A review on the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART series lens I recently used on a trip to North Island, New Zealand for landscape photography.
The 85mm focal length has been and is still recognised as the perfect focal length for portraits. Offering a perfect compression for subjects with magical bokeh. It is the perfect in-between lens, sitting nicely between the wider 50mm and the narrower (or more zoomed in) 135mm lens.
So how does it perform in the natural landscape environment?
Landscape photos have predominantly been captured with the wider lenses, mainly 14mm or 24mm or 35mm. Landscape photographers have almost always use the holy grail 24-70mm lens to capture their view. So I decided to break from the norm and challenge myself to capturing some landscape images using a fixed ‘zoomed-in’ lens on my trip to New Zealand. I took with me my beloved Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART lens to the North Island of New Zealand and used it to capture some lovely shots.
The experience was a nice one and the fixed focal length of 85mm did make me think creatively in how to frame and compose my image. The zoomed in element does help isolate the subject in the scene and get rid of any unnecessary clutter. And with the f/1.4 aperture, you can create some dreamy images with the shallow depth of field.
My favourite image captured on this trip using my 85mm lens was of Mount Taranaki at sunset. The 85mm lens did a wonderful job of bringing into focus the mountain and leading the viewer’s eye gently from the sheep in the front to the mountain and colour in the back. Also because it is quite zoomed in, it compressed the image making the Mountain look prominent and removed the grass fields in the foreground.
To give a comparison, I took a shot with a 24mm lens to see how it would compare to the above image. As mentioned, the 24mm wider lens brings everything into view. While it looks nice, you do lose focus on the focus of the image. You loose the essence of the majestic Mount Taranaki.
A good feature of zoomed lenses is the compression factor you get. Compression is the ability to make a subject appear larger compared to the foreground in the same frame.
In conclusion, the 85mm is a great lens to capture landscapes. It really does push you to think creatively and outside the box on how to compose your image. It makes you think about the story you are trying to tell and how to frame it as such through your capture. My recommendation is, if given a choice then do take the 85mm along your next adventure to challenge yourself. But if you are restricted with wanting to capture everything but with a luggage/weight restriction then I suggest the 24-70mm lens or the 50mm lens as the good all rounder.
I did enjoy the experience of using the 85mm lens and will definitely use it again should the opportunity arise.
Happy Shooting.
Ananda Sai Gallery 