Sigma 50mm F1.2 DG DN Art Review: f/1.2 for Sony and L-Mount at Two-Thirds the Price
The Sigma 50mm F1.2 DG DN Art was announced on March 26, 2024 and shipped in April at $1,399. It’s Sigma’s first f/1.2 autofocus lens for mirrorless, made for Sony E and L-mount, and it weighs about 740 grams.
That price undercuts every first-party 50mm f/1.2. Sony’s own 50mm F1.2 GM launched at $1,999, Canon’s RF 50mm f/1.2L costs about $2,300, and Nikon’s Z 50mm f/1.2 S about $2,100 and over a kilogram.
A fast 50mm is the lens for people in low light: friends on a metro platform after a match, faces lit by fluorescent tubes, a moment you’d lose at f/4.
Photo: Media Instances
Gordon Laing compared it directly with Sony’s 50mm F1.2 GM.
Video review: Gordon Laing
Design
The optical formula is 17 elements in 12 groups, with four aspherical elements. The aperture has 13 rounded blades, a first for Sigma, and the filter thread is 72mm. Two HLA linear motors drive a floating focus system. Close focus is 40cm, for 0.16x magnification.
Controls are full: an aperture ring with click and lock switches, an AF/MF switch and an AF-L button. The lens is dust and splash resistant, with a mount gasket and a water- and oil-repellent front element. There’s no stabilization. On L-mount you also get a linear or non-linear focus setting and support for Sigma’s USB dock.
How it performs
Camera Labs, Dustin Abbott and Photography Blog all found it sharp enough to compete with the best 50s, including wide open. Autofocus is fast, quiet and accurate. Abbott found color fringing and distortion low and flare resistance good. It’s more compact and a little lighter than Sony’s GM.
Abbott found the bokeh slightly less creamy than Sony’s. Camera Labs saw mild extreme-corner softness and vignetting wide open, and some focus breathing. On Sony bodies, third-party limits apply: Abbott recorded 15 fps on the A1, Camera Labs about 10 fps, and Sony’s breathing compensation isn’t available. There’s no Canon RF or Nikon Z version.
Who should buy it
Sony and L-mount portrait, wedding and event shooters who want f/1.2 without the first-party price. On a Sony A7 IV, A7 V or Lumix S5II it’s a superb low-light lens.
The Sony FE 50mm F1.2 GM has slightly creamier bokeh and no burst limits, at a higher price. The Sony FE 50mm F1.4 GM is smaller and lighter at 516 grams. Sigma’s own 50mm F1.4 DG DN Art costs $849 if you can live with f/1.4. For a longer portrait view, see the Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II.
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