Sigma35mm F1.4 Art DG HSM Lens for Nikon, Black, 3.7 x 3.03 x 3.03 (340306)

I'm a prime lens guy. While I have a number of zoom lenses primarily for travel, my passion is for the high IQ provided by primes. 35mm and 85mm are my favorite focal lengths. Accordingly, I have owned and previewed multiple offerings of lenses at these two focal lengths. Currently, Nikon leads at the 85mm FL, with its 1.4G lens which matches the Canon 1.2L (I own both lenses) in IQ and bokeh, in a more compact package with faster AF.The story is very different at 35mm. I have owned the Nikon 35mm 1.8G, Samyang/Rokinon 35mm 1.4, and the Canon 35mm 1.4L. The Canon dominates the 1.8G, and from what I hear, is better than Nikon's 1.4G. The Samyang/Rokinon is close to the Canon--perhaps even sharper wide open--, but it's manual focus, and I strongly prefer AF for focal lengths greater than 24mm. I truly loved the Canon L lens. It is very sharp from f/2.0 (peaks in sharpness at f/4.0-f/5.6), has great color and contrast, and little vignetting above 1.8. I have used the lens as a walk-around lens, for street photography, and for taking photos in museums. It was great for this last purpose, because I could get sharp, vibrant, shots without using a flash. However, the lens is not perfect. It produces horrible chromatic aberration, and is rather soft wide open. Of course, all fast lenses are soft wide open, right?NO! The Sigma 35mm is sharp at all apertures. I purchased the Sigma to use with my D800E because I always use a 35mm prime (see above) in my photography. However, I wasn't willing to pay the tariff for the Nikon 35mm 1.4 especially since its reviews were so-so at best (it's softer than the Canon wide open but sharper than Canon by f/5.6). Given the Sigma's bargain price and its good reviews, I purchased a copy. I have not been disappointed. The lens is better than all 35mm lenses I have used. It is sharp wide open and just gets sharper as the lens is stopped down. The color and contrast is on par with the Nikon 85mm ( basically, amazing). Vignetting is well-controlled, only noticeable wide open. More importantly, CA, unlike the Canon L, is well controlled. It simply isn't a problem.The only knock on the Sigma is the quality of its bokeh. Some have complained that it is particularly harsh. Well, it is no match for the 85mm lenses (few lenses are), but it is no worst than the bokeh that any of the other 35mm lenses produce (I haven't tested the Zeiss version, and I hear that the Nikon 1.4 is very good, but not as good as an 85). My Nikon 1.8G produced the worst bokeh. The Sigma and Canon L are close in bokeh quality. For me, this isn't a problem. Bokeh is not that important to me at this FL (it is at 85mm and above!), and I have yet to find the background blur for this lens distracting.Therefore, the Sigma is absolutely a keeper. It is a well-built lens that balances nicely at the end of my D800E. It focuses quickly and accurately, and I love its slick, black machined look. It just looks very professional. At its price, it is an absolute bargain. It will spend a lot of time at the end of my camera.

WOW. This is my first non-Nikon lens for my full frame cameras and I went through really great or really bad reviews before making this purchase. This lens suffers from AF fine tune issues out of the box for many people and it was out for me. I did purchase the Sigma USB Dock but haven't used it just yet. I set up my Spyder LensCal unit and used the AF Fine Tune option in my Nikon D5. Now that it's dialed in...wow. f/1.4 is really sharp but it gets really REALLY sharp at f/1.8 and f/2. It's a really great focal length and it's a lot of fun to use. People say it's heavy but they must be used to all plastic kit lenses. The weight of this lens is comparable to my Nikon 85mm f/1.4 lens.Build quality is actually really good compared my Nikon lenses. It has a different finish than the Nikon. The Nikon has that splattered paint type of finish where the Sigma is smooth black. It still feels really good. People have commented on focus ring issues but mine feels great. I think it's a little tighter than my Nikon lenses but in a good way. It's firm movement...not sloppy and very controlled. Another person said the manual focus switch felt like a toy...I think it feels perfect. No different than my Nikon lenses. The base of the lens is metal as well so it's strong there. One item I'm really happy about is the lens hood which I always use for protection as I don't use lens filters. The lens hood on my 85mm just doesn't lock into place and it's annoying. The 35mm lens hood twists on solid and has a big notch when it locks into place. It's not going anywhere. It's also made out of a slightly thicker plastic than the Nikon lens hoods. The difference is that when you set the camera down, it's all quiet. Setting the camera down with a Nikon lens hood on and you can hear it. Thinner plastic that somehow resonates the sound. It definitely feels cheaper than the Sigma.Finally, the bokeh. Oooohhhh the bokeh. Extremely creamy and gorgeous. Some of the best bokeh I've ever seen. You won't be disappointed with it!Overall I'm extremely happy with this purchase. If I didn't already have my Nikon 85mm lens, I'd absolutely go for the Sigma 85 Art lens.

If you want a lens that is super sharp wide open, then this is the lens for you. That's the bottom line. I have a nikon D810, and using this lens at wide open, it is the sharpest lens of all my lens, which includes the Nikon 24mm f1.4,,105mm f2.8 and the 3 " holy trinity" lens. At f2.0, the image gets even more sharp, and at f4.0- f5.6, it is at its sharpest. However, at f4.0, it is super sharp, but not any better than any of my other lens. So if you don't need or intend to use this lens wide open or near wide open, there is no reason to buy this lens. There are some negative things I discovered about this lens though:1. Autofocus is not the best: Occasionally, the lens will not lock focus, especially when it is too bright or there is not enough contrast in the image. I tried to take a picture of a white flower, and could not lock focus. I had to 1/2 press the shutter and then manually focus with the focusing ring (which by the way, is very nice to use), and the picture came out crystal sharp.2. Sometime focused pictures turn out blurry when shooting wide open. It maybe user error on my part because of the shallow depth of field, but I noticed sometime I would focus on something, the picture comes out blurry. However, if I take the same picture 2-3 times in rapid succession, one will come out crystal clear, while the others are blurred. I don't think it's because of excessive shake because I have very steady hands, and the shutter speed is 1/80.Bottom line is, I still love this lens because I would like to have a lens that I can take along when I don't want to use a flash. Where I intend to use flash, or when I am taking pictures in daylight, any of my other lens will be just as sharp, and don't have the focusing problems noted above.