Why you possibly can belief TechRadar
We spend hours testing each services or products we overview, so that you will be positive you’re shopping for one of the best. Find out more about how we test.
Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Modern: one-minute overview
Most beginner mirrorless cameras can be found as a equipment with a typical zoom lens – a pairing that many customers settle with long-term. Nevertheless, in order for you notably better-quality images from such a setup, my first bit of recommendation could be to spend money on a further lens.
That is the place the Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DC Modern prime is available in. Providing pin-sharp element, dreamy bokeh and an 85mm efficient focal size, it is preferrred for portraiture, and a degree up out of your equipment zoom.
It is considered one of a quartet of dinky f/1.4 primes by Sigma. However of these 4, and certainly of the numerous lenses I’ve examined for crop-sensor cameras, it is Sigma’s 56mm F1.4 that has impressed me essentially the most.
What’s extra – it is tiny, light-weight, and well-built too, which means it will pair properly with mirrorless cameras from the likes of Sony, Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, and extra.
In reality, Sigma needs to be recommended for making this lens accessible for such a variety of lens mounts. It was initially launched for Sony E and Micro 4 Thirds again all the way in which again in 2018, then for different mounts corresponding to Fujifilm X, and solely this yr did it debut for Canon RF – a third-party lens for Canon RF is uncommon.
Put merely, the Sigma 56mm F1.4 is one of the best second lens you should buy on this format, particularly for portraiture. Being a Sigma, it is made in-house in Japan to excessive requirements, and the cherry on the cake is that it is moderately priced too.
Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Modern specs
|
Kind: |
Telephoto prime |
|
Mount: |
L mount, Sony E mount, Fujifilm X mount, Micro 4 Thirds, Nikon Z mount, Canon EF-M mount, Canon RF mount |
|
Sensor: |
APS-C |
|
Focal size: |
56mm (85mm efficient for APS-C and 112mm for MFT) |
|
Max aperture: |
f/1.4 |
|
Minimal focus: |
19.7 inches / 50cm |
|
Filter dimension: |
55mm |
|
Dimensions: |
69 x 57.5mm (Canon RF – different mounts differ barely) |
|
Weight: |
10.2oz / 290g (Canon RF – different mounts differ barely) |
Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Modern: Value and availability
- Accessible for many mirrorless digicam lens mounts
- Priced at round $450 / £420 / AU$650, relying on mount
Sigma gives the 56mm F1.4 DC DN Modern in L mount, Sony E mount, Fujifilm X mount, Micro 4 Thirds mount, Nikon Z mount, Canon EF-M mount and Canon RF mount variations. Put merely, you could find a model of the lens on your crop-sensor mirrorless digicam, with no need an adaptor.
How a lot the lens prices is determined by the model you want. The Canon RF model, for instance, prices $449 / £419 / AU$649, whereas the Sony E-mount model is a little bit cheaper.
Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Modern: Design
- Weighs round 10oz / 285g
- Plastic barrel, no exterior buttons
- Accessible for many mirrorless digicam lens mounts
Lenses for APS-C cameras are usually smaller than equal full-frame optics, and that is definitely true of the Sigma 56mm F1.4. It weighs simply 10oz / 285g (the Canon RF model is just a few grams heavier), and measures 57.5mm in size, whereas an 85mm f/1.4 lens for full-frame cameras would sometimes be double the burden and dimension.
Its diminutive dimensions and light-weight weight make the Sigma lens an acceptable match for the best beginner mirrorless cameras, and it is the dinkiest within the sequence of f/1.4 primes. I used to be testing it with the Canon EOS R100, which is Canon’s smallest mirrorless digicam with RF mount, and there was a very nice steadiness to the pair.
There is a good really feel to the lens too, because of its giant rubberized focus ring that is straightforward to find and clean in motion. The barrel is plastic moderately than steel, nevertheless it feels strong sufficient. I did not precisely thrash the lens round throughout testing and portrait shoots, however I can nonetheless respect its sturdiness.
Picture 1 of 4
The mount, then again, is steel, and most variations function a rubber seal for mud and moisture resistance (the exception is the Canon EF-M model). It is price mentioning that Sigma makes the lens at its HQ in Aizu, Japan, with tight management over construct and optical high quality.
There are zero exterior buttons and switches on the lens; the only handbook management handy is the main target ring. I used to be testing the lens with a beginner-level digicam, which additionally lacks the form of exterior controls discovered on pricier cameras. As such, I missed having fast entry to a primary adjustment corresponding to a handbook / autofocus change.
The lens comes with a generously-sized lens hood, and do you have to need to connect threaded filters you may want 55mm ones. Such small filters are normally fairly low-cost.
Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Modern: Efficiency
- Clean, speedy and exact autofocus
- Most f/1.4 aperture for defocusing backgrounds
- Minimal 19.7 inches / 50cm focus distance delivers 1:7.4 most magnification
Autofocus within the 56mm F1.4 lens is powered by a stepping motor, which drives the light-weight lens parts with ease for quiet, speedy and correct focus. Focusing is inner too – which suggests the lens’s exterior maintains its dimension.
The minimal focus distance is nineteen.7 inches / 50cm, which is fairly respectable for an 85mm-equivalent lens, realizing a 1:74 most magnification. That is no macro lens, nevertheless; the closest you may get to sharp focus is on particulars corresponding to flower heads.
Picture 1 of 2
The aperture vary is f/1.4 to f/16, with a nine-blade rounded aperture. Naturally, I gravitated to the utmost aperture for portraiture, and I think that almost all of the images I might take with the lens, ought to I personal it myself (and I need to), could be at f/1.4.
At this aperture, backgrounds defocus properly for head-and-shoulders portraits, as within the photographs beneath, through which you may also see what bokeh seems like – be aware the standard of the dappled gentle within the background. Bokeh is clean and spherical within the middle of the body, though a little bit cats-eye-shaped within the corners.
On the identical day that I shot these portraits, I additionally used Canon’s personal RF-S 55-210mm F5-7.1 IS STM lens for portraits and the distinction in high quality was clear – bokeh within the lower-end Canon lens has an unpleasant onion-ring impact, whereas the Sigma’s is, as I’ve stated, buttery clean.
Picture 1 of 2
The lens development contains 10 parts in six teams, two of that are aspherical parts, plus one ‘SLD’ ingredient. The result’s ridiculously sharp element, even at f/1.4, though for absolute peak sharpness any setting between f/2.8 to f/5.6 is on the cash.
Like many Sigma lenses, the 56mm F1.4 makes use of in-camera digital correction to fine-tune photographs. I shot images each in uncooked & JPEG, and checked the uncorrected photographs in Adobe Digicam Uncooked, which helps the 56mm lens’s profile for corrections. Switching lens corrections on and off allowed me to see how excessive any corrections are.
Lens distortions corresponding to chromatic aberration and flare are all properly managed off the bat, and positively nothing to fret about. There’s notable pincushion distortion, and modest quantities of vignetting at f/1.4, however nothing that computerized lens corrections cannot deal with simply sufficient.
Picture high quality is great throughout the board, and the excellent sharpness is much more spectacular given the tiny dimensions of the lens.
Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Modern pattern gallery
Picture 1 of 10
Must you purchase the Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Modern?
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
How I examined the Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Modern
- Sigma loaned me the 56mm F1.4 DC DN Modern for just a few weeks
- I examined the lens similtaneously three of Sigma’s different F1.4 primes
- I had the Canon RF-mount model, and paired the lens with a Canon EOS R100
I had a number of weeks to place the Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Modern lens by means of its paces, along with the three different lenses that make up Sigma’s quartet of Modern primes for crop-sensor cameras: the 16mm F1.4, 23mm F1.4 and 30mm F1.4.
They’re among the few third-party lenses made for the Canon RF-mount, which is the model that I had, and I paired the lens with the entry-level Canon EOS R100.
All through my time testing the lens, I’ve set the digicam to shoot in uncooked & JPEG concurrently, with in-camera lens corrections turned off. Adobe Digicam Uncooked’s profile for the lens allowed me to straight examine the extent of corrections which might be utilized.
I’ve principally used the lens for portraiture, making use of its most f/1.4 aperture. I’ve additionally taken photographs in varied eventualities and utilizing varied apertures, to be able to examine for lens distortions and examine element.