Ronkonkoma, N.Y. — Sigma said it is now shipping the first lens in its new Art Line — the 35mm F1.4 DG HSM.
Available in mounts for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax and Sigma DSLRs, the prime lens carries an $899 estimated street price.
The 35mm F1.4 DG HSM will feature a new matte finish and overall new design concept, which includes a clearly defined category label.
The lens provides exceptional low-light performance and a pronounced bokeh effect.
“We’re thrilled to break into this category of lenses with a product from our new Global Vision,” stated Mark Amir-Hamzeh, Sigma America president. “We’re confident that our A1 quality control system, coupled with the industry’s first USB dock, will differentiate our lens in the category. Since it’s so versatile — ideal for scenes including landscapes, portraits, close-ups and studio photography — we think that it will be a hit.”
Also offered in the lens is “F” low dispersion glass and four special low dispersion glass elements for correction of lateral and axial chromatic aberration, the latter of which cannot be corrected in post production, Sigma said.
It also features a floating inner focus system to provide extremely high optical performance for close-up photos.
The lenses super multi-layer coating system reduces flare and ghosting and provides sharp and high contrast images, Sigma said.
A Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) offers high speed, accurate and quiet AF, while improvements have been made with a rubber attachment part of the lens hood, lens cap and AF/MF changeover switch.
The thermally stable composite is said to increase overall functionality, lifespan and quality of the lens.
Other features include a rounded nine-blade diaphragm for an artistic blur to the out-of-focus areas of the image and a newly developed USB dock, which will be sold separately and exclusively for new product lines, to allow pairing with new Sigma Optimization Pro software to update the lens firmware and adjust parameters, such as micro focus adjustment.
Sigma said all of its manufacturing is carried out under an integrated production system, based in Japan.
Every 35mm F1.4 DG HSM will be checked using Sigma’s own MTF measuring system, “A1,” as will all new lenses under the Global vision categories.
The system uses 46-megapixel Foveon direct image sensors to pick up previously undetectable high-frequency details for quality-control inspections.
