Sigma 14mm F1.8 DG HSM Art Review - Review 2022

The Sigma 14mm F1.eight DG HSM Art ($1,599) is a lens that has a lot of appeal for photographers working in sure disciplines—notably astrophotography—thanks to its ultra-broad field of view and bright aperture. You'll be able to focus much more than easily in dim atmospheric condition because of its f/1.8 design, ensuring that stars and dark landscapes are well-baked. It's not equally good of an all-arounder as another lens from Sigma, the 12-24mm F4 DG HSM Art, but if your images crave a brighter aperture, the 14mm prime is an excellent selection.

Pattern

The 14mm F1.8 ($1,578.99 at Amazon) is big. It measures 5.0 by 3.8 inches (Hard disk) and weighs 2.5 pounds. In order to capture images with such a wide field of view and bright aperture, its front element is huge and bulbous, so you can't utilize front filters without a third-party accessory holder. A sideslip-on lens cap is included to protect both the front drinking glass and integrated lens hood, and Sigma likewise includes a rear cap and soft conveying case.

Construction is solid, and in line with other Global Vision Sigma lenses. The barrel is metal at its base, but the bulk is polycarbonate. Information technology's not inexpensive plastic, though—information technology feels very well fabricated. Sigma states that it'southward protected from dust and splashes, of import for a lens that's likely to go a lot of use for landscape photography.

The front element is most certain to selection up a devious fingerprint from fourth dimension to time. Thankfully information technology has a fluorine front coat, which repels h2o and oil. That makes it easier to clean and to go on clean.

Y'all can buy the lens in several mounts—Canon EF, Nikon F, Leica/Panasonic/Sigma L, Sigma SA, and Sony E. There are a few differences between them. The Nikon has an electromagnetic aperture design, the same as contempo Nikkor lenses with an East designation, and then information technology won't work with some older Nikon DSLRs. The Catechism version is the lone 1 that tin can be used with an optional rear filter holder, the $36 FHR-11. Y'all have to exist comfy with a screwdriver to install it. And the versions for mirrorless cameras are a bit longer than the SLR versions, a requirement to maintain the aforementioned distance between the lens elemens and image sensor.

There'southward a wide, rubberized manual focus ring, positioned at the wider function of the barrel, at the base of the lens hood. The narrower portion holds the only control switch, an AF/MF toggle, and the focus distance calibration. It's marked in feet and meters and has depth of field markings for f/four, f/8, f/11, and f/sixteen.

The 14mm focuses every bit close equally 10.6 inches, measured from the image sensor. This lets you get right upwardly shut to a subject to shoot information technology, and when working that close at a wider discontinuity you can blur backgrounds, although you should take care in framing, equally subjects shot close with a wide bending lens are prone to perspective distortion. The macro magnification rating is a meager 1:ix.viii, just that's because the field of view of the lens is so wide.

Prototype Quality

I tested the 14mm F1.viii with the 50MP Catechism EOS 5DS R. It delivers solid sharpness numbers, fifty-fifty broad open. At f/1.8 it scores two,963 lines on a heart-weighted test, better than the 2,750 nosotros await for at a minimum. Information technology'due south not an even field, though. Imatest shows that the heart area of our exam chart is excellent (3,870 lines), only gives fashion to a eye area and edges that are a bit soft (2,250 lines) in lab tests.

See How We Examination Digital Cameras

I feel those numbers skew a bit low. Edges look pretty good in shots taken in the field at f/1.eight, although not on the same level equally the centre. Field curvature is an consequence when testing ultra-wide lenses, as we demand to identify them very close to our examination chart in guild to frame it from edge to edge.

Lab results are about the same at f/ii. At f/2.eight nosotros see an improvement in centre resolution (4,180 lines), which brings the average score to 3,149 lines. At f/four the edge score improves significantly (ii,981 lines), as does the center area (v,575 lines), for a center-weighted average of 4,143 lines. That's a sharper result than you get with the 12-24mm zoom at 12mm f/4 (iii,295 lines).

The lens delivers peak image quality at f/5.6 (iv,620 lines) and f/8 (4,668 lines), with edges that show near three,500 and four,000 lines, respectively. Those are outstanding numbers all around, especially when you lot consider that this is an ultra-wide angle lens.

Diffraction cuts into resolution at the two narrowest options, f/11 (3,835 lines) and f/sixteen (3,336 lines), but they're both nonetheless useable options, even on a high-resolution body like the 5DS R. Lower-resolution sensors are a little less prone to showing the effects of diffraction.

There is some visible distortion, about 4.iii percent. That's not overwhelming for an ultra-wide, but yous volition want to remove it to get the best representation of reality, especially when shooting architectural subjects. Lightroom includes a profile for the lens that offers one-click corrections, simply any editing suite with a distortion command adjustment slider will do the fob.

We also come across some dimness at the edges of the corners of the frame when shooting at wide apertures. There'south near a iv-cease (-4EV) drop from center to corner at f/1.eight and f/2, cutting to -two.5EV at f/2.8, -2EV at f/4, and -1.5EV at narrower apertures. You won't find information technology for most shots at f/5.half dozen and smaller, but you lot'll desire to dial in some correction in software if you find that a vignette distracts from your wide-discontinuity shots. Again, you'll need to do this in Lightroom or another editing suite, equally in-camera corrections aren't available for third-party lenses.

Conclusions

Ultra-wide lenses aren't everyday tools for near photographers, but for some disciplines they're indispensable. I tend to recommend zooms at this end of the coverage range, equally they're more versatile tools, giving you the power to capture a wider diverseness of subjects without changing lenses. But wide zooms are typically f/2.8 or f/4 designs, and there are times that y'all just demand more light.

The Sigma 14mm F1.viii DG HSM Art is an specially highly-seasoned lens for mural photographers who like to work at night and contain the nighttime sky into compositions, every bit information technology's much, much easier to manually focus with a brighter lens and a alive view organisation than with a dimmer one. Sadly, New York'due south light pollution ways that I wasn't able to practice any real astro piece of work with the lens during my review menses.

It's as well an highly-seasoned selection for architectural photographers, especially those who demand to work rapidly and don't e'er accept the ability to use a tripod. The brilliant aperture means you'll be able to go crisp handheld images at a lower ISO than an f/four zoom similar the Sigma 12-24mm ($1,199.00 at Amazon) or Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM. Both of those zooms are Editors' Choice winners, although we give preference to the 12-24mm due to its more affordable price. Merely if your needs require a lens that gathers more than light, the 14mm is a good fashion to become.

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Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/cameras/18727/sigma-14mm-f18-dg-hsm-art-review

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