first day with the sigma 35 f/1.2 art ii

yes, he did it again. i had to buy it. and went directly on the street. read my first impressions here …

SOME FACTS

so sigma's second generation 35mm f/1.2 showed up yesterday. been curious about this one since they announced it back in september - mainly because they promised it would fix the biggest complaint about the original: the weight.

spoiler: they did, but it's still not exactly a compact lens. the first version from 2019 was a beast at 1,080g. this one comes in at 745g - that's 335g lighter, basically a third less weight.

impressive engineering, especially since they actually improved the optics at the same time. at €1,499 it's positioned €150 above the sony 35mm f/1.4 gm, which seems weird for a third-party lens until you realize: this is literally the only autofocus f/1.2 for sony e-mount. monopoly pricing, i guess.

VILTROX 35mm f/1.2

had the viltrox 35mm f/1.2 before this. tried it for a while. optically really solid lens. sharp. good value. but honestly? too heavy for what it is. felt unbalanced on my camera. and the rendering... it didn't quite do it for me. bit too clinical maybe? too clean? hard to explain but something felt off. sold it. what do you guys think? i shared a flickr album for you. check it out if this lens (as the only real competitor) might be of interest for you.

HEY HO, LET´s GO

took it out for a few hours yesterday, mostly portraits and some street shots to test the af.

IS IT GOOD?

BUILD QUALITY & DESIGN

first impressions: yeah, it's solid. made in aizu, japan - you can feel the build quality.

weather sealed, brass mount, the whole nine yards. the focus ring is nicely damped, there's a de-clickable aperture ring (useful for video, though i mainly shoot stills), and an afl button you can customize.

the filter thread shrunk from 82mm to 72mm. sounds trivial but 72mm filters are significantly cheaper. small win, but i'll take it. size-wise... look, it's not small. 745g is still 745g. on my a7rv it's a slight touch front-heavy, but not unmanageable. i wouldn't want to walk around tokyo with this all day, but for a portrait session or event work? totally fine. the included hood locks in place nicely - small detail, but better than hoods that just twist on and fall off. ```

bokeh

multiple reviewers called this "the best bokeh on a 35mm" and i kind of get why. at f/1.2 the background just melts away. the 11 rounded aperture blades make really smooth, circular highlights. there's some cat's eye effect in the corners wide open, but by f/2.8 it's pretty much gone.

WHY 1.2?

okay, f/1.2 vs f/1.4 - it's only 1/3 stop, right? mathematically yes, but practically you'll notice. at an event where you'd be shooting iso 3200 with the sony gm, you're at iso 2000 with the sigma. sounds minor, but when you're doing portraits outside at night, that's gold. and for astro the difference is even more dramatic - people report iso 500 shots where others are struggling at iso 3200+. if astro makes sense with a 35mm? maybe not … but it shows what it´s about.

SHARPNESS

sharpness is there too. corner to corner at f/1.2. tested it wide open all day. no complaints about resolution. sharpness is there everywhere - more then enough…

autofocus

the dual hla motors are genuinely a massive step forward. the original had a single hsm motor and was... well, okay. this is a different league. when you focus from 28cm close focus to infinity, the lens basically jumps instantly. no delay, no hunting. eye-af works even in crappy light, which for events and portraits is crucial. is it as fast as the sony gm? hard to say, feels pretty much on par.

but here's the thing—got some misses. single subjects, nothing crazy, just portraits. or people further away. eye af grabbed focus and then... soft. have a look at those portraits of the elderly man. yes, at least the focus is on the glasses … but that´s not perfect. anyhow it does not happen every time but enough to notice. might be user error. might be the lens settling in. need more time with firmware updates.

this one´s sharp. others were not. not totally unsharp. but not really sharp.

for whom is that lens for?

this isn't a jack-of-all-trades lens. at 745g and €1.499, it's a specialized tool for:

- portrait photographers who want that unique f/1.2 look

- event/wedding pros who need ultimate low-light performance

- high-resolution camera users (a7R IV/V/1) who want extreme detail

maybe for most people less ideal for travel/street photography (too noticeable), landscape (prone to flare with sun in frame), or as a general walkaround lens. for me as someone who loves to shoot wide open on street with fast lenses, it is a great choice! and my beloved 50mm gm f/1.2 is heavier and bulkier. or the wonderful 50-150mm f/2 gm zoom. i am using this one over days. and yes, it´s heavy. but what counts is the final result ;)

but for what it's designed to do? It's unmatched. As one DPReview user put it: "I sold my original when the Sony GM came out. Missed the Sigma's rendering so much, I bought it again."

the honest drawbacks:

- still bulky. 30% lighter is great, but 745g is still 745g

- flare-prone. sun in or near frame? ghosting guaranteed

- €150 more than sony gm. hard to justify if you don't really need f/1.2

- some longitudinal ca at f/1.2 (green/magenta fringing in highlights, mostly gone by f/2)

- simply overkill for some. if you mainly shoot at f/2.8 and smaller, buy the f/1.4 for €850 and save €650

CONCLUSION

still, after one day? impressed. this thing renders in a way that feels special. you know when a lens just has a look? this has it.

is it a lens you need? maybe not. but if you have it, i could imagine you´ll love it!

more samples coming soon. need to shoot portraits properly. see if those af issues persist.

make yourself an own impression and check out my flickr album with the photos in high res.

FREE: YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE?

this time i did something special. i asked the different ai´s (claude sonnet 4.5, chatGPT 5pro) to provide me a document with everything about this lens. of course i specified it a bit more in detail and i changed later some things and brought in my personal opinion. this document has over 20 pages and you can download it completely for free. don´t be irritated by the “purchase” button, it´s free!