Digital Photographer - UK (2020-06)

A bruiser

Unlike every other lens in this

test group, the heavyweight

Sigma comes complete with a

tripod mounting ring

Sharpness

Levels of sharpness are

remarkably similar to those of the

Nikon lens, although the Sigma

is slightly sharper in the interim

region between the centre and

corners at wide apertures

Colour fringing

Both lateral and axis chromatic

aberration are slightly more

negligible than in the Nikon lens,

and better wide open than in the

Canon EF lens

Distortion

There’s the smallest hint of

pincushion distortion that will

generally go unnoticed

PRICE: £1,249 / $1,599

Sigma

105mm

f/1.4 DG

HSM | A

Billed as the ‘bokeh master’,

this Sigma Art lens is a

heavyweight contender

Available in a wide range of mount options,inc

EF, Nikon F, Sony FE and Leica L, as well asSig

mount, this lens matches the Nikon on testwit

105mm focal length and fast f/1.4 aperturerat

significantly larger and much heavier than the

at 1,645g. To put that into perspective, it’s abou

as most 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto zooms.It c

with a tripod mount ring. It’s a high-qualityring

foot that’s directly compatible with the industry

Swiss mounting socket.

Not just large, the lens also has a complexopticalpath

based on 17 elements. These include three top-performance

FLD (‘Fluorite’ low dispersion) elements, two SLD (special low

dispersion) elements, and an aspherical element. Sigma’s usual

Super Multi-layer coating is on hand to minimise ghosting and

flare, and a fluorine coating is applied to the front element.

Weather-seals are also featured.

As with the Nikon lens on test, the combination of focal

length and wide aperture enables an ultra-tight depth of field

that marginally undercuts that of Canon’s 85mm f/1.2 lenses.

Again, the ring-type ultrasonic autofocus is fast and accurate,

and comes complete with full-time manual override, as well as a

focus-distance scale.

Both axial and lateral chromatic aberration are very negligible

with the Sigma lens, and the overall quality of bokeh is beautifully

smooth. There’s no lack of sharpness and contrast when

shooting wide open either, but if anything the depth of field can

be a little too tight in some shooting scenarios. Even so, bokeh

remains very good when stopping down a bit, adding to the

lens’s versatility.

ludingCanon

gma’sproprietary

th itsupsized

ing.However,it’s

Nikon,weighingin

ut thesameweight

comescomplete

gatthat,witha

y-standardArca-