Introduction
The Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art DG is one of the heaviest non-super-tele prime lenses and on first sight it also looks more like a serious tele lens than a medium wideangle. But is it also as good optically as it is heavy? Let us have a closer look!
Sample Images
Most of the sample images in this review can be found in full resolution here.
Contents
Disclosure: this lens was kindly provided by a reader for the comparison to the 35mm 1.2 Art and 35mm 1.4 Art. I only had limited time with the Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art, so this review may not be as thorough as usual.
Specifications / Version History
The Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art reviewed here has the following specifications:
-
- Diameter: 88 mm
- Length: 157 mm
- Weight: 1265g (without hood and caps)
- Filter Diameter: 82 mm
- Number of Aperture Blades: 9 (rounded)
- Elements/Groups: 16/12
- Close Focusing Distance: 0.40 m
- Maximum Magnification: 1:6.5
- Mount: Sony-E
You may also have a look at the official page.
The Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art is available on amzon.com | amazon.de | B&H | ebay.com | ebay.de (affiliate links) for $1399/1150€
Operation
Handling
Unlike other native AF lenses for E-mount the former DSLR lenses by Sigma feature a physical distance scale and a direct coupling of focus ring and internal mechanics.
To me this is good news, as coupled with the nice resistance of the focus ring this gives a nice manual focus experience, only the rather short focus throw of 90° spoils the game slightly.
The lens further features an AF/MF switch but no other button and no aperture ring.
The Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art is a really big and heavy lens, even bigger and heavier than the 35mm 1.2 Art:
A bayonet type lens hood is also part of the package which offers improved build quality like the ones we know from the GM series with a release button and a mix of polycarbonate and rubber (which is really good at attracting dust).
Build Quality
The outside is made from the same high quality polycarbonate we already know from the other Sigma Global Vision lenses.
I cannot tell you much about the long term reliablity (yet) or about the internal parts.
Sigma claims the lens is dust- and splash proof and like all of Sigma’s full frame E-mount lenses there is a rubber gasket to be found at the bayonet.
Autofocus
In the limited time I spent with this lens I was not able to evaluate the auto focus performance.
Vignetting
light falloff
Wide open there is noticeable light falloff of roughly 2.2 EV, stopped down to f/2.0 this improves to 1.7 EV, stopped down to f/2.8 it is 1.1 EV and further improves to 0.8 EV at f/8.0. You can either correct this in Lightroom or directly in camera.
These figures are slightly better compared to other recent big f/1.4 lenses which usually show around 3.0 EV vignetting at maximum aperture.
It is recommended to have a look at this article first to get an idea how this brightness graph works.
color cast
I did not detect any color cast issues with this lens.
optical vignetting
Very fast lenses often show optical vignetting. Without going too much into technical details optical vignetting leads to the truncation of light circles towards the borders of the frame.
In the center of the frame almost every lens will render a perfect circle, but only lenses with very low optical vignetting will keep this shape in the corners.
So in the following comparison we move from the center (left) to the extreme corner (right) and see how the shape of the light circle changes.
This Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art shows an average amount of optical vignetting in the corners for a lens in this class.
And there is something else: onion ring structures are noticeably less pronounced compared to the Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art.
Sharpness
infinity
The Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art has amazing across frame sharpness. Already at f/1.4 it is usable across the whole frame with almost no field curvature. Stopping down to f/2.0 boosts contrast slightly and f/2.8 looks really amazing.
The exposure of the f/1.4 to f/2.0 corner crops has been lifted in post to reveal more details.
portrait distance
For portraiture it isn’t so important how flat the field is, it is more interesting to see what the sharpness is like when focused at different parts of the frame to take field curvature out of the equation.
This is what I did here, I refocused for every shot to get the best possible result at different locations in the frame (center, inner midframe and outer midframe).
Focus distance was roughly 1.2 m and the circle of the dollar bill is more or less the size of a human eye.
100% crops, A7rII
Also at portrait distance the Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art shows amazing sharpness across frame. You can see moiré everywhere, even far away from the center.
close (0.40 m, 1:6.5)
100% crops from center, A7rII, because of focus shift (see corresponding section) I refocused for every shot
Close focus performance is an area where the smaller fast lenses like the Voigtlander 40mm 1.2 E or 50mm 1.2 E struggle, as they don’t feature a floating elements design.
The Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art does feature a floating elements design and the performance at the minimum focus distance can be described as decent at f/1.4, good at f/2.0, and excellent at f/2.8. Across frame performance is really good, there is only minimal field curvature visible.
Flare resistance
The Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art has a very high element count (16) and lenses with a high number of elements rarely fare well in this category.
On top you can see the worst result I could produce with ghosts and rainbow artifacts all over the frame.
When you place the sun close to the corner you can catch a good amount of veling flare:
Performance looks slightly worse compared to the Sigma 35mm 1.2 Art and noticeably worse compared to some smaller 35mm lenses like the Voigtlander VM 35mm 1.7, but it would take more time to fully evaluate this topic.
Coma
The Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art shows an amazing performance here, there is barely any coma visible at f/1.4.This is the best performance I have seen in an f/1.4 lens yet.
Distortion
Distortion is very low, Lightroom also has a profile included to correct it.
Bokeh
Best have a look at the comparison to the Sigma 35mm 1.2 Art and Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art with many samples to see which lens you prefer.
In the end the 40mm Art’s bokeh is not as smooth as that of the Sigma 35mm 1.2 Art, but it does come pretty close and is certainly smoother than that of many other Sigma Art lenses, like e.g. the Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art.
Sunstars
Sunstar rendering has never been a high priority for Sigma. Sunstars look best at f/11 to f/16, but still the rays have varying length and distance to each other. Not something that worries me in a lens designed mainly for taking portraits or astrophotography though.
If you want to know more about sunstar rendering of different lenses have a look at this article.
Chromatic aberration
lateral
There are only minor lateral CA which are easily corrected in camera or in post with the help of the built in profiles.
longitudinal
Near the minimum focus distance the Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art barely shows any loCA, a really good performance.
Longitudinal chromatic aberrations come in different forms. Unfortunately there are only few (if any at all) sources that give a clear differentiation. We will have a look at purple fringing (it shows up close to the plane in focus) and the “bokeh-CA” or “bokeh fringing” which you will see in the out of focus areas.
The Sigma Art 40mm 1.4 shows an amazing performance here, it is probably the best corrected f/1.4 lens I have seen so far.
Focus shift
100% crops, A7rII
At the minimum focus distance the lens shows a slight focus shift. At other distances I did not notice it and usually people will use this lens with working aperture – where this is absolutely meaningless – anyway.
Alternatives
Auto focus
Sigma 35mm 1.2 Art:
Get the Sigma 35mm 1.2 Art, if you want the smoothest bokeh, GM handling or the first 35mm f/1.2 lens with AF.
Get the Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art, if you are allergic to longitudinal CA or want the best lens in this focal length range for milky way panorama stitching. Or you prefer the 40mm focal length, obviously.
buy from amazon.com | B&H | ebay.com | ebay.de for $1499/1529€ (affiliate links)
Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art:
If you are looking for a native 35mm lens with AF but feel the f/1.2 version or the 40mm 1.4 reviewed here are too big, heavy and/or expensive this remains my recommendation.
buy from B&H | amazon.com | amazon.de | ebay.com | ebay.de for $770 (affiliate links)
You can also have a look at my comparison of Sigma 35mm 1.2 Art, 35mm 1.4 Art and 40mm 1.4 Art to see how these lenses compare.
Sony FE 35mm 1.4 ZA:
Unfortunately this is nothing like Sony’s newer GM primes and furthermore plagued by severe sample variation. If you have a good sample it gets the job done, but I cannot recommend going down the rabbit hole of finding one of those golden copies.
buy from B&H | amazon.com | amazon.de | ebay.com | ebay.de for 1499$ (affiliate links)
Samyang 35mm 1.4 AF:
This Samyang is the cheaper version of the Sony FE 35mm 1.4 ZA in many ways: similar size, similarly high CA, similar questions regarding sample variation. No button or aperture ring and according to some reports the manual focus experience is really bad with this lens.
This is your cheapest option when looking for a native 35mm f/1.4 lens with AF, personally I would pay slightly more to get the Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art.
buy from B&H | amazon.com | amazon.de for ~550$ (affiliate links)
Zeiss Batis 40mm 2.0 CF:
This is the only other 40mm lens with AF available for Sony E-mount. I don’t really like this lens, as I like to decide myself when to stop down.
buy from B&H | amazon.com | amazon.de | ebay.com | ebay.de for 1169$ (affiliate links)
Manual focus
Voigtlander 40mm 1.2 Nokton E:
What are the differences compared to the Sigma reviewed here? No AF, lower corner sharpness, slightly less smooth bokeh rendering, more vignetting, more pronounced onion ring bokeh, better flare resistance, only 420g heavy and much smaller size.
Furthermore this Voigtländer is optimized for portrait distance and is a worse performer at minimum focus distance and infinity at wider apertures.
Many people like this lens though and it is certainly more fun to carry around.
buy from B&H | amazon.com | ebay.com | ebay.de for ~1099$ (affiliate links)
Conclusion
good
|
average
|
not good
|
The Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art may very well be one of the – if not the – best corrected f/1.4 lens(es) you can buy. Despite being an f/1.4 lens it is an almost apochromatically corrected design and coma as well as astigmatism are pretty much non existent. Even vignetting is lower than that of the competition at maximum aperture.
When it comes to the bokeh rendering the Sigma 35mm 1.2 Art is slightly smoother by comparison, but the 40mm 1.4 is noticeably smoother than the older Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art, you can have a look at my comparison and see for yourself which one you prefer.
The only real downsides are flare resistance and even more noticeably size and weight. For some this will surely be a reason to stay away from this lens, while for others this won’t be an issue at all.
As an E-mount user I prefer the 35mm 1.2 Art, but this 40mm lens features better correction of longitudinal CA and even better coma correction.
It also seems to be the best lens for milky way panoramas in this focal length range, featuring almost perfect coma correction and less vignetting than the competition.
The Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art is available on amzon.com | amazon.de | B&H | ebay.com | ebay.de (affiliate links) for $1399/1150€
Sample Images
Most of the sample images in this review can be found in full resolution here.
Further Reading
- Sony FE lenses: Our comprehensive and independent guide
- Sony FE lenses: Our guide to portrait lenses from 85 to 135mm
- Review: Sony FE 85mm 1.4 GM
- Review: Voigtländer 50mm 1.2 Nokton E
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in your conclusion table, there should be a new “unacceptable” column where size/weight is listed.
This lens is ridiculously large/heavy!
its so unbelievably big, i think i need to emphesize this once more… It might be interesting for some (my guess: only a few) people to have the best corrected lens at this focal range, but considering the CV1.2/40 is even faster at a fraction of the weight/size i don’t see why anyone would want to haul around a 1,2kg lens in a focal range that is usually you standrad walk-around…
Gosh, topnotch 300mm/f4 Teles are lighter than this — and they usually get used with Mono-/Tripod!
It cant be only me who is much more interested in the new Sigma 2.8/45 with probably even smoother bokeh than the Sigma 1.4/40 (if you stop the latter down 2 stops that is).
this lens much much better optics than voigtlander 40mm f/1.2
and yes, weight sucks. but amazing optics.
Who can be so short sighted to care about weight? The Sigma 40 1.4 is estelar! It is the nature of the beast.
I think I’d take the marginal loss of bokeh quality vs. the 35/1.2 for the much better LoCA correction.
Thanks for the review!
In the close focusing test, the image link is the same link as the one in 35mm f1.2 Art test. Are you sure you didn’t accidentally paste the same exact image into this review?
Thanks for pointing that out, fixed now!
Hi Bastian, in the close focus test (“close (0.40 m, 1:6.5)
“) the F/2.8 crop seems to be slightly less sharp compared to the F/2.0 crop. Is that correct?
I had the file mislabled, it did show the one without refocusing, now it is the correct one.
This is no longer ART series but Fitness series 😀
A good observation!
But the results are so good, that fitness becomes addictive!
I think it is a perfect lens for DSLR. For mirrorless body, Voigtlander 40mm or even 50mm are better options.
I think this depends on what your shooting style is. I agree it’s very heavy, and I wouldn’t use it as a primary lens because of that, but adding a DSLR to it just makes it heavier still! People talk about balance, and indeed if you take the weight of the camera and lens in your grip hand it’ll balance better on a DSLR. But with these large lenses, I take the weight in my left hand cradling the lens. In which case it works better on a smaller mirrorless than on a DSLR, because there is no balance issue and the total weight is lee.
Sure, But I think, it is in contrasts with the philosophy of mirrorless cameras.
To me the philosophy of mirrorless is the option to go big or small.
Looks more like a big phallic symbol than a practical lens to use in the field…
I had commented on the facebook post that this could be a good candidate for Fuji GFX. I did a google search and found it in 10 seconds. Even on the GFX it was sharp to the corners wide open. That is extremely impressive. This will be a much more affordable semi-wide option for GFX owners.
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61983682
Isn’t pixel size same on gfx100 vs a7r4? Ignoring a lens maybe not covering the entire sensor, wouldn’t it be easier generally for crop lens to be sharp for a larger sensor?
I have had two copies of this lens. The image quality is astonishing. I have tens of thousands of dollars invested in glass, and in every case switching from the Sigma 40 back to anything else seems like a step back in IQ. If you choose to compromise on IQ because of size, weight or whatever then that is your choice…
I can’t agree more with you.
A man that loves his tools!
This is a truly amazing lens. Yeah it’s heavy but you get used to it in a few minutes and you don’t care any more. The results on the other hand are there for ever. I had tons of lenses in every camera system but this one stands out. The way envious environmental portraits look at 1.4 is something else. The 35 1.4 didn’t cut it for me.
With so many great reviews about Sigma 40Art, and especially from this article when I first read about it,
and after 2 months reading from one too many informative sources, I finally let go the Sony 35mm f1.4 ZA and acquired this lens.
I can say that I am glad with such move, and a very happy user.
But the question then arises, can I update the FW from the body? What about calibration, do I need to calibrate?
Again, thank you so very much for review like this. This article and others from you, helped me to be a better buyer and user.
No need to calibrate.
Never updated a Sigma E-mount lens, so not sure here.
Would have to google it.
I have had this lens now for about 6months. It is phenomenal in every way even phenomenally heavy. On a gripped d850 it’s a tank of a combo but I don’t really care . For event photography and street photography it’s has a look better than any lens I’ve owned . I shoot live music photography and videography. It’s the bomb ! Been shooting some nature and landscape lately. For flowers it’s too perfect for my style . It focuses super accurate but has focus shift . You need to learn how to compensate for this with a DSLR , mirrorless shouldn’t be a problem.
If you like old manual focus 1960s 70s and 80s lenes and that character you may not like the perfect rendering of this lens . It has no “special” character from aberrations except from some vignetting.
I had my eye on this lens for some time – in Nikon F mount (35+ year Nikon user), for use on a Z-camera (with the FTZ). B&H had a one-day sale: $500 off. I could not resist: 40mm is by far my favorite full frame focal length for any number of types of shot. I took a chance, knowing it was large (length, diameter) and heavy – but not knowing this website existed.
Now that I’ve had it nearly half a year, all I can say is – yes, it is spectacular. I love the output.
I typically use it at f/1.4, and only vary rarely go past f/2.2. (I have had the VC 40mm f/2 SL-II, a chipped MF all metal lens, for some time, so I use that when I really must “go light”). But typically, if I’m out for half a day of walking (in town, at a botanic garden, with friends or family) the weight is no issue for me at all. I completely recommend as long as the weight and size is not your hangup. My perspective is “to each their own choice”, hence I can choose from two 40mm primes. If you want small and light, pick another lens.
I’m 73 years old using my Sigma 40mm 1.4 Art primarily with my Nikon D850. I find the griping about size and weight to be a bit humorous. But then I’m addicted to image sharpness and low distortion. The truth is that I’ve traded my Nikon lenses for Sigma Arts, along with the 70-200 Sport and the 100-400mm Contemporary. I’m keeping the Zeiss Milvus 100mm 2. I’m looking forward to lugging my gear to Estes Park in a couple months for a few hikes and great shooting.
you best lens tester who i am see,test sigma 18-35 1.8,test irix 45mm 1.4
I have come back to this review over and over again. I love how thorough your work is. Today, I finally pulled the trigger on this lens. I couldn’t decide between this, the sigma 35 1.2 or Sony 35 1.4 GM. The deciding factor was the current price of the sigma 40 here. I managed to get it on sale at adorama for 599 brand new. 200 below the current 799 everywhere else… which I thought was a steal too! Keep up the awesome work.
Considering its optical qualities that is a very attractive price.
Just got this lens at the end of 2022. I have to wonder if Sigma didn’t drop the prices so low so that the market would pick up on it. Would not be surprised to see Sigma raise the price again in a while. I had misgivings about the 40mm focal length (and I think that’s what happened for a lot of photographers) , but after see the IQ, I don’t even think about 40 vs 35 or 50mm. This is one of the most beautiful rendering lenses I’ve found. It almost never leaves my D810.
An incredible lens!! Large and heavy but not unwieldy (i.e., not difficult to handle in terms of balance on camera). Good to have small, lightweight option and then this when absolute IQ is goal.