Images with the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art

[andybarton]

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7 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Thanks - I didn't look far back enough!

@andybarton @jaapv With apologies for making work, can the threads be merged?

Sorted. 

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[LocalHero1953]

2 minutes ago, andybarton said:

Sorted. 

Thank you!

[LocalHero1953]

Rehearsals for a musical theatre production: the choreographer in charge.
SL2-S + Sigma 85 f/1.4 DG DN. All taken at f/1.4, and most with AI noise reduction in Lightroom.
Shows the value of the lens in separating the subject from the background.

 

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Edited May 6, 2024 by LocalHero1953

[Olaf_ZG]

@LocalHero1953image no. 4, the girl and guy having similar posing of the hands, great…

Looks like I might prefer the 85 over the summicron 75/90, which is not bad for my wallet…

[Olaf_ZG]

@LocalHero1953 several weeks later. How is your feeling? Is the lens great value? Next to the lux? Is it complementary for portraits? Can their mages be in the same portfolio, or is there too much difference in rendering?

[LocalHero1953]

50 minutes ago, Olaf_ZG said:

@LocalHero1953 several weeks later. How is your feeling? Is the lens great value? Next to the lux? Is it complementary for portraits? Can their mages be in the same portfolio, or is there too much difference in rendering?

Yes, it is great value, in that it gives me just the sort of look I want in an AF lens that is a lot cheaper than Leica would charge - if it made something similar!

For portraits where I am not distracted, and have time to think, I prefer the Summilux-M 75, but where I am continually distracted by other things (for me that is typically in play rehearsals and other performance) I prefer the comfort blanket of AF from the Sigma 85 or the Summilux-SL 50, depending on the size of frame I am aiming for. Both lenses, like any other f/1.4, can pull a sharp image out of a complex scene, but these two also create no distractions in the out of focus areas. Some examples from last Sunday, a play rehearsal in a church hall with multiple distractions of brightly lit windows, patterned curtains, posters on the walls, toys on shelves, other actors in the background.....). I have selected them not for their composition and image quality but because they focus attention on the key person or expression, while the background (or foreground) is  passive. The photos (or others from the session) will be used in social media publicity, where the viewer's attention must be drawn to the main feature, and not to the background. In my experience, the Apo-Summicrons, wonderful though they are in colour and detail, are not as good as these two lenses at removing background distractions - there's always a hint of nerviness.

 

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Edited June 6, 2024 by LocalHero1953

[Olaf_ZG]

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Tomorrow I will go to my dealer. Going to sell my cron 35 (m) and was really thinking to buy this lens. But may be I shouldn’t. I am still learning the SL lux and doing portraits. Having a simple setup: 1 lens, 1 camera, max 2 lights, allows me to really focus on the sitter. Changing lenses might be a distraction. At the other hand, I do have two bodies.

Besides, using one lens, and learning it, will give me a consistency in my portfolio.

What will give the Sigma what the lux can’t ?

[LocalHero1953]

3 hours ago, Olaf_ZG said:

What will give the Sigma what the lux can’t ?

The obvious - tighter framing.

Yes, I could crop, but my mind doesn't work that way: I'me beginning to think I'm a WYSIWYG EVF person. I'm not convinced I'm getting the best out of my Q2 for just this reason. Although with my film Leicas I work happily with the wide-angle OVF, it is probably because I'm working in the limited 28-50 range.

[Olaf_ZG]

21 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

The obvious - tighter framing.

Today I tried the lens, and happy I did before buying, as in the end I didn’t bought it. When taking portraits I want to be close, and with 85mm I feel I am too far away.

I did shot some portraits just to test, and the lens seems great for that, if you like to have some distance from your sitter in order to fill the frame.

50mm is my f/l. Good to have this confirmed, good to have it tried. This nagging feeling of gas can now be ignored. The lens I have will be my portrait lens for the upcoming years.

[PavelS]

The Sigma 85/1.4 is great performer although in line with Sigma Art "DNA" it is rather technical, not magical. I have been using this lens for 3 months and eventually sold it and replaced it with Lumix 85/1.8 due its lower weight and faster AF on both - Leica SL2-s and Lumix S5IIX. The following two portrait images are taken with SL2-s and Sigma 85/1.4 DG DN and the other pair of images with cat was captured with original SL where the first image is Sigma 85/1.4 and the second is APO Summicron SL 90.

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[egrossman]

On 5/1/2024 at 3:49 AM, LocalHero1953 said:

SL2-S and (first) Sigma 85 and (second) Summilux-SL 50. Little or no cropping. f/1.4, off camera flash.

Taken from different distances to fill the frame, I prefer the 85 to the 50; to my mind the face is subject to a little distortion at 50mm because I have to be close. And from a human point of view, I would prefer not to get this close to the model - it can feel a bit intrusive of the personal space.

 

The 85mm Sigma lens is very impressive and I also prefer the redering in your samples over the Summilux. I'm finding these Sigma lenses bitingly sharp which is a problem on anything less than flawless (young) skin. I've been experimenting with diffusion filters like the Tiffan Black Pro-Mist 1/4. I only recently acquired the SL2-S and my first Sigma lens is the 50mm f2 DG DN.

Erik

Edited June 17, 2024 by egrossman

[LocalHero1953]

19 minutes ago, egrossman said:

The 85mm Sigma lens is very impressive and I also prefer the redering in your samples over the Summilux. I'm finding these Sigma lenses, bitingly sharp which is a problem on anything less than flawless (young) skin. I've been experimenting with diffusion filters like the Tiffan Black Pro-Mist 1/4. I only recently acquired the SL2-S and my first Sigma lens is the 50mm f2 DG DN.

Erik

Interesting. Coming to this lens from the Apo-Summicron-SL 75 (and Apo M 75 and 90 equivalents) I don't find it as sharp as your words imply, though it is a bit sharper than the Summilux-M 75.

[PavelS]

2 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Interesting. Coming to this lens from the Apo-Summicron-SL 75 (and Apo M 75 and 90 equivalents) I don't find it as sharp as your words imply, though it is a bit sharper than the Summilux-M 75.

I had APO Summicrons SL 75 and 90 on loan from a friend for few months and when I purchased the Sigma 85/1.4 I was surprised how well the Sigma 85 does keep pace with the APO Summicrons - untill I magnified the images in LR. When I compared the 100% enlargements I suddenly become suspicious my new Sigma is defective!  It was not, but in that particular case it was obvious why is the APO Summicron so much expensive. However when observed at normal magnification the Sigma is as good and in some cases I like the rendering even better (maybe). It is just one out of dozen images where the stars get aligned somehow and creates the optimal conditions for Leica to show its brilliance and superiority. I am thinking that to get most of the Leica APO lenses the photographers must do its part to unlock the Leica superpowers within the lens but it does not come itself automatically.

[chrismuc]

On 6/17/2024 at 10:36 PM, PavelS said:

I had APO Summicrons SL 75 and 90 on loan from a friend for few months and when I purchased the Sigma 85/1.4 I was surprised how well the Sigma 85 does keep pace with the APO Summicrons - untill I magnified the images in LR. When I compared the 100% enlargements I suddenly become suspicious my new Sigma is defective!  It was not, but in that particular case it was obvious why is the APO Summicron so much expensive. However when observed at normal magnification the Sigma is as good and in some cases I like the rendering even better (maybe). It is just one out of dozen images where the stars get aligned somehow and creates the optimal conditions for Leica to show its brilliance and superiority. I am thinking that to get most of the Leica APO lenses the photographers must do its part to unlock the Leica superpowers within the lens but it does not come itself automatically.

Can you share two images at f2 to compare? Thx. 

[PavelS]

16 minutes ago, chrismuc said:

Can you share two images at f2 to compare? Thx. 

The first image is the APO Summicron 90 and the second is Sigma 85/1.4. I do not have the original RAW files unfortunately so I can not crop to show the details.

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[chrismuc]

On 6/19/2024 at 8:19 PM, PavelS said:

The first image is the APO Summicron 90 and the second is Sigma 85/1.4. I do not have the original RAW files unfortunately so I can not crop to show the details.

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1. You could select a 2048 wide crop of a jpg, to see the sharpness at 100%, must not be from Raw, assumed that the jpg sharpness settings are the same for both images 

2. That motive is IMO difficult to determine the difference in sharpness of two world class lenses.

[PavelS]

Unfortunately those images are already saved in the size 2048px longer side, 96dpi. From this size you really can not see any meaningful details. My original idea was to capture this image focused on the building in distant background and then I enlarged the image in LR and also exported the crop details. But then later I have  deleted the files during a clean up and just happen to keep these two.

[Olaf_ZG]

@LocalHero1953I really shouldn’t ask, but still, the desire for a tighter portrait lens remains… 

what’s your feeling after several months?

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[LocalHero1953]

3 hours ago, Olaf_ZG said:

@LocalHero1953I really shouldn’t ask, but still, the desire for a tighter portrait lens remains… 

what’s your feeling after several months?

I can best answer that by saying that I have no hankering after another portrait lens (unless a Noctilux 75 happened to fall into my lap). Between the Summilux-M 75, the Apo-Summicron-SL 75, the Summilux-SL 50, the Sigma 85 and the Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90, I ought to have all bases covered - and I do. They all get used, depending on the scenario, subjects and purpose. 

[LocalHero1953]

On 8/28/2024 at 8:27 PM, Olaf_ZG said:

@LocalHero1953I really shouldn’t ask, but still, the desire for a tighter portrait lens remains… 

what’s your feeling after several months?

Since my previous post I have received a Sigma 70 Macro DG ART. It was bought for film scanning, but I realise I have accidentally acquired another portrait lens. For most portraits and headshots I still prefer the 75-90 range, but I will see what 70 looks like. 

Edited August 30, 2024 by LocalHero1953