In summary
Photographers looking for a fast 50mm lens that combines durability with excellent image quality will find Sigma’s 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens should meet their expectations. Built to last and designed to deliver sharp, punchy photographs, it will suit both still shooters and videographers and the latter will obtain genuine benefits from its smooth focusing and near-silent operation.
There are other 50mm f/1.4 lenses on the market; some cheaper and less substantial and others larger, heavier and much more expensive. The Sigma lens sits comfortably in the ‘Goldilocks’ territory; neither too small nor too large and priced at a level most enthusiasts can afford. Many photographers will find it ‘just right’.
Full review
Sigma’s 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM lens, which we reviewed in August 2008 has been joined by a serious alternative that complies with the high standards of the Art line within Sigma’s Global Vision series of lenses. While not replacing the earlier lens (which remains popular) the new lens claims to be ‘a pro level performer for shooting everything including portrait photography, landscape photography, studio photography and street photography‘.
Side view of the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens, shown with the supplied lens hood in place. (Source: Sigma.)
Although sharing some key specifications, the new lens is quite different from the ‘standard’ 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM lens, as shown in the table below, which compares both lenses.
|
|
50mm f/1.4 DG HSM lens |
50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens |
|
Lens construction |
8 Elements in 6 Groups |
13 Elements in 8 Groups |
|
Exotic elements |
1 aspherical |
1 aspherical & 3 SLD |
|
Mounts |
Canon, Nikon, Sigma |
Canon, Nikon, Sigma, Sony/Minolta |
|
Diaphragm blades |
9 (circular aperture) |
|
|
AF drive |
Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) |
|
|
Stabilisation |
No |
|
|
Minimum focus |
45 cm |
40 cm |
|
Max. magnification |
1:7.4 |
1:5.6 |
|
Filter size |
77 mm |
|
|
Dimensions (Diameter x L) |
84.5 x 68.2 mm |
85.4 x 99.9 mm |
|
Weight |
505 grams |
815 grams |
|
Supplied accessories |
Carrying case, lens hood, front & rear caps |
Front and rear lens caps and lens hood (LH830-02) |
|
RRP (AU$) |
$449 |
$1099 |
Like its cheaper sibling, the 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens is designed for cameras with 36 x 24 mm sensors but can also be used on APS-C format DSLRs. With the EOS 7D, it covered the same angle of view as an 80mm lens on a 35mm camera. On Nikon and Sony cropped-sensor DSLRs its coverage is equivalent to 75mm.
This diagram shows the positions of the exotic glass elements in the 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens. (Source: Sigma.)
Its optical design is complex for a prime lens and based upon13 elements in eight groups (shown above). Three Special Low Dispersion glass elements and one moulded glass aspherical element are included to minimise sagittal coma flare and chromatic aberrations. Sigma’s Super Multi Coating has been applied to lens elements to reduce flare and ghosting and provide high image sharpness and clarity plus superior colour fidelity.
To maximise peripheral brightness at wider apertures, the lens design places the widest elements within the front group. This has the effect of helping to minimise vignetting throughout the aperture range and providing clarity and detail across the image frame.
The integrated HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor) supports fast and quiet autofocusing, which makes this lens suitable for use when recording movies. The system includes an updated AF algorithm that delivers smoother focusing performance. The HSM also permits full-time manual focus control.
The distance between glass elements is adjusted during focusing, minimising the amount of lens movement required when shooting. This ‘floating’ system maintains a minimum focusing distance of 40 cm with a maximum magnification of 1:5.6. It also helps to retain image detail throughout the focusing range.
The physical length of the lens remains constant and the front element doesn’t rotate during focusing, allowing easy use of angle-critical attachments like polarisers and graduated filters. The nine-bladed iris diaphragm closes to a circular aperture to ensure attractive bokeh.
A ‘petal-shaped’ lens hood is supplied with the lens, which is also compatible with the Sigma USB dock, enabling photographers to calibrate and fine-tune AF parameters. The lens is threaded to accept 77 mm filters.
Who’s it for?
The 50mm focal length is often seen as the ‘standard’ focal length for 35mm format cameras and, as such, it is versatile enough to be used for a wide range of subject types, from event photography to landscapes, fashion, product and travel shooting. ‘Nifty Fifty’ lenses have been popular since the birth of 35mm photography and the new fast-50s have enjoyed a resurgence in recent years.
On cameras with APS-C sized sensors, its equivalent focal length of 75-80mm provides a good working distance for portrait shots. The fast f/1.4 maximum aperture provides scope to isolate subjects from distracting backgrounds as well as enabling hand-held shooting is low light levels.
With a minimum focusing distance of 40 cm, this lens isn’t suitable for macro work. But it can be used for shooting close-ups of larger flowers and small animals and would be a suitable lens for pet portraits when used on a cropped-sensor camera.
Although not the cheapest 50mm f/1.4 lens available, the asking price for this lens is lower than you might expect for its superior build quality and performance. With a typical street price of less than $1000, both in Australia and the USA, the Sigma lens is competitively positioned when compared with similar offerings from the main DSLR camera manufacturers as well as other third-party lens developers.
Build and Ergonomics
We’ll start with the bad news: this lens is almost three times the weight and twice the length of cheaper alternatives from Canon, Nikon, Sony and also the other Sigma 50mm f/1.4 lens. The good news is that its build quality is distinctly superior, although it doesn’t appear to be weather-sealed (which is a pity and has reduced our build quality rating a little).
Measuring just short of 100 mm in length and weighing 815 grams, it’s more at home on a ‘full frame’ DSLR than an entry-level APS-C camera, although we found it was a comfortable match with the rather substantial EOS 7D. Sigma has made extensive use of its Thermally Stable Composite material, which looks and feels like aluminium and has similar thermal properties, in the barrel construction. The mounting plate is made from brass to ensure it fits accurately and remains durable.
The barrel has a smooth, matte black finish that makes it pleasant to hold. A broad panel of fine ridging on the underside of the barrel between the focusing ring and the lens mount provides a secure and comfortable grip.
The focusing ring is located roughly 16 mm behind the front of the lens. It’s 30 mm wide with the rear 25 mm clad in thinly-ridged rubber. This ring rotates smoothly through slightly over 90 degrees, with soft stops at each end of the range.
Roughly 5 mm behind the focusing ring is a distance scale, which is set into the outer barrel beneath a transparent plastic ‘window’. It is calibrated in metres and feet, from the closest focusing distance of 0.4 m to infinity. Depth-of-field indicators are provided.
A slider switch on the left hand side of the barrel to the rear of the distance scale enables users to switch between auto and manual focusing and it’s stiff enough to prevent accidental switching. This lens is not stabilised but it is fast enough for low light use and so well balanced on larger camera bodies that stabilisation isn’t essential.
Although made from plastic, the lens hood is solid enough to satisfy most potential purchasers. It attaches via a bayonet mounting and clicks on easily and securely. It can be reversed over the barrel for transport and storage.
The lens cap is tricky to fit when the hood is in position but presents few problems otherwise. The front of the barrel is threaded to accept 77 mm filters.
Performance
We tested the supplied lens on the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D camera bodies. In both cases, Imatest showed the lens to be capable of matching ““ and at times exceeding ““ expectations for the camera’s sensor.
Centre resolution was high at f/1.4 with a progressive improvement to a peak at f/4. Diffraction limiting began to take effect at around f/8, after which resolution was reduced quite substantially. The graphs below show our test results for JPEG files from each camera.
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EOS 7D
Slightly more edge softening was detected at most aperture settings with the EOS 5D Mark II than the EOS 7D, although neither would be likely to trouble most potential buyers. The cropped-sensor camera is less likely to be affected by this problem since the edges are corners aren’t recorded.
Lateral chromatic aberration was effectively negligible with both cameras, as shown in the graph of our Imatest results for both cameras, above. (The red line marks the border between negligible and low chromatic aberration.)
Autofocusing was quick and accurate on both camera bodies and almost instantaneous with brightly-lit, contrasty subjects. It took roughly one second to move from the closest focus to infinity with both cameras.
Distortion was effectively negligible on both cameras. A close examination of uncorrected raw files showed a trace of pincushioning in test shots from the EOS 7D. No distortion was detected in shots from the ‘full frame’ camera.
The situation was reversed in our vignetting tests, with some vignetting visible in shots taken at f/1.4 with the EOS 5D II camera and none in shots from the EOS 7D. This makes sense as the 7D would crop out the peripheral areas of the frame where vignetting would be visible.
Neither problem would be of concern to most photographers since the majority of recently-released DSLRs provide in-camera corrections. For cameras without built-in corrections, raw files would be easily correctable.
The review lens handled backlit subjects very well, producing shots with only slight reductions to contrast and colour intensity in situations where the bright light source was within (or just outside) the image frame. Where the light source was blocked by intervening subjects, contrast and colour saturation were not compromised. No artefacts were seen in backlit shots.
One reason for buying fast lenses is to separate subjects from potentially distracting backgrounds. So the quality of the bokeh (out-of-focus blurring) is of considerable importance when judging a lens of this type.
As a general assessment we found the bokeh of the review lens to meet our general expectations, albeit with some reservations that related mainly to the distribution of tones in background areas. Where background tones were fairly even in intensity, the quality of the bokeh was very good and out-of-focus areas were evenly rendered with smooth tonal transitions.
However, in areas with abrupt tonal transitions, we found some instances of outlining and ‘jittery’ transitions that contrasted with the otherwise smooth rendering of most out-of-focus areas. An example is reproduced below with the affected areas outlined in red.
Bokeh fringing, a common problem with fast lenses, could also be detected in some wide aperture shots. It was most noticeable at f/1.4 and f/1.6 but barely detectable at around f/3.2 to f/3.5.
Conclusion
Photographers looking for a fast 50mm lens that combines durability with excellent image quality will find Sigma’s 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens should meet their expectations. Built to last and designed to deliver sharp, punchy photographs, it will suit both still shooters and videographers and the latter will obtain genuine benefits from its smooth focusing and near-silent operation.
There are other 50mm f/1.4 lenses on the market; some cheaper and less substantial and others larger, heavier and much more expensive. The Sigma lens sits comfortably in the ‘Goldilocks’ territory; neither too small nor too large and priced at a level most enthusiasts can afford. Many photographers will find it ‘just right’.
SPECS
Picture angle: 46.8 degrees
Minimum aperture: f/16
Lens construction: 13 elements in 8 groups (including one aspherical lens element and three SLD elements)
Lens mounts: Canon, Nikon, Sigma, Sony/Minolta
Diaphragm Blades: 9 (circular aperture)
Focus drive: Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM)
Stabilisation: No
Minimum focus: 40 cm
Maximum magnification: 1:5.6
Filter size: 77 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 85.4 x 99.9 mm
Weight: 815 grams
Supplied accessories: Front and rear lens caps and lens hood (LH830-02)
TESTS
Based on JPEG files from the Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera.
Based on JPEG files from the Canon EOS 7D camera.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at f/1.4; EOS 5D Mark II.
Vignetting at f/1.4; EOS 7D.
Rectilinear distortion; EOS 5D Mark II.
Rectilinear distortion; EOS 7D.
Flare; showing a slight loss of contrast and saturation caused by including the bright light source in the image frame. ISO 100, 1/1000 second at f/4.
Strong backlighting with the light source blocked; ISO 100, 1/2500 second at f/3.2.
A portrait shot taken with the lens on the EOS 7D camera; ISO 400, 1/4000 second at f/1.4.
ISO 400, 1/800 second at f/1.4.
ISO 400, 1/200 second at f/2.8.
ISO 400, 1/100 second at f/4.
ISO 400, 1/60 second at f/5.6.
ISO 400, 1/30 second at f/8.
ISO 400, 1/500 second at f/1.4.
ISO 800, 1/2 second at f/16.
ISO 100, 1/2500 second at f/1.4.
ISO 100, 1/20 second at f/5.6.
ISO 400, 1/1000 second at f/1.4.
ISO 400, 1/50 second at f/3.2.
ISO 400, 1/100 second at f/4.5.
ISO 100, 1/100 second at f/5.6.
Rating
RRP: AU$1099 (discounted to ~ $950); MSRP US$1300 (discounted to $949)
- Build: 8.8
- Handling: 8.5
- Image quality: 9.0
- Versatility: 8.5