How Do Sigma's and Sony's New Premium 50mm Lenses Compare?

50mm lenses with wide maximum apertures are some of the most popular out there, offering a versatile focal length useful for everything from portraits to events, in tandem with excellent low-light and narrow depth of field capabilities. Both Sigma and Sony recently released new premium 50mm f/1.4 options, and this great video comparison takes a look at both to help you decide which is right for your needs and budget.

Coming to you from Christopher Frost, this great video review compares the new Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG DN Art to the Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 GM. Certainly, what is probably the most notable difference between the two is that the Sigma costs $849, while the Sony comes in at $1,299, making it over 50% more expensive. That being said, it is nice to see just how closely these two perform and how competitive the lens market is. One thing to note, however, is that if you need to shoot fast action, the Sony is probably the better choice. On cameras like the a9 or a1, the Sigma option will be limited to 15 fps, while the Sony lens will max out each camera's respective burst abilities (20 or 30 fps). On the other hand, if you do not need blazing frame rates, it sure seems like you will be happy with either lens. Check out the video above for Frost's full thoughts on both. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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When wasn’t 15fps blazing fast ? What are the fps on the professional dslrs from Canon and Nikon that are still used at say the Olympic Games, Professional NFL football games ect ect . I see them being used in the sidelines all the time . I think 15fps is fast enough 98% of the time. I shoot action and had to set my Nikon Z9 on the slow settings and speed it up to about 10 fps to not have to take too many shots in my bursts . I can still flip it quickly to 20 fps if needed but that’s not the case . Usually how a 50mm l is used 30fps or even 10 is needed . That said 15 fps is nice for indoor sports for a lens like this .
Just had to say that is rare for most photographers to need a 50 that shoots fast fps than the Sigma does. With a Sony camera I may get the Sony GM . I have for most of their GM primes . BUT yes BUT I am loving the look of the OOF lighting and rendering of the Sigma Art and Sigma i series Contemporary lenses better when shooting live music videos and photography.