Long time viewer here, just wanted to say you have a beautiful family and congratulations on the new family member. Your wife and children always so happy.
Without a doubt the best lens from the I-Series. Has been used so much in the studio and for street photography - I find myself picking this lens up more than my 85mm f1.4 DG DN Art, both professionally and casually. This is the one that has Art series optics without a doubt. The rest of the I-series feels compromised optically in some manner.
Congrats on the new family member Arthur! I must say.. on the samples.. the 65 looked a lot better on the A6100 than it did on the full frame to the point of being extremely interested... at £600 uk.. it's a steal for me here. I love my Sigma 56 on my A6400 and yeah.. it was a challenge against my Sony 50 getting the right distance for shots.. but thats the fun of photography. Thanks for sharing and for potentially making me £600 poorer having gone out and buying it lmao!
I have a dozen portrait lenses and my favorite is my $300 mint used Samyang 85 1.4. I’m amazed at the pics I get. Ready to pull the trigger on the new Samyang 135 1.8. The reviews say it’s a beast! Congrats on the baby!
Great lens. I’ve got the 24mm f2 and 65mm f2 for portraits. Traded in my bigger lenses for these since I’m on the move a lot and have not been disappointed.
Congrats on the new baby. Lovely family. God bless. I have shot with the 85 f1.4 and was ready to invest in one. I went to WPPI show in Vegas this week and had a chance to try the I-Series lenses from Sigma. While they are all great, the star of the series, at least for me is the 65mm f2. I fell in love with this lens and I am going to get it as soon as I can. It is the perfect lens for portraits both on FF and APSc. I tried it in both modes on my A7RIV and the results blew me away. As you mentioned, the F2 gives you just a bit more depth of field than the 85mm f1.4 which is very desirable.
Congratulations to you Arthur, your beautiful wife and son (now a big brother!) on the arrival of your also very beautiful baby daughter. Thank you for the great review. The lens looks fabulous.
I really like the Sigma I-serie lenses. I am not into portrait photography. I own both the 24 f2 and the 20 f2 since 28 mm is not wide enough in every situation.
Thanks Arthur! I'm more of a video guy, but I think the 35 mm and 65 mm combo would have been perfect for video work. I have the 85 1.8, but it's sometimes too tight for video and feels a bit distant for my style. The breathing in this one is a bit of a bummer though. Thanks for the review (and a really rather belated congratulations). I loved the photos. Definitely keeping this on my watch list :)
I upgraded to Full frame last month and went for the Sony A7siii since I make way more video than photos. I opted for the Sigma 35mm F2 and it's my opinion the pinnacle of exellence - cost to quality! I was shooting a video portrait shoot in the rain and the camera and lens held up 10/10 with no issues - The 65mm F2 is next on my list after I get the 28-75 G2 from Tamnon :D
Thank you. Certainly enjoy your excellent family images and congratulations on your new addition. I also have this lens. Trying to get use to its focal length. May want to give it a try on my APS-C body or my high resolution A7CR. Take care.
"A metal lens hood that attaches to the front" Unlike the less popular side mounted lens hoods for earlier Sigma lenses. ;) Also, congratulations on your new baby!
Congrats on the baby x I know it's an old video but i found your channel recently and been binging. It's so weird seeing you with 1 child, wife pregnant, then new baby all in the same day
I got the "Sigma Trio" and gotta say that my Samyang AF 75mm f/1.8 FE Lens for Sony E, is freaking perfect portrait lens with A6400 on stand and manual focus and timer. takes a bit of trial and error on distancing (without reference stick), but when it hits, results are perfect..
I have that lens and it's great. I'm using it for a majority of my portrait shoots, especially indoor. It's versatile enough that I can pretty much get all kinds of shots including full body in tight spaces. I love the rendering, the build quality and the compactness. For me it was a decision between this and the Sony 55mm F1.8 (since the 50mm F1.2 GM is too expensive *g*) and I don't regret it :-) For outdoors and especially night shoots, I'm looking to get the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN... or a 105mm F1.4 DG DN if they release it sometime :-P
Wish you were posting this a couple of weeks ago before I go with a very good deal on Samyang 75mm. I have no regrets though and I'm still considering this beautiful lens to my kit. Would like to see how does it compare to Sigma 56mm both on apsc in a different video if you wouldn't mind!
I got this lens, and it's perfect - but I don't love it. The magic only happens at closeup where the face take up the whole image. At first I dismissed the new 50mm 1.4 DG DN because of the CA issue in extreme cases, but honestly Mr Undone's wide open shots of tree branches on a bright sky interests me zero, if I were ever to go there I'd stop down a lot anyways. But after the initial letdown because of the new 50mm 1.4's CA, I re-reviewed all the shots out there, and realise that's the rendering I love. Perhaps it couldn't have this kind of Bokeh rendering being an APO design. Just ordered one, picking up from the shop tomorrow, let's see if this is the one.
Thanks Arthur and congrats on the baby. I feel you have made good choices to mix it up with various portrait lenses on full frame and crop. I think I would love the 65mm and sell my huge heavy 50art and enjoy the trade. I do however shoot a lot of portraits in my work and love my 105art but it loses contrast badly in any sidelighting or backlight. I would love to know how the 65 and your 85dgdn handle that. Do they lose contrast badly or give a nice flare? Which one do you prefer and would it be a worthy comparison to see them both in action? I would love to see that. Not apple to apples but a looser 85 seems like a great idea, especially since I have the 105. Many offices dont have enough working distance for 105 portraits, especially full length, but my Sony 85 1.8 pales in comparison now and can miss in af, where the 105 hits everytime. Would you suggest the 85dgdn or the 65mm? Please share you experience.
I totally agree after your review i went for the 18-50 contempoary and i do not regret it a bit it is way sharper and faster at focusing than my sony 50mm 1.8 wich is just amazing on a alpha 6300. And i think it will always be my favorite next to the sony 70-350G :) wich i also bought after seeing your review😅
What a great excuse to buy a lens, have a daughter. Congrats. I can foresee many pictures of your little girl growing next to your young boy. Looking forward to seeing those photos. As a result of your excellent review of the 18-50 zoom, I got one for myself. Got one for my son's a6400, which I gave him. Also have their excellent 14-24mm and 24-70mm zoom art lens for my A7R3. I have a thing for zooms. Those pictures of your wife and child were very nice. Even the shots with the a6100 were excellent. Keep reviewing lens so we can see your family grow.
Art, I just started watching the new Netflix film "Metal Lords". I'm watching the kid bully and I paused just to come on your channel to let you know that I would have sworn you were the actor!
Great review as usual! Could You help me choose between 56mm and 65mm Sigma? I have a A6400, for now I felt 56mm is better in lowlight and almost 80-90% close to the 65mm in terms of sharpness. Your opinions please!
Hey Arthur. Another excellent video. I was wondering if you use an Elgato Camlink 4k or similar to record this talking head video. Or do you simply sync video and audio in post? Also, do you use a fethead with your Electrovoice RE320 or you feel that's not necessary? I'm thinking of buying this mic. Many thanks and keep up the great work!!
on a full frame, the 65 is perfect for family portraiture - mom&dad&baby; SMALL FAMILY GROUP. and you could get great single portraits with this on any modern sony when cropped down to a 100mm equiv. this lens along with a 20 or 24, is more than enough for anyone who isn't shooting bears or outfielders
I completely missed this one. Looks amazing. As i'm a bit old, i love to control aperture om the lens itself. But will it work om my cute litle zv-e10?
Love your content, Arthur. Your videos are always very insightful and impartial. If I may ask, what prime lens would you recommend for a full frame Sony similar to the Sigma trio?
Great form factor, nice and sharp, great build quality, but I really dislike the bokeh and that's my make or break for any portrait lens. 65mm is also kinda awkward, so I'd probably pick the Samyang 75/1.8 over this one personally (though I dislike the bokeh on that one too). My fav "portrait" lenses are still the Contax Planar T* 50/1.4 and Biotar 50/1.4. There really isn't that many 60-90mm lenses that give the same level of character on small format cameras. Maybe if you adapt a Biotar 75/1.5 to a GFX, but that doesn't give the same angle of view anymore and is still closer to the 50-60mm on "full frame". That said a Summicron 90/2 on a 645 camera or even the Trioplan 100/2.8 are beautiful and unique lenses, but to most people it's too much of a hussle to use film or buy a digital back.
Thanks Arthur! Your video is rather timely. I own both a Fuji and a Sony full frame. I'm torn between the 65mm f/2 and the 56 f/1.4 that was just released for Fuji. Every review I've seen for the 56mm for Fuji states that the performance is identical to the Sony APS-C copy (makes sense). A friend of mine who is a singer/songwriter asks me on occasion to do shoots for her promotional materials. What she asks me to do isn't that dissimilar to samples you provide of your family. Therefore, if budget forced you into a decision, for professional work, would you go 65 or 56? I'm also thinking of the sigma 85mm f/1.4, but its a little out of my price range right now. Thanks!
Maybe off topic, but there was an excellent shot of your wife, and I wondered, is there an instance where a 4 shot stack would be advantageous for a portrait shot?
I'm constantly tempted by the 75/1.8 although I wouldn't use it for portraits outdoors, more like a walkabout lens or for studio, cause I quite dislike the bokeh. But the size and price are really hard to resist.
