We’ve been using the 56mm F1.4 with the Nikon Z30. It is the smallest of the Contemporary trio and balances pretty well with the Z30, though it’d also be an excellent match for the Z50 and the Zfc. It might feel a little small on a full-frame model, but the benefit of a lightweight option for your kit bag is potentially worth it. Before buying the Sigma 56mm, I spent a long time researching the Sigma and its rival – the Fujifilm 56mm and ultimately opted for the Sigma. The cost and weight led to my decision to buy the Sigma 56mm f1.4 over the Fujifilm 56mm f1.2. The two lenses are so close in almost every area that it’s hard to see any significant differences on paper and in real-world use. However, the cost of the Sigma is significantly cheaper and nearly a third lighter. Sigma 56mm f1.4 Fujifilm X Mount The short version is this: if Fuji release a fast prime in the 70mm vicinity, I’d rather have that. But compared to any other long lens available for fuji bodies, this is hands down my favourite option.” The lens is a great combination with, in this case, the X-T5 as it's lightweight, compact, and sharp. It's dust- and splash-resistant and has a maximum aperture of f/1.4. What I Didn't Like This product is developed, manufactured and sold based on the specifications of E-mount which was disclosed by Sony Corporation under the license agreement with Sony Corporation.

The bokeh of this lens is the other area where it excels. With a full frame equivalent focal length of 84mm, this is what most consider to be the ideal portrait photography focal length. As for the autofocus, the 56mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary uses a stepping motor to provides fast and near silent focusing. I tried the focusing in a variety of conditions, and overall, I found the autofocus to be drama free. It is also very accurate, which is particularly important considering this lens produces a shallow depth of field with its f1.4 aperture. The Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN lens for Fujifilm X-mount is constructed of 16 elements in 13 groups, including two FLD elements, two super low-dispersion (SLD) elements and two aspherical elements. It features a nine-blade aperture diaphragm, offers a minimum focusing distance of 25cm (9.8"), has an aperture range of F1.4 through F16 and uses a 67mm front filter thread. I will start of with this point first as I feel like it isn’t talked about enough with this lens; the look that this lens produces. I think there is a misconception that a lot of bokeh automatically makes a lens good. In my eyes, there’s so much more to it than that though.

The Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN | C prime lens is great for sharpness and even better for blur

Sigma has done it again with this lens, as I found nothing that would put me off considering it for my kit bag. It produces rich, sharp images, has great autofocus, and is lightweight and compact. Although relatively low in cost, the lens feels and performs like a premium lens and would be a worthy addition to your own kit bag for portrait, travel, pet, street, and everyday photography. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. Like the 16mm and 30mm before it, the 56mm sports a bright f1.4 focal ratio which can achieve shallow depth-of-field effects, especially with its longer focal length. The dust and splash-proof design features a rubber sealing at the mount and the lens is supplied with a circular hood. The barrel measures 60mm in length, 67mm in maximum diameter, weighs 280g and employs a 55mm filter thread. The optical design uses 10 elements in six groups, has nine rounded aperture blades and a closest focusing distance of 50cm. There’s no optical stabilisation, but many of the bodies it’ll be mounted on feature body-based stabilisation of their own.

Initially, three F1.4 prime lenses ( 16mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary, 30mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary, 56mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary), which are currently available in four mounts (Sony E-mount, Canon EF-M mount, Micro Four Thirds mount and L-Mount) will be simultaneously released in X Mount, and the lineup will expand in the future. Specifically, the recently-released SIGMA 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary lens, currently available for Sony E-mount and L-Mount, is tentatively scheduled for a December 2022 release.Although this post isn’t a Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN C vs Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR comparison, below is a table to compare the two to make a better-informed choice about which lens is suitable for you, should you be considering the Fujifilm lens. Lens Feature elements in 6 groups and includes the finest materials. This compact and lightweight lens effectively minimises optical aberrations and offers superb resolution at wide-open aperture and throughout the aperture range. The optical design and stepping motor deliver smooth, autofocus during video shooting, while the mount features a special rubber sealing for a dust and splash resistant structure. These three F1.4 prime lenses for X Mount will be available at SIGMA Authorized Dealers nationwide in April 2022. Optically, the Sigma 56mm f1.4 is as good as I would expect from a modern lens on a mirrorless camera – it’s pin-sharp where it needs to be. I’m not a pixel peeper and don’t pay particular attention to the very edges of the frame because they are rarely necessary to me. What I am concerned about is the autofocus. Thankfully, the Sigma performs as well as I would expect – it doesn’t miss a beat and is rapid. Unless you’re shooting sport at f1.4, you won’t find any issues with the autofocus. The Sigma 56mm f1.4 autofocus is also almost entirely silent. Sigma 56mm f1.4 Fujifilm X Mount Specifications The other noticeable thing is the missing aperture ring. Fujifilm X Series cameras are known for their classic look and feel, and something I now really like about the Fujifilm lenses is the aperture rings. I rarely shoot in any mode other than aperture priority and almost always at the widest possible aperture.

To achieve such a compact construction, lens design is considered based on the capabilities of the camera body function to correct peripheral light amount and distortion. Moreover, axial colour aberration, which is difficult to eliminate by image processing, is efficiently corrected by incorporating an SLD glass element. Compactness and lightweight construction combined with superb image quality is achieved. The mount features a special sealing to make the lens an excellent choice in a wide variety of conditions. I would love to see Sigma include features like a focus hold button or an auto/manual focus ring but I appreciate that eliminating them likely keeps the cost of the lens to a minimum. Not many cameras in this class offer a seal where the lens mount attaches to the camera body but I appreciated this feature since mirrorless camera sensors are already quite exposed without a mirror to protect them. I don’t own any of these other lenses anymore, I just have Fuji’s 56mm. It gets out of my way and lets me focus on my shoots.”

What I particularly love about this lens is how light, and compact it is considering this is an 85mm equivalent with a large f1.4 maximum aperture. The 56mm f1.4 weighs just 9.9 oz / 280 and the dimensions are 2.6 x 2.4″ / 66.5 x 59.8 mm. It also uses a 55mm filter. These specs make this lens feel more like a normal lens like a 50mm or even a 35mm equivalent rather than a short tele. To compare, the Fujifilm version, the 56mm f1.2 R WR lens, weighs 15.7 oz / 445 with dimensions being 3.1 x 3″ / 79.4 x 76 mm. It used a 67mm filter. As you can see, there is a big difference in overall size here. Yes, if you think it’s the right focal length to suit your needs. The aperture is beautiful, and the lens is small, light, well designed and robust. You won’t be disappointed if you opt for this over the Fujifilm 56mm f1.2. It rivals the Fujifilm lens in quality and beats it in price. Is it worth getting a Sigma lens? We use Imatest SFR (spatial frequency response) charts and analysis software to plot lens resolution at the centre of the image frame, corners and mid-point distances, across the range of aperture settings and, with zoom lenses, at four different focal lengths. The tests also measure distortion and color fringing (chromatic aberration). The short length balances especially well with the compact mirrorless camera bodies it’s designed for. We run a range of lab tests under controlled conditions, using the Imatest Master testing suite. Photos of test charts are taken across the range of apertures and zooms (where available), then analyzed for sharpness, distortion and chromatic aberrations.

The Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary lens for Fujifilm X-Mount cameras features a structure with 10As a lens manufacturer, we will continue striving to meet the expectations of our customers with an expanded lineup of lenses and mounts for mirrorless cameras. Jaco writes, “I don't really care about the "look" to be honest, it's the field of view that I love. I also care about the excellent construction, lens hood availability, internal autofocus, FOV and compression, low light and strong optics, I don't look too deep into bokeh quality, or "micro contrast" etc, maybe I'm just spoiled though. If you have a full-frame Nikon camera, such as the Nikon Z6 II, you can use the Sigma 56mm with it, with your camera automatically diverting to crop mode to give the same 84mm equivalent focal length. You might therefore consider it to be a better priced (and smaller) version of the Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S lens for this type of camera. Combined with the bokeh achieved at the minimum aperture of f/1.4, this lens creates some beautiful portrait images. Sigma has announced a trio of prime lenses for Fujifilm X Mount mirrorless cameras, the 16mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary, 30mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary and the 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary. If these lenses sound familiar, it's because they're currently available for Canon EF-M mount, Micro Four Thirds mount, L-mount and Sony E-mount.