Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art review

The Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art is a perfect portrait prime

5 Star Rating
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art
(Image: © Sigma Imaging)

Digital Camera World Verdict

As a full-frame compatible portrait lens for Canon and Nikon DSLRs, this Sigma is a heavyweight contender in every way. It has a big, weighty build for an 85mm f/1.4 prime but is positively supersized in terms of image quality. The lens delivers excellent sharpness even when shooting wide-open, along with beautiful bokeh. It’s an absolute cracker.

Pros

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    Excellent build quality

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    Refined handling

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    Spectacular image quality

Cons

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    Physically large build

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    Weighs over a kilogram

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The Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art measures 95x126mm and tips the scales at 1,130g. It’s frankly enormous for an 85mm f/1.4 lens but, typical of Sigma’s Art line-up, the design is firmly focused on image quality without any concessions to reducing size and weight. A tell-tale sign of the girth is its oversized 86mm filter thread. As with any ‘fast’ 85mm lens, its prime attraction is for portraiture and still-life photography.

Specifications

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Matthew Richards

Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners! 

His expertise with equipment doesn’t end there, though. He is also an encyclopedia  when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related. 

In an earlier life he was a broadcast engineer at the BBC, as well as a former editor of PC Guide.