Latest or all posts or last 15, 30, 90 or 180 days.
2024-03-29 06:31:44
Designed for the most demanding needs of photographers and videographers.
877-865-7002
Today’s Deal Zone Items... Handpicked deals...
$5999 $4399
SAVE $1600

$999 $849
SAVE $150

$2599 $2099
SAVE $500

$1149 $949
SAVE $200

$2299 $1849
SAVE $450

$1049 $879
SAVE $170

$899 $749
SAVE $150

$1099 $1099
SAVE $click

$680 $680
SAVE $click

$398 $328
SAVE $70

$348 $248
SAVE $100

$999 $699
SAVE $300

$5999 $4399
SAVE $1600

$4499 $3499
SAVE $1000

$999 $799
SAVE $200

$799 $699
SAVE $100

$1199 $899
SAVE $300

$1099 $849
SAVE $250

$348 $248
SAVE $100

$1601 $998
SAVE $603

$3399 $2999
SAVE $400

$3997 $3697
SAVE $300

$5999 $4399
SAVE $1600

$3399 $2999
SAVE $400

Sigma 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art: Sharp with Gorgeous bokeh, a Steal for Sony Mirrorless

See my in-depth review of the Sigma 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art.

The Sigma 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art is an outstanding lens with beautiful bokeh.

It’s hard to believe that it’s selling for just $799 for Sony—almost like a misprint. But maybe Sigma wants to move some stock.

The downsides of this lens are that it’s large and heavy. Plan on supporting the lens with one hand under it while shooting. You will be delighted with the imaging results however and hard-pressed to find any lens at any price that delivers more pleasing images.

Available for Nikon F, Canon EF and Sony FE mirrorless.

Brian K writes:

Funny coincidence, today I tested the 35-70mm GF against the Sigma 40mm 1.4 ART (nikon- Steelsring adapter) on the GFX 100s. The Sigma works quite well on the GFX 100s, really well in fact, it’s an amazing lens. But here’s the kicker the 35-70mm at 40mm held up really well against it at f/8. At 200% it was hard to tell them apart (Retina display), at 300% the quality of the Sigma becomes obvious.

But wow, the Sigma should smoke any zoom in that range, and the little 35-70mm held it’s own. I also tested again the 135mm F2 Zeiss APO on the Fuji, what a beautiful lens. Corner to corner coverage with little if any loss of quality.

DIGLLOYD: The Zeiss Milvus 135mm f/2 APO-Sonnar can do pretty well, but it does need f/8 - f/11 as shown in Aperture Series: Mosaic and Aperture Series: Mammoth Peak.

Brian K continues...

I see you mentioned the weight issue with the Sigma 40mm 1.4 ART below. You show one solution but there’s an even easier one. A cheap but well made lens collar specifically designed for the Sigma.

iShoot Lens Tripod Mount Ring for Sigma 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens @AMAZON

DIGLLOYD: that looks to be a solid solution to the weight/sag issue!

Sigma FE 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art on Fujifilm GFX, using iShoot Lens Tripod Mount Ring
Image courtesy of Brian K

Bernd W writes:

These days the Sigma 40mm 1.4 ART has a very interesting price, you also mentioned it on your website… I’m already a subscriber.

I already own the Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM and Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM together with my Sony A7R IV Body… What would you recommend for general landscape use: Would be the enlangement of the kit wit the sigma 40mm 1.4 a good idea? Concerning Quality...

DIGLLOYD: to date, I have tested the Sigma 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art on Nikon only. Presumably it is just as good on Sony. Its rendering style is gorgeous; see Examples: Laws Railroad Museum. Focus the 40/1.4 at f/2.8 for landscape use, so as to compensate for its pronounced rearward focus shift.

While I like the Sony 50/1.2 GM and Sony 35/1.4 GM a lot, they have clear weaknessses—I am certain that the Sony 50/1.2 GM is incapable of satisfactory landscape results until at least f/4, due to wave-type field curvature. And its MTF chart is at odds with real performance of real samples.

In general, the Sony 35/1.4 and Sony 50/1.2 show some limitations until f/5.6 for landscape use, as most fast lenses do. My testing of the Sigma 40/1.4 could have missed something applicable to demanding distance landscape scenes, but my impression is of an ultra-high performer with minimal field curvature. Like all top lenses these days, the specific lens sample (lens skew and other issues) can be a determining factor as much as which brand/focal. I've seen lots of variation in both Sigma and Sony optical alignment.

See the following series to explain my supposition that the Sigma FE 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art might be a better choice for landscape(assuming a good sample with minimal lens skew).

50/1.2: Sunrise Over Patriarch Grove, Rainstorm Over White Mountains, Late Day View to White Mountain Peak
35/1.4: Pine Creek Peaks, Shootout vs Sony FE 35/1.4 GM: Patriarch Grove

Roy P writes:

The Sigma 40 f/1.4 is really an amazing lens.  It’s one of the sharpest lenses I’ve ever seen and yet, its bokeh is very smooth and nuanced, with none of the stressed look you get from other sharp lenses like the Leica 50mm Summicrons.  See an example attached.

Sigma hurried to the market with this lens, essentially integrating an adapter to the E mount into the body of the lens.  Still, that’s one thing I could live with.  The real problem with this lens is, Sigma was not thoughtful enough to build a tripod foot into the lens that could be used to either mount the lens on a tripod or carry the camera by the lens with a BlackRapid strap screwed onto it.

I tried force-fitting a Novoflex ASTAT tripod collar onto this lens (see second photo attached), but it was hard to get the collar to stay in place, so I eventually gave up.  If you carry this lens mounted on a Sony (or even a Panasonic S or Leica SL camera), you essentially become one-handed. BTW, this lens is so heavy that the Novoflex collar couldn't hold the lens by its neck - you can see how the lens was sagging forward!  So eventually, with much regret, I sold mine about three years ago.

The current price of only $800 is an absurdly low price for the optics you get for it.  Maybe at such a low price, it might be worth getting one and using it with a long-lens support, as in the third attachment!  There’s also an L mount version of it, but that’s $1000.  The Sony version is a steal, for sure.

DIGLLOYD: note the concerns in using such a large and heavy lens, which I concur on.

I’m not willing to mount the camera in the tripod head and let it carry all that weight/torque load because the chances of bending the lens mount is too high, but see the long lens support rig in the 2nd image below.

So basically the Sigma FE 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art becomes a one-hander where you are always holding the lens in one hand.

Sigma FE 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art on Sony mirrorless, using Novoflex ASTAT tripod ring
Image courtesy of Roy P
Long/heavy lens support on PhaseOne IQ4 150, can be done with other setups
Image courtesy of Roy P



View all handpicked deals...

Voigtlander MACRO APO-LANTHAR 65mm f/2 Aspherical Lens for Sony E
$999 $849
SAVE $150

diglloyd Inc. | FTC Disclosure | PRIVACY POLICY | Trademarks | Terms of Use
Contact | About Lloyd Chambers | Consulting | Photo Tours
RSS Feeds | X.com/diglloyd
Copyright © 2022 diglloyd Inc, all rights reserved.