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First impressions review of the Sigma 105mm f/1.4 Art lens – The “Bokeh Master”

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There’s no way around it, the new Sigma 105mm f/1.4 Art lens is freakishly huge. Compared to the Nikon 105mm f/1.4E lens released a couple of years ago, it just looks ridiculous. The Sigma is substantially bigger and weighs about 70% more than the Nikon. It even weighs more than my Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom.

But how does it actually feel to shoot? And how good are the images? I’ve had the opportunity to play with one over the last few days, so this post goes through some of my initial thoughts, and what I think of the lens so far. If you want the short version, though, I love it and hated having to give it back.

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Sigma Art for Sony E vs. native Sony lenses: which perform better?

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Earlier this year, Sigma announced nine Art lenses with native Sony E mount. Jason Vong tested three of them and compared them to native Sony counterparts in terms of sharpness, AF performance for photo and video, and form factor.

Jason visited Anime Expo and shot some videos and stills in this lens shootout, testing the pairs of 35mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.4, and 85mm f/1.4. Let’s see his impressions and whether or not Sigma Art lenses can outperform their Sony counterparts.

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The first Sigma 135mm f/1.8 review and sample photos are in and they look pretty stunning

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As soon as Sigma announced the new 135mm f/1.8, it immediately made it onto my GAS list. Then I saw the price and it came straight back off my list again. After speaking with photographer Keydrin Franklin, though, and seeing some sample photographs (they’re down below), I think it may be going back on.

Keydrin’s used to shooting long fast glass for location portraits. His go-to lenses are the Nikon 200mm f/2 and Nikon 105mm f/1.4. So the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 is a good fit with his shooting style. He’s had the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 on loan for the last couple of weeks to give his thoughts on this lens. So far, those thoughts all seem very positive.

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New Sigma 135mm F/1.8 DG HSM Art lens is now available for preorder

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Sigma 135mm F/1.8 DG HSM Art is now officially available for preorders. Sigma has presented us with as many as four new lenses last month, but without any details on shipping and price. Now the 135mm is ready for preorders, and the shipping begins pretty soon – it’s expected on April 10th. We expected a good quality lens, and I’m sure it’s what they are. Sigma has definitely been raising the bar and improving over the years. But one thing that is pretty unexpected  – the price.

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The Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM goes up against the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art in this side by side comparison

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This is a question I see coming up almost daily on various photography groups on Facebook. “I shoot Sony, should I get the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM or the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art?”. Well, photographer Usman Dawood decided to answer this question by getting both of them. He wanted to see first hand which would better suit his needs.

In this video, we see his side-by-side comparisons of the two lenses and how they perform in the real world. Attached to his Sony A7RII, Usman talks about the good, bad and almost-non-existent differences between the two. Some of Usman’s findings surprised me, and from how he explains it, they baffled him, too.

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Sigma officially presents four new lenses: an ART zoom, two ART primes, and a Contemporary zoom

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It seems that the rumors around new Sigma lenses were true. At least partially though – because they didn’t launch two new lenses, but four of them. Sigma 14mm f/1.8 and 135mm F/1.8 Art prime lenses are accompanied by two zooms: 100-400mm f/5-6.3 and 24-70mm F2.8. Considering that it’s a Sigma Art lens that got the highest DxO Mark rating ever, you might want to consider buying one of the new Art lenses if you’re looking to add these primes or zooms to your gear bag.

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Sigma to launch two new 14mm f/1.8 and 135mm f/1.8 ART prime lenses in 2017

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It looks like the Sigma range of Art lenses is about to get a little more interesting. Sony Alpha Rumors have been informed by “reliable sources” that Sigma will be introducing two new lenses to the lineup this year. A 14mm f/1.8 and a 135mm f/1.8.

If true, these can both expect to be rather popular. Such ultrawide lenses as 14mm are favourites of astrophotographers. One that opens all the way up to f/1.8 is bound to catch some interest. It’s also going to appeal to more general landscape photographers, too.

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Sigma Art Lenses – Great glass, shitty bokeh.

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It’s died down a little now, but last year there was an insane craze surrounding the Sigma Art series lenses so much so that I actually ended up buying 2 of them, selling them, then borrowing them again in the future for other shoots when I had no money.

To be clear from the outset, I actually think the Sigma Art lenses kick serious ass, the sharpness, the focus ring, build quality, the price. They are “cheap enough” ($900 for 35mm f/1.4 or $950 for 50mm f/1.4) and give you some serious firepower in the lens department. But after all of this, after all of these wonderful points, I STILL sold the 50mm and the 35mm because of one key factor. I think the bokeh sucks.

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Nikon 24-70 vs Sigma ART 35 & 50 (Also, Why a 24-70 is a Crap Lens Choice – Part 2)

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Everyone loves their 24-70 f2.8.

For most photographers, its often their first major upgrade from the kit lens that came with their camera (it was for me anyway).  For pure speed and versatility – nothing else comes close.  But when it comes to pure image quality and artistic vision…there is such a bigger world out there than what is possible with a 24-70.

So in real world use, how does a Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 compare to a Sigma ART 35mm f/1.4 and a Sigma ART 50mm f/1.4?

Well, in this article I am going to compare these three lenses shot for shot.

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