1. Do you clearly see aperture move between all stops looking from both sides of the lens? And particularly from the rear roughly where the sensor would sit.
perhaps it is THE reason I don't own this lens but the older non-DN version.
www.thephoblographer.com
ouch. The article title is literally 'one big problem'
edit: I have attempted to apply DN profile to a random image, and distortion is greyed out. So with Sony and perhaps also panasonic bodies you can only bake in distortion correction in camera. So 100% no adapting this this lens, no cine work, none.
amateurphotographer.com
Please note this in reference to distortion remaining AFTER corrections.
Now I think this is key observation. For portrait work wide open this may indeed be a better [marginally or substantially - that I can't say] lens over the old version. However for anything else and over f/2.8 the tables appear to be clearly turned.
phillipreeve.net
Ouch. complex distortion again.
I am sorry but 5% for a short telephoto prime simply is insane, and unrivalled figure considering the MSRP of the lens.
My perhaps over-simplified understanding of Sigma's ART and Contemporary lines was:
ART - fast, ultra-high performance glass without any intentional compromises (zero distortion, low vignette, flare, aberrations, very high level of resolving power, clean rendering of OOF areas)
Contemporary - slower, lighter, even higher value, still great performance but with certain compromises made at design stage such as correctable distortion or vignette
Now it would appear Sigma has been playing around with their ART formula with 85mm DN representing the low point in my view. It seems they got their act back up together with 50mm which appears to be an all out worthy upgrade that I am looking to get, unless I win a lottery and get F/1.2 instead. Sadly 20 and 24mm ART also appear to be a bit of a failure - in sharpness department this time; Contemporary being the far superior versions.
So I would strongly welcome 20, 24 and 85mm ART II versions fixing their respective issues and with the new linear motor. I appreciate this may not happen as soon as '24 or even '25.
The only setting where it could potentially be much better is wide open right at f/1.4. The old lens has a bit of visible haze or lack of contrast. I am sure for some clients that is an ADVANTAGE. At f/2 that's mostly gone and corner sharpness is reasonable but not stellar at 8K (and nothing to worry about on 6K). At f/2.8 and onwards it would be very difficult to noticeably to better these results. Maybe £3K f/1.2 lens is noticeable better overall. That's 5x more expensive.
Now I have spent more time than is reasonable looking at the charts and I am actually struggling to pick a sharper one overall
So distortion and heavier vignette basically become the deciding factors. As I said, screw the weight. I am not swapping ALL of my bag at £10,000s of cost when I can lose more weight on a LOO on a given occasion
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens Image Quality
View the image quality delivered by the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens using ISO 12233 Resolution Chart lab test results. Compare the image quality of this lens with other lenses.www.the-digital-picture.com
Frankly I couldn't give a toss about whether it is 85.000mm or 86.791mm. You will find this discrepancy is even greater with Canon RF glass where the fancy f1.2 is suspected to be somewhat closer to 100mm side giving that extra smooth background rending a bit more like 105mm ART. And likewise nobody gives a thing about it. You take a step back and get on with it.
We'll have to agree to disagree. It does appear on a quick glance that you are glossing over certain aspects to fit your narrative. No-one is disputing that there's heavy distortion, however they are all saying that this is correctable so IMO a total none issue. Titles like "one big problem" are just click bait, the article is generally fully of praise and nowhere does it say that the distortion is such a problem they'd advise not buying the lens. In fact, here's the conclusion from said articleperhaps it is THE reason I don't own this lens but the older non-DN version.
Let's see the actual reviews and what they say other than its light and generally very sharp
One Big Problem. Sigma 85mm f1.4 DG DN Art Review
The Sigma 85mm f1.4 DG DN Art is a nearly perfect portrait lens for photographers shooting E Mount or L Mount mirrorless cameras.
ouch. The article title is literally 'one big problem'
This comes from Nikon adapter user on dpreview. So this is essentially non-adaptable.
edit: I have attempted to apply DN profile to a random image, and distortion is greyed out. So with Sony and perhaps also panasonic bodies you can only bake in distortion correction in camera. So 100% no adapting this this lens, no cine work, none.
Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art Review
The Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art may be the new gold standard in portrait lenses for mirrorless cameras. Michael Topham investigates
Please note this in reference to distortion remaining AFTER corrections.
Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art review
Perfect for portraiture, the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art is a high quality, super-sharp lens that produces beautiful bokehwww.digitalcameraworld.com
Now I think this is key observation. For portrait work wide open this may indeed be a better [marginally or substantially - that I can't say] lens over the old version. However for anything else and over f/2.8 the tables appear to be clearly turned.
That quite an interesting one. Sharpness crops look very much like my own DG version.Review: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art - phillipreeve.net
Is the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art the best 85mm lens for you Sony a7/a9 series camera? Read on to find out!
Ouch. complex distortion again.
So you see this is not something that *I* made up. The lens is OK, and if you shoot portraits you are fine with it. For a mixed case commercial work also involving architecture and products I conclude this one may not be ideal for me. And hopefully Sigma has already taken note of these comments not not release in another "correct it in post" half-ART lens. Just call it Contemporary sunshine, that's your own terminology that you came up with just a few short years prior.
This isn't a lens that would be my first choice for architecture, and to be quite frank I'm amazed people would buy a lens like this for architecture, every day's a school day 
Brody waiting for the good stuff by Trevor, on Flickr
Sounds like you're firmly stuck in the past, I do hope you don't use software to edit your perfect out of camera imagesperhaps it is THE reason I don't own this lens but the older non-DN version.
Let's see the actual reviews and what they say other than its light and generally very sharp
One Big Problem. Sigma 85mm f1.4 DG DN Art Review
The Sigma 85mm f1.4 DG DN Art is a nearly perfect portrait lens for photographers shooting E Mount or L Mount mirrorless cameras.
ouch. The article title is literally 'one big problem'
This comes from Nikon adapter user on dpreview. So this is essentially non-adaptable.
edit: I have attempted to apply DN profile to a random image, and distortion is greyed out. So with Sony and perhaps also panasonic bodies you can only bake in distortion correction in camera. So 100% no adapting this this lens, no cine work, none.
Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art Review
The Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art may be the new gold standard in portrait lenses for mirrorless cameras. Michael Topham investigates
Please note this in reference to distortion remaining AFTER corrections.
Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art review
Perfect for portraiture, the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art is a high quality, super-sharp lens that produces beautiful bokeh
Now I think this is key observation. For portrait work wide open this may indeed be a better [marginally or substantially - that I can't say] lens over the old version. However for anything else and over f/2.8 the tables appear to be clearly turned.
That quite an interesting one. Sharpness crops look very much like my own DG version.Review: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art - phillipreeve.net
Is the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art the best 85mm lens for you Sony a7/a9 series camera? Read on to find out!
Ouch. complex distortion again.
So you see this is not something that *I* made up. The lens is OK, and if you shoot portraits you are fine with it. For a mixed case commercial work also involving architecture and products I conclude this one may not be ideal for me. And hopefully Sigma has already taken note of these comments not not release in another "correct it in post" half-ART lens. Just call it Contemporary sunshine, that's your own terminology that you came up with just a few short years prior.
Well you were definitely going on about it on a daily basis like it's the most pressing global issue at the moment
So
Sounds like you're firmly stuck in the past, I do hope you don't use software to edit your perfect out of camera images
you will actually find I'm probably the one pushing computational end of photography the farthest in this whole forum but don't let this spoil it for you
Well let's just say that's a pretty distorted interpretation of my post. You must have been looking at the forum through a sigma 85mm dn lens with correction disabledWe'll have to agree to disagree. It does appear on a quick glance that you are glossing over certain aspects to fit your narrative. No-one is disputing that there's heavy distortion, however they are all saying that this is correctable so IMO a total none issue. Titles like "one big problem" are just click bait, the article is generally fully of praise and nowhere does it say that the distortion is such a problem they'd advise not buying the lens. In fact, here's the conclusion from said article
View attachment 410619
What most reviews also say is that the new lens is sharper, particularly in the centre (where it matters most in a lens like this for most people), it has better autofocus, better contrast and flare resistance. For me all this, as well as size and weight, far outweighs the fact that it has (correctable) distortion. YMMV as you clearly value lack of distortion over all other aspects, which is of course completely your perogative
Well you were definitely going on about it on a daily basis like it's the most pressing global issue at the moment
but I really don't need any help with this. Seeing how lenses perform is a part of the enjoyment for me.
I initially posted because I thought others may be interested.
I've also repeatedly replied to your repeated posts out of politeness.
If you've been trying to help... Thank You...
And with that you should really move on before one of us gets banned
More interesting than some discussions. I look forward to you getting to the bottom of the issue when you get the chance.
Using the A1 I don’t notice any difference over the A9II, it’s only when comparing with one in one hand and the other in the other hand you notice a very slight difference in weight. Coming from the A9 the A1 will likely feel quite different do to the bigger difference in the grip
No resolutions per se as I don’t believe in them, but I am going to be changing my lifestyle as I need to lose weight and get healthier. It’s not a new years thing, it’s just an I need to stop being a pie thing
Using the A1 I don’t notice any difference over the A9II, it’s only when comparing with one in one hand and the other in the other hand you notice a very slight difference in weight. Coming from the A9 the A1 will likely feel quite different do to the bigger difference in the grip
No resolutions per se as I don’t believe in them, but I am going to be changing my lifestyle as I need to lose weight and get healthier. It’s not a new years thing, it’s just an I need to stop being a pie thing
Far too manyI hope you didn't get too many chocolates & biscuits for Christmas!!
I’ve got 35mm, 50mm and 85mm and I’d say the 85mm is by far the least used, but I don’t do weddings and I do very little portraiture.
Far too many
Using the A1 I don’t notice any difference over the A9II, it’s only when comparing with one in one hand and the other in the other hand you notice a very slight difference in weight. Coming from the A9 the A1 will likely feel quite different do to the bigger difference in the grip
No resolutions per se as I don’t believe in them, but I am going to be changing my lifestyle as I need to lose weight and get healthier. It’s not a new years thing, it’s just an I need to stop being a pie thing
No such thing..Far too many
Never had any luck haggling with the London store, all the rest seem really open to it but not them for some reason. I tend to go onto MBP and get a quote from them as if I were selling a mint copy which gives an idea of what a used private one is worth and then add an appropriate amount to make it worthwhile to them.
MBP offered a surprisingly low price
