Photography Life

PL provides various digital photography news, reviews, articles, tips, tutorials and guides to photographers of all levels

  • Lens Reviews
  • Camera Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • Compare Cameras
  • Forum
    • Sign Up
    • Login
  • About
  • Search
Home โ†’ Reviews โ†’ Cameras and Lenses โ†’ Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Review

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Review

By Nasim Mansurov 52 Comments
Last Updated On July 3, 2020

«»

Summary

While being the largest, heaviest and the priciest of the 50mm lenses I have tested so far, The Sigma f/1.4 EX DG HSM simply fails to deliver. Its high levels of purple fringing and relatively low sharpness in the center frame are disappointing, while the corners are clearly the worst in the group. Longitudinal chromatic aberration levels are the highest as well, and as you have seen earlier, the rendering of bokeh is not great either, except when shot at f/1.4. In addition, the Sigma f/1.4 I tested was the only lens in the group that was heavily front-focused, which shows just how bad the QA of third party manufacturers can be. I would personally send it back to Sigma for readjustment and calibration right away, but I did not bother, since it was loaned to me for a month anyway. Sure, its vignetting level and AF performance (when properly calibrated) are impressive when compared against the slower Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G, but those are the only two positives I can think of. Considering the size and weight, it almost feels like an 85mm prime rather than a 50. Its corner sharpness looks better on a DX camera, but not by a huge margin.

Don’t waste your money on this lens – it is simply not worth the $500 Sigma is asking for. When compared to other 50mm lenses currently available on the market, the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 has the worst price-performance ratio. Even the much cheaper and lighter Nikon 50mm f/1.8G performs better in most tests in comparison.

Where to Buy

This lens has been discontinued and is no longer available to purchase from retail stores like B&H Photo Video. If you would like to purchase this lens, I would recommend to check out sites like eBay.

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM
  • Optical Performance
  • Features
  • Bokeh Quality
  • Build Quality
  • Focus Speed and Accuracy
  • Handling
  • Value
  • Size and Weight

Photography Life Overall Rating

3.9

Table of Contents

  • Overview and Specifications
  • Optical Features
  • Lens Comparisons
  • Summary
  • More Image Samples
  • Reader Comments
«»
Looking for even more exclusive content?

On Photography Life, you already get world-class articles with no advertising every day for free. As a Member, you'll get even more:

Silver ($5/mo)
  • Exclusive articles
  • Monthly Q&A chat
  • Early lens test results
  • "Creative Landscape Photography" eBook
Gold ($12/mo)
  • All that, PLUS:
  • Online workshops
  • Monthly photo critiques
  • Vote on our next lens reviews
 
Click Here to Join Today
 
Disclosures, Terms and Conditions and Support Options

Learn

  • Beginner Photography
  • Landscape Photography
  • Wildlife Photography
  • Portraiture
  • Post-Processing
  • Advanced Tutorials
Photography Life on Patreon

Reviews

  • Camera Reviews
  • Lens Reviews
  • Other Gear Reviews
  • Best Cameras and Lenses

Photography Tutorials

Photography Basics
Landscape Photography
Wildlife Photography
Macro Photography
Composition & Creativity
Black & White Photography
Night Sky Photography
Portrait Photography
Street Photography
Photography Videos

Unique Gift Ideas

Best Gifts for Photographers

Subscribe via Email

If you like our content, you can subscribe to our newsletter to receive weekly email updates using the link below:

Subscribe to our newsletter

Site Menu

  • About Us
  • Beginner Photography
  • Lens Database
  • Lens Index
  • Photo Spots
  • Search
  • Forum

Reviews

  • Reviews Archive
  • Camera Reviews
  • Lens Reviews
  • Other Gear Reviews

More

  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Workshops
  • Support Us
  • Submit Content

Copyright © 2025 ยท Photography Life

You are going to send email to

Move Comment