Sigma 14mm F1.8 DG HSM Art Review. Sony 14mm 1.8

Sigma 14mm F1.8 DG HSM Art Review

A few years ago, Sigma ported over many of their DSLR Art series lenses to Sony’s system. Despite the large size of many of these lenses, they were generally well received by the mirrorless community.

Today we’ll be looking at the Sigma 14mm F1.8 DG HSM, a lens that Sigma marketed as the “world’s first and only full-frame F1.8 ultra wide angle lens”.

Nowadays, this lens has a bit more competition, so is it still relevant? How does it stack up against OEM lenses from Sony?

Looking for a quick summary before jumping in?

Build Quality

Size Weight

This lens was, as I mentioned earlier, simply ported over from a DSLR system. If you compare it to the original Canon/Nikon versions, it looks like Sigma attached a built-in adapter to it and put it out on the market.

For this reason, this lens is absolutely huge. It measures about 6.4 inches (16cm) long and weighs a HEFTY 41oz (1160g). So far, this is even larger than any of the other lenses in the Sigma HSM lineup that I’ve previously looked at.

I personally got into a mirrorless system in order to downsize my kit, but I understand there are many photographers who aren’t bothered by having a gigantic, heavy lens. For me though, this kind of heft and weight kind of scares me away. It’s gigantic on my a7iii and doesn’t even fit in my camera sling.

In any case, is the size and weight worth the performance and quality? Let’s continue.

Is the lens well built?

So, it’s huge and heavy, but is it well-built? Oh yeah, you bet it is!

Lens Barrel

The base of the lens barrel is metal, but the rest of it is made up of thermally stable compound (TSC) which is a type of heavy duty plastic polycarbonate.

Usually hearing that something is made out of plastic doesn’t inspire confidence in its longevity, but I’ve owned my APS-C 30mm for four years and it is still in fantastic shape. I’d imagine that the materials in this much more expensive lens are likely to be even more durable.

Accessories (Hood/Caps/Bag)

Included with the lens is both a petal-shaped lens hood (it’s actually not removable) along with a nice soft carrying bag.

The included lens cap slides on and off the front easily, and has a bit of grippy material to insure it doesn’t slip off.

Having an included carrying bag is always a nice touch.

Weather Sealing

Being a pro-level lens, the Sigma 14mm F1.8 also offers full weather sealing!

Combined with a sealed body, you shouldn’t have any issues lugging this thing through rainstorms and across sandy beaches.

Built to last?

Thanks to the heavy weight, high-quality materials, weather sealing, and, of course, Sigma’s reputation for durability, I have no doubt in my mind that this lens is truly built to last.

This lens is a beast!

Ergonomics

As for ergonomics, the lens is huge but I found it to be comfortable to use. Yes, it’s incredibly heavy, but the huge focusing ring adds a nice gripping point. Like most big lenses, I’d suggest using one hand to support the camera and one hand to support the lens.

I personally wouldn’t take this with me on a full day out in the city, or on a particularly long hike, but it’s excellent for short photoshoots. I think I’d get exhausted lugging it around for more than a couple of hours.

Aesthetics

As for aesthetics, beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say, but I personally think this lens looks great.

It’s huge with a nice tapered look, and the text engravings pop against the sleek black barrel. The distance scale and iconic Sigma Art “A” badge really exemplify the premium aesthetic. It really just looks professional.

Spoiler alert: this lens is VERY SHARP.

Image Quality

Sharpness

Next up, let’s talk about sharpness. Spoiler alert: this lens is incredibly sharp when stopped down.

Wide Open

However, it isn’t quite as strong wide open. When shooting at F1.8, you’ll notice a bit of softness around the edges.

It’s not too bad, and I’d suspect most people wouldn’t actually be using this lens at F1.8 anyway (besides for the purposes of astrophotography).

Stopped Down

Stopping down to F2.8 is where everything evens out and starts to look really great. The center of the frame is fabulous and there’s only very, very minor softness near the edges.

The lens seems to peak around F5 or F5.6, delivering some of the best results I’ve seen out of any lens. Seriously, even the most extreme pixel peepers likely won’t find flaws at this aperture, it’s incredible.

Optical Quirks Flaws

So sharpness is fabulous, but what about optical anomalies such as distortion, vignette, CA, and flaring?

Distortion

To start, as you’d expect from such a wide angle lens, there’s a good bit of distortion.

However, it’s fairly uniform, so a single click in Lightroom fixes it easily.

Vignette

Vignette is similar. When shooting wide open, there’s a fairly strong darkening of the corners.

Stopping down, even just to F2.8, largely remedies this.

Chromatic Aberrations

As for chromatic aberrations, the lens suffers very little.

Even in extreme cases (such as branches against a sunny sky), they’re very subtle and easily fixed in post processing.

Flare Resistance

Finally, flare resistance is fantastic.

Even shooting directly into the sun, we see very little ghosting or loss of contrast. Really impressive.

The lens is largely free of any major optical quirks or flaws.

Bokeh

It may seem a bit strange to cover bokeh on an ultra-wide lens but I figured it was worth mentioning. The minimum focusing distance is about 10in (25cm), allowing you to get some really dramatic close-up shots.

While this is very niche, it does open up the possibility of some creative new compositions.

Overall Optical Performance

Overall, I’m absolutely blown away by the optical performance of the Sigma 14mm F1.8 DG HSM. It’s one of the sharpest lenses I’ve ever used.

Additionally, it doesn’t suffer from any substantial optical flaws. No flaring to ruin your daytime shots, and no unfixable distortion.

Oh, as a bonus tip: stop down a bunch and you’ll get some stunning sunstar effects.

Astrophotography

Bright Max Aperture

Astrophotography is where the Sigma 14mm F1.8 DG HSM really shines. Just as Sigma’s marketing claims, ultra-wide F1.8 lenses are rare, so this one is a gem for photographing the night sky.

I’m not very experienced with astro myself, but I’ve gone out to experiment many times, especially recently. I notice a huge difference between using my F1.8 lenses vs F2.8, so I totally understand how groundbreaking having such a wide, bright lens is for night sky enthusiasts.

Aberrations

Coma performance is spectacular. Zooming in (a lot) to the extreme corners shows stars with only very, very tiny tails.

It’s not absolutely flawless of course, but only the most critical of pixel peepers would ever notice anything.

The Sigma 14mm F1.8 is known to be one of the best astro lenses for Sony.

Focusing Other Notes

Autofocus

Next up, we’ll FOCUS on focusing. Honestly, most expensive modern lenses have excellent autofocus, and this one is no exception.

There’s really not much to say in that regard. It’s fast, it’s reliable and there are very few issues with hunting. The focusing motor is incredibly quiet (the HSM stands for “Hyper-sonic motor” after all).

Overall, predictable and reliable autofocus just as you’d expect, so no complaints from me there.

Manual Focus

On the flipside, let’s talk about manual FOCUS. To start, there’s a physical AF/MF switch on the lens (always love to see that!).

The gigantic FOCUS ring is well-positioned and, despite being FOCUS-by-wire, feels great to use. It’s quite precise and very grippy.

Sony’s excellent FOCUS assists such as peaking and magnifier work flawlessly and help you easily nail the shot. I usually don’t pay attention to FOCUS scales, but it looks to work well and seems quite precise.

The MF experience isn’t quite like using a dedicated manual lens (such as the Voigtlander 15mm F4.5) but it’s still satisfactory, especially compared to many other FOCUS-by-wire lenses.

Filter Usage

The last thing I want to note is that due to the gigantic curved front element, this lens is physically incapable of supporting filters (screw-in drop-in systems).

This is a huge blow to photographers who would consider this for landscapes, but it may not be as big of a deal for other subjects. Again, I think many people considering this lens will likely be purchasing it for astrophotography reasons instead.

My Final Thoughts

Alternatives

Before I end my reviews, I like to offer a few alternatives. This lens is pretty much the king for astrophotography, but if you want to do any sort of other wide-angle work, consider some of the lenses below.

Sony FE 14mm F1.8 GM

First up on the list is the Sony FE 14mm F1.8 GM. Honestly, the Sony is the direct competitor to this Sigma.

They are priced similarly and offer nearly identical optical quality. Build quality and autofocus are equally incredible.

There’s one major point where the Sony wins though: size and weight. The Sony comes in at roughly 4in (10cm) and weighs about 1/3 of the Sigma.

To be completely frank, Sony users should highly consider taking the Sony FE 14mm F1.8 instead of this Sigma lens. They’re functionally identical, except the Sony is much more compact.

Other Alternatives

Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN

Otherwise, if you’re looking for a lens with a bit more versatility, consider the Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN.

It runs a bit cheaper, has similar performance, and is ultimately more flexible if you’re looking to photograph a wider focal range. You, of course, do miss out on the F1.8 aperture.

Samyang 14mm F2.8

If you’re on a budget, the Samyang 14mm F2.8 is a fabulous pick. It’s literally dirt cheap in comparison to these other alternatives, and, to be frank, you don’t lose a lot of quality.

Of course it won’t be as well built and it won’t be quite as sharp, but it’ll deliver fantastic results so long as you aren’t pixel-peeping at 500% crop. Plus, it’s a heck of a lot smaller.

Conclusion

So, is this Sigma lens worth the purchase? In some cases, I’d say yes. If you’re a Sony user, I’d highly suggest just picking up the Sony FE 14mm F1.8 instead.

If you use a Canon or Nikon (although I’m not sure why you’re reading a Sony site), then I’d say go for this lens.

I’ll leave purchase links below to both options if you’re interested. Thank you for reading!

Sony 14mm F1.8 FE GM Lens

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• Designed for Sony Full-Frame E-Mount Mirrorless Cameras
• Widest E-Mount Sony Prime Lens
• Fast Max Aperture of F1.8
• Part of the G Master Series

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Product Overview

The Sony 14mm F1.8 FE GM lens is a compact wide-angle prime lens, but don’t be fooled by its size; being a G Master lens, it produces tack sharp results. The lens performs excellently even in low light condition thanks to its fast F1.8 maximum aperture and is a popular option for landscape, architectural, underwater and astrophotographers. At a 14mm focal length, this lens is Sony’s widest E-mount prime lens. Overall, the Sony 14mm F1.8’s design and performance helps it stand out against the other lenses in the Japanese manufacturer’s lineup.

As a compact and lightweight full-frame wide focal length lens weighing in at just 16.3 oz., the Sony 14mm F1.8 is perfect for travel. Autofocus is lightning-fast and is easily capable of tracking fast-moving subjects thanks to its XD linear motors. The only other 14mm F1.8 option on the market for mirrorless cameras is an adapted Sigma 14mm DSLR lens, so this really is a rarity. It features a switch that toggles the aperture ring between smooth or stepped aperture adjustments, making it perfect for video shooters who value quiet operation.

At F1.8, the center of the image is pin-sharp, and the corners retain high levels of detail. Stop it down to F4, and the image quality becomes pin-sharp from corner to corner. The minimum FOCUS distance is about 9.8 inches, or 25cm, meaning you’ll be able to shoot subjects at close range if you need to. Pair this lens with one of Sony‘s full-frame E-mount mirrorless cameras such as the A7R IV, A7S III, A1 or A7 IV, and you’ve got a powerful system to capture stunning wide-angle photos and videos.

Other Recommended Lenses:

Please call the Bluewater Photo team at 310-633-5052 with any questions, or email us at sales@bluewaterphotostore.com

Presentation

• The build construction is excellent
• The lens is surprisingly small and light
• AF is super fast and precise and very quiet

1.1 Specifications

• Poids : 460gr
• Prix : 1600 euros
• Longueur : 99,8mm
• Pas de filtre possible à l’avant
• Porte filtre arrière
• Bouton AF/MF
• Bouton de maintien de mise au point personnalisable
• Bague d’ouverture avec ou sans clics et commutateur
• Diaphragme à 9 lamelles
• 2 Moteurs Linéaires XD
• Protection tout temps
• Distance de mise au point minimale : 25cm
• Bague de mise au point avec réponse linéaire
• Pare soleil fixe
• Capuchon d’objectif “couvercle”
• Housse

• La qualité de construction est excellente
• L’objectif est étonnamment compact et léger
• L’AF est très rapide précis et silencieux

1.2 Filters / Filtres

As an landscape/architecture/astrophotography lenses. it il likely that you will wan tot use this lens with filters : ND, GND, Night filter… considering the non removable lens hood and the protuberous front lens element you. it will be impossible to use standard filter on this lens but some solutions exist

Le 14mm étant une optique pour du paysage, de l’architecture et de l’astrophotographie, il est fort probable que vous aurez besoin d’utiliser des filtres ND, ND gradué, Nuit naturelle avec cet objectif. Etant donné l’élément frontal très bombé et le pare soleil inamovible, l’utilisation de filtre standard est impossible. Néanmoins plusieurs solutions existent

1.2.1 Rear filter holder / Porte filtre arrière

At the back of the lens there is a rear filter holder

You need to make your filter by cutting into a filter sheet thanks to a template provided by Sony with the lens

A l’arrière de l’objectif il y a un porte filtre

Sony fournit un gabarit pour découper ses propres filtres, ce qui n’est pas très facile et nécessite beaucoup de soin.

It is not the most easy operation if you are not cautious, fortunately company like Haida Filters have made a kit for the Sony 12-24 F2.8 GM that is also compatible with The Sony 14mmm f1.8 GM (150 for a set of rear ND filters). I have tested this kit here : Haida Rear ND Filters for Sony 12-24 F2.8 GM / Sony 14mm F1.8 GM/ Sigma 14-24 F2.8

The main drawback is that you can only use ND or Night filters and no GND or CPL that require to rotate the filter in use

Heureusement des entreprises comme Haida Filters on fait un kit spécifique pour le Sony 12-24 F2.8 GM qui est aussi compatible avec le Sony 14mm F1.8 GM ( 150 pour une série de filtres ND). J’ai testé ce kit ici : Haida Rear ND Filters for Sony 12-24 F2.8 GM / Sony 14mm F1.8 GM/ Sigma 14-24 F2.8.

Le principal désavantage est que ce n’est compatible que avec des filtres ND ou nuit naturelle et pas avec des filtres ND gradués ou des filtres polarisants qui nécessitent une rotation du filtre

1.2.2 Clip in filter / Filtre à insérer dans le boitier

Another solution is to use clip-in filters that you insert inside the body of your camera. Kase filters is doing such kind of filters and I have tested them here : Kase Clip-in filters for Sony Full frame cameras

One key advantage is that this system does not depend on the lens and you get ND filters for all your lenses with it (so usable from the 14mm F1.8 to the 600mm F4).

• Like for the rear filters you can only use ND or natural night and no GND or CPL
• You expose your sensor to dust (unless you have the A1 or A9II) when you need to add or remove the filters on the field which is less convenient than just adding a filter at the back of your lens

Une autre solution est d’utiliser des filtres à clipser à l’intérieur de votre boitier. Kase filters propose ce genre de filtres et je les ai testés ici : Kase Clip-in filters for Sony Full frame cameras

L’avantage principal est que le système n’est pas lié à l’objectif et est donc universel quel que soit l’optique utilisée : du 14mm F1.8 au 600mm F4.

• Comme pour les filtres arrières, seuls les filtres ND ou nuit naturelle sont possibles, pas de filtre ND gradué ou de Polarisant
• Le changement de filtre expose le capteur à la poussière (sauf sur A1) lors d’un changement sur le terrain. Le système de filtre sur l’objectif ne comporte pas ce risque

1.2.3 150mm Filter holder / Porte filtre 150mm

The full solution allowing maximum of flexibility. but also the most costly and the more burdensome one, is to use a 150mm filter holder that can accept any filter : CPL, ND, GND. Natural Night and that combine several of them stacked. This solution is the most expensive one as it requires a big filter holder and very large filters that can be costly (200-250 euros for each filter)

So far (June 2021) only NiSi has released an adapter for the Sony 14mm f1.8GM for their NiSi S6. that I have tested here : Nisi S6 (395-440 euros with polarizer but without filter). The system is very well designed with high versatility and high quality filters

Kase and Haida should also get an adaptation for the 14mm F1.8 GM in coming months for their 150mm filter system. In the meantime you can have al look at my test of the Kase system here : Kase K150P

La solution la plus complète mais aussi la plus chère et la plus encombrante est d’utiliser un porte filtre de 150mm qui peut accpeter tous les types de filtres ND, ND gradués, CPL. Nuit naturelle et les superposer. Vu la taille des filtres. le prix de ceux ci sont plus élevés : 200-250 euros pièce

Au moment de l’écriture de cet article (Juin 2021). seul NiSi a déjà sorti un adaptateur pour le Sony 14mm F1.8 GM pour leur système NiSi S6 que j’avais testé ici. Celui revient à 395-440 euros environ avec porte filtre 150mm. polariseur mais sans filtres. Le système est très polyvalent. bien conçu et les filtres de haute qualité.

Kase et Haida devraient aussi sortir l’adaptateur pour le 14mm F1.8 GM sur leur système 150mm dans les mois qui viennent. Pour mon test du sytème Kase c’est ici : Kase K150P

1.2.4 100mm Filter holder / Porte filtre 100mm

Kase has also introduced an hybrid solution mixing their Kase K9 – 100mm filter holder and a circular 150mm CPL : the solution is cheaper than a full 150mm filter system and allow to reuse most of your 100mm square filters. The only limitation of this systems is the use of GND filter used at 45°(89 euros adaptor only or 389 euros for the full set with CPL)

Kase propose aussi une solution hybride utilisant leur Kase K9 – 100mm filter holder et un filtre circulaire CPL de 150mm. Cela permet d’avoir une solution moins cher et moins encombrante qu’un système complet 150mm. La seule limitation est pour les ND gradués qui si utilisé à 45°provoque un peu de vignettage (89 euros pour l’adaptateur, ou 389 euros for the full set with CPL)

1.3 Lens cap / Protege objecctif

The Lens cap has been improved compared to the Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G. after pressing the 2 external buttons you can now insert it in any position it will stick to the lens thanks to its 4 inner locks vs 2 for the F4 version. On the F4 you had only 2 inner locks that needed to be well positioned for the lens cap to be fixed on the lens. This little thing improves greatly the day to day experience of using this lens

Le capuchon protège objectif a été grandement amélioré par rapport à celui du Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G: on presse les 2 boutons externes et on peut le mettre sur l’objectif comme on veut, il se fixera à l’objectif grâce à ses 4 loquets internes actionné par les 2 boutons externes. Sur le 12-24 F4 il n’y avait que 2 loquets internes et on devait tourner le protège objectif jusqu’au point de fixation. Cela n’a l’air de rien mais cela facilite grandement l’utilisation quotidienne

1.4 Autofocus

Sony has used their most recent AF motors systems in this lens (2 XD linear Focus motor) they are silent, fast and very efficient. A super wide angle lens does not require a very fast AF most of the time. but this will allow you to shoot sports indoor very close to the action (e.g indoor skating)

Sony a utilisé les technologies de moteur AF les plus récentes dans cet objectif (2 moteur XD linéaire). ils sont silencieux rapide et très efficaces. Un ultra grand angle n’a en général pas besoin d’un AF véloce, mais ici cela lui permet d’être utilisé pour de la photo d’action rapprochée ex skate

Optical performances / Performances optiques

2.1 Sharpness / Piqué

All photos for the sharpness tests were taken with Sony A7RIV and its 61Mpix

Toutes les photos pour les tests de piqué ont été prises avec le Sony A7RIV et ses 61Mpix

• The performance in the centre is already excellent wide open and become outstanding as of F2. you can’t get better
• The corners performance is already very good wide open but optimum is obtained at F5.6
• F8 will provide excellent results on the entire frame but you already see the impact of the diffraction
• La performance au centre est excellente à F1.8 et devient superbe dès F2
• Les coins sont déjà très bons à plein ouverture et deviennent excellents à F4 et superbes à F5.6
• F8 fournit d’excellent résultats sur tout le champ mais on a déjà l’effet de la diffraction sur A7RIV

Corners / Coins

Close up / Mise au point rapprochée

• Same outstanding performances in close up
• Les même performances superbes en mise au point rapprochée

Close up Corner / Mise au point rapprochée – coins

• Very good to excellent results also in the corners in close up
• De très bon à excellent résultats dans le coins aussi en mise au point rapprochée

Real life outdoor shoots / Test en extérieur

• Excellent results for portraits and skin tones
• D’excellents résultat sen portrait et rendu des tons chairs

2.3 Vignetting / chromatic aberrations / distortion / flare / sunstars

• Distortion is very small
• Vignetting is present wide open but very low as of F2.8
• Chromatic aberrations are invisible
• Flare resistance its good but not very good in absolute term as you get quite a lot of flare artifacts when facing the sun although with no loss of contrast. A very good performance for a ultra wide angle lens
• Excellent sunstars can be obtained
• Very low coma at f1.8 = very good for astrophotography

Lightroom lens profile corrects perfectly Distortion and vignetting automatically

2.3 Vignettage / aberrations chromatiques / distorsion / flare / effets d’étoiles

• La distorsion est très faible
• Le vignettage est visible à plein e ouverture mais négligeable à partir de F2.8
• Aucunes traces d’aberrations chromatiques
• La résistance au flare est bonne mais on a des halos de flare face au soleil toutefois sans perte notable de contraste. Une très bonne performance pour un ultra grand angle
• Les effets d’étoiles sont eux aussi excellents avec des étoiles extrêmement bien définies
• Très faible coma à F1.8 : très bon pour l’astrophotographie

Lightroom corrige automatiquement la distorsion et le vignettage pour cet objectif

2.4 Bokeh / Color Rendition – Bokeh / Rendu des Couleurs

• Thanks to its F1.8 aperture and min focusing distance of 25cm you can get quite a lot a background blur for a wide angle lens and with bokeh balls of decent size
• The background blur is smooth in easy cases but is a bit more nervous with busy background
• Bokeh balls are perfectly rounded and soft from a distance but if you zoom in at 100% you see some light trace of onion rings. So less perfect than for a portrait lens, but that is not the goal of this lens
• The color rendering is excellent
• Contrast is excellent

• Grâce à son ouverture de f1.8 et sa distance min de mise au point (25cm). on peut obtenir une belle quantité de flou d’arrière plan et des ronds de bokeh de taille respectable avec cet objectif
• Le Flou d’arrière plan est relativement doux dans les cas faciles mais quand l’arrière plan est fouilli il devient plus nerveux.
• Les ronds de Bokeh sont bien ronds et doux vu de loin mais en zoomant à 100% on peut voir des traces de tranches d’oignons. donc ce n’est pas aussi bon qu’une optique à portrait mais ce n’est pas le but recherché non plus
• Le rendu des couleurs et le contraste sont excellents

Video

Very good results in video with ultra sharp image, excellent color rendition and contrast. no ditorsion, good smooth background blur in most cases. In term of AF it was very good in most cases but like for the Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM, and Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN Art, I had some AF oscillations in the image, linked to the way A7RIV stabilise the image with Ultra wide AF lenses. The clickless aperture ring is a pleasure to use. The lens is also showing some FOCUS breathing but quite reasonable

Considering its size. weight and field of view, the lens will also be ideal on gimbal and for vlog allowing to film yourself with white a lot of the environment in the frame while having enough frame in the picture for active stabilization cropping

En vidéo on obtient de très bons résultats avec une image très piquée, des couleurs riches et naturelles, pas de distorsion. Un flou d’arrière plan assez doux en général. En terme d’AF c’est très bon dans la majorité des cas mais comme avec le Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM, et le Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN Art, on a parfois un phénomène d’oscillations de l’AF dues au boitier A7RIV et sa gestion de la stabilisation avec les ultra grands angles avec AF en vidéo. La bague d’ouverture sans clics est très agréable à utiliser. L’optique montre un peu de FOCUS breathing mais dans des proportions raisonnable

Son poids et sa taille en font également une optique de choix sur une gimbal ou pour du Vlog, car il permet de se filmer tout en gardant un champ assez large montrant l’environnement et en ayant de la marge pour un crop résultant d’une stabilisation active qui coupe dans l’image

Comparison with other 14mm

There is only one other 14mm f1.8 in e mount which is the Sigma 14mm F/1.8 DG HSM Art, if you are ok with a slower aperture then you can opt for

Il n’y a qu’une seule optique qui a les mêmes caractéristiques : le Sigma 14mm F/1.8 DG HSM Art, si un 14mm avec une ouverture plus faible peut vous convenir on a alors

Sony 14mm F1.8 GM	Sigma 14mm F/1.8 DG HSM Art	Samyang AF 14mm F2.8 FE	Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM	Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN Art	NiSi 15mm F4
Price / Prix	1600 euros	1600 euros	650 euros	3300 Eur	1560 Eur	479 euros
Weight / Poids	460g	1180g	505g	847g	795g	470g
Length / Longueur	99.8mm	152mm	97.7mm	137mm	131mm	80.5mm
AF						N/A
Aperture ring	Click/Clikless	No	No	No	No	Yes click
Aperture blades / Lames de diaphragme	9	9	7	9	11	10
Filter / Filtre	Rear	N/A	No	Rear	Rear Filter	72mm
Min FOCUS distance / Distance min de mise au point	25cm	27cm	20cm	28cm	28cm	20cm

The Sony 14mm F1.8 GM is the Champion in term of size and weight and ergonomics with its click/clickless aperture ring

The Sigma 14mm F/1.8 DG HSM Art designed for DSLR is a real monster in term of size and weight (almost 3 times the GM !) but the only competitor if you need the F1.8 aperture

The NiSi 15mm F4 is the cheapest and the only manual lens in this selection. Thanks to its slower aperture. its front lesn element is less protuberant ant it accept standard filter. This can be a criteria of choice to avoid buying new expensive and big 150mm filter holder system and you do not need the F1.8 aperture

Le Sony 14mm F1.8 GM est le Champion en terme de taille, de poids et d’ergonomie avec sa bague d’ouverture avec ou sans clics

Le Sigma 14mm F/1.8 DG HSM Art a été conçu à la base pour les reflex et est un vrai monstre en terme de taille et surtout de poids (près de 3 fois le poids du Sony GM) mais c’est la seule alternative en F1.8

Le NiSi 15mm F4 est le moins cher et la seule optique manuelle de cette selection. Grâce à sa plus faible ouverture son élément frontal est moins proéminent et on peut utiliser une filtre de 100mm traditionnel. ce qui permet de ne pas investir dans un sytème de porte filtre 150mm couteux et encombrant

Sharpness / Piqué

In term of pure sharpness the Sony 14mm F1.8 GM is the best one. closely followed by the Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM and then the Sigma 14mm F/1.8 DG HSM Art Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN Art as third. Specially at F1.8 there is a huge difference between the Sony and the Sigma. Sigma corners never got betters than very good whereas we can reach Outstanding corners for the Sony 14mm

The NiSi 15mm F4 provide also very good results ( excellence in the centre – good in the corners ) much better than the Samyang AF 14mm F2.8 FE

En terme de piqué le Sony 14mm F1.8 GM est le meilleur, suivi de près par le Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM et en 3ème position le Sigma 14mm F/1.8 DG HSM Art et le Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN Art. A F1.8 il y a une grande différence entre le Sigma et le Sony. Les coins sur Sigma ne dépassent jamais le grade très bon, alors qu’on atteint le grade superbe sur le Sony 14mm F1.8 GM

Le NiSi 15mm F4 fournit également de très bons résultats en atteignant l’excellence au centre et le grade bon dans les coins. une bien meilleure performance que le Samyang AF 14mm F2.8 FE

Distortion / CA / Resistance to flare / Sunstars

No big differences on those aspects between the various lenses. the Sony 14mm F1.8 GM is a bit more sensitive to flare and the Samyang has more distortion

Distorsion/ AC / Resistance au flare / Effets d’étoiles

Pas de grande différences entre les optiques sur ce sujet: le Sony 14mm f1.8 GM est un peu plus sensible au flare et le Samyang a une distorsion plus élevée

Bokeh and Background blur

The various lenses are close :

• The Sony 14mm f1.8GM has the best bokeh balls ,
• The 2 Sony GM have the best colors rendition and best contrast,
• The 2 Sigma have a bit softer background blur.
• The NiSi has good color rendition but less background blur/bokeh balls as it is only a F4 lens.
• The Samyang is below the others in term of color rendition/bokeh

Bokeh et flou d’arrière plan

Les optiques sont assez proches

• Le Sony 14mm f1.8 GM est celui qui a les plus beaux ronds de bokeh
• Les 2 Sony GM ont le meilleur rendu des couleurs et le meilleur contraste
• Les 2 Sigma ont un flou d’arrière!re plan légèrement plus doux que les Sony GM
• Le NiSi a un bon rendu des couleurs mais vu son ouverture il a beaucoup moins de flou d’arrière plan ou de ronds de bokeh
• Le Samyang est en dessous des autres point de vue couleurs et bokeh

Samples photos / Exemples de photos

The Sony 14 F1.8 GM and Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM provide for me the most pleasant photos. followed by the Sigma. the Samyang although good for the produce is a bit soft and lacking character in comparison

Le Sony 14 F1.8 GM et le Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM sont ceux qui fournissent les photos les plus plaisantes à mon gout suivis des Sigma et du NiSi. Le Samyang est bon mais il fait pale figure à coté des autres et manque de caractère

All Sony and Sigma and NiSi lenses provide very good to excellent results. globally combining image quality and ease of use the ranking is

• Sony 14mm F1.8 GM : small, light. Excellent image quality. excellent AF. at ease in astrophotography, landscape, architecture, action
• Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM : excellent versatile zoom with excellent image quality. very costly but image are as good as the 14mm prime
• Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN Art : Very good/Excellent zoom at a very reasonable price. Images are very good but they do not pop up as the one on the Sony GM
• NiSi 15mm F4 : a lens with very good performances overall, good color rendition and low price but manual and slower aperture but the only one allowing the use of standard filters (72mm thread)
• Sigma 14mm F/1.8 DG HSM Art : excellent images quality as of F2.8 but only very good at F1.8. huge size and weight which is painful to use on day to day, globally not much better than the zoom while being more expensive and more heavy
• Samyang AF 14mm F2.8 FE : a nice, average price, lens but that starts to be old. good for 24Mpix but not for 42-61Mpix

Les Sony. Sigma et NiSi fournissent de très bons à excellent résultats. Mon classement en tenant compte de la qualité d’image et la facilité d’emploi est le suivant

• Sony 14mm F1.8 GM : compact, léger. excellente qualité d’image, excellent AF, à l’aise dans toutes les situations: paysage, architecture. astrophotographic, action
• Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM : Zoom polyvalent d’excellente qualité mais très cher. Image aussi bonne que le Sony 14mm F1.8 GM
• Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN Art : Très bon à excellent Zoom à prix raisonnable en comparison du GM. Les image sont très bonnes mais pas aussi croustillantes que sur les Sony GM
• NiSi 15mm F4 : une optique avec une très bon piqué globalement, un bon rendu des couleurs et à prix doux, mais manuelle et avec une ouverture moindre. C’est la seule qui autorise des filtres standards grâce à sa lentille frontale moins bombée et son filetage de 72mm
• Sigma 14mm F/1.8 DG HSM Art : Une image excellente à partir de f2.8 mais seulement très bonne à F1.8. Taille et poids énorme qui sont pénibles au jour le jour. Le Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 fait aussi bien en performance optiques pour moins cher et moins lourd
• Samyang AF 14mm F2.8 FE : Une optique qui donne de “bons” résultats sur 24Mpix mais qui se fait vieille et qui ne convient plus au 42-61Mpix

Samples of Photos / Exemples de Photos

Here below you will find plenty of samples of photos

All images are crisp with vibrant colors and nice background blur. The lens is light. discrete, fun to use and with a very efficient AF. A pleasure to use on a day to day

Ci dessous des exemples de photos. Toutes les image sont très piqués, avec des couleurs riches et naturelles, un beau flou d’arrière plan. L’optique est légère, discrète et agréable à utiliser. l’AF est très efficace. Un plaisir au quotidien

Conclusion

The Sony 14mm F1.8 GM (1600 euros) is a new masterpiece from Sony and a new demonstration you can achieve outstanding results in a very small from factors. All the recent GM are a demonstration of this level of excellence ( Sony 35mm F1.4 GM, Sony 50mm F1.2 GM, Sony 24mm F1.4 GM)

Image quality is excellent : excellent to outstanding sharpness wide open. corners are also very good to excellent, color rendition and contrast are excellent, distorsion is minimal, coma is minimal. background blur is quite soft for a wide angle lens. AF is fast. silent and efficient, Ergonomics are excellent (small, light, click or click-less aperture ring) and the price stay reasonable for a GM lens compared to the Sony 12-24 F2.8 GM (3300 Euros!)

The lens will also be at ease on all situations : Astrophotography, Landscape, architecture and will also perfom very well in video handled or on a gimbal or for Vlog to film yourself providing a big frame around you and allowing for an important stabilisation crop if need be

• The only competitor with the same specs is the Sigma 14mm F/1.8 DG HSM Art. at same price, that is 50% bigger and almost 3 times heavier ! for a sharpness that is clearly less good wide open and with corners that never reach the level of The Sony GM. If you like Sigma then the Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN Art will offer the same optical performance than the prime at a same price but with more versatility and much less weight and size
• If you own the Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM, you won gain a lot in term of image quality but you will gain in term of weight size and price
• The Samyang AF 14mm F2.8 FE (600 euros) is a good price/quality option for a 24Mpix camera or if 14mm is a focal length you won’t use often. but there is a clear image quality gap between the Samyang and the Sigma/Sony lenses a better alternative is the very good NiSi 15mm F4 (479 euros). a manual lens with a more modest aperture but providing better sharpness. color rendition and very nice sunstars and compatible with classical filters (72mm thread)

A must have for pro Landscape / Architectural / Indoor real estate / Close Actions / Astro photographer or for vlog

The Sony FE 14mm F1.8 GM is an epic ultra-wide prime to keep you going night and day

Digital Camera World Verdict

This Sony gem is surprisingly compact and lightweight for an ultra-wide-angle, full-frame compatible lens with such a fast aperture rating. Even so, there are no compromises in terms of build quality, refined handling characteristics and all-round performance. Image quality is simply stellar. Indeed, the lens takes sweeping landscapes in its stride, it’s epic for cityscapes and it scintillates when the stars come out at night. It’s undeniably pricey but worth every cent.

Pros

• Spectacular image quality
• Super-fast autofocus
• Surprisingly lightweight but robust

Cons

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With it’s ultra-wide 114-degree field of view on full-frame cameras, the Sony FE 14mm F1.8 G Master is designed to let you see the bigger picture. It’s eminently suitable for capturing sweeping vistas in landscape photography, cityscapes, architectural interiors and more besides. The fast aperture rating also makes it ideal for astrophotography and the lens is engineered to suit both stills and video capture. A notable competitor is the Sigma 14mm F1.8 DG HSM Art lens, which costs about the same price. However, the Sony is more compact and much lighter in weight, at 460g compared with the Sigma’s 1,170g, as well as boasting additional handling exotica.

Specifications

Mount: Sony E (FE) Sony product number: SEL14F18GM Full-frame: Yes Autofocus: Yes Stabilization: No Lens construction: 14 elements in 11 groups Angle of view: 114 degrees Diaphragm blades: 9 Minimum aperture: f/16 Minimum focusing distance: 0.25m Maximum magnification ratio: 0.1x Filter attachment: Rear gel slot Dimensions: 83x100mm Weight: 460g

Key features

Top of the features list is the expansive viewing angle. Not just for shoehorning more of a scene into the image frame, it also enables creative expression, as you can get in close to subjects and exaggerate the perspective between foreground and background elements. The f/1.8 aperture makes it a fast lens, and it’s also super-speedy in terms of autofocus, utilizing dual XD (eXtreme Dynamic) linear stepping motors. Typical of the breed, the autofocus system is also virtually silent in operation, as well as enabling smooth transitions during video capture.

Despite its lightweight build, the lens packs 14 optical elements. Specialist glass includes two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements, one Super ED element and two high-precision XA (eXtreme Aspherical) elements, plus a regular aspherical element. The mix intends to maximize sharpness, contrast and clarity while keeping aberrations to a minimum. Nano AR Coating II is also applied to minimize ghosting and flare.

Typical of ultra-wide-angle lenses, the petal shaped hood is an integral part of the barrel and can’t be removed. This helps to give physical protection to the bulbous front element, with the usual downside that there’s no front filter attachment thread. This can be a drawback for landscape photography, where you might want to use ND Grad or high-density neutral filters. We wouldn’t advise using circular polarizing filters with such a wide-angle lens anyway, as the polarizing effect will vary across the image frame.

Build and handling

Handling is sublime. The electronically-coupled manual FOCUS ring has a smooth and precise action with a linear response that’s well suited to both stills and video shooting. A further bonus for the latter is that the manual aperture ring can be de-clicked via a switch located on the right hand side of the barrel. For stills, one-third f/stop click steps are available. On the left of the barrel, there’s an AF-MF FOCUS mode switch and a function button which is nominally for AF Hold, although its action can be customized via in-camera menus.

Performance

The most spectacular thing about this lens is its performance. As well as being very Rapid, the autofocus system proved unerringly accurate throughout our testing. Levels of sharpness are superb, right out to the extreme corners of the frame, even when shooting wide-open at f/1.8. There’s also remarkably little coma and astigmatism. That’s great news for astrophotography and shooting nighttime cityscapes, as it ensures that stars and pinprick lights don’t take on irregular shapes towards the edges and corners of the frame, especially when shooting at the widest aperture.

Clarity and contrast are excellent, and there’s highly effective control over ghosting and flare, which is impressive given the ultra-wide viewing angle of the lens. It might sound odd to comment on the bokeh of such a wide-angle lens, given that the depth of field tends to be enormous. However, when shooting close-ups at wide apertures, you can effectively defocus the background and the quality of bokeh is very smooth.

Lab results

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.

We use Imatest SFR (spatial frequency response) charts and analysis software to plot lens resolution at the center 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).

Lab-tests never tell the whole story for ultra-wide-angle lenses, the large viewing angle demanding that test charts need to be shot from extremely close distances. Even so, sharpness scores are superb at the center of the image frame and, in real-world shooting, the edges and corners are similarly impressive.

There’s virtually no color fringing across almost the whole image frame and it’s very minimal right out at the extreme edges and corners, even when uncorrected in-camera or during raw processing.

Distortion:.2.18

As with sharpness, the close proximity demanded for shooting test charts with ultra-wide-angle lenses tends to give unflattering lab results for distortion. Either way, the Sony scores very well for keeping barrel distortion to a minimum, and it’s hard to spot in regular, real-world shooting, even with in-camera correction disabled.

Verdict

This Sony gem is surprisingly compact and lightweight for an ultra-wide-angle, full-frame compatible lens with such a fast aperture rating. Even so, there are no compromises in terms of build quality, refined handling characteristics and all-round performance. Image quality is simply stellar. Indeed, the lens takes sweeping landscapes in its stride, it’s epic for cityscapes and it scintillates when the stars come out at night. It’s undeniably pricey but worth every cent.