Last Updated on 06/01/2016 by Chris Gampat
Could this finally be the year? The year we get what has become Sigma fan’s unicorn, an 85mm F/1.4 Art lens? A new report from Canon Rumors pegs the long requested lens for an announcement at Photokina later this year–a move that would no doubt send the greater DSLR community into a frenzy.
But this is not the first time that we have heard of an 85mm F/1.4 art lens, so could this just be another false start? It’s always possible when dealing with potential announcements, but in this case the signs seem to point to this actually happening this year. One of the biggest excuses that Sigma always gave in regards to why they had not done an 85mm Art lens was that they already had a great 85mm lens. By all accounts it was/is a great lens too, but it just had the unfortunate problem of having been released just before the Global Vision changes and the introduction of the Art series.
The CR report says the lens will be announced at Photokina, but that availability may not happen until later in the year, so get that #1 spot on your Christmas list ready. Additionally, they say the lens is currently in the hands of Sigma affiliate photographers being tested all over the world – a point that points to the design/development being finalized, with mostly electronics and firmware tweaks to come before hitting production.
As with all reports of this nature, don’t sell the farm before it’s all made official. But if this turns out to be true, this is going to be a big year for Sigma and Sigma photographers, one has to wonder what the next most requested lens will be.
If a lens does end up making it to launch, we probably shouldn’t expect it to be weather sealed as none of Sigma’s newest Global Vision optics have the feature. We can however expect stellar image quality and the interesting metal-like exterior. It’s going to have tough competition with the very good Tamron 85mm f1.8 Di VC USD lens.
