Two great news reported by Imaging Resource. They had a talk with Sigma and this is what they learned:
1) It’s confirmed: “Sony Alpha mount version of this lens will be available.”
2) “But the most impressive information we gleaned? When discussing their goals of image quality and sharpness for the lens, Sigma mentioned they’re confident they’ll surpass competitive products from Canon and Nikon and are instead gunning for Zeiss’s new 55mm Otus lens. It’s a serious claim. The Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus lens — with its $4000 price tag.”
The lens price still hasn’t been set but the previous model was priced at $399 (here at BHphoto). I think this one will cost more like the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART lens ($899 at BHphoto). Have to say Sigma is doing an incredible job with their new ART lenses.
—
IR link found via Photorumors.
0 Responses
Not sure if they surpass OTUS, but comparable performance for a fraction of price would be great.
A alternative to the 50mmCZ would be perfect. 900 is 500 less then the CZ.
… any my SAL50mmf1,8 successor for the a79.
Wow! Really impressed with their determination. Wonder if they will ever venture into the 24-70 and 70-200 2.8 segments.
There’s a rumor that Sigma might release a 24-70 f2.0 OS this year. I’m not sure if it’s true though. A lens like that would be huge but it would be interesting.
Sigma already has both 24-70/f2.8 IF EX DG HSM and 70-200/f2.8 APO EX DG HSM OS, just that the 24-70 is getting old (2008 – but it’s still quite good) and the 70-200 is about three years old (2010) and quite good.
What is a ART Lens ? what is different from the normal Sigma 50mm F1.4 ? thanks.
Check Sigma website
It’s for artsy people who only shoot wide open I think.
SNORT!
They are basically high quality versions of previous lenses and also so new designs. Sigma was always known for good glass but has a problem with quality control. This is there way of saying we are serious about lenses.
Redesigned or new lenses. Art = prime/macro. If it’s anything like the 35mm it should be very impressive. Any news on the rumoured 24mm?
It’s the recognition by Sigma that the lens market has changed and just producing ‘good enough’ cut-rate priced lenses isn’t going to cut it any longer. Someone else pointed out Sigma has an brand image (no pun intended) problem tied to spotty quality control. They’ve tightened up the new designs for this new, higher standard and segmented them with a new Art label.
Nothing was wasn’t revealed in the last rumor on this last week. However, I’ll entertain it since it’s a good one. A-mount users rejoice, you can now skip past go, collect 600 dollars (asumming its 900 over 1500 Zeiss) and get the same performance (if not better).
The metal body and weather sealing on the Zeiss still won’t justify the incredible price if this puts out optically. Tests of the Zeiss show it’s best stopped down from 5.6-11 anyway. Some of the competition for 1/3 the price actually does better wide open- go figure. If this lens is able to focus on wide open peformance consider it a landslide for alpha users.
Forget what these “tests” that you’ve found say… I own the Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 SSM Planar and it is a joy to shoot wide open.
I run a photography business that employs several Nikon and Canon users as second shooters on weddings, so I know what the wide open sharpness of the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 G looks like as well as what the wide open performance of the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM looks like. Plus… One of our second shooters uses the manual focus Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 ZF.2 Planar and I can quite confidently say that the new autofocusing Zeiss 50mm for SONY alpha is the sharpest of the bunch at f/1.4, hands down. Oh. And it’s many miles sharper than the old Minolta 50mm f/1.4 RS (and by extension the SONY 50mm f/1.4)…
Part of what makes it so sharp is its excellent resistance to flare and purple fringing, allowing you to still have excellent sharpness when shooting wide open in the backlit sun. It’s a truly beautiful optic. I certainly won’t be rushing out to buy the Sigma, just to come out ahead by a few hundred bucks! (If Sigma is even able to price it similarly to the 35mm f/1.4 Art that is!)
As for matching the Otus? I’ll believe it when I see it. Keep in mind that the Otus is a 55mm too. And that’ll likely give it an edge when it comes to barrel distortion over a 50mm.
Well said! The Otus migh performt at its best stopped down, like all other lenses. But right now, it beats the competition all the way, from wide open to closed down, and the sharpness corner to corner is it’s main weapon. It’s a pinnacle product, and as such you can price it very freely, since there always will be people who are willing to pay for the absolute best.
If Sigma manage to create a sub $1000 fast fifty that performs close to the Otus, I will gladly lift my hat, and probably my wallet. But as of now, it us just talk, time will tell.
Taken from ameateurphotographer.com’s 12 way comparison test:
“There is quite a spread of the different lines on the resolution graph, showing a real difference between the sharpness at the centre and edges of images taken on the Sony Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 SSM lens. It is also worth noting that the corners really suffer from diffraction when the aperture is at f/16, but the centre is almost at its sharpest. Vignetting is well controlled, as the fairly shallow dome indicates, but curvilinear distortion is quite harsh and will need correcting when shooting raw images”
Existing Sigma’s bokeh is much better than Sony’s or Minolta’s 50mm 1.4’s. It also is said to have similar performance stopped down. I don’t see Sigma having to do to much heavy lifting to offer Zeiss performance for much much less.
Sigma needs to make an improved 50mm f1.4 because their newest one which has HSM focusing has terrible flaring when shooting in to the backlit sun. To me it is unusable. Glad the heard the Zeiss 50 does well in this regard. I still hold back due to its price. I will wait to heard reports on the new Sigma Art 50mm f1.4.
“Sigma needs to make an improved 50mm f1.4 because their newest one which has HSM focusing has terrible flaring when shooting in to the backlit sun. To me it is unusable”
That’s not something that’s slapped me in the face even though I used that lens for years.
The old/existing Sigma 50mm f1.4 is IMVHO a very good lens and I’m not sure that I’d be willing to spend a lot more on a new art lens when any additional performance may be very difficult to see in real world images.
I wouldn’t consider the Sigma, because it isn’t weather-sealed, and I have a habit of losing lenses to the elements.
I already own the SAL50F14 and really like it allot. Is the SAL50F14Z’s improvements in IQ, Auto-Focus, and Weather Sealing worth the $1000.00 premium.
I’ve heard that it’s a fantastic portrait lens on a A77, is that true?
Is it comparable to the 85mm on FF?
50mm 1.4 would behave (kind of) like a 75mm f2 lens on the a77. Yes, that would be fine for portraits I guess. It’s nice for a lot of things.
The only problem with this lens (SAL50F14Z) is its price. I’m hoping I can pick-up one second hand in mint condition like I did with the 85mm in the near future.
To be fair the Zeiss ZA ssm 50mm F1.4 costs nearly 5x the price of the Nikon 50mm F1.4g so expectations should be a little higher 🙂 . Of the 23 photographers who work with us only one shoots with Sony so I only have his shots to go on ,wide open it appears clearly better than either Canon or Nikon 50mm lenses including the 50L stopped down to f1.4{ perhaps even F2}.Though comparisons taken between FF lenses shot at F1.4 requires some critical testing discipline as even tiny variations can make a huge difference to the outcome.
8 of the guys shoot with the Sigma 35mm F1.4 on everything from a D600,D800,D4 on the Nikon side to the 5Dmk3+ 1dsMKIII on the Canon side. All of them deliver stunning results for the price; I assume any back/front focus issues have been adjusted by the guys. I will not be too surprised if the new Sigma at least competes with the OTUS, though hopefully with a smaller size and a much smaller price tag :-).
Critically Sigma have really upped the quality control.
I really wish they would make some FF E-mount. I would be soooo happy.
There’s no point in making this for E-Mount. This is not a compact lens, and E-Mount is for compact and darker lenses.
If people are willing to drop serious cash on it Sigma will design it. It’ll look pretty stupid though.
@BRWAT
“It’ll look pretty stupid though.”
As opposed to this svelte set-up 🙂
http://www.thephoblographer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Chris-Gampat-The-Phoblographer-Sony-A7r-and-Zeiss-Otus-55mm-f1.4-lens-samples-1-of-1ISO-1001-200-sec-at-f-4.0.jpg
I never said they should make this lens I was just talking in general.
The FE 55/1.8 is supposed to an excellent lens. It is only about a fifth of a stop difference.
2/3rds of a stop actually
Yes, you’re right. I meant to type two/fifths on my phone but 2/3 is more accurate since f2 is the next full stop.
I still think you’re right. In practical terms there isn’t much difference and the FE 55mm is a pretty great lens. It seems the Sigma is likely to sell for around $1k. If that’s true it would be a no brainer to get the smaller, lighter, only slighly slower native lens. The 55mm FE is getting a lot of praise and I doubt the Sigma will be much better wide up.
Give it another year or so. The A7/A7r is a hot seller, and Sigma isn’t stupid they’ll port it once there is enough demand.
All I really wanted was a 30mm and maybe the 19mm FE version of what I already have for nex, while they work on some others. Those two lenses are the best value/performance you can get on a nex.
They’re definitely going to build plenty of lenses for the FE mount in the near future. Anything less would be lunacy. I think the FE is going to grab a huge chunk of the mirror-less market, and Sigma is going to want its slice.
I sure hope so I just got my a7 and I love it so far
I hope you’re right but sadly I don’t see it happening. Sony can totally own the mirrorless market and its whole segment will still be less than Canon’s DSLR market share. Not to mention Canikon’s combined DSLR market share. Sigma is focusing on Canikons “value weaknesses” with these ART lenses. Both Canon and Nikon charge a mint for their full frame f1.4 35mm lenses. So Sigma makes one. While both have reasonable 50mm f/1.4 lenses they charge a mint for their “premium” versions which Sigma can now out perform and under price.
The NEX lenses were largely a fluke because the 19mm and 30mm designs were already created for the DP line of cameras and Sigma could easily modify them for both mFT and NEX. They’ve gone on record saying that the mirrorless lens line has not sold well (by their standards). What would they create for the FE mount? None of their SLR designs will work. None of their APS-C mirriroless designs will work. Price too high and people will buy the excellent but expensive native lenses. Price too low and Sigma will never recoup the cost of R&D with such a small (relative) market base–many of which will only go with native lenses or use existing lenses from other system.
I really hope I’m wrong. I loved my Sigma 30mm and I’ve love a similar cheap and cheerful lens lineup for the FE cameras but I’m skeptical. Sony needs to provide incentives for 3rd party manufacturers to jump on the FE bandwagon.
what you say makes sense to me but I can still hope you are wrong. I guess I will just have to save up for the 35mm then get the 55mm later and maybe the 85mm whenever that comes out. I just won a canon fd 50mm 1.4 that is just awesome so far on my A7 and I have a 35mm fd f2 ssc coming in a day or so. I don’t have a problem with MF so if I get better maybe I wont even need any native lenses as I don’t shoot fast moving objects. The only AF lens I have is the 19 & 30. I have about 12 mf lenses to test out while i save up.
We obviously know it will come up short of the Otus. But, it’s clever marketing on the part of Sigma. People will make a connection between this and the Otus based on marketing and inquire further simply on the claims alone.
In the end, it might prove to be a good contender. It can only strengthen the ART lines perception as a superior alternative to pricey optics.
The way sigma has been going lately I would not be surprised if they match surpass or come close to the otus, anything is possible but only time will tell.
Why can’t they weather-seal their lenses? Its the only reason I’d chose the Zeiss over the Sigma.
Sigma, just shut up and take my money!!!
Well, it has been already in development before the Otus was even announced so it obviously never was a design goal.
Still expect it to be good though.
I would say even the current sigma 50mm out performs the Canon and Nikon equivalents! It’s a little sharper and has some of the most beautifully smooth bokeh I’ve ever seen, maybe even a little TOO smooth! I just hope the new version with it’s different otical formula has such good bokeh!
The only thing letting down the outgoing version is the unreliability of the AF either through design or poor quality control but apart from that it’s a fantastic lens and I can easily believe the new one could come impressively close to the Zeiss especially for the price!
How’s that for a brand though. They VERY clearly told the community what they are about. What they did wrong in the past.. and what they want to become.
Sony – are you learning anything?
Best thing is: this lens will be essentially lighter than the competition. That is an achievement!
Im not so shure about sigma lenses. The way they are not accurate with autofokus
It used to luck of the draw, but QC’s improved dramatically in the last few years. My 70mm is very accurate, even up close and my 35/1.4 is great (unlike the current 50/1.4, which can be very stroppy)
Problem is mostly not the lens but the DSLR autofocus. Fast but not accurate if not calibrated for every lens at different focus distances. I rather wait 0.05 secs longer and get a sharp result.
And for the e-mount wishes for this lens, for me it wouldn’t be worth anything to have a half a stop faster lens but twice the weight. The FE 55 1.8 is the more practical option no matter how good the Sigma is.
If true, then instant buy for me. I am shooting more of this focal length these days.
Yep and the credit for all these wonderful new lenses goes the foveon sensor they adopted into the production line to measure and produce lenses with.
3rd party manufacturers at it again, like Series 1 of yesteryear.
If only they’d start making some (hopefully slightly smaller) FE mount lenses!
For Full Frame lenses they aren’t big, are they? The 35 2.8 is TINY. Most important thing for me is that they are lightweight though.
I don’t expect Sigma to be superior to Zeiss. But with Sigma’s price and performance, this 50/1.4 ART will probably make people forget OTUS 55/1.4 forever.
Cannot wait!
The size and weight of this f1.4 glass will better match with A-mount body than with E-mount. If Sigma decides to make “E-mount” version, please make it smaller. Perhaps f1.8 is enough.
No thanks!
IN ZEISS, WE TRUST !
Sigmas are very sharp at the center. Zeiss is clearly better at edges. I like Zeiss approach more. Just its price is deterent for my lens lust.
I’m a big fan of ART series. I won’t be surprised that this new 50/1.4 ART is able to eat OTUS as a snack !
Any hint to a release date?
Hello, i need an advice.
I have a sony alpha a7 not a7r
If i want to use A mount lenses i need to buy la-ea4 or la-ea3?
Both will work!
One has phase detection la-ea4 and the other doesn’t la-ea3.
If you fit the LA-EA4 then your a7 will focus very similar to that of the A99.
If you use the LA-EA3 then you only can use the on sensor phase detection and contrast detection. However because this does not have the SLT tech, you will not lose 1/3 of a stop in light. Hence better ISO performance. Some older lenses will not have autofocus with the LA-EA3.
Generally it would make more sense to buy the LA-EA3 for the A7 and the LA-EA4 for the A7R. But that is subjective and open to personal opinion.
Personally, I find the price of the LA-EA3 to be ridiculously expensive.