The lens balances well on my Sony a7RIII, although it’s not a light lens it is very light for what it is. The Sony 85mm ƒ/1.4 provides excellent results for sharpness. The Sigma produces images with slightly more central sharpness when used at large apertures, but the Sony has better edge-to-edge performance; its corners are sharper at wider apertures. Corner shading is similar between the two lenses; the Sony has slightly more CA in the corner regions, and distorts slightly more than the Sigma.

I’ve used the Nikon 85mm D and 85mm G for 3 years, and I can personally say that this lens is most probably the best lens I’ve ever used. The results also show us that lens is very sharp at all aperture values. No C/A issues and stays sharp at larger f-stops. Auto-Focus– With a new AF motor, this lens is the star-performer of the Art lineup and is engineered to be unparalleled to its predecessor, and rivals top-of-the-line competitors. The Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art was declared the “best DSLR prime lens of 2017” at the TIPA Awards in 2017. Canon's offering in this category is the fastest you can get, with a maximum ƒ/1.2 aperture, but you'll pay for the privilege. Performance wide-open is slightly soft, but overall, the Sigma seems to match it - though the Canon is just slightly sharper at smaller apertures such as f/5.6. CA tolerance is excellent, there's slightly more corner shading, and the Canon distorts slightly more on full-frame. It's L-series, glass though, and you do get what you pay for: weather sealing and overall build quality, specifically. Sharpness is outstanding everywhere in the frame from wide open, a very impressive performance! Bokeh

The high resolving power that covers the entire image from the center to the edges ensures sharpness of the area in focus, and coupled with the significant bokeh effect produced by the F-value of 1.4 brings out the users’ subject in an evocative way. I'm aware that the lighting has variations, but of course this has no affect on the contrast of a lens, merely the overall contrast of the image. There seems to be an uneasy balance with the DXOmark information - I mean, are you using it as a guide or to supplement your own photo tests - because as I say the test shots do not show the Sigma as sharper in the centre than the Sony as you claim. Some high resolution samples can be found here. Samples Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/1.4 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/1.4 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/2.8 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/8 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/11 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/1.4 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/1.4 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/1.4 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/1.4 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/5.6 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/1.4 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/1.4 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/1.4 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/1.4 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/5.6 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/1.4 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | f/1.4 Further reading

The 85mm F1.4 DG DN | Art is SIGMA’s new “ultimate portrait lens” for the mirrorless age. And with it, SIGMA proposes a whole new world of possibilities provided by this “85mm F1.4 lens for everyday use,” thanks to the unprecedented level of portability, free from size- or weight-related limitations. The reason my eyes lit up when I saw this is that I recently got my hands on the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens. I debated long and hard whether to go with that or the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM lens. I opted for the Sigma, but in my limited use so far, I've found that it misses focus more than I like in certain scenarios. I've played with all manner of settings but haven't been able to nail down settings to guarantee a 95 percent or greater keeper rate on shots just yet. In addition to five SLD (Special Low Dispersion) elements and one aspherical lens, the 85mm F1.4 DG DN | Art has incorporated the latest high refractive index glass, which works to thoroughly correct aberrations that cannot be handled by the correction functionality on the camera side. With a particular emphasis given to the correction of axial chromatic aberration, users will enjoy sharp images with no color bleeding, all the way up to the maximum aperture of F1.4. I tested the 85mm lenses with the setup above. It’s not a laboratory test, of course, but I tried to keep everything consistent. Here are the competitors I tested: I dont need to justify this buy - an unbeatable value lens which I can pitch against nikon counter part.The Sigma 85mm Art lens goes down the traditional route, designed around a fast f/1.4 aperture, and delivering stunningly sharp image quality. The Tamron 85mm is two-thirds of a stop slower, at f/1.8, but still produces fabulous image quality with very good and highly consistent sharpness across the entire image frame, in a much smaller and more lightweight build than the Sigma lens. Crucially, the Tamron also adds image stabilization, or VC (Vibration Compensation) as Tamron call it. Canon’s latest portrait primes aims to beat both competitors at their own game. Features Weight & Size– This is definitely a huge factor to pose against its opponents, and in more ways than one. The overall weight and size of the Sigma 85 Art proved to be a hindrance/ cumbersome aspect of the lens. What sold me beyond it’s bulk? Its outstanding image quality and performance on all fronts. Overall the two more modern lenses seem really similar in the final rendering, to the extent that maybe in real world the differences will be