The final boss of portrait lenses is here!
Sigma just did something that has literally never been done before. This is the world’s first 135mm f/1.4 lens, and it produces some of the most beautiful, buttery, beard-grabbing bokeh I’ve ever seen.
In this article, I’m reviewing the Sigma 135mm f/1.4 from the perspective of a wedding videographer and corporate and commercial filmmaker, and helping you decide if this lens is actually worth buying and where it shines the most.
Why This Lens Is a Big Deal
We’ve had plenty of f/1.4 lenses.
We’ve had plenty of 135mm lenses.
But we have never had a 135mm lens with an f/1.4 aperture!
Sigma pulled it off, and I love that they continue to release unique lenses instead of the same safe designs everyone else is making. This lens exists because Sigma is willing to do things other brands won’t.
Why I Love the 135mm Focal Length
I’ve owned the Sony Zeiss 135mm f/1.8 and the Sony 135mm f/1.8 GM, and I keep coming back to this focal length for one reason. It has a very specific look.
A 135mm lens is perfect for head-and-shoulders shots of a single person or a couple. You get incredible compression on the subject while the background just melts away, even at f/1.8.
So naturally, the question is… what if you could have more?
More background separation.
More low-light performance.
More melty-ness?
Sigma answered that question by actually building it.
Size, Weight, and Handling
Yes, this lens is bigger than other 135mm lenses, especially up front. That’s expected when you’re dealing with an f/1.4 aperture at this focal length.
That said, it’s not as massive as I expected it to be.
The lens feels short and stubby rather than long and unwieldy. Honestly, it feels like a big telephoto lens that got hit with a shrink ray.
One interesting design choice is the included tripod collar. Usually, you only see these on very heavy lenses to help balance weight, but this lens is only about one pound heavier than the Sony 135mm f/1.8, which does not include a collar.
The good news is that the tripod collar is removable, and personally, I’d probably take it off for most of my filming.
Build Quality and Controls
From a build standpoint, this feels like a modern, high-end Sigma lens.
You get:
- A large 105mm front filter thread
- Two programmable buttons
- An aperture ring that can be locked or de-clicked
- A dedicated autofocus and manual focus switch
Everything feels solid, well-built, and professional.
Autofocus and Focus Breathing
Autofocus performance was fast and reliable in all of my testing, which lines up with my experience using other newer Sigma lenses.
There is some focus breathing, similar to Sigma’s 200mm lens, but the amount of bokeh this lens produces hides most of it. In real-world use, I don’t think it’s a problem at all.
Overall, focus breathing is minimal, especially considering that Sigma lenses do not support Sony’s focus breathing compensation feature.
Image Quality and Bokeh
This is what you actually care about.
With this much glass, the image quality is absolutely gorgeous.
I’ve always loved the look of a 135mm at f/1.8 because of the compression and bokeh, and this lens takes that look and pushes it even further. Shooting wide open at f/1.4 gives you an insanely shallow depth of field.
You can have an eye in focus but not an eyelash. It genuinely feels like the camera is focusing on the iris itself, while the rest of the eye starts to fall out of focus.
That kind of depth of field is wild.
Autofocus is good enough to keep up, but if you’re trying to pull focus manually while handheld, even subtle body movement from breathing can shift focus. This is not a lens you casually manual focus at f/1.4 unless the camera is locked down.
Real-World Use for Filmmakers
If you film weddings, interviews, or talking head content, this lens is ridiculous in the best way.
You could be filming in a venue with a mediocre background, look through this lens, and suddenly ask yourself, “What background?”
It’s gone. The bokeh has completely eaten it.
Your subject pops off the frame so aggressively that it almost feels like they were cut out and placed on a green screen.
And honestly, I have zero complaints about that.
Final Thoughts
If you already love the 135mm focal length and didn’t think it could get any better, this lens proves that it absolutely can.
The Sigma 135mm f/1.4 is big, bold, unapologetic, and incredibly beautiful. It’s not for everyone, but if extreme subject separation, compression, and cinematic depth are your thing, this lens is very special.
Thanks for reading, and have a great day.