Review: Sigma 14mm f/1.4 DG DN Art
Lets be honest - Sigma did it again.
Japanese camera- and lens manufacturer has focused during the last two decades for building up the brand and targetting for high quality lenses. I have used Sigma Art-line lenses since first 35mm f/1.4 on Canon mount and after that for many other lenses. Back in 2017 when wideangle/large aperture-war was raging Sigma brought us a 14mm f/1.8 lens which was unique and first of its kind and breaking the f/2 barrier. Image quality was near-to-perfect. Lens was widely used amongst astro- and nightsky photographers including me both on Canon EF and Sony FE-mounts.
Since then the wide angle/wide aperture-market has evolved and some other products have been released. So it was time to upgrade and break the barrier once again. 14mm f/1.4 is another unique lens targeted for only and only for astrophotography. Sure it can be used for other purposes also but f/1.4 truely shines when shooting dark and pitch black night skies.
This review is written based on two week test period (which had two nights of clear sky). Lens was tested both Sony A7RIV and Sony A7IV. Gear combinations worked as expected - flawlesly.
Features
Lens body has build up from the new composite material and according to Sigma minimizes the effect of temperature changes during photoshoot. Inside the tube can be found a set of 19 lens elements on 15 groups. Angle of view is around 114 degrees, minimum aperture is f/16 that is typical for Sigma Art-lenses. Minimum focusing distance is 30cm.
Lens is autofocus but offers also possibility to switch it to manual. Manual focus includes an option (switch on side of the lens) to lock the focus preventing unintentional operations - very clever and often needed feature. Aperture ring is also found from the lens that can be either click or "de-click" mode, helping the video shooters.
Photographers are spoiled by the included Arcaswiss-compatible tripod ring. Lens & body-set sits balanced on tripod and does not cause any weight strain to cameras mount ring. Lens weights 1.1kg so its recommended to use tripod ring.
Petal hood is fixed thus blocking the use of filter holders in front of lens. Filters are ment to use on filter holder located at the rear of the tube. One cool feature can be found inside of the lens cap. You can store and carry filters for small "lockers" when one is not mounted behind the rear element. Package includes a template to cut filter from gelatin. Alternatively you can get a Haida rear lens ND filterkit.
At the moment lens is available for Sony E- and L-mounts.
Sigma has offered possibility to update firmware and fine-tune lenses with their USB Dock like the other lens on the line-up.
Weather sealing is important when shooting outdoors. Moisture and dust is outdoor photographers worst fear. Body itself is splash and dust resistant. Rear end has sealing ring and front element has multicoated protection which can be kept clean easily. Actual material used is nice to handle even on colder conditions.
About the image quality. The key selling argument and feature is the f/1.4 maximum aperture so the all of you want to know how the lens performs. During the photoshot I took a series of photos from same setting and just changing the aperture from 1.4 to 5.6. On larger apertures up to f/2 was visible but minor vignetting. Adobe Lightroom has already a correction profile which helps fixing thing automatically.
Pros:
Excellent overall image quality
Excellent image quality on center
Very good image quality on corners even on f/1.4
solid construct
Weather sealing
Electric communication with camera (EXIF data available to post-processing)
Focus lock
Arcaswiss-compatible mountring.
Cons:
Big lens cap, you know when its in your pocket.
weight, with some reservations
Verdict:
At the moment Sigma 14mm f/1.4 offers features and image quality never seen before and is truely a "must-have" lens for nightsky photographers. Excellent image quality and maximum aperture gives possibility to be more creative and maintain lower ISO`s and more dynamic range on images.
Image quality is excellent good even on maximum aperture; not really need to stop down when shooting wide landscapes. Sigma 14/1.4 is a excellent combination of features and image quality in its price-range (approx. 1600€ in Finland). A solid performer.
Highly recommended.
(Disclaimer: This is not a paid review)
