The Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG II Art ($1,059) is an update to one of the best values among wide-angle prime lenses, the first-generation 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art from 2021. Like the original, it's available for Sony E-mount and L-mount camera systems, and is a phenomenal optical performer, good news for photographers who don't want to shell out $1,600 for the Sony FE 35mm F1.4 GM. The DG II Art costs a little more than its predecessor, but includes faster autofocus motors, better flare resistance, and is significantly smaller and lighter than the original. It's easily the best 35mm prime lens that I've used for any camera system, which is enough to earn it a rare five-star rating and an Editors' Choice award.

Design: Follows the Small(er) Lens Trend

The first thing that photographers who currently use the first-generation Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art will notice about the DG II Art is its size. The new lens is significantly smaller; it measures 3.8 by 2.9 inches (HD) and weighs just shy of 1.2 pounds, versus the first generation's 4.4 by 3.0 inches and 1.4 pounds. It's quite a difference, and puts the new Sigma on even footing with the Sony FE 35mm F1.4 (3.8 by 3.0 inches, 1.2 pounds).

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

Downsizing is a common thread with recent lenses. Sony kicked off the movement with its surprisingly svelte FE 24mm F1.4 GM back in 2019 and while it took Sigma a few years to catch up, a smaller frame and lighter carry weight are big selling points of other bright prime lenses, including its premium 35mm F1.2 DG II Art (4.5 by 3.2 inches, 1.7 pounds), which is heavier than the 35mm F1.4 because its optics gather about 33% more light, but a featherweight compared with the Viltrox 35mm F1.2 Lab (4.8 by 3.5 inches, 2.0 pounds).

If you want to pack even lighter and get a similar lens, there are plenty of F1.8 and F2.0 options for the Sony and L-mount systems. You'll sacrifice some low-light performance and depth-of-field control with a lens like the Sigma 35mm F2 DG DN Contemporary, the Sony FE 35mm F1.8, or the budget-friendly Rokinon 35mm F2.8 AF.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

Many photographers consider a 35mm prime their go-to lens for everyday photography. There's a good reason for that: the moderately wide angle of view is versatile and is a good fit for a variety of subjects, including candid portraits, documentary and street photography, and landscape scenes, to name a few. Choosing a 35mm with an F1.4 aperture opens up low-light and shallow depth-of-field opportunities as well. Sigma and Viltrox also make 35mm F1.2 lenses for shallower focus, though, from my experience, an F1.4 is more than good enough for the bokeh look.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

The 35mm F1.4 DG II Art boasts the excellent build quality that I've come to expect from Sigma. The barrel is a mix of sturdy polycarbonate and metal, and internal seals prevent dust and moisture from getting inside. The front element is protected with a water- and oil-repellent fluorine coating, another plus, as it makes it easy to wipe off inadvertent fingerprints and prevents water drops from leaving marks on the glass. The lens also has a 67mm filter thread.

The lens ships with a hood and a drawstring pouch. The hood is the standard petal style; it attaches to the front bayonet and locks in place with a confident click. Just press the push-button lock to remove it, or flip it to save some space in your camera bag.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

Sigma makes the lens for L-mount cameras from Leica, Panasonic, and Sigma itself, as well as for Sony E-mount bodies. I reviewed an E-mount copy with the 60MP a7R IV.

Controls and Focus: Linear Focus Motors Deliver Near Instant Results

The 35mm F1.4 DG II Art puts controls at your fingertips. It includes an aperture ring to set the f-stop from f/1.4 through f/16 with your choice of third-stop clicks (for photography) or quiet continuous operation (for video). The ring includes an A position to return aperture control to the camera body and a corresponding lock switch to prevent accidental switching between on-lens and camera body control.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

There are two copies of the configurable Fn button on the barrel, too. Like many lenses, the button is doubled up, so it's in the same relative position when you're holding the camera horizontally for landscapes or vertically for portraits. The button function is controlled by your camera body; most are set to focus lock (AF-L) by default, but I prefer to use it to drive autofocus (AF-ON). It's worth exploring your camera menu to assign a function that makes sense for your photography, even my older a7R IV has more than two dozen options.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

The 35mm F1.4 DG II uses dual high-response linear actuator (HLA) motors that snap focus from close to distant subjects in an instant. The first edition of the lens was no slouch when it comes to focus, but the HLA system delivers even snappier response, so it should have no problem keeping up with fast cameras like the Panasonic Lumix DC-S1R II (40fps). Don't forget that Sony throttles third-party lenses to 15fps with continuous focus with its fastest camera bodies, so if you want to enjoy the fastest burst rates with an a1 II (30fps) or a9 III (120fps) series body, you'll want to spend more for the Sony FE 35mm F1.4 GM. I don't see this as a major drawback, as 15fps is fast enough for most scenes you'll photograph at 35mm, but it's one reason photographers with specific use cases may want to spend more on the Sony lens.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

The focus motors are quiet, too, which is good news for video. Additionally, the 35mm F1.4 DG II better suppresses the focus breathing effect than its predecessor. While there's still a slight change in angle of view when racking focus between a close and distant subject, it's modest enough that it won't distract from shots that shift the plane of focus from one subject to another for narrative effect.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

Manual focus control works well, too. The focus ring turns smoothly, with enough resistance to support fine focus adjustments. The ring has a 180-degree throw between the nearest focus distance and infinity with a linear response curve. Videographers will appreciate this because it allows them to reuse the same focus rack across multiple takes. The lens has an AF/MF toggle switch so it's easy to change focus modes.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

The DG II Art has the same 11.8-inch minimum focus distance as its predecessor and matches its 1:5.4 life-size reproduction ratio. That's a little shy of what I like to see for close-up and macro photography, but pretty standard for a fast 35mm prime. The Sony FE 35mm F1.4 GM is an exception to this rule; it focuses to 9.8 inches for 1:3.8 macro reproduction, so consider spending more for it if you like to lean in close to get a shot.

Image Quality: Outstanding Resolution, Beautiful Background Blur

I tested the 35mm F1.4 DG II Art lens with the 60MP Sony a7R IV and used Imatest to measure its resolution. The prime has no problems keeping up with the demanding, high-pixel sensor. At f/1.4, it scores in the sensor's excellent range (4,700 lines) and crosses over to outstanding (5,200 lines) from f/2.8 to f/8. Details are clear right up to the edge of the frame; simply put, the lens is sharp as a tack. It's a better performer than the first edition, which scores in the good range at f/1.4 (3,600 lines) and peaks at excellent at f/2.8 (4,600 lines).

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

Like every lens, the 35mm F1.4 loses some clarity at very small f-stops. Optical diffraction, an unavoidable optical effect, causes light to scatter as it passes through a narrow aperture. As a result, there's a slight drop in the Imatest score at f/11 (4,500 lines) and a more significant one at the minimum f/16 setting (3,700 lines). There's still good reason to use these settings, however, at narrow apertures the lens renders small points of light as dramatic 22-point starbursts, commonly called sunstars. These can add some punch and drama to landscape photos with the sun in frame or reflecting off water, as well as to nighttime cityscapes.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

The lens shows slight barrel distortion and darkened corners (a vignette) at f/1.4-2.8 when shooting in Raw format. You'll want to use a lens profile to compensate when editing photos—Adobe hasn't added one to Lightroom Classic yet, so Sigma provided one. It works as expected, removing the modest distortion so the geometry matches out-of-camera JPGs and correcting the vignette. Adobe's vignette correction is a little heavy for my taste—that's the case with most profiles, not just this lens—but it's easy to dial its intensity back with a slider. If you use your camera for JPGs, you won't have to worry about either; just make sure in-camera corrections are enabled.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

The 35mm F1.4 DG II is the first lens to use Sigma's newly introduced anti-reflective Advanced Amorphous Coating (AAC), and promises to reduce the reflections that cause ghosting and flare even more effectively than the already fantastic Super Multi-Layer Coating (SMC) from the first generation 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art (and many other Sigma lenses). I took some photos directly into the sun and didn't spot any signs of false color or loss of contrast. Granted, Sigma's SMC does a great job in similar situations, too.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

I'm especially happy with the character of the 35mm F1.4 DG II Art's background blur. The lens completely avoids longitudinal chromatic aberration (LoCA) false color, onion-skin highlight textures, and hard-edge (soap-bubble) specular highlights, resulting in a smoothed-out bokeh with soft transitions from focus to blur. The only technical quibble is that defocused highlights render with a cat's-eye shape at f/1.4, but since its 11-blade aperture uses rounded blades, the highlights are pleasingly circular from f/2 onward. To be fair, nearly every fast lens shows cat's-eye bokeh at the widest aperture, and it's a matter of personal preference if you consider it a drawback. Personally, I like the look, but understand that not everyone does.