Photography News issue 72

First test

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PRICE: £1459

SIGMA-IMAGING-UK.COM

Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DG DN

Sigma’s latest lens in its Art collection is also notable as the brand’s first f/1.2 prime – and a very impressive lens it is, too

SPECS

› Prices £1459 › Format Full-frame, APS-C › Mount Sony E-mount, L-Mount › Autofocus Yes, HSMmotor › Construction 17 elements in 12 groups › Special lens elements Three SLD glass, four aspherical lenses (one double-sided) › Coatings Super Multi-layer coating, water and oil repellent coating on the front element › Filter size 82mm › Aperture range F/1.2-16 in 0.3EV steps › Diaphragm 11 blades › Internal focus Yes › Manual focus Yes, full time manual override › Minimum focus 30cm › Focus limiter No › Maximummagnification 1:5.4 › Distance scale No › Depth-of-field scale No › Image stabilizer No › Tripod collar No › Lens hood Yes › Weather-sealed Yes, dust- and splash-proof › Dimensions (dxl) 87.8x136.6mm › Weight 1090g

Designed for full-frame mirrorless cameras, the Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DG DN lens is available in Sony E- and L-Mount fittings – Canon and Nikon owners will have tomake do with the f/1.4 option. Fast aperture lenses usually mean lots of glass, and this 35mmmoderate wide-angle is no exception. It houses no fewer than 17 elements with three SLD (Sigma LowDispersion) and four aspherical lenses. With its dust- and splash-proofed casing, this lens tips the scales at 1090g, whichmeans it is very much the senior partner on Sony bodies. For this test, I used the full-frame Sony A7R III and also tried

it on the APS-C format A6300. The latter combo is definitely a lens with a camera attached. Combined with a larger Panasonic Lumix S body, the partnershipmight be more equal. The aperture ring is click-stopped in 0.3EV steps, with the option (for video shooters) of running smoothly if you prefer. There’s a click-stopped but not lockable A setting, too. A large Sigma HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor) has the required power to drive the focusing lens group quickly and in near silence. Other controls on the lens include an AF Lock button that can be assigned to various functions and a AF/manual

ABOVE Sigma’s first 35mm f/1.2 is a seriously significant lens – all that expensive glass to gather light makes this inevitable – but it's lovely to use

ON TEST

These test pictures were shot at IWMDuxford with the Sigma 35mm f/1.2 fitted to a Sony A7R III. This was mounted on a Benro carbon-fibre tripod with the shutter released using the camera’s self- timer. The Raws were processed in Adobe LightroomCC with no extra sharpening applied and the test shots viewed on a BenQ SW320 32-inchmonitor.

switch, although it has full-time AF manual override, too. Fast lenses are pointless unless they are decently sharp wide open – unless you want smudgy results, of course. Well, this Sigma does not disappoint at f/1.2 and it’s very good in the centre and more than decent at the edges, too. Add a little unsharpmask and even critical users will be satisfied. Lovely pictorial effects are possible by being very selective with focusing and using lovely background blur. Suffice to say, though, you need tomake sure you are focusing accurately tomake sure what you want to be sharp is sharp. Stopping down to f/2 and f/2.8 improves detail rendition across the frame further, but any gains from that point are less obvious – only because the performance levels are high to start with. The peak is in the mid apertures of f/5.6 and f/8, but there’s no problem at all with the wider settings if shallow depth-of-field or nice bokeh is your goal. Bokeh is smooth and the 11-blade diaphragmhelps to produce nice round out-of-focus highlights frompinpoint light sources, which looks great at the wider apertures. Diffraction does soften the image slightly at f/11 andmore obviously at f/16, but this can be minimised with some unsharpmask. The large expanse of glass at the front of the lens means you need to watch for ghosting in strong lighting situations and the lens hood should be used to keep any problems fromoblique lighting down to a minimum. If you include the direct sun in frame, you are likely to get flare. WC

Verdict The Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DGDN is not cheap at £1459, nor is it small and compact, but it is a remarkable, very capable

F/1.2

F/2

lens that thoroughly deserves the Sigma Art tag. For Sony and Panasonic owners

F/2.8

F/4

demanding the very best, who need the speed and have the budget, then this lens has simply got

F/5.6

F/8

to be considered. It’s seriously impressive.

PROS Super-fast aperture, image quality, option of smooth or click- stopped aperture ring CONS It’s big, price

F/11

F/16

76 Photography News | Issue 72

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