Sigma 351965 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary For Sony E, Black

Product Information

If you have a full-frame Nikon camera, such as the Nikon Z6 II, you can use the Sigma 56mm with it, with your camera automatically diverting to crop mode to give the same 84mm equivalent focal length. You might therefore consider it to be a better priced (and smaller) version of the Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S lens for this type of camera.

The overall optical quality of the Sigma 56mm f/1.4 Lens is fantastic in my opinion and very similar to the 30mm and 16mm versions I would say. The distortion is notable, but easily correctable either in camera or in post.At a close focus distance, we can see that the 56mm is a little sharper than either Sony lens at their respective fastest apertures. Fastest apertures As with the other two lenses in the Sigma prime trio, the Sigma 56mm f/1.4 has spectacular build quality.

A study of our Image Engineering Tests reveals the lens is sharper in the centre than at the edge throughout the aperture range. Centre sharpness (shown by the solid red line) improves considerably by stopping it down from its maximum aperture to f/2 and peaks between f/2.8 and f/4. Corner sharpness (shown by the dotted red line) doesn’t reach the same level as centre sharpness, but does steadily improve from f/1.4 to f/5.6. For the best edge-to-edge sharpness it should be used around f/5.6-f/6.3. Diffraction has the affect of softening images at f/16. Shading Three of Sigma’s contemporary prime lenses were announced as becoming available for the Nikon Z mount in April 2023, following on from options available for Fujifilm, Canon, Leica L and Micro Four Thirds. Amy Davies spent some time with each of the new lenses to find out how well they paired with Nikon Z. The Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary is the latest prime to join Sony’s range of APS-C E-mount lenses. With an equivalent coverage of 84mm in 35mm terms and a very fast 1.4 maximum aperture, it has all the characteristics you’d expect from a portrait lens, making it a very desirable product for Sony users. Performance crosses to the outstanding range at f/2 (3,141 lines), and edge performance is close enough to average (2,902 lines) that we won't fret about it from here on out. Images show even more detail at f/2.8 (3,557 lines), and peak performance comes at f/4 (3,878 lines). This lens is designed for the smaller sensor cameras like the APS-C equipped Sony A6400 camera body which is I what I used for this review. However, this lens is also made for the Micro Four Thirds camera system as well which has a slightly smaller sensor when compared to the APS-C format. The advantage to the lens being designed for the smaller sensors as opposed to the full frame sensors, is the more compact size and lighter weight. This lens can still be used on the full frame e-mount cameras like the A7 III for example, but the camera will need to be in crop factor mode for the best results.Above, left to right: Sigma 56mm f1.4, Sony e 50mm f1.8, Sony FE 50mm f1.8. All at f4. Crops from right side. Stop them down to the first aperture value they share – f/2 – and the Sigma suddenly springs into the lead. f/2 For these real world sample photos I was shooting in mostly raw quality, but a few were taken in jpeg mode. The raw files I did play with a little in Lightroom including a mild contrast curve adjustment and a little tweaking with the exposure on a few. Nothing crazy though.

I found the focusing, when paired with the Fujifilm X-S10, allowed me to take full advantage of face and eye autofocus. Images had a lovely contrast with good skin tones, especially when paired with the Pro Neg Standard and Pro Neg Hi Film Simulations. I would recommend the combination as an affordable starting point to anyone starting out taking portraits. Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN C for Nikon Z Mount There is no optical stabilisation, so we have to rely on a given camera body providing in-body stabilisation. The Sony A5100 does not offer SteadyShot, which for a short telephoto is a pity. As for the Sony 50mm, it makes sense if you are on a tight budget. The quality is good enough, and it comes with an important feature that neither the 55mm nor the 56mm has: optical image stabilisation. The 56mm f1.4 is the longest of the trio and gives you an equivalent focal length of 84mm, making it particularly ideal for portrait photography. If you’re a DX user, then the nearest you’ll get to this focal length from a proprietary prime lens is the Nikkor DX 24mm f/1.7 lens, or, you might instead use something like the Nikkor Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 VR lens or the Nikkor Z DX 18-140mm f/3.5-6.3 VR lens. Alternatively, you might consider mounting the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 S lens, which would give you an equivalent of 75mm on your APS-C camera, but will cost you a little bit more, and is quite a lot larger than the Sigma 56mm lens.In this Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens Review I will go over everything you need to know using some lab testing, video testing, and tons of real world photography. Resolution continues to be impeccable at f/5.6 (3,723 lines), but diffraction starts to cut into detail as early as f/8 (3,341 lines). Still, you can shoot there and at f/11 (2,915 lines) and net crisp photos. There is certainly a loss of quality at f/16 (2,354 lines), which is expected. Each lens has a filter thread at the front to which you can attach ND filters. The diameter is the same for the two Sony lenses (49mm) whereas the Sigma accepts 55mm filters. We’ve been using the 56mm F1.4 with the Nikon Z30. It is the smallest of the Contemporary trio and balances pretty well with the Z30, though it’d also be an excellent match for the Z50 and the Zfc. It might feel a little small on a full-frame model, but the benefit of a lightweight option for your kit bag is potentially worth it. Looking at another set of examples taken wide open, we can see that the 50mm displays a little more fringing around the out-of-focus areas in comparison to the other two lenses. It also has the busiest bokeh of the three, followed by the 55mm and finally the 56mm. The 56mm’s is the most pleasant thanks to its smooth and buttery appearance. Fastest apertures