35 mm is one of my favorite focal length for a long time, so it’s strange that I never got a chance to use the original Sigma 35 mm F/1.2 DG Art As it would be right in my wheelhouse. Fortunately, when Sigma launched the second version of this optic in both e-mount and L-Mount, I got a chance for this lapse.
Sigma 35 mm F/1.2 DG Art II claims a low size and weight by incorporating all the latest professional features, so I set on the streets of Calgary how it will do it.
Sigma 35 mm F/1.2 DG Art II Review: What does it feel
The first thing you notice about this lens is weight. Reduced from 910g to 745g, the latest version feels low pretext compared to other 35 mm f/1.2 lenses, which I have tested with Nikon and Wiltrox. It did not feel unbalanced on the small Sony A7R VI used without an enclosed grip.
Despite this, this lens still maintains excellent construction quality from an art chain lens. The focus ring is well moist, an aperture ring is present, the mount is weather-cinema, and the hood involved is well made with a click lock.
In terms of control, a manual focus is selector switch, a custom button, a togle switch to have a smooth speed or click on the stop on the aperture ring, and a switch to lock the aperture in auto mode. The filter diameter is a very common 72 mm diameter, a good change from a more expensive 82 mm filter that requires its precursor. This is really complete facility and looks like a premium optic in hand.
Sigma 35 mm F/1.2 DG Art II Review: How it shoots
Unlike the original version, this lens now sports the latest linear motor of Sigma, which allows the lens to jump almost immediately from the minimum focus to infinite. While I suspect that this lens will often be used for sports or wildlife work, F/1.2 aperture requires incredible accuracy to focus a continuous hit focus, some distribute this new motor.
Longitudinal chromatic aberrations, or loca, are often present in aperture prime very rapidly. This is the place where a color innings can be seen between the background and the foreground areas. It is quite distracted and unfortunately, it is quite difficult to remove in editing. Despite not being terrible, I found that these colors can be shifted on this lens when wide shooting. If you have a lot of high-contrasting foreground and background elements, it is also worth stopping the lens to f/1.8 to reduce this effect.
When shooting on bright light sources, some minor flare can be seen. While the image keeps the opposite very well in these situations, there are some issues with ghosts. You will find small drops of light which appear slightly at f/1.2 and are more defined when stopping down. Overall, provoking will rarely be an issue, but it is worth ensuring that the ghosting is not affecting any important part of your composition.
Many photographers must be looking at this lens, it is for the shallow depth of the region that makes it possible. Because of that, the presence of bokeh, or out-of-focus regions is very important. The Sigma 35 mm F/1.2 DG Art II has Lovely Bokeh, with extremely smooth infections from in-focus to out-of-focus areas. Specular highlights are smooth, with no soap bubble effects and minimal onion rings. The only potential complaint is that the cat’s eye or oval specular highlights will appear towards the edges of the frame until the lens is not stopped significantly below F/2.8. But Cats-I do not bother me, so I loved the look that I could achieve the shooting topics closer, wide.
As I am shooting the video often, I wanted to see how the performance of breathing on this lens was. Breathing is where the viewing area shifts to your focus distance. Breathe while pulling the focus while recording the video can be very distracted. Fortunately, while dramatically shifting the focus there is a slight change in the viewing area, it is very well controlled and rarely will be seen in the traditional focus bridge. This, with small size and sharp focus, makes this lens a great choice for videographers and cinematographers.
While I had never used the original Sigma 35 mm F/1.2 DG art, I knew about its reputation that maximum sharp and vice versa needed to stop slightly. Seeing our test chart, I was extremely impressed by the central performance.
The middle of the frame is also extremely fast and opposite at F/1.2. Stopping F/2.8 corrects the contrast marginally, but it is certainly not necessary. Looking at the extreme corners, some tenderness is wide, but by f/2.8, the frame is faster from the center to the corner.
This is particularly impressive because the 60MP sensor of A7R V is highly demanding, and the lens can easily give results to make that resolution the best.
Sigma 35 mm F/1.2 DG Art II Review: Great Picture from a small package
A 35 mm F/1,2 is not the kind of lens that I usually think of bringing with me all day, but this new lens of Sigma just makes a compelling case to do so. I like the form of a medium wide-angle with the shallow depth of the region, and Sigma can actually distribute some unique images. Improvement in AF performance means that you will be rewarded with more keepers, especially for clear portraits, and the lens looks like a luxury optic. While size and weight with this lens are not a big concern, the price can be.
Coming in $ 1,550, it is more economical than Nikon’s offer, but is more expensive than recent Very impressive viltrox 35 mm f/1.2,
What are the options?
In L-Mount, the only option is the previous version of Sigma. This update is the same price, but the small, light, sharp and sharp wide is open. As long as you can find a killer deal at the original, version II is the way to go.
In the e-mount, $ 1,600 Sony 35 mm f/1.4 g master is the nearest first-sided contestant. Although it is also alternatively to compact and outstanding, it is not that this two-thirds one stop is slow.
The more straight is excellent of competitive Wiltrox, but heavy, 35 mm f/1.2 lab lens. It especially provides better corners and is very less expensive. However, it is 350g heavy, quite large, and is accompanied by a very luxurious aperture ring. Sigma’s latest offers a better shooting experience, but if you do not object to pulling it around, the Wiltrox is capable of severely impressive images.
Should you buy it?
Yes, if you want 35 mm capable of isolation of incredible subject separation in a relatively small package, Sigma is the best option from there. Killing on the streets and looking for unique images is a pleasure, not a burden, thanks to Sigma’s latest technology.
