Most of my lenses that I've owned over the years have all been Canon brand native lenses.  However, there are two cases where I made an exception for some truly exceptional lenses that offer value comparable to native Canon options.  Those two are the 35mm f/1.4 Art and 18-35mm f/1.8 Art by Sigma.  

 

The 35mm prime focal length is one that intrigued me, but one that I never felt particularly compelled to own.  I always balked at the price of the 35mm f/1.4L II prime even though I constantly read glowing reviews that it is one of Canon's best ever.  I just don't do too much street, low light, or portrait photography to invest that much money in a prime that isn't particularly suited to landscape photography.  I never doubted the 35L's superiority, just wasn't for me.  But, when I came across an opportunity to purchase a secondhand Sigma 35mm Art for less than a third of the price, it seemed worth the experiment.

 

My feedback is simply "wow."  I really enjoyed the 18-35mm Art lens when I was shooting on the Canon 80D and really missed that lens after parting ways.  There's just something about the Art series lenses that appeal to me.  A lot of reviews are critical of the Art line for being focused a little too heavily on sharpness, leaving the end images a bit cold and sterile feeling.  But what I see is extremely crisp and clear images that deliver a clarity only matched by L lenses.  It easily outclasses my 85mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/1.8 primes by quite a bit.

 

In addition to the clarity of the 35mm Art, easily one of my sharpest lenses, it delivers a really dreamy bokeh even for a wide angle of view.  I just added this lens to my pack fairly recently so I don't have a ton of favorite images just yet, but I full anticipate getting some good ones soon!  Astrophotography will definitely be a perfect way to test this lens's strengths!

 

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