This incredible lens let me take some amazing stars photos.
Important points of CNET
- The Sigma’s Art 14mm F1.8 DG HSM is a fast, wide-angle lens that allows you to take amazing photos of the night sky.
- At 1,120 grams (2.5 pounds), it’s quite heavy, but compact.
- The F1.8 aperture allows you to take unique wide-angle photos with shallow depths.
Taking a photo of the sky at night is one of the most challenging types of photos. There isn’t much light available (obviously, it’s night). To get truly spectacular images, you need a lens with a really wide angle. High-speed lenses are not difficult to find, and there are no wide-angle lenses. fast Wide-angle lenses are much rarer. It’s rare and often really expensive.
Sigma Art 14mm F1.8 DG HSM No stretch is cheap, but it makes sense given how fast and wide it is. I have traveled for years with the Art 12-24mm F4 DG HSM, the predecessor of this lens. That lens was amazing for many things, including it. Submarine interior and Other tight spaces. The F4 is not slow, but it’s not particularly fast either. I managed to get some cool photos of the Milky Way and the stars, but I really don’t have anyone I’m loved. On a recent trip Death Valley National Park in I built a camper14mm f1.8 and oh, I rented mine.
My experience with Art 14mm F1.8 dg HSM
We can see a million miles tonight, but we can’t go that far.
One of the major challenges of astrophotography is that you don’t have the luxury of time that you do in other low-light situations. After all, the Earth is rotating, so if you want a pinpoint starlight, you need to limit the shutter speed. For a wide-angle lens like my old Art 12-24mm F4, 30 seconds was pushing it. 500 Rules I say that 41 seconds for this lens was the biggest, but I found it to be too long. Worse, most lenses can look soft when open wide (in that case, at F4) especially at the edge of the frame. So, in many cases, you often want to take a few steps. This means that to get the same amount of light, the shutter time needs to be even longer. So it’s a great balance, something that’s never been completely finished with the Art 12-24mm F4.
Visually, the Art 14mm F1.8 resembles my 12-24mm F4. This is a rather large lens about the same size as the F4 and weighs 1,120 grams. At the top is a distance scale with the depth of the indicator. With such a wide-angle lens, there’s not much to worry about the depth of the field. Although the autofocus is not large, in astrophotography, the camera is on a tripod and has a large manual focus ring that helps make smooth adjustments. The front elements bulge outwards, but at least have wings to avoid some disasters. However, you need to be careful.
Electric start trackers help you get great images of stars with fewer lenses, but they move with the sky, so you can’t get anything in your photos, or on top of them.
As mentioned above, I have traveled with the F4 for years. In your bag, on the camera, switch the lens – it’s a drag. Basically, double the weight of the camera installed. So, as good as the 14mm F1.8, it’s one of the main reasons why I’m hesitant to add it to my kit. Also, since I haven’t done as many photo tours as before, there’s not much need for such a specialized lens.
Additionally, all prime lenses are used in each, making them less flexible than good zoom lenses. Still, a 14mm lens has a very distinctive look and is not very suitable for many situations, for example, a 35mm or 50mm lens. If you’re not familiar with these ultrawid lenses, everything looks like you’ve filmed with a GoPro. It’s much better quality than the GoPro, but it’s aesthetics. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just something to be considered. It is also not weather resistant at all.
specification
- Intended Sensor Size: Full Frame
- Field of view: 114.2 degrees
- Minimum Focal Length: 10.6 inches
- Dimensions: 5 inches tall, 3.8 inches diameter (front lens)
- Weight: 1,120g/2.5lb
- Mounts: Canon EF, Leica L Mount, Nikon F, Sigma SA, Sony E
The 14mm F1.8 is a heavy lens, but it’s not as big as it looks. Here it is attached to my Canon R6. Note that the EF to RF adapter in between increases the apparent size.
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I love this lens and as much as I’m blown away by its performance, I’m the first to admit it’s not for anyone. On the one hand, there are only high-speed, wide lenses like the 14mm f1.8, but what I know is that they are wide and costly for sigma. Meanwhile, $1,599 is a huge amount of money for lenses that most people don’t use regularly. But if you know you use it frequently, it’s great! I wish I had the space (and money) to add to the kit.
The Sigma Art 14mm F1.8 dg HSM is available on all full frame lens mounts. Canon EFLeica L mount, Nikon f, Sony e And Sigma’s own SA. The lenses are still new at the time of this writing, but Sigma appears to have been cancelled on some mounts, including Canon and Nikon. Luckily, it has been available for several years, so there are several used options married and MPB. If you’re going that route, check it out A guide to buying used camera gear.
If you’re heading somewhere in the dark sky, you can do what I did and rent it for a week Lens rental.
In addition to covering camera and display technology, Jeff gives a photo essay About cool museums and more Nuclear submarine, Aircraft carrier, Medieval castle And epic 10,000 miles of road trip.
Please check again Dummy budget triphis travel books and he Bestselling Sci-Fi Novel About urban-sized submarines. You can follow him Instagram and YouTube.