New Sigma 35mm f/1.4.

[btaylor]

Hmmmm Sigma is making life hard for me once again. I think I'll still get the canon 35mm. I'm about to send my Sigma 85mm f/1.4 in for repair as the AF motor is hunting between 1.5 - 10m and won't lock focus, it's put a bit of a sour Sigma taste in my mouth for the moment.

[Dr Croubie]

I'm very impressed with Roger's data at LR too. But at least I'm heeding the warning of 'this may be a very positive outlier'.
Still, if the averages come in around the same as the Samyang with AF, it's worth the extra money.
Even if it averages the same as the L, it's worth it being cheaper than the L.
Too bad it's gonna weight like a tank, won't be the most portable.

Can't wait for the first real reviews *hint bryan*

[btaylor]

Yeah it does look good, even better than the samyang according to a link I just saw on the LR site. I agree it's a decent price difference but I think I'd be more comfortable with the reliability and confidence I have in the Canon. Sometimes that means more to me than pixel peeping a lens but that's certainly some great data.

[Busted Knuckles]

It strikes me that the last several lens releases showed some pretty serious step up on IQ. I know that the latest release is always "the best we have ever done.." (who really ever goes backwards) but are we seeing some sort of overall step up? Did something get figured out in glass 2-3 years ago?

The new Sigma will be interesting, maybe even better than the Canon and Nikon equivalent (just looking at the MTF values though): http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012...der#more-10609

[Keith B]

This may be my first non Canon lens. I take a lot of stock in Roger at LensRental.com. I know he is a huge fan of the 35L so this is very interesting.

[Scott Stephen]

At least they got rid of that god-awful "crinkle" finish. Every used one I've seen for sale looks like a piece of old, used-up sandpaper, or maybe rather something that was attacked by a sandpaper-wielding madman.

Perhaps this could be the time we see Bryan hint that we "go with this one, not Canon". It must have been tempting to say such a thing about the 50mm's, as none of the Canon offerings are wholeheartedly endorsed on any legitimate site I've seen, TDP included! Of course, this will be impacted by Canon's own new 35 offering.

I wonder how that in-lens AMFA works?

[eldarhau]

I bought the Sigma this week. I have not had time to do very thorough testing, but what I have seen so far is very good. Build quality seems to be very high and it gives a very good feel. It also looks very good. This is the only non-L lens I now have and I was initially planning for the 35mm f1.4L, but I read some initial evaluations of the Sigma and decided to give it a try. I have used it on 1DX and 5DIII and balance and operational use is very good. Resolution, vignetting and CA are all first class. AF is not the fastest I have seen, but for the kind of use most people would use this lens for, I´d say it´s good. I´ll bring it to an event tomorrow, and will probably put it through some more challenging situations then.

[Steve U]

Congrats E on the lens. Would love to see some pics, I have a lot of respect for sigma and their new releases.

[M_Six]

As much as I think the Roki 35 f1.4 is an awesome lens, the AF on the Sigma would be sweet to have. The Roki is fine if you have the time to get the focus right, but nothing beats AF on a fast lens.

[eldarhau]

I have now done some more testing (very unscientific though). I brought it to an event, with horrible lighting conditions and I have done some amateurish testing of vignetting, color and sharpness. I have also, more for fun than anything else, compared some of the testing with the 24-105mm f4.0L IS and the 24-70mm f2.8L II, both set to 35mm. And as far as I can tell, the Sigma 35mm f1.4 is an incredibly sharp lens. And the initial testing data I have seen published is confirmed.
Already at 1.4 it is excellent and if you go to 2.0 or 2.8 it is second to none I think. I checked the focusing accuracy, straight out of the box, with LensAlign MkII. No adjustment was required on either the 1DX or the 5DIII. Vignetting is, as expected much better controlled than on any of the zoom lenses.
At the event the lighting conditions were bad, so I often ended up with very slow shutter speeds (I hate flashes), so the value of most of those images are limited (went all the way to ISO 25600 on some of them). But when lighting was good enough to get 1/50 or better at reasonable ISO values, the images are well in focus and very sharp. I can only conclude that AF is both accurate and consistent. Time will show if it stays stable over time.
I also like the feel of the lens. I read somewhere that someone compared it more to a Zeiss than a Canon and i tend to agree. It feels rock solid, have a beautiful surface finish and the focusing mechanism moves with a high quality feel, even though it has a slight newish tightness. And the balance, especially on the 5DIII, without the battery grip, is excellent.
And if the performance alone is not enough, you can compare the price to the Canon 35mm f1.4L and it is decision made and case closed in my view. Hopefully Canon will accept the competition and stop charging more and more ridiculous prices for their lenses.