Sigma 135mm F18 Dg Hsm if Art Lens for Canon

If yous're a fan of the Sigma 85mm f1.4 Fine art lens, so you're spring to autumn head over heels for the Sigma 135mm f1.8 DG HSM Art lens. When it comes to portrait lenses, photographers are typically tied to the 85mm and 135mm focal lengths: and so that makes this latest decision fifty-fifty harder. Both are good. In fact, both are fantastic. Only with the new Sigma 135mm f1.8 Art lens, y'all become what seems like a smaller and lighter lens though surely longer. Plus information technology has weather sealing and a classic quality about it with but a scrap less contrast than many of the other Sigma Fine art lenses.

But is it the correct portrait lens for you?

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Sharp
• Cute bokeh
• Fast autofocus
• Not as contrasty, so better for peel tones
• f1.8 aperture
• Weather sealing
• Not as heavy as the 85mm f1.4

Cons

• Non a darn thing.

Gear Used

We tested the Sigma 135mm f1.eight Art lens with the Catechism 6D, Canon 5D Mk IV, and the Adorama Flashpoint Zoom Lion Flash with transmitter. ExpoImaging gels were also used.

Tech Specs

Specs taken from the Sigma listing page.

Lens Construction	13 Elements in x Groups
Angle of View (35mm)	18.ii°
Number of Diaphragm Blades	ix (Rounded diaphragm)
Mininum Aperture	F16
Minimum Focusing Distance	87.5cm / 34.4in
Filter Size (mm)	φ82㎜
Maximum Magnifications	i:iv.3
Dimensions (Diameter x Length)	Φ91.4mm × 114.9mm / three.6in. x four.5in.
Weight	ane,130g / forty.9oz.
Corresponding Mounts	Sigma HSM DG Nikon HSM DG Canon HSM DG
HSM -Hyper-Sonic Motor DG – DG for Digital Full Frame and APS-C * The appearance, specifications, and the similar of the product are subject field to change for improvement without notice.

Ergonomics

The Sigma 135mm f1.viii DG HSM Fine art lens is a long and fairly skinny offer. When you look at it, the lens has all the hallmarks of a Sigma lens. There's a metal-ish material, the massive rubber focusing band, a pretty useless focusing calibration, and the Signature A in silver and white to designed the Fine art series.

Turn to the front of the lens and what you lot'll notice is the 82mm filter thread. The lens is smaller without the lens hood on.

The Sigma 135mm f1.8 DG HSM Art lens has two switches on the side. One switch is for AF/MF while the other is the focus limiter. Generally speaking, I've never had to use the focus limiter. But image stabilization would take made more sense.

Build Quality

The Sigma 135mm f1.viii DG HSM Art lens is built with a bit of weather resistance into it. It's not equally much as Tamron's, but it's there. Yous can see it on the mount with the prophylactic gasket ring which completes the seal when attached to the camera you lot're using.

This lens can more withstand well-nigh of what a typical portrait photographer will throw at it.

Ease of Use

This is a long telephoto lens–it's useless to use in manual focus. Only you can use it in autofocus style with ease. Simply pop it onto your camera, choose a focusing point, focus, shoot and enjoy the prototype. That'due south all.

My only complaint, and it's maybe very personal, is that the Sigma 135mm f1.8 DG HSM Fine art lens should have incorporated image stabilization. That would make handheld shooting easier overall. Still though, the lens isn't all that incredibly heavy and if you use proper techniques when shooting in portrait orientation, you won't have much of a problem.

Autofocus

When using the Sigma 135mm f1.8 DG HSM Art lens, y'all can trust in fast focusing abilities that are mostly reliable. In our tests, the focusing just didn't work out that well in depression light and using the outer focusing points of the Canon 6D. But otherwise, it was pretty snappy even in very low lite.

For portrait photographers, this is more than than all you demand.

Note: at ane point, the focusing didn't work out all that perfectly when a portrait subject's pilus was flying almost. But that's sort of to be expected.

Epitome Quality

The Sigma 135mm f1.8 DG HSM Art lens is really incredible when information technology comes to prototype quality. Like many of the other art lenses, there isn't a whole lot to complain about. Bokeh? Oh human, practise you accept it. Sharpness? Yep. Colors? Well, that'due south where some folks may be torn. Photographers that like the more muted colors will enjoy this lens a whole lot. But photographers that take come to admire Sigma's saturation in many of their other lenses may not like this.

Bokeh

The bokeh of the Sigma 135mm f1.8 DG HSM Art lens is arguably the best of whatever Sigma prime lens designated for portraiture. At all times it is very creamy. And then when you consider how close this lens tin can focus, information technology'south no contest. Still, portrait photographers will not observe it that much improve over the Sigma 85mm f1.4 Fine art to justify having both lenses or perhaps "upgrading to it."

The bokeh besides isn't majorly emphasized here due to micro-contrast or vignetting amongst other tricks.

Chromatic Aberration

In that location's zippo chromatic aberration with the Sigma 135mm f1.viii DG HSM Fine art lens. In fact, I'm sort of distressing almost that. I wish that this lens didn't control flare and then well as it would add a bit more character to the lens and offer a bit more than differentiation from the Sigma 85mm f1.4 Art.

Luckily, there's no purple fringing or other problems to complain virtually.

Color Rendition

Let me show y'all something. This image above is from the Sigma 135mm f1.8 DG HSM Fine art lens.

Now this image above is shot in a similar time and place with the Sigma 85mm f1.4 Fine art.

This isn't a direct comparison, but the tonalities, times shot and the settings are all similar. But I experience like the Sigma 135mm f1.8 DG HSM Fine art lens offers a more muted look when it comes to skin tones. And I genuinely capeesh that more despite my pre-disposition to working with an 85mm lens instead. Information technology will just mean that I do less mail-production.

Sharpness

The Sigma 135mm f1.eight DG HSM Fine art lens exhibits its best sharpness when a wink or strobe is used. And to that stop, I believe that the Sigma 85mm f1.4 is only slightly sharper. But when yous're looking at output from both lenses, information technology's going to exist tough to discern the two.

Extra Image Samples

Conclusions

Likes

• Pretty much everything about it

Dislikes

• OIS would have been a very welcome improver.

There isn't a single reason why the Sigma 135mm f1.viii DG HSM Art lens shouldn't receive our Editor's Selection award. It has great bokeh, is sharp, focuses quickly, has color that volition appeal to one segment of the photography population more than the other, and has no real "issues" per se. Just very personally, I wish that information technology had more than weather condition sealing, optical image stabilization, and I was able to become some flare out of information technology the mode that I tin can with Zeiss lenses. That would put this lens over the top.

In comparison, it'due south a different lens from the Sigma 85mm f1.4 Fine art lens only probably non enough besides focal lengths.

With that said, the Sigma 135mm f1.8 DG HSM Art lens receives not but our Editor's Choice honor but as well five out of five stars . Want 1? Get ready to drop $1,399 on Amazon; though it may come downwardly in price soon.

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Source: https://www.thephoblographer.com/2017/06/12/review-sigma-135mm-f1-8-dg-hsm-art-canon-ef/