p.2 #3 · Sigma 14mm f1.4 switching to made to order 6 months in advance
I haven't used the Sony 14mm f1.8 myself, but I know it's a great lens that people do like. I spent quite a bit of time comparing it to the Sigma before going with the Sigma. If you want a general purpose 14mm prime, the Sony may be the better choice, being smaller and lighter. I ended up going with the Sigma because I knew I was primarily going to use it for low light use. Like scrappydog mentioned, the Sigma has a lot of good features for astro photography. That focus lock is so convenient! I was disappointed to see they did not put the focus lock on the new 35mm f1.2 or 135mm f1.4. Personally, I would not mind having it on all my primes, since for landscape work, you're usually at infinity anyway.
p.2 #4 · Sigma 14mm f1.4 switching to made to order 6 months in advance
Cliff L. wrote:
For the same price, I would rather buy a new one with the 7-year warranty.
Can you post where you're seeing them for that price new?
Everything I see is MSRP $1,850 or higher now.
Back to the conversation - the 14mm f1.4 is an excellent lens. It was my all time favorite lens until the 15mm f1.4 came out.
I'm not familiar with the difference between the "old" 14mm (DG DN?) and the "new" 14mm (just DN?), or what's going on there. I was told by my Sigma rep that they were just moving to special order production because the 15mm f1.4 is better in pretty much every way, and kinda killed demand for the 14mm.
EDIT: oh if the difference between new and old is the f1.8 (old) vs 1.4 (new). I can comment on that. I used the f1.8s for a year or two and was never a fan. the way the stars blow out in the edges is very annoying.
p.2 #8 · Sigma 14mm f1.4 switching to made to order 6 months in advance
nmerc_photos wrote:
Back to the conversation - the 14mm f1.4 is an excellent lens. It was my all time favorite lens until the 15mm f1.4 came out.
I keep getting tempted by the 15mm f1.4, but I can't seem to find much about it online after the initial release. In your experience, if you keep the lens level, is the horizon straight?
p.2 #9 · Sigma 14mm f1.4 switching to made to order 6 months in advance
DWOfPaul wrote:
I keep getting tempted by the 15mm f1.4, but I can't seem to find much about it online after the initial release. In your experience, if you keep the lens level, is the horizon straight?
Yes. If you keep the horizon level, it's basically just a 14mm f1.4 with sharper stars and wider FOV.
And then if you tilt the lens up or down to get more curvature, you get up to 2x the FOV (horizontal terms).
In my experience and with everyone I've talked to, the 15mm is just a better 14mm in all regards. The only reason to pick the 14mm is for price.
p.2 #11 · Sigma 14mm f1.4 switching to made to order 6 months in advance
DWOfPaul wrote:
Thanks for the info. Would you say the vertical field of view is about 2x the 14mm lens, too?
That I haven't measured or am not sure about fully.
Allegedly the 14mm is 114 degree FOV while the 15mm is 180 degree.
Some examples given on the internet:
A fisheye at 180° captures about 60% more horizontal coverage than a 114° lens, but the difference feels even greater because the fisheye projects the image into a circular bubble.
If you're standing in a room…
14mm (rectilinear):
You’d see the room’s front wall, most of the ceiling, some of the left and right walls, but not the far sides.
15mm fisheye:
You’d see all four walls meeting in the corners, and often even your own feet in the bottom of the frame — with heavy curvature near the edges.
p.2 #12 · Sigma 14mm f1.4 switching to made to order 6 months in advance
nmerc_photos wrote:
That I haven't measured or am not sure about fully.
Allegedly the 14mm is 114 degree FOV while the 15mm is 180 degree.
Some examples given on the internet:
A fisheye at 180° captures about 60% more horizontal coverage than a 114° lens, but the difference feels even greater because the fisheye projects the image into a circular bubble.
If you're standing in a room…
14mm (rectilinear):
You’d see the room’s front wall, most of the ceiling, some of the left and right walls, but not the far sides.
15mm fisheye:
You’d see all four walls meeting in the corners, and often even your own feet in the bottom of the frame — with heavy curvature near the edges....Show more →
Sounds like that could do the trick. Ideally, I wish there were a good 12mm f2 lens or 10mm f2.8 lens.
Years ago, I used to use a Nikon 10.5mm f2.8 fish eye, so I have some idea about the pros and cons of a fish eye lens, but I haven't used one since going full frame 🤔
p.2 #13 · Sigma 14mm f1.4 switching to made to order 6 months in advance
DWOfPaul wrote:
Sounds like that could do the trick. Ideally, I wish there were a good 12mm f2 lens or 10mm f2.8 lens.
Years ago, I used to use a Nikon 10.5mm f2.8 fish eye, so I have some idea about the pros and cons of a fish eye lens, but I haven't used one since going full frame 🤔
For only one stop of light (f2 vs f2.8), the Rokinon 12mm f2.8 is excellent.
And I think Laowa makes a good 10mm f2.8 but it's only a 130 degree FOV.
The thing I really like with the Sigma 15mm f1.4 is with DXO, it's easy to convert between fisheye and non fisheye. So even if your horizon isn't level in the pic, you can achieve that rectilinear look but still have wider FOV.
3 pics.
15mm with default fisheye
15mm with "non-fisheye preset"
14mm
p.2 #14 · Sigma 14mm f1.4 switching to made to order 6 months in advance
nmerc_photos wrote:
For only one stop of light (f2 vs f2.8), the Rokinon 12mm f2.8 is excellent.
And I think Laowa makes a good 10mm f2.8 but it's only a 130 degree FOV.
The thing I really like with the Sigma 15mm f1.4 is with DXO, it's easy to convert between fisheye and non fisheye. So even if your horizon isn't level in the pic, you can achieve that rectilinear look but still have wider FOV.
3 pics.
15mm with default fisheye
15mm with "non-fisheye preset"
14mm
Not edited, no noise reduction. Just SOOC JPEG
Thanks so much for that example, that helps answer many of the questions I have about the 15mm, especially with how it compares in framing to the 14mm.
I didn't realize Rokinon made a 12mm f2.8 FF lens, going to read up on it.
I looked into the Laowa 10mm f2.8 AF lens, and I am not sure it would make a good astro lens unless you require 10mm above all else. It has a high level of Vignetting and a decent amount of coma wide open.
So far, it looks like the Sony 12-24mm f2.8 is probably the best 12mm astro lens, but it's expensive and I really don't need another wide angle zoom, as I already have the Sony 12-24mm f4 and Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 S.
p.2 #15 · Sigma 14mm f1.4 switching to made to order 6 months in advance
DWOfPaul wrote:
Thanks so much for that example, that helps answer many of the questions I have about the 15mm, especially with how it compares in framing to the 14mm.
I didn't realize Rokinon made a 12mm f2.8 FF lens, going to read up on it.
I looked into the Laowa 10mm f2.8 AF lens, and I am not sure it would make a good astro lens unless you require 10mm above all else. It has a high level of Vignetting and a decent amount of coma wide open.
So far, it looks like the Sony 12-24mm f2.8 is probably the best 12mm astro lens, but it's expensive and I really don't need another wide angle zoom, as I already have the Sony 12-24mm f4 and Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 S....Show more →
No problem!
I wish I had taken more comparison shots, but this year in Iceland the aurora was fleeting and I was always in a rush.
The biggest difference is being able to tilt the lens more upward, to get that curved look but be able to capture the entire sky.
Again, not apples to apples framing but it gives you a bit of an idea:
p.2 #17 · Sigma 14mm f1.4 switching to made to order 6 months in advance
Great photos! Looks like the 15mm is a great lens for the northern lights. Those past few geomagnetic storms that pushed the northern lights into the US had me wishing for a lens wider than 14mm when the lights started dancing overhead.
p.2 #18 · Sigma 14mm f1.4 switching to made to order 6 months in advance
DWOfPaul wrote:
Great photos! Looks like the 15mm is a great lens for the northern lights. Those past few geomagnetic storms that pushed the northern lights into the US had me wishing for a lens wider than 14mm when the lights started dancing overhead.
Precisely. It's the best northern lights lens in existence I think.
I have high hopes for single image Milky Way as well, but haven't really tested it that much.
