The Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG DN Art Mark II updates one of the most popular focal lengths you can mount on a full frame camera. A 35mm lens at f/1.4 earns its place fast, whether you shoot events, portraits, street, or video.
Coming to you from Christopher Frost, this thorough video takes a hard look at the new Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG DN Art and compares it directly to the previous version. Frost points out that the earlier 2021 model was already very sharp, but had weaker close-up performance and slightly messy background blur. The Mark II promises better optics, lower distortion, and improved autofocus, all in a smaller, lighter body. At 530 g, it drops noticeable weight from the older 645 g design. That matters when this is the lens that stays on your camera most of the day.
The build gets attention early in the video. You get weather-sealing, including a gasket at the mount, a physical AF/MF switch, a customizable autofocus hold button, and an aperture ring that can be clicked or de-clicked. The aperture ring can also be locked, which is useful when you do not want accidental changes. Frost shows the focus breathing, and it is present but controlled. Autofocus is quicker than the first version, both in single and continuous modes, and it operates quietly. The lens takes 67mm filters and includes a locking hood with a rubberized edge.
Image quality is where things get serious. Tested on the 61-megapixel Sony a7CR, the lens delivers striking sharpness at f/1.4, right in the center. Stop down to f/2 and it tightens slightly, moving into razor-sharp territory. The surprise is in the corners. Even wide open, edges look almost as good as the center, with strong contrast and almost no lateral chromatic aberration. Stop down to f/2 or f/2.8 and the frame looks evenly sharp across, holding that performance until diffraction starts to soften things past f/11.
Frost compares it to heavy hitters, including Sigma’s own 35mm f/1.2 and Sony’s 35mm f/1.4 G Master. The Mark II edges them out in sharpness, especially in the corners. Distortion is impressively well controlled even with in-camera corrections turned off. Vignetting is strong at f/1.4, which you expect, but it improves quickly by f/2. Close-up performance is better than the previous model, with softer rendering at minimum focus distance wide open, then crisp results by f/2.
Frost also checks flare, coma, sunstars, and chromatic aberration. Coma is well contained even at f/1.4, which makes it usable for night scenes. Sunstars show up cleanly from f/8 onward. Bokeh is smoother than the earlier version, with clean specular highlights and only mild cat’s-eye shaping near the edges. Chromatic aberration is present at f/1.4 but better controlled than average and mostly gone by f/2.8. He also notes a faint sound of internal elements shifting when tilting the lens, something common in modern designs.
If you rely on a 35mm lens and want the current benchmark for sharpness without jumping to f/1.2 size and cost, this update deserves a close look, especially given its balance of speed, weight, and optical correction. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Frost.
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