A lot has changed since Sony launched the a6000 back in 2014. At the time, if you wanted an ultra-wide prime, your only real choice was the Carl Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8.
Then Samyang crashed the party with its 12mm f/2, and suddenly everyone had an affordable option. It was light, sharp, fast — and cheap. Sure, it didn’t have autofocus, but honestly? The Touit’s AF felt more like a dial-up connection than modern tech: slow, noisy, and sometimes not even connecting properly. You weren’t missing much by sticking with manual focus. And let’s be real: at $399 versus Zeiss’s $1250, Samyang’s lens felt like highway robbery… in your favor.
A few years later, Samyang came back and fixed the autofocus problem with an AF version. They kept the same optical design, improved the coatings, added autofocus, gave it a facelift — and somehow still charged only $400. That became their magic number.
Fast forward to today, and Sigma has finally stepped onto the 12mm stage. And of course, in true Sigma style, it’s an f/1.4. It’s also the first Sigma DC lens with an aperture ring, which makes me hopeful they’ll sprinkle that feature across the rest of their APS-C lineup. What’s wild is how small it is — this thing makes the 16mm f/1.4 look like it skipped leg day but not dessert.
Performance is where Sigma really flexes. The sharpness is ridiculous — think brand new shaving blade right out of the box. Center? Razor sharp. Corners? Same story. It keeps flares under control, autofocus is quick, and the bokeh is smooth and creamy. The only weak spot is longitudinal chromatic aberration, but that’s kind of the tax you pay for f/1.4 on APS-C. (My 30mm f/1.4 is living proof — and it’s way worse.)
Now, Samyang set the gold standard with its $400 price tag — and I would’ve loved if Sigma followed suit. That would’ve been legendary. Instead, it’s $629. Not cheap, but considering what this lens delivers, it’s still great value. Honestly, I’d bet my old manual Samyang 12mm f/2 that the Sigma 12mm f/1.4 DC C is about to become the default lens at this focal length.
