Sigma’s new 50mm f/1.2 prime lens could be an affordable Sony alternative for professional portrait photographers
We rate the Sony 50mm f/1.2 as one of the best Sony lenses ever made and, like its f/1.4 sibling, this could be the only lens you ever need, especially if portrait photography is your thing is. The buzz surrounding Sigma’s recent March 26 event teaser comes as no surprise, as the lens manufacturer is expected to announce a rival 50mm for professionals that could be much more affordable.
According to Sony Alpha Rumorsthe new 50mm lens will also have an extremely large aperture of f/1.2 – perfect for bright portraits with an extremely shallow depth of field – and will be available in both Sony E-Mount and L-Mount (for Sigma and Panasonic full- frame mirrorless cameras); there is no mention of a Nikon Z-Mount version.
Sigma’s latest lens, which looks strikingly similar to its own 50mm f/1.4 in leaked images (which have since been deleted), is also said to be smaller and lighter than the Sony rival, but not by much.
The real carrot dangling before ambitious and professional portrait photographers looking for a new Sony mount lens is the potential money saved – Sigma’s lenses are almost always around half the price of Sony’s, and since the aforementioned Sony 50mm f/1.2 costs north of $2,000 / £2,000, we could be looking at something closer to $1,000 / £1,000.
Is Sigma’s latest portrait lens really necessary?
If the image quality of Sigma’s soon-to-be-announced lens holds up – which is pretty much a given based on the third-party lens manufacturer’s rich history – then it will be an attractive alternative to Sony’s more expensive 50mm f/1.2 lens. The only concern I have – based on the leaked images, which show the Sigma lens diameter is much smaller than the Sony version – is that cat’s-eye bokeh could be more pronounced, although this is just speculation until the lens is officially released is made and we can test it.
Given that Sigma already makes a 50mm f/1.4 lens, is this f/1.2 version what photographers really need? Although there are small margins on paper between f/1.2, f/1.4 and f/1.8 primes, these details matter to professionals. The wider the maximum aperture, the easier a lens is to use in low light, and the creamier and possibly rounder the bokeh when shooting with the aperture wide open. Rumor has it that the Sigma lens contains as many as 13 aperture blades, which bokeh even further.
A potential 50mm f/1.2 would be larger, heavier and more expensive than Sigma’s existing 50mm f/1.4, although most professionals will spend the extra to get that wider aperture and put up with most of it. For everyone else, a 50mm f/1.4 or even f/1.8 will probably do just fine. In any case, it looks like Sigma will deliver another impressive lens for professionals who mainly shoot Sony, or Panasonic – we only have to wait a little over a week, until March 26 (7am EST / 12pm GMT / 9pm JST ) to find out more.