Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM Art A-mount lens review by wangavagusbanjo

wangavagusbanjo#39922 date: Aug-16-2017
sharpness: 5 color: 4 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 4.8	tested on: film camera: APS-C: 6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP; 16MP; 20MP; 24MP full frame: 12MP; 24MP; 36MP; 42MP; 61MP
ownership:	I own this lens
compared to:	50mm f1.4 ZA A-Mount
price paid:	$1249 NZ
positive:	Sharp wide open with a bump in contrast at f2, quiet to focus, well built, good hood, quite quick to focus (but not as fast as a Sony 50mm).
negative:	Surprisingly big and heavy. Not as quick to focus as the 50 ZA. Can hunt sometimes in low light/low contrast. Needed a lot of micro adjust out of the box (-10 on a99 and -16 on a900) while I have not needed to bother with my other lenses. The box and packaging don't look like they would offer much protection. The electronic focus limiter in the a99 does not work even though it lights up as per normal.
comment:	Out of the box it was quite soft and did not seem to focus accurately but once I did some fine tuning of the focus it is much better and displays excellent sharpness wide open at f1.4. It is quite a big lens and feels a bit front heavy on the a99 but better on the a900. It is great for inside environmental portraits. It doesn't seem to have the same colour saturation as the ZA. Overall I think it is excellent value for a 35mm f1.4 and if that is the focal length you want or need I think it is very good.