Sigma 105mm ƒ/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens Sample Images

I’ve recently been out shooting with the Sigma 105mm ƒ/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens. Here are some photos I’ve taken with it. I’m posting them here are some real-world examples of how it performs in everyday shooting.

Sigma has two 105mm lenses in its DSLR lineup. ¹ This is the fastest, with a maximum aperture of ƒ/1.4. There’s also the Sigma 105mm ƒ/2.8 macro, a lens I’ve covered before.

The ƒ/1.4 is bigger, heavier, and more expensive. ²

Probably the most typical use for this lens is in the studio and for portraits. But I’m a sucker for ƒ/1.4 lenses for travel photography. They’re great for low-light shooting and for isolating subjects in ways that other lenses can’t. They’re also quite unforgiving in terms of critical focus, something that becomes more pronounced the higher the focal length.))

So I wanted to see how this lens performed as a general travel-type lens. I did a similar test of the Nikon 105mm ƒ/1.4. ³

I’ve posted a hands-on review separately, but to go along with that, here are some sample images I’ve shot with it. These aren’t necessarily the typical type of images that this lens is more commonly used for, and that’s deliberate. I plan to add more images to this collection as I get more shots.

Photos Taken with the Sigma 105mm ƒ/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens

You can click on each image for a full-resolution version. These have been lightly processed in Lightroom, but I haven’t applied any of the optical lens correction tools such as vignetting correction or chromatic aberration fixes. I’ve also not applied any extra sharpening beyond the default settings Lightroom uses. ⁴

I’ve included the aperture used for each shot in the captions below. You’ll notice that many of these were taken wide open or close to it. That’s deliberate. The feature that really sets this lens apart for me, and justifies its premium price, is that it’s fast. So the apertures under ƒ/2.8 are of most interest to me; if I’m only using ƒ/2.8 and above, there are other good alternatives from both Nikon and Sigma that are significantly less expensive and more portable than this lens (and also have macro). So these sample images are admittedly not fully representative of the performance throughout the aperture range; they focus in on the ones I’m most interested in using this lens at. In other words, I’m focusing most on what this lens offers that I can’t already get in a cheaper, smaller lens.

And, finally, this is only a preliminary selection. I plan to add to it as I take more shots.

Optical Correction Tools

I deliberately haven’t applied extensive corrections to these images. And the general rule of thumb in photography is that it’s better to get the shot right at the time of capture rather than trying to fix it after. That’s a great aspiration, but it’s not always possible to do if you’re bumping up against limitations or flaws in gear, conditions, or technique.

But it’s worth mentioning that there are some excellent tools available to help address common issues with lenses, such as distortion, chromatic aberration, and lens vignetting when editing the images. All-round image processing apps like Lightroom Classic and Capture One have solid tools built in already that often cater to specific lens profiles (or you can make your own).

Some more specialized tools can take it even further. DxO, in particular, sets the gold standard. Their software is built on the foundation of their incredibly deep archive of data from their extensive lab testing of the optical performance of lenses and cameras. But there are some other excellent specialized tools available. These are well worth a look (and have free trials):

• DxO Pure RAW (for a suite of automatic RAW file corrections enhancement)
• DxO ViewPoint (correcting for distortion and geometry)
• Topaz Labs Sharpen AI (in addition to standard unsharp tools, includes focus correction and shake reduction)
• On1 NoNoise (includes Tack Sharp AI, which applies sharpening)

Sigma 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens Price & Availability

The Sigma 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens is available in versions with mounts for Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony FE, and Sigma SA. It has an MSRP of $1599.

Buy New

Check the current price and availability at:

• B&H Photo
• Amazon

Buy Used

You can also often find used copies in excellent or like-new condition. Some good places to look include:

• B&H Photo Used Department
• KEH
• MPB

1. It also has variants designed for mirrorless cameras.[↩]
2. Clarification on “bigger”: The ƒ/1.4 lens barrel is shorter than the ƒ/2.8 lens, but it’s much thicker and, especially with the lens hood attached, becomes much bulkier.[↩]
3. I’ve been shooting with the Nikon F-mount version on a Nikon D850 full-frame DSLR.[↩]
4. These are Lightroom’s default sharpening settings: Amount 40; Radius 1.0; Detail 25; Masking 0.[↩]

Images and product information from Amazon PA-API were last updated on 2023-09-25 at 16:52. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon Site at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.