How it All Began

Last summer I upgraded to a Canon 5D Mark III (from a Nikon D90) and with it I bought the 24-70mm 2.8L lens. For those of you familiar with that body and the L series lenses, you know that’s a huge hunk o’ cash. So expanding my lens collection is a slow and careful process. The reason I started out with the 24-70mm is because I needed that versatility of the zoom for all different kinds of situations, and it’s been great! The quality of both the body and the lens is astounding. Buuuut, it’s time for me to start thinking about what comes next.

I’ve known for a while that I want a prime lens next, but it’s been a difficult decision between the 35, 50, and 85mm. The other week I reached out to a fellow photographer, seeking some guideance/wisdom, and to my surprise found out that she shoots Sigma glass on a Canon Mark III body (which she settled on after testing various Canon and Sigma lenses). I’d truly never even thought twice about Sigma, but now I was intrigued. So much so, that I decided it was worth renting both the Sigma and Canon 35mm 1.4 lenses to compare. After all, if Sigma could match or even surpass the quality of the Canon L series, it was worth finding out. There’s about a $500 difference between the two, which is pretty significant!

So, off I went to BorrowLenses and ordered both lenses for the weekend. Now, let me preface this next part by saying: I am by no means a professional lens reviewer. The following opinions and judgements are purely my own views and preferences. I am merely posting this in case someone else finds this helpful!

The Lenses

Here they are! Sigma on the left, canon on the right. They came with UV filters on them, but I took those off during all test shots so as to get a more accurate comparison.

I took both lenses out over the weekend and shot various scenarios. Although I took them out for a spin at a wedding, it wasn’t exactly the best opportunity so spend time comparing the lenses, so I convinced my husband (Florian), who is such a great sport, to let me use him as a model and get a feel for both lenses 😉 But before we get to those photos, I did a very basic comparison shot. This was taken at f/1.4 and although I didn’t use a tripod, I stayed in the same position for both shots. They are nearly identical. Both extremely sharp and great color. I shot auto-white balance and these are SOOC. The Sigma lens seemed to shoot just a tad tighter on the subject, but hardly noticeable. Right off the bat, both look fantastic.

The Close-Up

When I zoomed in to 100%, however, you can see that the Canon had more chromatic aberration than the Sigma. The Sigma also looks to be a bit sharper than the Canon. I zoomed in 100% on a few photos I took, and this seemed to be the case with each. Below is the example with the same Evian bottle as used above.

Hard to Tell Apart

Next I photographed Florian. I used both lenses in each location and honestly, if I had mixed up the photos later and then been told to separate which ones came from which lens, I couldn’t. You’ll see from the example below, that there’s hardly a difference other than my slight shift in position.

Conclusion

Here is a small compilation of final shots from the evening. Can you guess which ones come from which lens? If not, I’d say it’s worth saving the extra $500 and going with Sigma, unless you are a die-hard Canon fan and like that red ring around the lens that indicates that it’s L series glass 😉 I was really impressed by both lenses and even more so seeing the clarity of the Sigma at 100%. I’m not sure how other Sigma glass compares to the L series, but for the 35mm, I’d say it matches (or rather, beats) the Canon. If you want a good 35mm but can’t swallow the $1400 price tag of the Canon, I’d say don’t hesitate with getting the Sigma. The only slight difference, which I haven’t pointed out, is that the bokeh is slightly different on each lens (Canon is more circular, and Sigma slightly more oval).

I’ll post answers as to which photos were from which lens at the bottom of the post — but first take a look without knowing!.

From top to bottom, left to right: Canon, Sigma, Canon, Sigma, Sigma, Canon. Feel free to post any questions below and happy shooting!