The Blog

The Sigma 50MM 1.4 A (art) lens.

Sigma’s new standard lens dwarfs the Nikon 50 1.4 in size, in weight, in price and in every other way. (pictured, next to the Nikon 50)

This lens makes you want to shoot with a normal lens, the brightness, color, sharpness, bokeh and focusing speed is not to be believed.

No doubt there will be numerous opinions on this giant 50mm, but the results are fantastic (in my opinion).

I had long stopped carrying a 50mm in my bag as I have such a varied collection of lenses, I had that focal length covered in more ways that I could think about, it was a fluke I was at B&H looking for Nikons 24mm 1.4, I was all prepared to drop 2400 down on this thing, when I asked to see Sigma’s 24mm 1.4 Art lens, it has just come out I figured I will take a look. Wow, I had my camera and I tested both lenses, I could not tell which shot came from which lens also the Sigma was built like a tank, so I then asked to see the Sigma 50mm.

It was love at first sight, what a beast of a lens, the test shots I took were sharper than both 24mm lenses, I was instantly hooked. The guys at BH are not going to steer you one way or the other, this guy knew me from past visits, so with his blessing if I took both Sigma’s, I would still go home with cash in my pocket versus purchasing the Nikon 24.

I should mention, I am a Nikon freak, all of my lenses are Nikkor (I have a lot of pro glass) they have all performed beyond my expectations and my photographic ability.

I grabbed both of the Sigmas. I have not looked back, I have been so happy with both Sigmas that are rarely go out without them, whether for my own enjoyment, going on a photo shoot or too cover an event, the 50mm is again my standard almost all of the time.

The results have been incredible. Sigma has indeed figured out how to produce a high quality professional lens.

I have been advising everyone that asks me, buy the camera body you want and give these Sigma lenses a critical look, the lenses that are bundled with most consumer level camera bodies are average at best and don’t compare at all with the Sigma A (art) or S (sports) lenses.

I have not tested or used Sigma’s C (consumer) line, these are Sigma’s budget lenses, if you go that route stick with Nikon’s consumer lenses.

This is just my opinion and we all see things differently, the best thing to do if you are in the market for new photo equipment is give these Sigma’s a test drive before you buy anything.