Until recently, if you wanted a fast quality prime you had to buy from your camera manufacturer. Those days are gone with Sigma now creating quality lenses that are matching, and even surpassing, the quality of the big hitters.

This is an in-depth review of the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art prime lens that was announced on January 6, 2014 for Sigma SA, Canon EF, Nikon F and Sony A mounts. Ever since Sigma announced its new "Art" lens line, it has been releasing superb new lenses and updates.

Sigma's 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM lens , which we reviewed in August 2008 has been joined by a serious alternative that complies with the high standards of the Art line within Sigma's Global Vision series of lenses.

There have not been many Sigma lens announcements that generated the anticipation that the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens announcement generated. The 50 Art Lens was announced not long after the Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 Distagon T* ZE Lens arrived, delivering a not-before-seen high level of...

"I mainly use my Canon mount lenses for wedding videography but I'm a photography enthusiast as well. This lens produces gorgeous video and photographs paired with a 5D Mark iii. I have a lot of glass, including Canon L glass, but I keep reaching for this lens the most often.

This is one sharp and contrasty lens! Even wide open the central portion of the image is totally usable. Stop the lens down to f/2 and most of the frame is super sharp. From f/2.8 it's tack sharp from corner to corner. Colour and contrast are excellent too.

Wide aperture; super sharp; fast autofocus; good build quality

Behemoth

We've been very impressed by Sigma's recent 'Art' line lenses, such as the ultra-fast 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM and the 35mm F1.4 DG HSM . The 50mm F1.4 DG HSM continues in a similar vein, but if anything it surpasses its illustrious stablemates.

Stunning image quality - super sharp; minimal CA and practically no distortion; Impressive flare resistance; Generally attractive rendition of out-of-focus backgrounds; Fast; silent; and accurate autofocus; Excellent build quality

Large and heavy for a 50mm F1.4 prime; Relatively expensive for its class; No weather sealing

Out of Sigma's freshly reorganised lens line-up comes a new ‘Art'-branded 50mm f/1.4 with claims of superb design and image quality. Richard Sibley puts it through our rigorous testing procedure to discover what truth these rumours hold

Sigma has added to their 'Art' range of fast aperture lenses with this new 50mm f/1.4 lens, which will be available to fit Canon, Nikon, Sony and Sigma SLR cameras. This lens costs around ￡850, which seems like an awful lot for a 50mm f/1.4 lens.

Ooops ... they did it again! ;-) Sigma proved once more that they are no longer a company providing budget lenses but are playing in the top league indeed. The Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A (Art series) is a cream-on-the-cappuccino product - at least when used on APS-C DSLRs (well, *hint* it's not bad...