Sigma 24ART vs Nikkor 24/1.4G for people & "lifestyle"

Raymond Wave · Oct 7, 2016

I shoot mostly people, lifestyle, natural light, candid portraiture etc. I also prefer to shoot at large apertures when possible, 1.4-2.8 depending on light.

I currently have 24ART for the wide end, but after shooting a few thousand frames I still don't really like what I get. It's sharp and all, but lacks something, the bokeh is not really that nice especially towards the edges, unless shot at very close range. The same applies to pretty much all my ARTs (24, 35, 50).

Used 24/1.4G's seem to be always available for 1400-1500€ at a local store and I'm seriously considering trading a few of my Sigma ARTs in favor of a 24/1.4G, but I can't seem to find any real confirmation if it's any better in respect of rendering. Can't find too many "lifestyle" samples or reviews of this lens and makes me a bit worried also why there are so many available used and it's still crazy expensive.

My plan B is to go for 35/1.4G, but I feel 24 is a bit more usable than 35 and 35's rarely are available used, altho the difference between a new 35/1.4G and a used 24/1.4G is "just" 200€ or so.

I don't look for ultimate sharpness and a nice veiling flare etc is actually preferable as long as the colors are ok.

I lean more into 50-135 in preferred focal lengths, so it wouldn't be my go-to lens, but a wide angle is still necessary.

Thoughts?

a_c_skinner · Oct 7, 2016

Could you rent one? "Rendering" is so very subjective, no one can define it so what you like could easily be different.

I imagine you'll get a lot of replies lauding the Sigmas.

You won't get anyone who agrees with me that it is all in the mind's eye of the beholder.

Raymond Wave · Oct 7, 2016

a_c_skinner said:
Could you rent one? "Rendering" is so very subjective, no one can define it so what you like could easily be different.

I imagine you'll get a lot of replies lauding the Sigmas.

You won't get anyone who agrees with me that it is all in the mind's eye of the beholder.

I don't think renting is very smart with prices we have around here (Finland). Last time I checked 3-7 days is over a hundred euro. If you buy a well kept used lens and eventually sell it you won't loose much more.

It'd make sense if I had a gig where I could charge the lens rental, but currently not an option.

Anyway, there's plenty of great info in this forum, I own a 58G partly because I did a lot of reading here and saw sample pics. I knew exactly what I was going to get. Otherwise I might've passed it for it's steep price, but now I'm really happy for getting it.

58G got me thinking it might be a good idea to ditch Sigma ARTs for a 24/1.4 or 35/1.4.

Stacey_K · Oct 7, 2016

I think you will love the 24 1.4G for the reasons you posted. I love both the 35mm f1.4G and the 58mm f1.4G for the reasons you posted and the 24mm f1.4G is on my short list. I have the 24mm f1.8G and like most of the f1.8G lenses (and the sigma art lenses?) they are sharp but just missing something in the rendering department.

anotherMike · Oct 7, 2016

I used to have the 24 art (had a slight preference for the 24/1.8G for flare resistance and field curvature reasons - the 24 art was good for what I did though), and I used to own the 24/1.4G.

I would say, without hesitation, that if you value bokeh, OOF transitions, and that kind of romantic "look" useful for people/lifestyle, the 24/1.4G is absolutely a lens you might love.

HOWEVER: It's a pesky lens in terms of AF accuracy. I'd almost go as far to say it's a manual focus lens. I found the 35/1.4G (back when I owned it) far more reliable in terms of AF.

-m

Raymond Wave · Oct 8, 2016

Thanks for the replies.

Kind of waiting for more people to jump in and start praising how perfect 24/1.4G is for lifestyle type shoots

.

I need to take some time and try it out at the store, which is pretty far from a nice shooting location, but atleast something.

Andrew 3 · Oct 8, 2016

Raymond Wave said:
Thanks for the replies.

Kind of waiting for more people to jump in and start praising how perfect 24/1.4G is for lifestyle type shoots .

I need to take some time and try it out at the store, which is pretty far from a nice shooting location, but atleast something.

anotherMike's comments are spot on.

saaber1 · Oct 8, 2016

Another one to consider if u are ok with manual focus is the zeiss 25 f/2. It's bokeh is very nice for a wide angle and colors are nice too. I haven't shot the 24 1.4g so I can't compare it to that. Sharpness on the zeiss is excellent. It's probably one of the sharpest wide angles out there. A used like new condition one costs $850-950 in the us. I preferred the zeiss bokeh to 4 other wide angle lenses I tested (Nikon and sigma). One thing to note is that almost all the classic zeiss lenses have vignetting (as do most of the Nikon great bokeh lenses). I leave the vignetting in as I like the look. I do the same with the 85 1.4g. But of course u can remove vignetting in Lightroom. I would say for natural light, portraiture, candid etc. you will find the bokeh and color to give a really nice feeling to the photos. Something about these classic zeiss lenses in regards to rendering and color that seems very special.

Raymond Wave · Oct 8, 2016

saaber1 said:
Another one to consider if u are ok with manual focus is the zeiss 25 f/2. It's bokeh is very nice for a wide angle and colors are nice too. I haven't shot the 24 1.4g so I can't compare it to that. Sharpness on the zeiss is excellent. It's probably one of the sharpest wide angles out there. A used like new condition one costs $850-950 in the us. I preferred the zeiss bokeh to 4 other wide angle lenses I tested (Nikon and sigma). One thing to note is that almost all the classic zeiss lenses have vignetting (as do most of the Nikon great bokeh lenses). I leave the vignetting in as I like the look. I do the same with the 85 1.4g. But of course u can remove vignetting in Lightroom.

I have Zeiss 2.8/25, which is pretty good when it comes to rendering and I'm sure 2/25 is even nicer, but manual focus is not an option for lifestyle shoots, kids etc. I use it occasionally for my own family, but for anything commercial I wouldn't have the courage to go manual focus, especially when the emphasis is on large apertures.

volks 1 · Oct 8, 2016

Raymond Wave said:
Thanks for the replies.

Kind of waiting for more people to jump in and start praising how perfect 24/1.4G is for lifestyle type shoots .

I need to take some time and try it out at the store, which is pretty far from a nice shooting location, but atleast something.

That would be the smartest thing to do. Try it out at the store, you will get some idea if it does what you are looking for. Posted opinions are always useful, however nothing beats try it before you buy it.

Emil Varadi · Oct 8, 2016

Raymond Wave said:
Thanks for the replies.

Kind of waiting for more people to jump in and start praising how perfect 24/1.4G is for lifestyle type shoots .

I need to take some time and try it out at the store, which is pretty far from a nice shooting location, but atleast something.

I can just reiterate what anotherMike said, except that my copy of this lens focuses flawlessly. I know, he and Lloyd Chambers did complain about the unreliable focusing of this lens, but my experience is quite different.

I use the 24/1.4 for lansdcapes, it's good for street shooting as well, though a bit wide. I'd say 28mm is the sweet focus length for this purpose. As for bokeh, this lens has the best bokeh among all 24mm lenses, so if you are after this feature, there is no point searching on.

Bohemien · Oct 8, 2016

Raymond Wave said:
Kind of waiting for more people to jump in and start praising how perfect 24/1.4G is for lifestyle type shoots .

Ok! The 24G is perfect for lifestyle type shoots.

That said, I tend to reach for the 35G more often for this kind of shots, because 24mm is really a bit wide for a "normal" field of view, but then that's my personal preference and if 24mm suits your style better than 35, go for it! Both the 24G and the 35G have beautiful bokeh and are very sharp wide open and up close, and (to my eyes) are capable of a beautiful 3-dimensional rendering when used in the right lighting conditions.

whoosh1 · Oct 8, 2016

Emil Varadi said:
I can just reiterate what anotherMike said, except that my copy of this lens focuses flawlessly. I know, he and Lloyd Chambers did complain about the unreliable focusing of this lens, but my experience is quite different.

+1

Lance B · Oct 8, 2016

Emil Varadi said:
Raymond Wave said:

Thanks for the replies.

Kind of waiting for more people to jump in and start praising how perfect 24/1.4G is for lifestyle type shoots .

I need to take some time and try it out at the store, which is pretty far from a nice shooting location, but atleast something.

Click to expand...

I can just reiterate what anotherMike said, except that my copy of this lens focuses flawlessly. I know, he and Lloyd Chambers did complain about the unreliable focusing of this lens, but my experience is quite different.

I use the 24/1.4 for lansdcapes, it's good for street shooting as well, though a bit wide. I'd say 28mm is the sweet focus length for this purpose. As for bokeh, this lens has the best bokeh among all 24mm lenses, so if you are after this feature, there is no point searching on.

Like you, the AF on the 24f1.4G is now very good with the later cameras like the D810. As Marianne has believes, and I agree, the later cameras have an algorithm that adjusts for the focus shift that some of these fast lenses exhibit. On the D800, my 24 f1.4G did have focus shift "issues", but on my D800E (firmware updated) and now my D810, the 24 f1.4G focuses perfectly.

In fairness to Mike, I think he had his 24 f1.4G with the older D800 or un-updated D800E and thus may have had "issues" with focus shift

--
Lance B
http://www.pbase.com/lance_b

Nikonlinks · Oct 8, 2016

Raymond, this image illustrates the 24/1.4G at f2.2. I prefer this image with some of the foreground cropped but I posted it here with the foreground so you could see both for and aft transitions. One of my favorite lenses, it has a dreamy look that I like. I often pair this with an 85/1.4D.

I also posted a 24/1.4G image taken with a smaller aperture so you can see those transitions.

Nikon 24mm f1.4G @ f2.2

Nikon 24mm f1.4G @ f6.3

--
don
www.donferrario.com

Lance B · Oct 8, 2016

Raymond Wave said:
I shoot mostly people, lifestyle, natural light, candid portraiture etc. I also prefer to shoot at large apertures when possible, 1.4-2.8 depending on light.

I currently have 24ART for the wide end, but after shooting a few thousand frames I still don't really like what I get. It's sharp and all, but lacks something, the bokeh is not really that nice especially towards the edges, unless shot at very close range. The same applies to pretty much all my ARTs (24, 35, 50).

Used 24/1.4G's seem to be always available for 1400-1500€ at a local store and I'm seriously considering trading a few of my Sigma ARTs in favor of a 24/1.4G, but I can't seem to find any real confirmation if it's any better in respect of rendering. Can't find too many "lifestyle" samples or reviews of this lens and makes me a bit worried also why there are so many available used and it's still crazy expensive.

My plan B is to go for 35/1.4G, but I feel 24 is a bit more usable than 35 and 35's rarely are available used, altho the difference between a new 35/1.4G and a used 24/1.4G is "just" 200€ or so.

I don't look for ultimate sharpness and a nice veiling flare etc is actually preferable as long as the colors are ok.

I lean more into 50-135 in preferred focal lengths, so it wouldn't be my go-to lens, but a wide angle is still necessary.

Thoughts?

The 24 f1.4G is on of my favourites, super sharp with superb overall IQ. However, I don't use it as much as I should, the new 24-70 f2.8E VR is actually excellent at 24mm as is my New Tamron 15-30, so they usually go in the bag if I am going out on a photoshoot somewhere, especially on my travels.

Some of my 24mm f1.4G shots in this gallery:

Loading…

www.pbase.com

A few samples, varied lighting conditions, varied apertures. Best viewed at 100%:

f2

f2.8

f5.6

f2.2

f8

f9

f10

--
Lance B

Galleries by Lance B

www.pbase.com

Bohemien · Oct 9, 2016

What, no samples at f/1.4? :-D

(Another nice feature of the 24G is its ability to focus really close.)

--
Regards, Markus
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lebohemien/

syberman7 · Oct 9, 2016

Lance B said:
Emil Varadi said:

Raymond Wave said:

Thanks for the replies.

Kind of waiting for more people to jump in and start praising how perfect 24/1.4G is for lifestyle type shoots .

I need to take some time and try it out at the store, which is pretty far from a nice shooting location, but atleast something.

Click to expand...

I can just reiterate what anotherMike said, except that my copy of this lens focuses flawlessly. I know, he and Lloyd Chambers did complain about the unreliable focusing of this lens, but my experience is quite different.

I use the 24/1.4 for lansdcapes, it's good for street shooting as well, though a bit wide. I'd say 28mm is the sweet focus length for this purpose. As for bokeh, this lens has the best bokeh among all 24mm lenses, so if you are after this feature, there is no point searching on.

Click to expand...

Like you, the AF on the 24f1.4G is now very good with the later cameras like the D810. As Marianne has believes, and I agree, the later cameras have an algorithm that adjusts for the focus shift that some of these fast lenses exhibit. On the D800, my 24 f1.4G did have focus shift "issues", but on my D800E (firmware updated) and now my D810, the 24 f1.4G focuses perfectly.

In fairness to Mike, I think he had his 24 f1.4G with the older D800 or un-updated D800E and thus may have had "issues" with focus shift

--
Lance B
http://www.pbase.com/lance_b

That's my experience as well, but I'd add that before the D810, ie with the D800, the 24 1.4G was also very unpredictable in focus - 3 or 4 times out of ten would be OOF on the same target. I'm finding that most of these issues have cleared up when using it on the D810.

kwe · Oct 9, 2016

Hey Raymond,

I recently bought an used copy of the Nikon 24mm 1.4 (they sell in Germay in good condition for about 1.200,- EUR) and have used it on my D750. Autofocus has been no problem. The lens is very sharp wide open in close focus scenarios. Taking pictures at infinity seems more challenging for me. I love the bokeh and the rendering; the reasons why I wanted the lens so badly. As I just started using it, I only have been able to produce very few potos which - listening to your request - I want to put on display. kwe

zakaria · Oct 10, 2016

Emil Varadi said:
Raymond Wave said:

Thanks for the replies.

Kind of waiting for more people to jump in and start praising how perfect 24/1.4G is for lifestyle type shoots .

I need to take some time and try it out at the store, which is pretty far from a nice shooting location, but atleast something.

Click to expand...

I can just reiterate what anotherMike said, except that my copy of this lens focuses flawlessly. I know, he and Lloyd Chambers did complain about the unreliable focusing of this lens, but my experience is quite different.

I use the 24/1.4 for lansdcapes, it's good for street shooting as well, though a bit wide. I'd say 28mm is the sweet focus length for this purpose. As for bokeh, this lens has the best bokeh among all 24mm lenses, so if you are after this feature, there is no point searching on.

Sigma 24ART vs Nikkor 24/1.4G for people & "lifestyle"

Senior Member

Forum Pro

Senior Member

Veteran Member

Forum Pro

Senior Member

Leading Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Leading Member

Senior Member

Forum Pro

Leading Member

Forum Pro

Leading Member

Senior Member

Forum Enthusiast

Attachments

Veteran Member

Keyboard shortcuts