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Author Topic: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma  (Read 18594 times)

Otto Phocus

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #20 on: December 01, 2016, 06:59:36 am »

Autofocus consistency is the big question mark here (based on the art lenses I already own). I'm waiting for more real world reports before pulling the trigger myself.

I have not had any AF problems with the new Art Sigma lenses.  You really can't compare the new global line with old Sigmas
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kers

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #21 on: December 01, 2016, 08:17:12 am »

I have not had any AF problems with the new Art Sigma lenses.  You really can't compare the new global line with old Sigmas
This lens has ( at least for Nikon) a new type of AF ; It is not only faster, but unlike the 50mm Sigma Art it can deal with the AF-instructions large steps with focus stacking.
In that way it behaves now like the Nikkors.
Also it  now has a rubber gasket in the bajonet, and Sigma claims it is better weather sealed. Focus precision seems to be good. Only at infinity i have to check if it can be a little bit more precise.
According to Diglloyd , the Milvius is optically a bit better, but that lens has weak extreme corners until f8 ?? and it is not autofocus...
« Last Edit: December 12, 2016, 07:22:41 am by kers »
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Rado

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #22 on: December 01, 2016, 09:08:13 am »

I have not had any AF problems with the new Art Sigma lenses.  You really can't compare the new global line with old Sigmas
I only have the 35 and 50 mm ART lenses, not old Sigmas. And, at least on my Canon bodies, the autofocus has been uneven on both. Not like a consistent back/front focus, more like nailing 70-80% of the shots and the rest being way off in either direction. I've read they focus more reliably on Nikon bodies though.

But I'm probably going to get the 85 anyway since I do like the output of the 35&50 a lot.
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RobertJ

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #23 on: December 02, 2016, 03:31:44 pm »

Interesting that lenstip shows the Sigma to be sharper than the Otus, and much sharper than the Milvus, but diglloyd says the Milvus is better.  Maybe there are bad copies, or the Zeiss is just showing more microcontrast?  But I really wouldn't be surprised if the Milvus is in fact sharper. 
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kers

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #24 on: December 10, 2016, 07:22:46 am »

Interesting that lenstip shows the Sigma to be sharper than the Otus, and much sharper than the Milvus, but diglloyd says the Milvus is better.  Maybe there are bad copies, or the Zeiss is just showing more microcontrast?  But I really wouldn't be surprised if the Milvus is in fact sharper.

I think the Milvius draws a better image wide open but the difference is not that much...
The Milvius seems to forget the extreme corners that stay unsharp until f8
The Sigma has very good corners...from f1.4
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ErikKaffehr

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #25 on: December 10, 2016, 08:16:43 am »

Hi,

AF-consistency may be a camera issue rather than a lens issue.

I am not sure Phase detection AF (PDAF) is good enough for 1.4 lenses.

Best regards
Erik

Autofocus consistency is the big question mark here (based on the art lenses I already own). I'm waiting for more real world reports before pulling the trigger myself.
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Rado

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #26 on: December 12, 2016, 06:11:05 am »

I've just unpacked my copy and it is indeed a hilariously large and heavy lens for a 85mm prime. I might even have to dig up the battery grip for better balance. I have a portrait session later this week where I'll put it through its paces and pump some iron at the same time apparently.
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kers

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #27 on: December 12, 2016, 07:29:11 am »

But... and a hugely important but... it is very easy to focus manually to perfection.
...
Bernard
Bernard, i noticed that the Sigma is also more easy to focus manually than i could do with the Nikkor.
I did not expect that but i could focus very well manually... still it takes more time than AF for i have to go through the sharpness before deciding to have it nailed.
The Otus however has a larger focus throw making manual focus easier. But then it has to.
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Bart_van_der_Wolf

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #28 on: December 12, 2016, 08:10:06 am »

Hi,

AF-consistency may be a camera issue rather than a lens issue.

I am not sure Phase detection AF (PDAF) is good enough for 1.4 lenses.

Hi Erik,

Yes, that's a good point. The PDAF in (many?) cameras may optically be limited to approx. f/2.8, and they will do little with the wider entrance pupils. So not a limitation of mechanical positioning precision, but rather the ignoring of some of the optical input.

CDAF could perform better if sufficient local subject contrast is present, and somewhat slower AF is not an issue.

Cheers,
Bart
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== If you do what you did, you'll get what you got. ==

Rado

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #29 on: December 13, 2016, 02:35:32 pm »

I've been testing the 85 and comparing it against the 50 ART, on Canon. Focusing seems to be improved in all areas - autofocus is snappier and hunts less and manual focusing is surprisingly usable. The focus throw might be only 120 degrees or so but the diameter of the lens is so huge it allows for a precise turning. Still not as nice as a MF-only lens but much better than the 50mm. And while the weight is annoying, the 86mm front element is just gorgeous so... this is shaping up to be one hell of a lens, well done Sigma!
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #30 on: December 17, 2016, 01:28:32 am »

My expreience with the AF of the Art 35mm f1.4 on Nikon bodies has been ok, but very poor with the 20mm f1.4 that I ended up selling.

I'll try it again soon in Sigma mount on the new SD H together with the 20mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.4.

We'll see how it focuses with the mirrorless Sigma. I expect the combination to be impressive in terms of image quality.

I should be able to do interesting comparions in February.

Cheers,
Bernard
« Last Edit: December 17, 2016, 04:00:54 am by BernardLanguillier »
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Cornfield

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #31 on: December 18, 2016, 03:45:35 pm »

The 24-105 Art is useless.  Very sharp in the middle soft edges and hopeless corners.
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #32 on: December 22, 2016, 06:42:32 am »






Sigma SD H + Sigma 85mm Art f1.4

All shot at f1.4 hand held in raw, very little corrections performed.

Probably not what the camera was designed for, but so far so good. The lens is obviously very good. Not quite Otus or Nikon 105mm f1.4, but pretty close.

Cheers,
Bernard
« Last Edit: December 22, 2016, 06:47:50 am by BernardLanguillier »
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kers

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #33 on: December 22, 2016, 07:08:06 am »

Pretty close, and costs way less.
Then the Otus is not AF and the Nikkor is 105mm; for me a bit too much.
AF is pretty fast, good for moving subways...
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ErikKaffehr

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #34 on: January 05, 2017, 08:44:13 am »

AF consistency may be a camera issue more than a lens issue. Sigma may have a calibration service where they adjust the lens to each individual camera.

Best regards
Erik

I have not had any AF problems with the new Art Sigma lenses.  You really can't compare the new global line with old Sigmas
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Conner999

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #35 on: January 05, 2017, 09:32:21 am »

We have a 35ART that performs very well, but while our 20/1.4 was optically great, it's AF was a #$%^ hot mess and was returned.  At that juncture, we stopped looking at Sigma for any glass adds. The optics are great, but 1 : 2 on AF consistency (vs simple MFA) is not a great hit rate and inconsistency between copies and/or bodies is not something we want to deal with. If they re-housed the optics into a premium Zeiss-like manual focus line, we'd come looking again.
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kers

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #36 on: January 05, 2017, 10:53:21 am »

We have a 35ART that performs very well, but while our 20/1.4 was optically great, it's AF was a #$%^ hot mess and was returned.  At that juncture, we stopped looking at Sigma for any glass adds. The optics are great, but 1 : 2 on AF consistency (vs simple MFA) is not a great hit rate and inconsistency between copies and/or bodies is not something we want to deal with. If they re-housed the optics into a premium Zeiss-like manual focus line, we'd come looking again.

but then ; try to find an other and optically better 1.4 20mm lens AF or not AF...
there is not other... and optically... Roger Cicala ( Lens rentals ) calls it its favorite piece of new gear from 2016.
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #37 on: January 05, 2017, 09:21:41 pm »

but then ; try to find an other and optically better 1.4 20mm lens AF or not AF...
there is not other... and optically... Roger Cicala ( Lens rentals ) calls it its favorite piece of new gear from 2016.

The 20mm f1.4 is outstanding optically. It's AF is consistent and accurate on the SD H. It is also reasonably fast on static subjects, obviously not anywhere near a D5, but decent.

Cheers,
Bernard

Paulo Bizarro

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #38 on: January 06, 2017, 04:12:43 am »

I saw this lens on my local dealer the other day. This thing is really big, talk about Leica SL lens big:)

Seems like the profit is coming these days from these humongous lenses, and the folks like me that don't mind f2.8 lenses are left wanting...

BernardLanguillier

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Re: Sigma ART 85 mm F1.4 - a statement from Sigma
« Reply #39 on: January 06, 2017, 04:55:13 am »

I saw this lens on my local dealer the other day. This thing is really big, talk about Leica SL lens big:)

Seems like the profit is coming these days from these humongous lenses, and the folks like me that don't mind f2.8 lenses are left wanting...

That's very true and a bit unfortunate. The Nikon f1.8 series comes to mind as a very notable exception though. Very high performing lenses, pretty compact and reasonable in price.

cheers,
Bernard
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