The Ultimate 85mm? My Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DN Art Review

Welcome to my review of the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DN Art.

As always I purchased this lens with my own money, I have no sponsor and there are no affiliate links on this site. I’ve owned this lens for roughly 3 years in total so I felt it was more than overdue to share my own perspective on this lens.

As you may know from previous reviews, I try to take a more casual approach and make it more real world based than purely technical. Regardless, I hope you enjoy it and provides some value to you.

More Than Just a Portrait Lens

When you hear 85mm most people will instantly think of portraits which although this lens does excel at, it’s also much more.

I try to have a purpose for each lens that I own that provides something the others can’t. My 16-35m obviously gives a wide perspective which is great for cityscapes. My 105mm Macro does exactly what’s in its name, takes very close up photos any time I have a situation that needs it. That leaves two lenses which are my 35GM and 85mm Art, both of which act as general purpose lenses but one for wide, and one tele. If I had to own two lenses only, it would be this combo.

Before this lens I had two other 85mm lenses, one was the Canon RF 85mm f/2 IS and the other was the Sony FE 85mm f/1.8. The former was great for its close focus and the rendering was very nice, so much so that it didn’t look like an f/2 lens. When it came to the Sony I loved the size, weight, sharpness and autofocus speed/accuracy but it was missing that special look, the rendering was too clinical/boring for me.

To me the 85 Art is the perfect lens in this regard, its weight isn’t light but it isn’t too heavy that it would make it hard to carry around with you like the DG version for DSLR’s or the original Sony GM lens which was around 800g. The sharpness on this lens is also excellent, I always find an amazing amount of detail in each shot without the need to add in a large amount of sharpening in post.

I’ve actually owned this lens twice as I got it the first time I shot Sony and fell in love with it. The whole time I shot Canon I was missing this lens and if it had been available in Canon RF mount, I may have never swapped back. Once I got my a7IV, this was one of the first lenses I purchased along with the 35GM.

Beauty in the Bokeh

One other reason why I love this lens is one of the main reasons you’d want an f/1.4 lens, the BOKEH!!!

An 85mm lens has a certain look to images that you will find it hard to get from other lenses. You can shoot somewhat wide but still have a 3D look to the images, much like in the two images below which show an example of a more close up nature shot that has some environmental context and a street shot which is a full body street image.

For those who aren’t aware and may think to themselves “I only shoot at f/2 or lower so I don’t need such a fast lens”, you may not realize that even at equal apertures the rendering of a faster lens can often look nicer. There are many examples online that shot two 85mm lenses taking the same shot at the same aperture generally results in the faster max aperture lens having a nicer rendering and better bokeh.

One other aspect of shooting at shallow depths of field is having reliable autofocus that can nail the shot. I’ve read that the Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM II has the superior AF but I honestly can’t find a way to fault the AF on the Sigma. I’ve never felt like I missed a shot because of this lens, that’s even comparing it to my native lenses like the 35GM and previous Sony FE 85mm f/1.8.

Where I Find This Lens Limiting

The only area I would say that I find this lens limiting would be when it comes to minimal focusing distance. Like many 85mm lenses, this has a MFD which is 85cm. Depending on what you use this lens for, it may not be able to focus close enough for what you want to capture.

Below are two images of the same product (my mouse) with one being with this 85mm lens and the other with the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DN Marco.

With the 85mm shot I was either at or almost near the MFD so if I wanted a tighter shot, I would have had to crop which I personally try avoid doing. The 105mm photo wasn’t even at MFD but taken significantly closer, even when you take the longer focal length into consideration.

Does this mean the 85mm is a bad option compared to a macro lens? I’d say no because if I want a lens that will deliver a shallower DOF and (personally) nicer look for non macro shots, the 85mm would always be the lens I reach for. You can easily justify owning both as they can easily service different purposes.

You could somewhat argue that weight is an issue at 625g but it also isn’t really unreasonable. It’s heavier than an f/1.8 lens but you’ll always have compromises when you get a larger aperture lens. If weight is your primary concern which is very valid when you want a tele lens for travel this could be an issue but for me, I’ve taken it with me to Japan and carried it quite a bit with no issues.

Images Speak Louder Than Words

I can spend all day talking about the lens or just simply show you exactly what it can do with the images I’ve taken.

Although there isn’t any particular sorting to these, the first few images or so are with the Sony a7IV and the rest are with the a7C II.

Summary

Despite all the options out there for FE mount, I still considering the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DN Art to be the top of the pack. You get a lens that offers really excellent image quality and autofocus for a very reasonable price (I paid $1100 AUD for mine). The only downside you may need to consider is the 625g weight of this lens if that may be too heavy for your intended purpose. Distortion is never an issue for me personally as long as you have in camera corrections on (which I always do) so I can personally highly recommend this lens.

If you enjoyed this review, please consider subscribing below to be notified of new posts by email.