Sigma 35mm F1.4 Art DG HSM Lens for Nikon

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This thing is a BEAST. Ive been longing to purchase a full frame f1.4 prime for the longest time but I couldnt decide which to purchase. There was the Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art and the Nikon 35mm 1.4. I tried out both and they were just amazing but I was leaning towards the 35mm focal length. However, I just couldnt justify the $1400+ price point. I then discovered this. This. This is what dreams are made of. I immediately ordered this bad boy and as soon as it arrived, I slapped it onto my D810 and BOOM! Amazing photos. The color. The contrast. The BOKEH. OMG. Ive been missing out for so long. This lens is by far the best investment in photography I have ever made. The nicest, most solid piece of metal and glass you will ever purchase. If any fan-boi snob comes up to you, calling you a peasant for purchasing 3rd party glass, dont mind him. Because hes a fool. This lens is truly a work of "ART."

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I purchased this back in August of 2016 and I didnt want to right a review until I had used it for over a year. After reading review after review there was a lot of people who stated they had focusing issues and other that stated theirs worked fine. It was so hard to press that buy button but I tried it out and crossed my fingers. At first it was hard getting used to a prime lens all over again. You cant just sit there and zoom, you have to move your whole body to get closer. I have it paired with my Nikon D750 and I have yet to take it off to replace it with a different lens. I have had a few focusing issues but nothing I couldnt fix. After a year of using it I decided to calibrate it and its right back to where it was before. I would say a year of using it without very many issues is quite impressive. I have actually had more issues with my other Nikon lenses I have had in the past than the Sigma Art. Dont let other reviewers scare you away from this lens. Give it a shot and dont forget to buy the dock along with it. There are updates to the firmware time to time so its always great to have it on hand when you need it. Also when you do calibrate it, calibrate the lens to your camera body as well.

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Update: I sent this lens for Sigma to repair it. after about a week, they sent me an estimate $240 to repair the malfunctioning focus. the warranty is 4 years, mine was a few months out of the 4 years warranty. I checked on youtube, fredmiranda, B&H, adorama of course Amazon and other professional photographers discussion forum about this issue. it seems that it is not an isolated issue, quite some other photographer running into this problem. Sigma service department was just deflecting the real issue of quality to something else. but just couldnt explain the fact that out of the 10 other Nikon Lens I had none of them having any issue what so ever, but 2 out of the 3 Sigma lens I owned gave me trouble. Lessons learned: if you shoot photo professionally, and dont want that embarrassing moment that lens fail you in front of client, and ruin your reputation, then dont try to save a few hundred dollars to buy Sigma, because in the end, they are going to bite you at later time. not only an expensive repair bill, but more detrimentally they ruin your business reputation. I am not saying that this lens never do a good job, they could, the real problem is Sigmas notorious quality control issue, you could end up with a good one lasting for a long time, or you could end up a bad one like I did, it is like rolling a dice gambling your luck, if you think you can afford to put your business reputation in line with Sigmas quality, go for it, mine had proven to be a very bad one. today I give Sigma 35mm F1.4 ART Lens a 1 star, No Sigma in my professional use any more in the future. === After extensive test and use, I found this Sigma Art series 35mm lens having significant issue on Focusing, if I set up camera focus to "FOCUS" not "RELEASE + FOCUS", it gave me quite some very awkward moment in front of client. it simply does not focus at all. and I googled it, found many other users reporting similar issue, I would urge Sigma recall the lens and correct it before release product to market.

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I am in love with this lens. Way better than I had imagined. This has easily become my top two lens (this and my 70-200mm) and I am sorta kicking myself in the tush for not purchasing it sooner. Like with all your lenses, make sure you calibrate it to each of your bodies to make sure the focus is perfect (which if youre new to photography, sounds super complicated but it is easy- watch some youtube videos).

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I would have never dreamed of purchasing a Sigma lens before the Art series. Previous Sigma lenses Ive shot with seemed junky and cheap. This lens is a beautiful, heavy duty lens that performs very well. Color reproduction is good, glass is good and it syncs flawlessly with my Nikon D750. I also have the Sigma USB dock just in case I need to update software or adjust the focus but from my tests it was setup perfectly when it arrived. Bokeh is fantastic and subjects stand out perfectly when that background is butter soft and melting away. Sharpness is very good. I love prime lenses and this one and my Nikon 50mm 1.4 are my go to lenses for most of my shooting. I shoot a lot of portraits; kids, families, small weddings... and this lens seems to be pretty flattering in those respects. It is pricey but when you look at the market its pretty reasonable for what youre getting. I feel like this can be a lifetime lens like a lot of the good Nikon and Canon lenses because of the build quality and how rugged it feels. Only time will tell but Im happy now!

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All the hype around Sigma ART and this lens, all for not. Soft at every distance, used the docking station (waste of money) and tuned it right to the numbers and its soft, soft, soft. I not so kind words, cheap 3rd party junk..... This lens at $757 is such a rip off. The Nikon 35mm 1.8G blows it away at $526. The ART thing is false, I tuned and shot it on my D610, D750 and Z7, my Nikon 35mm 1.8G kills it.

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What a lens!!!! It is so sharp - focus works well (do calibrate the lens however - my copy needed +11 on micro adjustment) The attached calibration image was shot at F1.4 - did I say it was sharp? At F1.8 it becomes a razor blade. Construction is very solid (it is quite heavy!) Once again - amazing lens.

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Positives: Very good built - high quality feeling materials and heavy, metal construction. Design is modern and discrete. When in focus, the sharpness is excellent. Colors are nice. Bokeh is good. Negative: AF performance is terrible. At wide open, the lens is unacceptably unreliable in low light situations. Basically useless in these conditions. As with every Sigma Ive ever tried - AF performance cannot come close to matching Nikon. Its pretty much hopeless. For all intents and purposes, this is a manual focus. If approached in that manner, it is a fine lens. Otherwise - avoid.

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DO NOT BUY FROM THIS LISTING if you at all want your item to be under warranty in the US. This lens is KNOWN for focus issues, so if you at all think you may at some point need it serviced by Sigma, this is NOT an authorized seller and they will NOT touch it. Additionally, unless you are home 24/7, you may never receive your lens because you must be home and sign for it. You cannot have it held at a pickup location. The lens itself will almost positively have focus issues and need calibrated. Mine is so off that no amount of adjustment + or - in camera will fix it. I have tried the dock as well and will keep trying but I’m pretty much stuck with this lens now that I’ve found out Sigma will not touch it because it is not a US warrantied item from an authorized dealer.

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This is a great lens. The performance at 1.4 is good but stopped down lower it becomes absolutely amazing. Ive been shooting with a D800E and the sharpness is great and bokeh is outstanding if thats your thing. The build quality is exceptional even though the largely plastic construction may put some off. The plastics used seem to be very dense and of high quality. The focus ring moves very smoothly and offers just the right amount of resistance to control well. My only complaint is that for a fixed 35mm this lens is exceptionally heavy. When attached to a bulkier Nikon body it isnt too bad but I can imagine people hooking this up to small or mid-sized bodies and getting annoyed that their camera is now a clumsy flail when slung around the neck while maneuvering through crowds or terrain.

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