#but they ALSO only go down to like 3.75 mm

[exculis]

i like knitting way more than crocheting and yet i own way more crochet hooks. fascinating.

[butchybats]

ask meme: how many crochet projects do you have going at the moment ‘:|

Okay so it’s only four rn everyone cheer and clap for me HGHGH ideally I would take pictures but I don’t wanna get up so I’m just gonna talk about them <3

1. Halloween sugar cookie sweater!! This is definitely my biggest project as of right now, it’s meant to look like those Pillsbury ghost, jack o lantern, and cat sugar cookies and it’s so CUTE!! It’s seriously such a me pattern, I love it. I have the front panel entirely done, I need to finish the border for the back panel, crochet the shoulders for it, sew the two panels together, and then crochet the sleeves and add ribbing. Honestly that’s probably less work than what I’ve already done like it really shouldn’t take super long to finish, I just have chronic can’t finish things disease. That being said I did spend a good chunk of money on both the pattern and the yarn and plus it’s so cute that I really gotta try to finish it.

2. Cardigan for my sister! I literally just said that I have chronic can’t finish things disease and if you want proof of that then this cardigan was supposed to be done for my sister’s birthday in the summer! And then it was supposed to be done by Christmas! It is halfway done! To be fair I hate the pattern I chose to do 😭 it’s a granny hexagon cardigan and it actually looks pretty cool but it takes FOREVER to work up (probably my fault for using a 3.75 mm hook but it matches the yarn my sister wanted) and it’s literally halfway done like if I really put my mind to it then I could finish it. That being said just thinking about it fills me with dread LMAO I’m thinking about doing either a raglan or patchwork cardigan instead because I would like to actually gift her the cardigan I’ve been promising for like 10 months now 🤡

3. Beetlejuice inspired vest: this project is sitting halfway done on my table right now TAUNTING ME. I was having such a fun time with it when I got the genius idea last night to try it on for size. It is way too big which means I have to frog almost the entire thing!! Trying to tell myself it’s a good thing because it’ll be quicker to work up if it’s smaller but it’s also disappointing because I have to undo my work!! Also to clarify when I say beetlejuice: it’s this bulky yarn that changes color from black to dark purple, lilac, chartreuse, and neon yellow-green. Such a fun combo that I had to have when I saw at Michaels

4. Forever ago I told @loelett that I would make them a bat. Said bat literally only needs feet, to be sewed together and stuffed, and shipped out. I struggled so much with the feet that it got put on the back burner 😭 but other than that it went well HGHG

This isn’t even counting the ideas I have that haven’t made it to the crocheting stage yet (I want to make an iwtv sweater so badly it makes me look stupid) but hopefully I can finish these up soonish so that I can start on new ideas!!

ALSO I FEEL THE NEED TO SAY THAT I LOVE CROCHETING AND CONSIDER MYSELF GOOD AT IT BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE THIS POST SEEMS KINDA DOWN JGVHGGHG i would literally be unstoppable if I had the motivation to finish things is what this post amounts to. Thank you for coming to my ted talk

[bestdamascusknife-blog]

Top 10 Best Hunting Knife Reviews | Camping Knife Reviews 2018/2020

Here we at BestDamascusKnife.com will provide you 11 of a most bought & top-rated best Hunting Knife on the store today. All has its individual unique style though they each have in general to be manufactured from the excellent material available offering them both long-lasting and strong. If you are looking for Best Hunting Knife, you are at right place. No look more, in this review based article we have added the Best Hunting Knife Reviews & complete buying guide. The Best Hunting Knife is tough to find, as an enthusiastic hunter acknowledges. However, once you get the one you desire, it will be with you for many years. Plus if you’re blessed to fall in love with a Buck, it will be with you always with their best lifetime guarantee. Although there is not a Perfect Camping Knife to be had, there are many that do that job excellently. All knives size does not fit all, and many choose to take multiple kinds with them. There is still a big divide between clients about the real type, which will be explained later. The common features in the Best Hunting Knifes are all helpful, and a much less gimmicky than other hunting parts. There is normally no lost craftsmanship, & everything has a common function. As per usual while choosing the desirable, the user & their purposes are the real deciders.

Introduction to Best Hunting Knife

Introduction to Best Hunting Knife Having the Best Hunting Knife on a market would be the smart move for all recreational or serious hunter. If you were always in a situation that needed you to have the Best knife in your hand, would you have become prepared? What if that critical situation had something to do with cutting any rope, cleaning the fish, or dressing the deer? Would you proceed to have a knife in your hand? Hunting or Camping is a highly popular game or sport that attracts several each year, from whole over a world. It’s further important to hunt for endurance, otherwise, we would only face hunger (unless you are vegetarian). This suggests it’s extremely necessary to not just have a great but the good you can see. If you’re finding the best one to use hunting & don’t know wherever to look, review our Best Hunting Knife Reviews! You Might Also Like ⇒ Best Damascus Chef Knife Best Folding Hunting Knife Reviews Best Pocket Knife for Self-Defense Best All Around Hunting Knife

Top 11 Best Hunting Knife Reviews

The Best Hunting Knife will serve for many years. Hunting knives or Camping Knife are used for camp work, dressing game, utility work, & about everything more that is required when in a forest. For this purpose, a top-quality Hunting Knife Set is required. (You don’t need to feel the suffering of having the bad hunting knife, it really sucks). In this Article, we will review of the Best Hunting Knife, the 11 Best-selling Camping Knife, Bowie Knife and Hunting Knives, pick which one is best for you! Editor's Note: We will update this list as more Hunting Knives hit the market.

No. 1 9" TAC FORCE Spring Assisted Open SAWBACK BOWIE Tactical Rescue Pocket Knife EDC

9 inch TAC FORCE Spring Assisted Open SAWBACK BOWIE Tactical Rescue Pocket Knife EDC

PROS In part Serrated Sharp edge, Glass Breaker Stub Safety belt Shaper Safety belt Shaper Material: 440 Stainless Steel Sharp edge General Length 9", Edge Length 3.5" Liner Locking Framework CONS

No. 2 MTech USA Ballistic MT-A705 Series Spring Assist Folding Knife, 4.5-Inch Closed

MTech USA Ballistic MT-A705 Series Spring Assist Folding Knife, 4.5-Inch Closed

PROS Comes finish with a pocket cut for simple and safe convey; incorporates a container opener and glass breaker Spring help collapsing knife offers quick one-gave organization, bolts safely into the right spot with a liner bolt 5-inch shut length; 3.75-Inch knife length with three mm thickness CONS

No. 3 Spyderco ParaMilitary 2 G-10 Plain Edge Knife

Spyderco ParaMilitary 2 G-10 Plain Edge Knife

PROS Flat ground from the spine to the bleeding edge, the cutting edge slices neatly and liberated through all material Screw-together development with a settled Pressure Bolt The G-10 handle is smaller at the hold position and more extensive at the knob for exhaustion free, slip-safe dealing with Joins Spyderco's new Turn Bushing Framework that influences opening/shutting the cutting edge to feel smooth while fixing producing resistances to a larger amount, General Length:8.281 ", Shut Length:4.812” Two-position pocket cut for tip-up or tip-down convey and channeled cord gap as an extra convey choice CONS

No. 4 Spyderco Tenacious G-10 Combination edge black blade

Spyderco Tenacious G-10 Combination edge black blade

PROS Made utilizing the most elevated quality materials The most trusted name in your cutlery needs Tried for quality and toughness CONS

No. 5 Spyderco Delica Plain Edge Knife

Spyderco Delica Plain Edge Knife

PROS General Length: 7.12", Cutting edge Length: 2.87", Shut Length: 4.25", Weight: 2.5oz Manual opening with the ability to use both hands thumb gap Materials: Cutting edge - VG-10, Handle: FRN (Fiberglass Strengthened Nylon) Made in Seki City, Japan Edge Pound: Flat, Cutting edge Shape: Slanted edge Best Utilize: Each Day Convey CONS

No. 6 Tri-Angle Sharpmaker

Tri-Angle Sharpmaker

PROS The most trusted name in your cutlery needs Tried for quality and toughness For keeping sharp cutting edges, apparatuses, and toys in ideal working condition, Spyderco sharpener set is first class Just keep the plane of your knife's cutting-edge vertical and draw the edge along each stone to hone. It's that basic. Made utilizing the most elevated quality materials All parts snap into the independent ABS plastic base and cover and are prepared to movement Incorporates 2 sets of high alumina earthenware stones; hones plain and flat edges, bits, darts, fishhooks, and punches CONS

No. 7 Buck Knives 110 Famous Folding Hunter Knife with Genuine Leather Sheath - TOP SELLER

Buck Knives 110 Famous Folding Hunter Knife with Genuine Leather Sheath - TOP SELLER

PROS AN AMERICAN Symbol - Great Walnut Handle and Metal Support give an ideal mix of magnificence and adjust. The 110 Collapsing Seeker, following 50 years is as yet one of America's smash hit knives and one that is passed on from age to age Well, sharpened SHARP Clasp POINT Cutting edge 3-3/4" 420HC Stainless Steel Clasp Edge has incredible quality, edge maintenance and is erosion safe. The Clasp cutting edge has a sharp controllable point, and is useful for detail work, puncturing and cutting Advantageous Convey Incorporates a Veritable Top notch Defensive Calfskin Sheath with Snap Latch. The incorporated waistband considers protected and secure carry on your belt for simple access. The 110 is flawless as a hunting partner or for general outside utilize Quality AND Security - Simple to open with a nail score on the sharp edge. The bolt back instrument bolts the sharp edge open for solid quality and security while you work. Shut Length 4-7/8" Weight 7.2 oz. MADE IN THE USA - Everlastingly Guarantee - Since 1902 Buck Knives has offered a lifetime guarantee on our knives since we trust in the respectability of our items. This knife is gladly made in the USA CONS

No. 8 Spring Assisted Knife - Pocket Folding Knife - Military Style - Boy Scouts Knife - Tactical Knife - Good for Camping, Indoor and Outdoor Activities (Medium, Black)

Spring Assisted Knife - Pocket Folding Knife - Military Style - Boy Scouts Knife - Tactical Knife

PROS Perfect Vital KNIFE FOR EVERYTHING - Outside, Climbing, Backpack, Bushcrafting, Chasing and Calculating, Military and Equipped power needs, Outdoors and DIY Activities, Survival, Self-Insurance, Emergencies. KNIFE WITH Crumbling SPRING Helped OPENING Edge AND POCKET Catch has a clear and trustworthy liner-jolt that is impenetrable to soil and neutralizes startling conclusion. Outfitted with the thumb studs for right and left-hand use. ERGONOMIC HANDLE - made of metal with finger depressions and indents for pleasing and firm handle. It is a fantastic utility contraption made of high gauge and study materials for master and tourism sweethearts alike. Dull Secured 440C STAINLESS STEEL - astounding leveling of hardness and buyer insurance ensures real assignment without sharpening. 100% genuine guarantee - Take it easy in light of the fact that your new knife is guaranteed by Astounding Way 10-year ensure. Can transform into a perfect present for the man or woman in your life. CONS

No. 9 SOG Folding Saw Gear F10N Wood Saw Blade Only, Nylon Sheath, High Carbon Steel 8.25" Removable Blade

SOG Folding Saw Gear F10N Wood Saw Blade Only, Nylon Sheath, High Carbon Steel 8.25 inch Removable Blade

PROS Respectfully tempered steel teeth chip away at hardwood and green wood 25-inch high carbon steel sharp edge with a dark powder coat wrap up Minimal collapsing saw for camping, hiking, and climbing Accompanies a restricted lifetime guarantee The dark sheath is incorporated into a snap conclusion and waistband connection CONS

No. 10 Morakniv Companion Fixed Blade Outdoor Knife with Sandvik Stainless Steel Blade, 4.1-Inch

Morakniv Companion Fixed Blade Outdoor Knife with Sandvik Stainless Steel Blade, 4.1-Inch

PROS Planned, the high-rubbing handle makes the knife pleasing to hold and easy to deal with Adaptable settled edge outside knife of cemented Sandvik 12C27 stainless steel Shading planning plastic sheath with belt cut Confined lifetime maker's certification. CONS Best Hunting Knife: How to Choose? If you found your way to here, possibilities are you're finding the Best Hunting Knife ever produced. But we are going to straighten with you. No one hunting knife fits them all. The truth is a few more difficult. There are infinite fantastic hunting knives on today's market with best features that many people love & others hate. This review will teach you about these features of the Best Hunting Knife & give you sufficient knowledge to take the Hunting Knife Set for your requirements.

Disclaimer

"All brand names and images are Registered Trademarks of their respective companies. All manufacturers names, numbers, symbols and descriptions are used for reference purposes only, and it is not implied that any part listed is the product of these manufacturers or approved by any of these manufacturers." Read the full article

[knottymom]

Bubble Butt

Finally, another pattern!  I had almost forgotten I could do this.

OK, not really.  In reality I’ve felt terribly guilty for not writing anything up in forever.

This pattern was born partly out of a niggling desire to make a certain bubbly baby outfit on Ravelry paired with an utter unwillingness to pay $10 for a single pattern.  

Anyway.  I know how much people hate scrolling to get to recipes, so I won’t bore you much more.  My usual caveat applies here--I’m not a great knitter, so there’s always the chance I borked something up.  If you notice any glaring problems, message me on Ravelry, not here.

Picture!

Materials:

3.25 mm 16″ circular needle 

3.75 mm 16″ or 24″ circular needle

DPNs for one of those sizes; it doesn’t really matter which (for the ribbing on the cuffs)

100% wool yarn, worsted weight (I used Fisherman’s Wool from Lion Brand); if you don’t plan to use this as a soaker, material isn’t important, just weight, and this wool is a pretty light worsted

The usual array of stitch markers, yarn needle, etc  I use yarn to hold big piles of stitches, which you’re going to need to do at the legs.

Gauge: 5 sts/in on the bigger needles, stockinette in the round, but as Elizabeth Zimmermann says all babies are differently sized and this is aimed at a wide age range.

Size: up to 6 months at least, but keep in mind it’s going to be adorably oversized on a newborn  The waist is 16″ and so is the rise (when measured as given in pattern).  The idea behind such a large bit of ribbing at the start is for you to be able to fold it down.

Directions: (finally, right?!)

Cast on 80 stitches with smaller needles and work 10 rounds in knit 2/purl 2 ribbing.  

Eyelet round: Knit two, yarn over, purl two together around.

Rib 10 more rounds the same as before.

Now.  You can change this part up stupid easy.  You can leave out the eyelet round.  You can only knit 10 rounds total, or five.  You can do a different pattern in your ribbing, like knit 3, purl 1.

Change here to the larger needles.  Knit one round even.  

Increase round: knit one, knit front & back around.  (Or knit 2, make 1.  Whatever.  You’re just turning every two stitches into three.)  You should have 120 stitches at the end.

Continue on in dogged stockinette (I watched so much Netflix while knitting this) until your soaker measures 8″ from the eyelet round if you did the full 20 round ribbing.  If you did shorter ribbing, measure from the bottom of it.

Next, divide for the legs as such: 5 stitches on some sort of holder.  55 stitches on a long length of yarn, 5 stitches on another holder, the last 55 arrayed on DPNs (I sorted them on four needles with 15 on two and 10 on two).

The 5 stitch bundles are your crotch stitches.  Either Kitchener these together or simply work a 3-needle bind-off.  Your baby won’t care.  You can do it now or wait until the end, as I did.

Each cuff is done the same, like so, using the smaller DPNs if you’ve chosen to:

Decrease round: knit three stitches, reduce the next two however you please (knit 2 together, ssk, etc).  The goal is to end up with 44 stitches.

For the next 10 rounds, you will rib whatever suits you.  I used knit 3, purl 1 because for me it turns out about ten times cuter than the more usual k2, p2 ribbing.  At the end, bind-off using something super stretchy--either Elizabeth Zimmermann’s sewn bind-off (what you see here) or Jen’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off or some other thing I’m not aware of.  You can also, obviously, shorten the ribbing here to just five or 8 rounds.

Finish off, weave in your ends, and make a drawstring of some sort.  There are tons of ways to do this--i-cord, braiding, crocheting two strands together, etc.  You do you; just make it longer than you think it needs to be.  I actually knitted my first-ever i-cord for this project, 3 stitches on the smaller needles, and as you can see it didn’t go well.  Weave the cord through the eyelets, and you are DONE!

[thewoodwindmethod]

Private Studio Scheduling Software Comparisons | by Anna Roach

Calling all private lesson teachers of the world. This is for you! Do you feel like you need help scheduling your lessons and keeping track of your students, billing, and ever changing calendar? There is some fantastic software out there that can help you.

I began the journey of sifting through all of the possible online scheduling software when my private studio exceeded what my calendar could take. Don’t get me wrong, there are purists out there who schedule hundreds of weekly lessons with nothing more than a pen, paper, and sticky notes. But on behalf of all 1099 filers out there, I feel that the old way leaves something to be desired. So, I’ve gone through about twenty-five scheduling systems both in online and app form and narrowed them down to three that I think are most conducive to what we do as private music lesson teachers.

1. Square Appointments

Pricing:

30-day free trial

Just Me: $30/month

2-5 Staff: $50/month

Unlimited: $90/month

Starting Up:

When you first sign up, Square makes it easy to create a profile and get started. It directs you to create a sample appointment that easily readies to use the software.

Pros:

Interactive Calendar:

Very simple and easy to look at.

Gives you the option to sync with your google calendar.

You are able to schedule appointments, have students schedule their own, and even send an email to students/parents to approve a lesson time. Blocks of time can be booked as appointments or personal events simply by clicking on the calendar. You can decide whether or not students need your approval to confirm your appointments, and whether to give them the option to reschedule on their own through this interface.

Customization:

Although there is little customization available, you are able to change small details like font and color that your students see.

Customer booking:

Student or parent booking is probably the nicest feature that Square Appointments offers for private lesson teachers.

From your individual booking website, they simply select the lesson duration, choose an available time slot, and enter their contact information.

The system sends text messages or emails (depending on their preference) immediately after booking and will also send reminders.

Ease of Payment:

Square offers ease of payment like neither of the other services I reviewed. Parents can prepay online or through the app. They can pay after the lesson with a card or you can send invoices with payment portals imbedded in the email.

Square offers extremely secure payments for parents and students.

People generally trust it as a valid payment type that provides immediate and quick transactions.  

Cons:

Expense: At $30/month, this service is not cheap.

Creating “Services”:

Since Square Appointments is not software developed specifically for musicians, you must create a ‘service’ for each duration of lesson you teach This is a bit clunky for private lesson teaching. It takes a bit long to input the information at first, but ends up working well once you’ve added all possible lesson durations and their corresponding fees.

Tracking Non-Square Payments/Cost of Doing Business:

Many parents would still prefer to pay with a check or cash. Square does not offer a great way to track those payments not brokered through their software. Also, there is a 2.75 percent cut of swiped and online/invoice transactions and 3.75 percent plus 15 cents on every keyed-in transaction.

2. Music Teacher’s Helper

Pricing:

30-day free trial

$14/month for up to 20 students

$29/month for up to 40 students

$49/month for unlimited students

Starting Up:

It is quite easy to set up an account through Music Teacher’s Helper. It is straight forward, asking minimal questions: Name, Name of Studio, Location, and Email Address.

MTH sets you up with a fully functioning website (although it does allow you to link to your personal website if you so choose.)

Pros:

Ease of Navigation:

The left hand control panel is very easy to navigate. It directs you to each category.

The dashboard tab gives you an immediate run-down of your schedule for the following day. It also shows you an earnings overview and reminds you of any items that you might have lent to a student and need to collect.

Superior Record Keeping:

Music Teacher’s Helper automatically send invoices to students/parents and leads them to pay online if you have connected a merchant account.

You can easily see which students have paid and those who have not.

Interactive Calendar:

You can indicate time slots that you have available so so that students and parents can request to have a lesson in that slot right from their computer.

You can also post studio events and schedule automatic reminder emails to be sent to your students before their lessons and events.

Student Access:

Students have their own registration on your website so that they can access their own control panel. This allows you to use MTH to record lesson details and give assignments that students can access when they practice at home.

Students can also log their practice time and access specific music or documents that you may want to send them.

Cons:

Expense:

If you have more than 20 students in your studio (which you probably do if you are using this kind of software), the monthly price gets quite steep.

Lack of Customization:

You don’t have much opportunity to customize the layout of the pages you set up (Home, Registration, Contact Me, Photos, Links, etc.).

Also, because you can only choose a portion of your domain name, the length can become a bit much. (Ex. Annaraeroach.musicteachershelper.com)

“Over-Ease” of Cancellations:

What is supposed to be a perk in ease of cancellation can often become a hindrance: Students can request to reschedule or cancel their lesson from your calendar. Although the website shows your cancellation policy when they go to cancel, I’ve noticed that students often cancel much more frequently when they can do it from their computer. Even though you may still receive payment, this can really wreak havoc on your daily schedule.

Clunky Mileage and Expense Tracker:

Inputting mileage onto this website is not easy and was quite time consuming. As this is an important deduction for taxes, it is a nuisance to work this hard to record miles. A spreadsheet would still probably be easier.

3. My Music Staff

Pricing:

30-day free trial

$12.95/month for unlimited students

Starting Up:

Starting the 30-day trial on MMS is the easiest of all three websites. It only asks you for your name, email, and asks you to choose a password.

It takes you immediately through the three main things that it believes you need to know: adding a student, scheduling a lesson, and creating an invoice.

Pros:

Expense:

$12.95/month comes in much lower than most other private lesson scheduling software.

There is no worry that if your studio grows, your monthly bill will increase.

Ease of Navigation on “Home” page:

The left hand control panel is completely straight forward and easy to navigate.  “What you see is what you get”-there are no tabs within each category. You can choose from: Home, Students, Calendar, Families and Invoices, Expenses and Revenue, Mileage, and Studio Reports.

The “home” tab shows your agenda for the following day. It also has a left hand dashboard that shows how many students you have in the next week, gives you a number for your projected monthly income, and tells you what payments you have received so far.

This “home” screen is extremely user friendly because it allows you to see a quick overview of your schedule. It also allows you to take attendance and account for payments directly from that screen.

Lesson Scheduling:

Lessons are easy to schedule on MMS. The dropdown menu allows you to choose a student and lets you choose a weekly time that repeats until a date that you specify. It also allows you to make group lessons easily.

Mileage and Expense Tracking:

My Music Staff offers very easy tracking of mileage. It allows you to input your routes from place to place so that the individual trips are searchable. It also allows you to look at monthly travel and yearly travel, making taxes much easier.

Expenses are also easy to input and are searchable. MMS remembers past payments and suggests ones that you make frequently. You can also make reoccurring payments generate automatically.

Cons:

Lack of Customization:

You have almost no customization of the interface itself. MMS is a very clean and professional website, but you cannot change it to match your branding.

You can create a website through MMS, but it does not a have a good way of marketing it and there is no way to link your existing website to your MMS page.

Difficulty for Students to Schedule Lessons:

Unlike Music Teacher’s Friend and Square Appointments, there is no way for students to see your availability online to choose a time and schedule a lesson.

There is also no student portal that allows your students/parents to interact with your online scheduling page.

Lack of Online Payment Options:

Although invoicing students is easy through MMS and the invoices themselves look very professional, there is no way for a student to go to your page and pay for their lessons online.

[slrlounge1]

Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art Lens Review | The New Champion Of 14mm Ultra-wides?

When Sigma first uttered the words, “14mm f/1.8”, I may have shouted at my computer, “INCONCEIVABLE!!!”

Well, it’s real, it’s here, and the verdict is in: …WOW.

Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art (Nikon 50mm f/1.8 Series E included for comparison)

Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ($1499) Size: 5×3.75” (126x95mm) Weight: 2.57lbs (1170g) Filters: No (You’ll need one of those giant adapters.) Autofocus: Yes (HSM) Stabilization: No

Nikon D750, Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art | 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100

Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Review | Pros

Ultimate Sharpness

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 5+ years, you already know that almost every Sigma Art Lens seems to get rave reviews for sharpness, as well as overall image quality. However, since this lens is very much a specialty lens, considering its focal length, price tag, and weight, you have to ask yourself: do you actually plan to use this lens at f/1.8? Do you need the incredible sharpness that it offers by f/2.8? Maybe, if 14mm is an integral part of your photography style, however if you’re just looking to fill your arsenal with a compact, affordable ultra-wide that you only reach for once every now and then, I gotta be honest- there’s plenty of sharpness to be had with the other 14mm primes out there, including the dirt-cheap Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 UMC, (manual focus) …and even the new Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 AF, now available for Sony, Canon, and Nikon.

Nikon D750, Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art, f/2, 4 sec, ISO 6400

Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art Sharpness @ f/2, 100% Crop, 24MP. (Fine-radius sharpening and modest noise reduction applied)

So, ask yourself- What apertures do you mostly shoot at? By f/5.6-8, literally every 14mm made in the last 5-10 years is almost perfectly sharp. Or, maybe you do shoot at f/2.8-4 a lot, but you shoot things like portraits and whatnot where the sharpness in the extreme corners doesn’t really matter. Again, all of the 14mm’s will do the job. Really, to justify the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art on its sharpness alone, you have to plan to use it at f/1.8-2.8. (And even then, I gotta confess- the f/2.8 options are roughly as sharp in the extreme corners at f/2.8-4.)

Low Distortion

Of course, sharpness isn’t everything. Many ultra-wide lenses have absolutely wicked distortion. In fact the most affordable option, the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 UMC, has such crazy distortion that I almost feel like it gives a fisheye effect whenever you point it at something that has strong lines.

Of course still photographers can correct this distortion with a lens profile, but it’s still a pain to deal with, and extremely troublesome in video footage.

The Sigma 14mm’s distortion, by comparison, is almost nill. And whatever little distortion there might be is easily corrected by a profile.

Distortion Test: PASS

Solid Build Quality

Just because a lens is heavy, doesn’t make it “indestructible”. Sigma’s Art lenses, despite their solid appearance and feeling, do still break. I’ve seen some of the older ones, such as the 35mm f/1.4, 24mm f/1.4, and 50mm f/1.4, all literally “rattling apart” after a year or two of heavy abuse.

However, Sigma has made headway in this arena, and the reports of 14mm issues are almost nonexistent. In short, if you take decent care of this lens, it will last. The same can not be said for most Rokinon/Samyang and many other third-party alternatives. Well-done, Sigma. This lens is a beast, but hopefully that means it stands the test of time for most photographers.

Low Vignetting At Competitive Apertures

Yes, wide open at f/1.8 the Sigma 14mm has pretty significant vignetting, which renders almost the whole image a bit darker. Simply put, the lens’ actual light transmission is not 1.33 EV’s brighter at f/1.8 than it is at f/2.8.

Vignetting Test: PASS Nikon D750, Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art, f/2.8, 15 sec, ISO 3200

However, since no other 14mm lens even goes to f/1.8, the fair comparison begins at f/2.4-2.8. At which point, the Sigma 14mm is much, much brighter than other lenses. That’s just the physics behind stopping down a fast-aperture lens.

Flare test: PASS. (Just one or two little dots.) (Half the time, it was just dust or mist on the front element!)

  View this post on Instagram

  A post shared by Matthew Saville (@astrolandscapes) on Oct 19, 2018 at 11:18am PDT

Low Flare

I don’t know what Sigma is coating their glass with these days, but it’s magic. The Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art has almost none of those annoying “flare dots”, and the blooming/haze from in-frame light sources is also impressively low.

  View this post on Instagram

  A post shared by Matthew Saville (@astrolandscapes) on Dec 24, 2018 at 10:55am PST

Autofocus

For those of you who need it, autofocus is there. More importantly, it actually works quite reliably, which is not something that every single Sigma Art prime can claim.

Ordinarily, depth of field is so deep at 14mm that when you’re using an f/2.8 or f/4 lens you barely need autofocus at all and consistency isn’t very critical either. However @f 1.8, is that Sigma 14 mm New Jersey indeed benefit from having autofocus is that is snappy and consistent.

Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Review | Cons

Noticeable Coma Before f/4

Almost everything about the Sigma 14mm’s images is best-in-class and/or generally stunning. The only downfall is, as has been Sigma’s nemesis for its wide-and-fast primes, …coma.  At f/1.8 thru f/4, tiny points of light in the extreme corners, such as stars, will grow “wings” (sagittal astigmatism) and appear a bit fuzzy in general.

It’s really not very bad, however, depending on your camera’s resolution. See the examples below, comparing the Sigma 14 1.8 Art against the Rokinon 14 2.4 SP, at both 45 megapixels and 24 megapixels:

Coma Test, 45 MP, 100% Crop (The Sigma is the brighter image)

Coma Test, 24 MP, 100% Crop (The Sigma is the brighter image)

Really, it comes down to this: which do you want more, at f/2.4-2.8… Incredibly low coma, or incredibly low vignetting? The Rokinon offers the former, the Sigma the latter. Personally, I am indeed partial to extremely low coma, but your preference may differ.

Left: Rokinon 14mm f/2.4 SP (~$699) Right: Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art (~$1499)

Weight and Size

Yes, it’s big, yes, it’s heavy. Let me disclaim this con by saying, I fully understand that this is the price we pay for such stunning optics. I’m not expecting a free lunch here. So, you’re either willing to lug it around, or you’re not. That’s your decision.

I’m sure plenty of people will comment to say, “oh, don’t be a sissy, stop complaining about heavy lenses! I want the sharpest lens possible, I don’t care about anything else!” I absolutely understand. Sometimes, you just want the sharpest lens possible, you don’t mind the weight, and you plan to put the lens to good use. Go for it!

Filter Compatibility

There’s no “personal preference” subjectivity here, the Sigma 14mm Art is very cumbersome to use with filters. If you use filters a lot, you’ll have to get a clamp-on filter system.

Manual Focus & Hyperfocal Information

I’ll keep this complaint short and sweet, since only the most die-hard landscape photographers will notice, let alone care: Most autofocus lenses these days have a pretty limited focus distance indicator, if any.

Sigma’s focus distance window goes straight from infinity to 3ft/1m in just a few millimeters’ turning of the focus ring. The hyperfocal markings are also just a few millimeters apart, and, due to the extremely high megapixel count of cameras these days, they’re wildly inaccurate too.

I suppose I should be thankful that the lens has any focus indicator at all. The only other current-generation 14mm prime with autofocus, the new Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 AF, is fly-by-wire (electronic manual focus) and has zero focus indicators whatsoever. Also, the Rokinon 14mm f/2.4 SP has lost its hyperfocal markings, for seemingly no reason, although it is still a dream to focus manually in general, with amazing focus throw.

But, at this point, I’m splitting hairs. The Sigma’s features and performance earn it a spot in any serious ultra-wide shooter’s camera bag, especially if they prefer low vignetting more than low coma.

Nikon D750, Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art | 15 sec, f/2, ISO 6400

  What Types Of Photography Is The Sigma 14mm Art Perfect For?

Make no mistake, this is an exotic, specialty lens. If you use the words “casual” or “general” to describe the type of photography you do, then look at a different ~14mm prime, or an ultra-wide zoom.

With that said, which types of specialty photography subjects might greatly benefit from the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art?

Nightscape photography – Duh. Impressive wide-open sharpness, (and unprecedented f/2.8 brightness) at such a wide focal length, makes this lens a prime candidate for a main workhorse of an astro-landscape photography lens.

Conversely, however, if you shoot traditional landscapes, (and if you don’t shoot any video) then you’ll likely appreciate one of the other 14mm options just as well.

Timelapse photography – If you shoot timelapse, especially in low light, then every stop of aperture and wide-open sharpness counts, too. Furthermore, timelapse video is usually only viewed at 1080p or 4K, and cropped to 16:9, making the Sigma’s issues with coma even less noticeable, and its advantage in vignetting even more useful.

Low-light, close-quarters photojournalism – If you shoot any type of journalism in low-light, especially indoors or in other close quarters, then every stop of light can help you get an acceptable shutter speed, and every millimeter of focal length can help you fit a scene into your frame when your back is against a wall.

Low-light, close-up action – Whether you’re an extreme sports photographer photographing a stunt well after sunset, or you’re a traditional sports photographer looking for an extra stop of shutter speed even in brightly lit stadiums, the Sigma is designed especially for those in-your-face shots, which also require autofocus I might add.

Full moon self-portrait | Nikon D750, Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art | 2 sec, f/1.8, ISO 3200 Click HERE to read our review of the Tether Tools Case Relay!

Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art Lens Review | Conclusion

Sigma has created (another) monster. It’s a bit heavy, it’s a bit pricey, but if you need what it offers, it’s worth every penny and every ounce. I absolutely recommend it very highly.

So, what type of photography do you shoot, and are you considering this Sigma 14mm Art? Please leave any comments and questions below! Thanks for reading.

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