The following images were taken with the Sigma 35/1.4 on a D800. Each image was recorded in RAW and converted with Lightroom 4.3 at Camera Standard settings. Noise-reduction is set to 0, sharpening to 70/0.5/36/10, no extra tone, color, or saturation-adjustment was used. You can click on each image to access the large original. Please respect our copyright and only use those images for personal use.

The first shot should give you an impression of the bokeh that this lens can produce wide open. The 50% crops are from the foreground, the sharpest point, and the background in the overall image and demonstrates the rendering of out-of-focus elements.

Books: Bokeh shot with Sigma 35/1.4 at f1.4 on a D800
Main image and all 50% crops: 35mm, f1.4, 1/50 sec, 100 ISO
foreground, f1.4, 100 ISO		center, f1.4, 100 ISO		background, f1.4, 100 ISO

The foreground looks pretty smooth while the background shows some outlining. For a 35mm lens this is quite respectable, but the Nikkor is better in the background – which normally is more important for a good Bokeh than the foreground.

The flower pot demonstrates the ability to resolve fine details at closer distances up to the borders of the image at f2.0. The shot was done hand-held.

Doorsteps: shot with Sigma 35/1.4 at f2.0 on a D800

Main image and all 100% crops: 35mm, f2.0, 1/400 sec, 100 ISO

The castle demonstrates the resolution of architectural details and the capabilities to resolve small objects against a glaring background.

Castle: Sigma 35/1.4 at f2.8 on a D800
Main image and all 100% crops: 35mm, f2.8, 1/800 sec, 100 ISO
f2.8, 100 ISO		f2.8, 100 ISO		f2.8, 100 ISO

The following shot shows how the lens copes when shot directly into a very bright 75W spot-light. The resulting flare and glare in this extreme setup shows that the lens copes remarkably well, although the Nikkor was a bit better. The crop on the upper right shows the spot (without power) directly behind the light source: the lens still reproduces this object with some visible details.

Flare: contra-light shot with Sigma 35/1.4 at f16 on a D800

Main image and all 50% crops: 35mm, f16, 5 sec, 100 ISO

The next sample image is not very attractive but it gives you an impression of the sharpness in the focal plane and the out-of-focus rendering at f1.4. The right crop is from the right border of the image and is impressively sharp. The left crop is from the background and confirms the outlining/dough-nut effect that is responsible for the slightly nervous Bokeh.

Daffodils: shot with Sigma 35/1.4 at f1.4 on a D800
Main image and all 100% crops: 35mm, f1.4, 1/3200 sec, 100 ISO
35mm, f1.4, 100 ISO		35mm, f1.4, 100 ISO		35mm, f1.4, 100 ISO

At f2.8 this shot demonstrates the rendering of details in-focus and out-of-focus. The top-right crop shows the greenish loCA effect of background subjects.

Statue: shot with Sigma 35/1.4 at f2.8 on a D800

Main image and all 100% crops: 35mm, f2.8, 1/125 sec, 100 ISO

The final shot of a church demonstrates (again) the incredible sharpness of this lens even at f1.4. The top-right crop is from the upper left part of the image and is a bit in front of the focal plane: this induced the slight magenta border on the roof rail. The lower-right crop is indeed from the lower right corner (!) of the image and exemplifies one of the outstanding capabilities of this lens: sharp corners on a full-frame 36MP sensor at f1.4.

Church: shot with Sigma 35/1.4 at f1.4 on a D800

Main image and all 100% crops: 35mm, f1.4, 1/800 sec, 100 ISO

For more examples check out all my high-resolution Sigma 35mm f/1.4 sample images.