely unbalanced with the lens weighing twice as much as the body. On the positive side the lens seems well built and its coating and weather sealing should make for trouble-free operation under demanding conditions. Plus Sigma offers the unique option to get the lens-mount swapped.