Sigma 14mm F/1.8 DG HSM Art Lens Review

Photographer, Christopher Frost just got his hands on a new Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art lens and gave it a proper test on several different cameras with some interesting results.

There are more and more high-quality ultra wide angle full frame lens options on the market and the 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art is one of the most recent ones by Sigma. The lens will also have a Sony FE mount version which is important as we will see in a second but Frost tested the Canon EF version in this review.

This new lens is huge and heavy (1,120g / 39.5oz.) with a very large front element and no (round) filter option sadly (most ultra wide angle lenses wider than 15mm have this limitation though).

The build quality of this lens seems great although the balance is better on larger bodies obviously). The AF is fast but the sample that Frost tested needed some calibration in camera (Sigma always recommend that if you buy one of their lenses you will give it to their support center or dealer to have it properly calibrated – and we have done that in the past and it does help to a degree).

In terms of sharpness – on a Canon 6D this lens is super sharp wide open across the frame (a test on a 5DR or a D850 would have been a bit more interesting in this respect due to the resolution) and Frost tried to test it on the A7R II and while the center was crazy sharp wide open the corners where not at all until about f/11 (field curvature apparently – this is why a dedicated Sony FE version of this lens might be a good idea).

There is some darkening in the corners wide open on a FF camera but it drops significantly at F/2.8, there is also some barrel distortion, but on the bright side it does seem to handle flare pretty well (for what it is), and the Bokeh looks nice and so is the sharpness close up.

At the end of the day, this seems like another very solid ART lens from Sigma. The only thing that you really need to ask yourself is – can you live with the size and weight of this lens and are you willing to shall $1,475 for it.

You can find many more previews and reviews on our Photography review section here on LensVid and you can find more of Frost’s videos here on LensVid.

Iddo Genuth

Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.