Vann On Photography

I won’t sit here and say that I saw Sigma’s announcement of their 85mm F/1.4 lens coming. I didn’t and I don’t think many people did. The announcement of the 85mm lens alone is interesting but the announcement of 4 other lenses , 3 of which are for full frame DSLRs, is simply stunning. The other announced lenses include a stabilized (Sigma calls it OS) 70-200mm F2.8, stabilized 17-50mm F2.8, stabilized 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 and an APS-C only 8-16mm F4.5-5.6mm zoom lens.

Quality

There simply is no way to know for sure how good these lenses will be. If past experience tells us anything it tells us that good samples of the Sigma 50/1.4 lens are fantastic. The 50/1.4 has good performance up close and it gets better as you rack the focus towards infinity. The 85/1.4 should be another solid prime that produces stunning results. Hopefully the 85/1.4 will perform a tad better up close than the 50/1.4 since many will shoot the 85/1.4 in this manner.

I don’t have much experience with Sigma’s zoom lenses. I’ve seen some great pictures from them and apparently Sigma is happy enough with their designs to update the 17-50mm, 70-200mm and 50-500mm lenses with optical stabilization and FLD glass elements. I look forward to seeing some examples of what these lenses produce.

Sigma has always led the ultra-wide zoom market with their 15-30mm, 12-24mm and 10-20mm lenses. The performance of those lenses varied from good to very good but not quite best in class. I expect the 8-16mm to be their best performing ultra-wide lens for APS-C so far. This sucker features no less than 4 FLD elements, 1 hybrid aspherical and 2 molded aspherical elements. That is a LOT of special glass!

Sigma’s Strategy

At the beginning of the last decade I remember a storied but struggling company whose charismatic CEO said that they would innovate their way out of that recession. A few of their ideas flopped while others, such as the iPod, redefined their respective segments of the market. During the economic bubble of that decade Apple continued to soar and has never looked back.

Sigma is no Apple but they are continuing to build on their core competencies during the worst recession of my lifetime. These new lenses are innovative and relevant to both zoom lens shooters and prime lens junkies. This is a very smart move and success in today’s market will position Sigma better in more favorable economic climates to come.

The 85/1.4 lens objective is wildly popular and other 3rd party lens companies have successfully introduced manual focus lenses in this objective. Sigma is building on that success by introducing the first third party auto-focus 85/1.4 lens ever.

Sigma practically invented the ultra-wide zoom lens market and competition has become stiff. The APS-C only 8-16mm repositions Sigma as the leader here. Its interesting that Sigma didn’t release the new über ultra-wide lens in the four-thirds mount. If Sigma had released the 8-16mm in the four-thirds mount direct comparisons would be made to Panasonic’s excellent 7-14mm and Olympus’s 9-18mm lens. This would make the Sigma 8-16mm appear less important. I do expect this lens to be released for the four-thirds mount at a later date.

Should You Buy One?

Should you purchase one of the new Sigma lenses? That is a decision only you, or your wife, can make.

If you get approval from “the boss” , were happy with the Sigma 50/1.4 and lust after a Canon or Nikon 85mm lens then you should order the Sigma 85mm. You can always return the lens to a reputable dealer if you are not happy with it.

Shooters that already use the “Bigma” 50-500mm lens for birding and such will realize some value in purchasing the new optically stabilized lens. 70-200mm shooters that don’t use a monopod will appreciate the addition of OS to the 70-200mm too.

If I was an existing 17-50/2.8 shooter I would sit on the fence for a bit. If your current lens is doing the job why upgrade? Stabilization won’t help you shoot people any better and the optical improvement of the new lens may be nominal.

APS-C shooters that want an über ultra-wide angle lens should consider the 8-16mm lens. I loved the Sigma 10-20mm on my D200. I suspect Sigma’s 8-16mm will be a worth succesor to the 10-20mm lens.

Which Lens Will I Buy?

I will pick up a copy of the Sigma 85/1.4 to use on my Canon 5D. I don’t want 2010 to be a year of gear for me. However the 85/1.4 is very pertinent to one of my favorite photo subjects, bands.

I currently use the Canon EF 100/2 for my long lens when I shoot bands. The extra speed of the Sigma 85/1.4 will help me out a LOT in that scenario. I’m sure the bokeh of the 85/1.4 will be better than the Canon EF 100/2 as well. Will the bokeh of the Sigma 85/1.4 improve my photos? Nope….. The Canon is good enough in that department and only lens geeks would notice the difference between the too if the content was the same.

Whenever you buy any lens, especially a Sigma, be prepared for quality variations. Like many people I received a dud 50/1.4 from Sigma. Sigma’s repair department just returned the lens to me and it appears to be working like a champ. It took about 4 weeks to get the lens back and it appears to be worth the wait.

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