Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art Review

In September 2012, Sigma announced that it was restructuring its lens line-up into the three categories we see today, Contemporary, Sports and Art. The Art line incorporates fast lenses that produce the highest image quality and that are intended for creative photography across a range of genres including landscape, portrait, still-life and macro. The widely acclaimed Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM Art was the first lens to be introduced in the Art line and it was built with DSLRs in mind.

Now the company has introduced the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art, a completely redesigned full-frame lens that’s for mirrorless cameras. At the moment, however, the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art is only available with the L-mount or the Sony E mount.

While the 35mm F1.4 DG HSM Art is constructed from 13 elements in 11 groups, the new Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art has 15 elements arranged in 11 groups. Amongst these elements there are  two Special Low Dispersion (SLD) elements, an Extraordinary Low Dispersion (ELD) element, an ‘F’ Low Dispersion (FLD) element and two aspherical elements.

The FLD element is made from glass that has an optical performance close to that of fluorite at a fraction of the cost and weight.  It, plus the SLD and ELD elements, reduces chromatic aberrations. Meanwhile the two aspherical elements reduce distortion and maintain image quality across the image frame.

There’s also an 11-blade iris which is rounded to help deliver smooth, circular bokeh. This is adjusted using an aperture ring which can be used with or without clicks at the flick of a switch.

In addition, Sigma’s anti-ghosting and anti-flare coating technology is utilised to boost performance when subjects are backlit, and there are water and oil repellant coatings on the front element to make it easier to clean.

Further good news is that the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art is weather-sealed.

Autofocusing is handled by a stepping motor which drives a single, lightweight element, helping to make the autofocusing fast and quiet. The closest focusing distance is 30cm / 11.8-inches from the sensor, at which the maximum magnification ratio of 1:5.4 is achieved.

When the aperture is wide-open, the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art captures a high level of sharp detail, but closing down to f/2 takes it up a notch. The difference is clear when you view the Sony A7R IV‘s 61Mp images at 100% on screen, and although it’s less obvious, it’s also apparent when images are set to fill a 27-inch computer monitor. At the opposite end of the aperture range, the impact of diffraction is evident in images captured at f/16, but not to the extent that I’d avoid using it if I needed the depth of field.

Stepping from f/1.4 to f/2 also sharpens up the corners of the frame. They’re not bad at f/1.4, and in most real-world shooting situations you probably won’t notice any drop-off, but if you need the best corner to corner sharpness, close down to f/5.6.

As usual, Sigma provides correction profiles for the 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art which can be applied in-camera or to raw files during the processing in Adobe Camera Raw or Lightroom. This deals with the slight corner shading that’s evident at the widest apertures and straightens out the mild barrel distortion. Even if you photograph a subject with straight lines, you may only realise that there is barrel distortion if you switch the correction profile on and off.

Scrutinising the backlit edges in images captured with the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art revealed a few fairly minor examples of chromatic aberration which I was able to deal with quickly using Adobe Camera Raw’s ‘Defringe’ dropper tool.

Also, even when shooting into the sun, the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art manages to keep flare under control very well.

The Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art is compatible with Sony’s Eye AF and while it’s not the fastest-focusing lens, it’s far from slow and is quick enough for most situations it’s likely to encounter. It also focuses smoothly in continuous AF mode.

For the most part the focusing system is silent but it makes the occasional sound. If you’re shooting video outside, the chances are that the usual ambient noise will mask the odd sound from the focus system.

One issue for videographers, however, is that if you adjust the focus from infinity to close-to, you will spot the focus breathing which reduces the field of view.

Out of focus areas captured with the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art  look great. They’re nice and smooth while small highlights are round with no texture within and no obvious aberrations. The ‘bokeh balls’ only become a bit oval in the far corners of the frame.

Follow the link to browse and download full-resolution images from the Sony A7R IV with the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art. Please remember that we hold the copyright of these images.

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Combined with a wide aperture, a focal length of 35mm opens up a wealth of creative shooting opportunities, it’s suitable for landscape, street, documentary and environmental portraiture. Consequently, 35mm lenses are a staple of a photographer’s kit bag.

The Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art makes a great choice for anyone with a Sony full-frame mirrorless camera or a Panasonic or Sigma full-frame L-mount camera. It’s good at f/1.4, but close to f/2 and the level of sharpness across the frame is superb and out of focus areas look great. In addition, chromatic aberration is minimal while distortion, flare and vignetting are all controlled extremely well.

Hopefully, Sigma will introduce the lens in a wider range of mount so that Canon RF and Nikon Z photographers can get in on the act.