Gorgeous lens!

Towards the back end of last year, we were inundated by a flurry of new releases from lens manufacturers. This included Sigma, who presented three full-frame optics for us to get excited about.

There are no complaints to be made about the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG HSM Art from an optical perspective-it's an impeccable performer, capturing images with loads of detail, even when shot wide open at f/1.4 It's the big f-stop that will draw photographers to the lens.

Extremely sharp; Bright f/1.4 aperture; No distortion; Even illumination; Available for multiple systems

Big and heavy; Omits image stabilization; Focus may require adjustment

Sigma's Art series of prime lenses delivers extremely sharp photos, even when shot wide open, at prices less than first-party options. The 85mm F1.4 DG HSM Art ($1,199) continues the trend, undercutting the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G ($1,599) and the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L ($1,899) on price, without sacrificing any performance. It's an Editors' Choice, even though it omits image stabilization. If you value that feature over an f/1.4 design, don't count out the Tamron SP 85mm f/1.8 Di VC USD ($749.00 at Amazon) , which is superb in its own right. Design The 85mm Art ($948.99 at Amazon) is a big, chunky lens. It measures 5.0 by 3.7 inches (HD), weighs 2.5 pounds, and supports 86mm front filters. It's finished in black, with a polycarbonate barrel, and includes front and rear caps, a reversible lens hood, and a protective carrying case. It's much larger than the Tamron 85mm f/1.8 (3.6 by 3.3 inches, 1.5 pounds), but captures 50 percent more light and images with a shallower depth of field when...

The Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG HSM Art is a big prime lens with a bright f/1.4 design, a focal length perfect for portraiture, and exceptional image quality.

Extremely sharp; Bright f/1.4 aperture; No distortion; Even illumination; Available for multiple systems

Big and heavy; Omits image stabilization; Focus may require adjustment

The exceedingly foreseen 85mm 1.4 Art is a perfect focal point for an assortment of photographic subjects, especially representation photography, both in-studio and on-area. The recently refreshed Hyper Sonic Motor takes into consideration 1.3X the torque of past ages for quick and effective...

Ever since Zeiss announced their Otus lens lineup, a race of catching up is on by the other vendors. The game started with the 50mm class and it moved on to 85mm lenses. This time we'll have a look at the latest contender here - the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 HSM DG Art.

The Sigma 85mm F1.4 offers some exceptional performance for the money. Coming in at just under $1200, it's the least expensive 85mm F1.4 option on the market (Tamron makes another 85mm, but that's an F1.8).

The Sigma 85mm F1.4 Art offers some incredible image quality for the price, with outstanding class leading sharpness, excellent subject isolation and bokeh performance. The F1.4 aperture makes it a fantastic choice for low-light events and portrait shooting. The lens does experience some purple and green fringing when it's shot wide open at F1.4 in harsh backlit conditions, but stopping it down to F2.5 eliminates it entirely. All in all this lens is one of the best portrait lenses we've seen to date and at a bargain price for the performance.

Portraiture, low light event shooting, street photography and architecture photography;

Harsh lighting conditions when shot at F1.4;

Sigma's 85mm Art lens offers excellent value without cutting corners on image quality.

Excellent bright f/1.4 maximum aperture; Sharp performance; heavy on the details; Durable construction; Quiet autofocus

Heavy; Larger 86mm filter thread size

Perhaps no other Sigma Art series lens was more highly anticipated than the 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens. And fortunately, Sigma delivered a great product. This is a beautifully designed lens that delivers very impressive, near-best-in-class image quality, at a very reasonable price.