Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art for Sony E-mount - a brilliant monster

ntsekov

New member
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
Sofia, BG
I'd try to keep it short - I've considered the idea of buying an adapter (the Sigma MC-11 or Metabones) with Canon 135mm f/2, but then decided against it. The Sigma adapter makes any lens work as native, but I'll have to live with the knowledge my next Firmware could screw everything, and the Metabones doesn't support the Eye-AF. Othern than that - buying the MC-11 and the Canon is always a good idea, especially if you find the Canon cheaper.
My other choices for 135mm were the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art and the Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8. I thing both are great lens and come at a fair prices, a bit higher for the Batis in Europe, and at the end I chose the Sigma, because:
  • More light with usable f/1.8 aperture. Better to close when I don't need it than don't have the option at all.
  • It's super sharp even wide open (in corners too, doesn't matter) and can be stopped to f/2.2 w/o noticable change in the bokeh, becoming even sharper. At 2.8 it's superb, and by f/4-f5.6 you just cannot make it better.
  • Also extremely well controlled - no CA or any other type of aberration, coma corrected to a pixel it seems, not even a need to shoot with the huge hood, since you have to deliberately set up a scene to see a flare.
  • Off focus areas don't show purple or cyan casts (something I hate in my 85mm f/1.8 FE), the transition to focus areas is perfect.
  • Has superb bokeh. No swirly or busy stuff, smooth, no rings. Stays pretty much the same up to f/2.2, then starts showing some forms at f/2.8, still staying smooth.
  • Superb build quality, as is to be expected from the new Sigma series.
What can be considered against buying it:
  • It's huge and heavy. I cannot stress enough on both. Hood makes it enormous. By no means this is travel lens.
  • IMO SSIgma just slapped the MC-11 inside, or something similar, meaning the lens is longer than the Canon/Nikon variants. Same length as the lens plus adapter or similar.
  • AF is super quiet and fast, but sometimes it makes mistakes, and I don't like how it follows movement. From what I gathered, the Batis is no better for static photos, but it's much better for video or AF-C mode. Compared to the popular Sony 85mm f/1.8 FE - it's pretty much the same, but you have worse time to refocus if it hits something not when you need it.
  • Doesn't have optical stabilization. With A7RII and above it doesn't matter much, and it doesn't help with people anyway, but still - the Zeiss has it. Probably the reason it's f/2.8, I guess.
Overall I'm super happy with it. I'd advise to buy the Batis if you need it for travel, or the Canon + adapter if you want more flexible system (this will also allow you to get some pretty nice lens later for much less compared to some Sony/Sigma alternatives). I love how Sony turned out to be the "multisiystem" (or sort of).
I also have a longer review on my website but I think it's probably against forum rules to place a link.
 
Last edited:
I'd try to keep it short - I've considered the idea of buying an adapter (the Sigma MC-11 or Metabones) with Canon 135mm f/2, but then decided against it. The Sigma adapter makes any lens work as native, but I'll have to live with the knowledge my next Firmware could screw everything, and the Metabones doesn't support the Eye-AF.
metabones does support eyeaf, but to get the most out of it you need a 3rd-gen sony body... a7riii, a7iii, or the a9.

sony just released a firmware update for the first two cameras, that addressed adapter functionality.
Othern than that - buying the MC-11 and the Canon is always a good idea, especially if you find the Canon cheaper.
I did that with this lens on the a9, it rocked... sure wish that sigma had put a tripod mount on it tho.
 
I expect that Sony will announce an FE 135mm f1.8 lens very soon.
 
I just rented that lense last weekend to shoot my girls for holiday gifts and I couldn’t have been happier with the results!



I have zero experience shooting portraits so to ME I thought I did great. I have been getting good feedback based on my skillset.

This was shot at f2.2 1/1000 using natural light.



c0aac981005a453da66a9b9ac43150ae.jpg



--
Nikon D750 24-120 F/4 & Nikon 50mm 1.8G
 
Here are a camera jpeg (resized) and a 100% crop). At f/5.6 the background starts to look busy, but still bearable.

f/5.6 1/640, resized jpeg
f/5.6 1/640, resized jpeg

f/5.6 1/640 100% jpeg crop
f/5.6 1/640 100% jpeg crop



At f/1.8 the Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA beats it in terms of sharpness (but there is also the focus depth of the Sigma being lower). Things start to turn in Sigma's favor at f/2.2. Also to be considered abberations, oth Sony Lens are subseptible to them, albeit the 55mm has much less problems. Mind you - camera jpegs.

All @ f/2.2: Sony FE 85mm f/1.8, Sonnar 55mm f/1.8, Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art.
All @ f/2.2: Sony FE 85mm f/1.8, Sonnar 55mm f/1.8, Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art.

I'd try to keep it short - I've considered the idea of buying an adapter (the Sigma MC-11 or Metabones) with Canon 135mm f/2, but then decided against it. The Sigma adapter makes any lens work as native, but I'll have to live with the knowledge my next Firmware could screw everything, and the Metabones doesn't support the Eye-AF.
metabones does support eyeaf, but to get the most out of it you need a 3rd-gen sony body... a7riii, a7iii, or the a9.

sony just released a firmware update for the first two cameras, that addressed adapter functionality.
I've heard about it, but may be I had to make it clearer - I'm using A7RII and I don't plan buying the twice more expensive A7R III, otherwise I won't even think about the Sigma. The green mode Eye-AF is limited to A7 mk III, A7R mk III and A9.
Othern than that - buying the MC-11 and the Canon is always a good idea, especially if you find the Canon cheaper.
I did that with this lens on the a9, it rocked... sure wish that sigma had put a tripod mount on it tho.
BTW, I would say the same for the Sigma 135mm, a collar would do wonders, considering how long and heavy it is.
 
Let me summarize your post.

Sigma 135mm 1.8 is currently the Emperor of lenses and is out of this world.

There, I said it.
 
I am with you on that one. It is not the king of bokeh, the bokeh is good but not "dreamy".

I think it is best for central subject presentation/display, with good but not great bokeh.

Of images that don't have/done need bokeh.
 

Keyboard shortcuts

Back
Top