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Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART - Review / Test Report |
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Lens Reviews -
Sony Alpha (Full Format)
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Page 1 of 3
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published April 2023
Introduction
Fast 85mm f/1.4 lenses are hot commodities, but the OEM options tend to be on the expensive side. However, at least Sony users are not without options - and the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART is one of them. It's actually Sigma's 2nd 85mm f/1.4 lens in E-mount. The first one was merely a somewhat optimized DLSR lens - whereas the "DN" has been designed specifically for mirrorless cameras. During the late DSLR era, Sigma was known for offering very good but also huge & heavy lenses. This isn't really true anymore. Other than being much more compact than its predecessor, the 85mm f/1.4 DN DG ART is also 200g more lightweight than the Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM, so it'll be interesting to see whether it can match this reference optically. The Sigma lens is available for around 1100USD/EUR in Sony E mount as well as L-mount.
The lens is a member of the ART series that targets (semi-)professional users. The build quality is on a correspondingly high-level thanks to a combination of aluminum and Sigma's TSC (Thermally Stable Composite) material. It is also dust- and splash-proof. The broad, rubberized focus ring turns smoothly. Sigma also implemented a dedicated aperture ring, an aperture lock switch and a de-clicked mode. An AF lock button can be customized on the camera. While the lens itself feels sturdy, the same can't be said about the front lens cap - it's shaky and tends to detach easily; thus, if you decide to go for it, better order a different cap alongside the lens.
When being used on our A7R V, the AF is quite fast and noiseless. However, keep in mind that the AF speed is also heavily dependent on the camera. It's not quite as impressive on our old AR7 II or A6300, for instance. Manual focusing works "by-wire". An image stabilizer has not been implemented.
| Specifications |
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| Optical construction | 15 elements in 11 groups (1x aspherical, 5xSLD) |
| Number of aperture blades | 11 (rounded) |
| min. focus distance | 0.85m (1:8.4 max magnification) |
| Dimensions | φ82.8×96.1mm |
| Weight | 625g |
| Filter size | 77mm |
| Hood | barrel-shaped (bayonet mount, supplied) |
| Available Mounts | L-mount, Sony FE |
| Other features | Autofocus-Lock (AFL) button, dust- & splash-resistant, aperture ring lock switch, de-clicked mode |
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