Sigma 85 1.4 HSM

[kiwi]

Anyone got one ?

[JM Tran]

yes but not for Nikon mount though, but my colleague whom I shoot with has one with the D3, AF is quite fast - cant compare to the 85 Nikkor though since I havent used it before.

I use mine for the Canon every weekend for weddings, 60% 85mm, 30% 35L, 10% on 70-200 and Sigma 12-24.

[enduro]

Anyone got one ?

why?

[kiwi]

Well, because I'm thinking about getting one and would welcome any comment

[Wayne]

If you need an 85/1.4 for an upcoming project, I would be happy to drop my AF Nikkor off to you in Bris if I'm there or mail it to get you out of rental or duress purchase, just holler.

[kiwi]

Ya, very generous, but this would be used longer term and i would ditch my 50 1.4g

[Wayne]

No worries, from what I've seen the Sigma is quite comparable to the Nikkor.

[kiwi]

Indeed, at half the price

[kaiser]

Have one. Love it. Get it.

[ving]

funny to read this thread... it does require a AK type post in it tho.

[kiwi]

Yeah, I thought JM's response was too long, lol.

I actually bought one earlier today from DWI, $860 delivered.

[KLi]

Let us know how it is after some testing, can't justify double the price for a Nikon 85mm 1.4 yet.

[kiwi]

I get it Monday by the looks

[Wayne]

Nice one, I think if I was looking for one and didn't already have the Nikkor AF, I would consider (against my personal no 3rd party lens policy) the Sigma given it is so comparable to the Nikkor with that huge saving. But my no 3rd party lens policy is pretty hard to ignore...

[kiwi]

lol yes, I have the same policy, but hey, rules are meant to be broken and the sigma 1.4 lenses might be the only ones that seems to stack up

[Bennymiata]

I also had a no-3rd-party lens policy, but after trying the Sigma 150mm macro and the Tokina 11-16, I rapidly changed.

The new Sigma lenses are really very good and IMHO, right up there with some of the best, and the pricing policy is good too.

[Jules]

Darren I remember reading a discussion over on FM about the Siggy 85 and some problems a few D3 shooters had with the AF suddenly going bad. From memory the problem was the lens AF gears were stripped and there was a theory that it was because of high use of servo mode.

Not sure if there's really anything to it, but might be worth checking out?

Otherwise, from what I've heard the lens is phenomenal and I've seen some truly stunning images from it.

[kiwi]

Oh. That sounds sucky.

[arthurking83]

funny to read this thread... it does require a AK type post in it tho.

funny how minds change because needs dictate alternate requirements.

I saw this thread earlier, and thought Kiwi??? .. A Sigma!?

I'm the first to admit I think this lens would perform as well as or better than the AF-D lens, and probably as good as the AF-S but for the price difference, that's not really important.

But things changed a little a few days back and I finally got me a Nikon PB-4 bellows, so now the need to have an aperture ring is quite important.

So, I have two options:

Get myself an older still useful and perfectly creamy AF-D lens, OR get me a Sigma version at a good price(still cheaper than the AF-D lenses around the traps on ebay) plus one of those 're-branded' Samyang spin offs, for a bit of macro fun too.
I'm now looking around for all manner of lenses to see what sells for what and what works with the bellows and so forth.

Other than Andrew's 85 AF-D, I've had no experience with any of these lenses. Sigma samples and tests look good, my 50/1.4 works extremely well but of course it doesn't work on the bellows due to it having no diaphragm control ring.

I've always wanted a long fast 'portrait' lens myself and have always had one eye firmly fixed on Sigma 85 prices.


Funny tho, what's surprised me more is that Tamron haven't yet countered with a few more of these types of lenses themselves too.

Now I'm waiting to see what Kiwi's assessment of the lens is like, and I reckon into the new year, I'll end up with something myself too.

ATM, the Samyang spin offs(Rokinons, Vivitar, etc) is on my get now list.
They are hard to find second hand tho.

[Jules]

Oh. That sounds sucky.

Sorry, didn't mean to put a damper on things. It's probably nothing.