35mm F1.4 Art DG HSM Lens for Nikon, Black, 3.7 x 3.03 x 3.03 (340306)

I'm a prime lens guy. While I have a number of zoom lenses primarily for travel, my passion is for the high IQ provided by primes. 35mm and 85mm are my favorite focal lengths. Accordingly, I have owned and previewed multiple offerings of lenses at these two focal lengths. Currently, Nikon leads at the 85mm FL, with its 1.4G lens which matches the Canon 1.2L (I own both lenses) in IQ and bokeh, in a more compact package with faster AF. The story is very different at 35mm. I have owned the Nikon 35mm 1.8G, Samyang/Rokinon 35mm 1.4, and the Canon 35mm 1.4L. The Canon dominates the 1.8G, and from what I hear, is better than Nikon's 1.4G. The Samyang/Rokinon is close to the Canon--perhaps even sharper wide open--, but it's manual focus, and I strongly prefer AF for focal lengths greater than 24mm. I truly loved the Canon L lens. It is very sharp from f/2.0 (peaks in sharpness at f/4.0-f/5.6), has great color and contrast, and little vignetting above 1.8. I have used the lens as a walk-around lens, for street photography, and for taking photos in museums. It was great for this last purpose, because I could get sharp, vibrant, shots without using a flash. However, the lens is not perfect. It produces horrible chromatic aberration, and is rather soft wide open. Of course, all fast lenses are soft wide open, right? NO! The Sigma 35mm is sharp at all apertures. I purchased the Sigma to use with my D800E because I always use a 35mm prime (see above) in my photography. However, I wasn't willing to pay the tariff for the Nikon 35mm 1.4 especially since its reviews were so-so at best (it's softer than the Canon wide open but sharper than Canon by f/5.6). Given the Sigma's bargain price and its good reviews, I purchased a copy. I have not been disappointed. The lens is better than all 35mm lenses I have used. It is sharp wide open and just gets sharper as the lens is stopped down. The color and contrast is on par with the Nikon 85mm ( basically, amazing). Vignetting is well-controlled, only noticeable wide open. More importantly, CA, unlike the Canon L, is well controlled. It simply isn't a problem. The only knock on the Sigma is the quality of its bokeh. Some have complained that it is particularly harsh. Well, it is no match for the 85mm lenses (few lenses are), but it is no worst than the bokeh that any of the other 35mm lenses produce (I haven't tested the Zeiss version, and I hear that the Nikon 1.4 is very good, but not as good as an 85). My Nikon 1.8G produced the worst bokeh. The Sigma and Canon L are close in bokeh quality. For me, this isn't a problem. Bokeh is not that important to me at this FL (it is at 85mm and above!), and I have yet to find the background blur for this lens distracting. Therefore, the Sigma is absolutely a keeper. It is a well-built lens that balances nicely at the end of my D800E. It focuses quickly and accurately, and I love its slick, black machined look. It just looks very professional. At its price, it is an absolute bargain. It will spend a lot of time at the end of my camera.

"You pay for what you get" is true more often than not. Sigma is not synonymous for high quality, but rather a good price point with sacrificing on build quality and sharpness. If you wanted both, Canon and Nikon made you reach deep into your pockets. More recently, one has the ability to rent and try out professional quality lenses. Lensrentals and Hawaii photo rental are known for their reputation of quality products for rent along with great customer service. With regard to Sigma, Lensrentals has not had great experience with Sigma's in the recent past [...] But with the Sigma 35 1.4, all appears to be changing... Cost is about 1/2 the Nikon equivalent. Sharpness is incredible. Microcontrast is superb and bokeh appears smoother and better than Canon and Nikon. One of the most critical and comprehensive reviewers -- Lloyd Chambers (digilloyd) also rates it better than Canon and Nikon's version of the 35 1.4. Demand is soaring and many are becoming big fans of Sigma's new "art" lens. After reading many of the glowing reviews, I skeptically asked, "is it that good?" My answer -- YES...it's better than I expected. I'm shooting with a D800E and paired together, the photos appear 3D when it's shot wide open. Stopping down to 2.8-5.6 and the lens sharpness grows and grows with minimal distortion. Focusing is silent and quick. Quality of the lens is solid and not plastic feeling. The one downside is that the lens is not weather sealed. If you work in those demanding conditions then, this may not be the lens for you. Otherwise, why would you choose anything else? Cost is 50% less, build quality is fantastic, sharpness is incredible and outshines Canon and Nikon's counterparts, and it takes images that look like it was taken with a professional lens! Sigma has given me many reasons as to why I should purchase this and I have no regrets at all. The how is another story -- Amazon was sold out for weeks along with Adorama and B&H photo. Highly recommended and I don't think you'd have too many regrets!

WOW. This is my first non-Nikon lens for my full frame cameras and I went through really great or really bad reviews before making this purchase. This lens suffers from AF fine tune issues out of the box for many people and it was out for me. I did purchase the Sigma USB Dock but haven't used it just yet. I set up my Spyder LensCal unit and used the AF Fine Tune option in my Nikon D5. Now that it's dialed in...wow. f/1.4 is really sharp but it gets really REALLY sharp at f/1.8 and f/2. It's a really great focal length and it's a lot of fun to use. People say it's heavy but they must be used to all plastic kit lenses. The weight of this lens is comparable to my Nikon 85mm f/1.4 lens. Build quality is actually really good compared my Nikon lenses. It has a different finish than the Nikon. The Nikon has that splattered paint type of finish where the Sigma is smooth black. It still feels really good. People have commented on focus ring issues but mine feels great. I think it's a little tighter than my Nikon lenses but in a good way. It's firm movement...not sloppy and very controlled. Another person said the manual focus switch felt like a toy...I think it feels perfect. No different than my Nikon lenses. The base of the lens is metal as well so it's strong there. One item I'm really happy about is the lens hood which I always use for protection as I don't use lens filters. The lens hood on my 85mm just doesn't lock into place and it's annoying. The 35mm lens hood twists on solid and has a big notch when it locks into place. It's not going anywhere. It's also made out of a slightly thicker plastic than the Nikon lens hoods. The difference is that when you set the camera down, it's all quiet. Setting the camera down with a Nikon lens hood on and you can hear it. Thinner plastic that somehow resonates the sound. It definitely feels cheaper than the Sigma. Finally, the bokeh. Oooohhhh the bokeh. Extremely creamy and gorgeous. Some of the best bokeh I've ever seen. You won't be disappointed with it! Overall I'm extremely happy with this purchase. If I didn't already have my Nikon 85mm lens, I'd absolutely go for the Sigma 85 Art lens.

This is the sharpest 35mm lens in existence. Period. Mine is razor sharp at f1.4, though YMMV. *It has very nice Bokeh, round and smooth like the bokeh balls should be, and it blurs beautifully. *It is heavy. Like sticking a brick on the end of your... brick. If you have twig arms and no muscles, I warned you. *The auto-focus is very smooth and quiet, and the override works well, though I am always worried I'll break it. It can be a bit touchy in manual focus, but I don't mind. Shallow DoF is always like that. Do this lens a favor and buy a B&W 010 of 007 CLEAR filter. It needs protection, especially for $900-1000. The lens hood is acceptable. It looks ridiculous like every other one, but it does its job. It also makes the lens significantly longer. You will get weird(er) looks if you do street photography with it on. Works well on a DX camera too. I originally used mine on a D7000. I couldnt justify paying $600+ for an only-acceptable-quality DX-only lens. Glad I made the investment. Also, comes in a really kickass case for shelf storage.

Well, I will tip my cap to Sigma on this 35mm 1.4 DG HSM Lens. I read some very early reviews on this which were mostly quite positive and decided it was time to purchase a 35mm prime for my Nikon D700 full frame body. I am *NOT* disappointed in the slightest bit. This lens is delivering everything I had hoped for and more. Having owned several of Nikon's professional lenses (24-70 2.8, 80-200 2.8, etc) I was surprised to see build quality to be as good as it is. I feel I'll own this lens for 20 years; it's built like a tank. The optics are top notch and comparing samples from my shooting over the past 2-3 weeks, it's likely the sharpest lens I've ever owned. Not much fine tuning needed with my D700 to get pinpoint perfect focus either. Color rendition is very good. I process all images via RAW in Lightroom and the amount of data I have to work with here is fantastic. I honestly couldn't recommend this lens enough. Though I've not shot with Nikon's own expensive 35mm lens, I can't possibly imagine that lens offering anything this isn't. If this is was Sigma has to offer in terms of the future of their artist line of products, Nikon & Canon are *genuinely* going to have a problem on their hands. I'd fill my entire lens lineup with Sigma glass if it were all this good no problem.

Upgraded to this lens from an older 35mm f/2 after looking at my photographs and realizing that the 35 f/2 was spending most of the time on the camera. I wanted a lens that would take advantage of the sensor and this lens works great. It's larger and heavier but faster and sharper, so the size isn't really an issue. I've been working with this lens a little longer now and I wanted to update this review. This is a great lens, the best lens in my bag and it will be the primary lens on my camera. It's got a great angle of view and it focuses close enough that I can just use my macro for true macro things, the bokeh is round and the lens and has great contrast. I'm looking forward to seeing the other lenses Sigma will produce in this line.

Update: I sent this lens for Sigma to repair it. after about a week, they sent me an estimate $240 to repair the malfunctioning focus. the warranty is 4 years, mine was a few months out of the 4 years warranty. I checked on youtube, fredmiranda, B&H, adorama of course Amazon and other professional photographer's discussion forum about this issue. it seems that it is not an isolated issue, quite some other photographer running into this problem. Sigma service department was just deflecting the real issue of quality to something else. but just couldn't explain the fact that out of the 10 other Nikon Lens I had none of them having any issue what so ever, but 2 out of the 3 Sigma lens I owned gave me trouble. Lessons learned: if you shoot photo professionally, and don't want that embarrassing moment that lens fail you in front of client, and ruin your reputation, then don't try to save a few hundred dollars to buy Sigma, because in the end, they are going to bite you at later time. not only an expensive repair bill, but more detrimentally they ruin your business reputation. I am not saying that this lens never do a good job, they could, the real problem is Sigma's notorious quality control issue, you could end up with a good one lasting for a long time, or you could end up a bad one like I did, it is like rolling a dice gambling your luck, if you think you can afford to put your business reputation in line with Sigma's quality, go for it, mine had proven to be a very bad one. today I give Sigma 35mm F1.4 ART Lens a 1 star, No Sigma in my professional use any more in the future. === After extensive test and use, I found this Sigma Art series 35mm lens having significant issue on Focusing, if I set up camera focus to "FOCUS" not "RELEASE + FOCUS", it gave me quite some very awkward moment in front of client. it simply does not focus at all. and I googled it, found many other users reporting similar issue, I would urge Sigma recall the lens and correct it before release product to market.

This thing is a BEAST. I've been longing to purchase a full frame f1.4 prime for the longest time but I couldn't decide which to purchase. There was the Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art and the Nikon 35mm 1.4. I tried out both and they were just amazing but I was leaning towards the 35mm focal length. However, I just couldn't justify the $1400+ price point. I then discovered this. This. This is what dreams are made of. I immediately ordered this bad boy and as soon as it arrived, I slapped it onto my D810 and BOOM! Amazing photos. The color. The contrast. The BOKEH. OMG. I've been missing out for so long. This lens is by far the best investment in photography I have ever made. The nicest, most solid piece of metal and glass you will ever purchase. If any fan-boi snob comes up to you, calling you a peasant for purchasing 3rd party glass, don't mind him. Because he's a fool. This lens is truly a work of "ART."

I am happy with the lens although it does have some focusing issues as other people have stated. I have purchased the Sigma USB dock and hopefully that will sort that out. Would have been better if it worked straight out of the box but I purchased knowing that it might not be. It was a great price!

Muy buena nitidez y de rápido enfoque El material y acabado es de alta calidad, del ha vuelto en mi objetivo favorito ✌🏻

I love the Bokeh and sturdy build of this lens believe it has great potential. super sharp I loved it and I am not moving it from my body it's main lens A little bit heavy the motor noise illite bit high in recording but it's not a big deal as long as I am adding music in the meeting

Este realmemte es un objetivo pata negra de precio asequible comparandolo con Nikon. Buena construccion que se nota simplemente al cogerlo. Excelente calidad y nitidez óptica incluso a máxima apertura. Sin duda es el mejor objetivo que he tenido y vale su precio sobradamente. Por ahora no se me ocurre ponerle ningun pero.

ニコンFマウント用購入。ニコン純正の50mm f1.8使ってるけどAFはシグマの方が早い。他のレビュー通りキレッキレの写真が撮れます。ニコン純正じゃなくこっち買って正解でした。