Sigma announced the 50mm f/1.2 Art for full-frame cameras, promising to combine optical excellence and outstanding autofocus performance in the smallest and lightest chassis on the market.
Despite promising high resolving power through the entire focus range, beautiful bokeh wide open, and fast and accurate autofocus along with a low asking price compared to the existing options in L- and E-mount for a 50mm f/1.2, Sigma also “stripped down” its body design to the “bare essentials” to allow for a significantly more compact and lightweight body than is typical.
“Each piece of glass is made as thin as possible while employing glasses with a high refractive index and four aspherical lenses. The high level of production technology at Sigma’s only manufacturing base, the Aizu factory, provides the exacting precision necessary for processing these thin glass elements and making this mass production possible,” Sigma boasts.
“In addition, the floating focus ensures high performance while shortening the overall length, resulting in a compact lens. In the mechanical design phase, emphasis was placed on weight reduction. Through the systematic elimination of individual components, SIGMA attained the distinction of producing the lightest lens in its class, weighing a mere 745 grams (26.3 ounces).
Constructed of 17 elements arranged into 12 groups (including four aspherical lenses) with an aperture range of f/1.2 through f/16 via a 13-bladed diaphragm, Sigma’s new 50mm f/1.2 features multi-layer coatings, an aperture ring, and uses high-precision HLA (High-response Linear Actuator) motors that allow for fast and silent autofocus. It is also equipped with an AFL button which can be assigned to a range of functions via a camera’s menu and, in addition to the aperture ring, the lens is equipped with an aperture ring lock switch and a declick switch.
Sigma says its optical formula mixed with the aperture is designed to produce rich, round bokeh with no color bleeding along with minimized flare, ghosting, and focus breathing.
“By correcting spherical aberration, sagittal coma flare, axial chromatic aberration, and other aberrations, the lens delivers natural bokeh images that blur smoothly and without color bleeding from the focal plane. Double-line bokeh is also suppressed, allowing users to take advantage of the mellow bokeh effect in their expression,” Sigma says.
Sigma also incorporated floating focus to improve short-range performance which it says will ensure stable, high-level image quality throughout the entire range from the minimum focusing distance to infinity.
Below are a few sample images captured with the lens and provided courtesy of Sigma:
Sigma’s 50mm f/1.2 Art lens is expected to be available on April 18, 2024, for L-mount and Sony E-Mount for $1,399.
Image credits: Sigma