I tested the world’s first f/1.4 135mm prime, and it’s a portrait photographer’s dream

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | Art: One-minute review

The Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | A (2025) builds on the now nine year old Sigma Art 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM. So with nearly a decade of technicological and optical advancements, how does Sigma’s latest cutting-edge 135mm prime up the ante?

For starters, the mount options have vastly changed since last time. The original Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM | Art supported Canon EF and Nikon F DSLR mounts, plus Sony E and L-mount, and eventually Sony’s newer mirrorless FE mount, too. By contrast, the new Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | A only supports Sony FE and L-mount for mirrorless cameras at present. While it could come to other mounts at some point in the future, it shows the shift in certain camera manufacturers being a little more restrictive (* cough, looking at you, Canon).

The price has also changed – 2017’s Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM | A hit the shelves at $1399 / £1399, whereas the new Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | A is $1899 / £1649 / AU$3,499, making it between 18-35% more expensive this time around. This isn’t just down to a decade of inflation and tariffs though, some of this cost will be down to its more premium build and redesign, being the world’s fastest 135mm with an f/1.4 maximum aperture.

But what's the Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | A actually like to use? Well, it's a phenomenal achievement, from the legendary Japanese lens manufacturer – delivering supremely sharp detail and dreamy bokeh, even if this is a particularly hefty optic.

Bottom line – if you need a short telephoto focal length with a super fast f/1.4 aperture, then this will be the one to go for, provided you shoot on the two mounts it’s currently available for and have deep enough pockets to buy one.

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | Art: Price and availability

• Priced at $1,899 / £1,649 / AU$3,499
• Lens hood, tripod foot collar and soft pouch included
• Announced in September 2025

When it comes to value, the Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | Art is one of the most expensive 135mm primes on the market, though it’s not quite as expensive as the Canon RF 135mm f/1.8L IS USM which costs $2399 / £2399, or the Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena which retails for $2597 / £2179. That being said, sadly the Sigma 135mm f/1.4 isn’t currently available for either Canon RF or Nikon Z mounts presently so it doesn’t offer a more affordable third-party option for Canon or Nikon users.

However, for the Sony FE and L-mount cameras that it is currently available for, it’s one of the more expensive lenses you can go for, but then it is the only 135mm lens on the market with that super wide f/1.4 aperture. If you're willing to pay the premium over a f/1.8 alternative, this lens is a must-have as you’ll be faced with no other options; it is an excellent portrait lens and one that delivers superb image quality.

For photographers looking for something more portable and svelte, the Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM, Samyang AF 135mm f/1.8 or Viltrox AF 135mm f/1.8 lenses will be better options and one of the best third-party Sony lenses.

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | Art: Specs

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | Art: Design

• Big and hefty, weighing 50.4oz/1430g
• Houses 17 elements arranged in 13 groups
• Has a removable Arca-Swiss tripod foot and collar
• No optical image stabilization

The new Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | Art is chunky and that’s perhaps none-too-surprising to achieve its momentous f/1.4 maximum aperture. Its diameter of 111.7mm is larger than its competition and its length of 135.5mm makes it about 18% longer than its predecessor. In fact, it's only the Viltrox AF 135mm f/1.8 and Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena lenses that are longer, at 147.6mm and 139.5mm respectively.

The Sigma 135mm is heavier than its peers too – tipping the scales at 50.4oz/1,430g it’s significantly heavier than other mirrorless full-frame 135mm primes. Many 135mm primes from the likes of Sony, Samyang, Canon and Nikon all come in around 35% lighter or less, though none achieve the coveted f/1.4 aperture of the Sigma, so this is the price you pay for having a faster lens.

The barrel houses 17 elements arranged in 13 groups, four of which are large FLD glass elements along with strategically placed high dispersion glass which Sigma claims can suppress axial chromatic aberration. There’s also not one but two HLA (High response Linear Actuator) motors which drive the autofocus – the floating focus system allows two lens groups to be moved independently – I'll touch more on how it performs in the next section.

The original Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM | Art lacked image stabilization when it came out nine years ago and unfortunately the new Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | A omits this once again. However, while the original launched for predominantly for DSLRs, this new Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | A is built with modern mirrorless bodies in-mind, many of which have very good in-body image stabilization (IBIS) which is more effective than optical stabilization (OIS) anyway, so it’s less of an issue that it would have been back then. We also have to remember that adding stabilization to the lens would likely result in the lens being even bigger – something I’m sure Sigma would be keen to avoid with its already very tank-like build.

I got hold of the Sony FE version, though the lens can also be picked up for L-mount alliance cameras, which includes Sigma, Panasonic and Leica bodies. It has a nice brass metal mount with a weather seal around it, showing that the lens has some sealing and protection from the elements, which is to be expected from Sigma’s premium 'Art' range (and this price point).

Taking the front lens cap off reveals the huge front element, which has an oil and water repellent coating and also takes enormous 105mm screw-in filters. The front element is so large that the lens barrel protrudes at the front to make space for it (and presumably to protect it). This upshot is that the lens feels secure in the hand, with your supporting hand naturally resting on the focus ring.

Speaking of the focus ring, it’s significantly thinner than the old version at just 2cm wide, perhaps showing the shift away from manual focus, especially with how good modern face and eye detection autofocus systems have become in the past decade.

Looking at the new and old Sigma 135mm lenses side by side, the difference in real estate given to the focus ring is quite stark and has to be around half as wide this time around. That being said, its knurled rubber design offers plenty to hold on to and is smooth to turn. With the move to mirrorless, focusing manually is electronic rather than mechanical, which means we also miss out on a focus distance window.

The lens now comes with a tripod foot collar, you'll get a better balance on a monopod/tripod and reduce strain versus handheld shooting. I actually preferred attaching to a monopod while shooting outdoors to give me a more stable platform, especially when nailing such a delicately thin slice of focus shooting wide open at f/1.4.

The collar is removable, and while it can be screwed into a tripod or monopod, the foot has also been machined to work in Arca-Swiss mounts without the need to attach a plate.

Also on the lens barrel is a switch to flick between AF/MF and there’s an iris ring which can be used to control the lens aperture, complimented by another switch to engage or disable the aperture ring from clicking – a handy feature for videographers who like the smoother un-clicked operation. It can also be locked into the ‘A’ position if you’d prefer not to use it at all and instead set the aperture via the camera body.

To wrap up, you’ll also find two AFL buttons on the lens, spaced 90-degrees apart from each other, with one on the left and the other on the top of the barrel for easy access when shooting in landscape or portrait orientation. These buttons can be assigned to a range of functions.

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | Art: Performance

• Stunning shallow depth of field effects with f/1.4 aperture
• Good face detection and eye tracking with my Sony test body
• Some vignetting when shooting wide open at f/1.4

As previoously mentioned, the Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DC | Art is a big and chunky lens that's almost twice as heavy as some of its rivals. This does make it a little unwieldy to use and I'd recommend a camera body with in-body image stabilization (IBIS) to reduce camera-shake – I paired it with the Sony A7R V.

If using a smaller body which lacks a vertical grip, I would also recommend adding a battery grip improve balance with the lens – it helps to keep the camera and lens more stable when taking photos in the portrait orientation.

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The addition of the tripod foot and collar is clearly a welcome addition and will come in use for those shooting on a tripod in a studio or on a monopod for scenarios such as shooting models at an outdoor location, or cars at a racetrack, for example.

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Focusing with the compressed 135mm focal length and with the aperture wide open at f/1.4 is a challenge because you’re playing with such a small focus area and very limited depth of field. Luckily, the Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DC | Art has quick and accurate focusing through its Dual HLA motors, and nailing focus on the eyes becomes easier when shooting on a tripod or monopod, to eliminate camera-shake.

Your subject will also need to be very steady to avoid subject blur and the focus slipping onto the eyelashes – which is all very well with an accommodating adult, but more of a challenge with animals! You are also somewhat at the mercy of how good the eye detection and subject tracking is on the camera body, but the Sony A7R IV I paired the lens to performed very well.

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Optically, the lens is razor sharp when you are able to land the focus exactly where you need it on your subject, while the background bokeh blur is stunningly beautiful, with enormous bokeh circles when shooting wide open. The bokeh is huge, smooth and circular due its 13 bladed aperture, and showed no signs of ugly onion ring defects you can get with cheaper optics.

Vignetting is a minor issue when shooting wide open, although this clears up by f/1.8. There is also a very subtle amount of chromatic aberration on edges of contrast, though both of these issues are very easy to fix in post, and for the most part can be dealt with using the profile corrections in editing software with a single click, so for me they're not a big deal.

Should you buy the Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | Art?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | Art

• I used the lens for a month, capturing everything from controlled still-life setups at home to outdoor portraits
• I paired it with the 61MP Sony A7R V full-frame body, zooming in on images to assess resolution and clarity
• I took shots throughout the aperture range, focusing up close and further away to judge image sharpness

I used the Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | Art lens for a month, paired with a Sony A7R V to produce incredibly detailed 61MP files so I could zoom in and thoroughly inspect the image quality.

I shot a range of subjects from indoor still life setups to portrait shoots outdoors with the lens and shot at all of the available apertures to see how image quality and vignetting were handled throughout the aperture range.

I took a range of pictures with in-camera lens corrections both enabled and disabled to see the difference. I also shot in raw and JPEG formats, and gauged how things like corner sharpness and vignetting changed at different aperture values.

• First reviewed January 2026