If you look closer at portrait lenses of about 85 mm you see that two classes of instruments prevail in this group – very expensive and fast f/1.2-1.4 models and f/1.8-2.0 constructions aimed at amateur photographers. If you find anything slower at this focal length, more often than not it is a macro lens.
Meanwhile a small, shapely portrait lens as fast, aperture-wise, as f/2.5-3.5 is not necessarily a bad idea. Not everyone needs depth of field as thin as a sheet of paper and f/2.8 aperture, with a focal length of 85-90 mm on full frame, allows you to reach depth of field fit for many applications. Still few producers decided to launch such an instrument so our comparison chart is a bit modest.
It is very clear that older constructions of this type are very simple, with just 4-5 elements inside. The new Sigma C 90 mm f/2.8 DG DN outclasses its rivals significantly in this area, featuring as many as 11 elemements, five of them made of low dispersion SLD glass. We hope that it will result in good quality of images.
Please Support Us
If you enjoy our reviews and articles, and you want us to continue our work please, support our website by donating through PayPal. The funds are going to be used for paying our editorial team, renting servers, and equipping our testing studio; only that way we will be able to continue providing you interesting content for free.
Despite so many elements inside and a metal casing, the new Sigma is hardly a heavy instrument – in our chart only the Sony 85 mm f/2.8 SAM weighs less, with a barrel dominated by plastics of moderate quality.
Courtesy of Sigma ProCentrum we got an opportunity to test the final specimen of the Sigma C 90 mm f/28 DG DN and the results you can find in the following chapters – enjoy your lecture!
You are also invited to get acquainted with our test procedure, described in the article "How do we test lenses?" If you feel it’s still not enough, please go to our FAQ section where you can find some further explanation.
