Okay, so I've been using a 50mm f/1.4G since I switched to a D600. A friend sold it to me used and it was my first Nikon lens. It's done a solid job and given me a lot of sweet images, but I recently picked up a Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART lens and I'm loving that. It has me wondering how the new 50mm f/1.4 would do in comparison and has me wondering if it might be good to switch.

Anyone have experience with how the two compare?

I recently test drove the Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art. It is excellent. No Problems. Amazing Results. It is heavy...but On my D800 with grip...no problems. Test Drive first. To see if you likes.

I have some of the best glass for Nikon around: the 85/1.4g, the 105/2.8 micro, the 14-24/2.8, the 200mm/f2, the 200-400/f4, the 70-200/2.8, and the 24-70/2.8. Even with all of those lenses, the Sigma 50/1.4 Art is by far my most useful lens and produces consistently beautiful results with great sharpness and beautiful out of focus highlights. Most of the images on my web site were shot with that lens. It's just a ridiculously good lens that I would easily have paid three times the asking price to own.

The Sigma is a far superior lens when compared to the 50/1.4g. It's not even close.

Within the past couple of years I converted from being a Canon shooter to a Nikon shooter.  I had a LOT of Canon glass (which was excellent).  All of the Canon glass was "L" series.  Some of it I had had for many years.  Because of rising prices I actually got slightly more than I paid for some of the lenses, making the switchover much less painful.

I don't know what the resale value would have been for those lenses if they were Sigma, or some other 3rd party equipment.  Have heard nothing but good about the Sigma Art Series, but one does have to be a little concerned how the value will hold up for re-sale.

I've had both lenses. Used the 1.4G on a D800e, and the Art on both the D800e and D810.

The 50mm f/1.4G didn't do it for me - I didn't like the aberrations in the corners, and it is just ordinary quality.

The 50mm Art is state of the art - sharp wide open and a pleasure to use. This is the lens I use most often at the moment.

If Sigma makes equivalent 85mm and 135mm Art lenses, I may stop using Nikkor glass.

I have the 35mm ART lens.  Supposedly the 50mm ART has better sharpness than their 35mm model from the online lens reviewers (DxOMark and Photozone.de).

I did notice that when I shot with my Nikon 24-70mm G zoom at 35mm that the images were slightly sharper than the 35mm ART using the latest Reikan FoCal software.  Sort of puzzled me why the Nikon zoom was sharper.  It showed the RGB peak focus curves for the fine tuning to be looser than the Nikon.  Something like the Nikon needed a R=-15, G=-12, and B=-16 in the camera's AF fine tuning.  The 35mm ART needed a R=-15, G=-10, and B=-18.  The AF spread would be about 4 points for the Nikon and  8 for the Sigma.  So the chromatic aberration was a bit worse in the Sigma for the focus to be perfect for the spectrum against the Nikon.

Not a huge deal since AF is sort of hit and miss at times on my D800E, but just somewhere the Sigma fell flat in the chromatic part with the focus.  I know the stuff isn't perfect and they do get good ones and bad ones, just one never really knows unless you can compare it to others.

Nice part with Sigma is that you can zero the AF tuning in the lens to match the body with their puck and software, but just not the three colors.  Too bad Nikon doesn't off the same device to tune their lenses (And none of mine are perfect or zero in AF tuning either even after they fix them.).  Interesting that Sigma sort of passes the warranty part off to the customer if they want it "perfect" rather than sending it in and praying, plus they make $60 to buy the tuning software as well.

I'm still waiting to see what they do with the 85mm ART if it ever shows.

I still use the old Sigma 50.14
having tried the Nikon 50 1.4 and 1.8, 58/1.4 and the huge Sigma Art

I think the balance bwt boke and sharpness is better on the older version
getting it for $349 when they blew them out, was icing on the cake

I would certainly check out an 85 A, as I still use the ancient 85/1.4 D
I prefer the more neutral colors, to the Nikon G

would be all over a 135 A