Is it really worth getting the SIGMA Art 17-40mm f/1.8?

[Tubbycub]

Im a current owner of a Sony A1 and most of the time I have my 24-70 GMII attached to it.

However for traveling I don't like to take it with me (due to size and how expensive the kit is) and purchased the A6700 and absolutely love it.

With my A6700 I generally take the 18-50 F2.8 as its so compact and light.

However with all the rave reviews with the Sigma Art 17-40, Im wanting to know if people here have it and what they think of it? I would appreciate the extra F stops especially for night time photography. Is it light to handle? And what's your experience been with it so far?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bender79ita]

Im a current owner of a Sony A1 and most of the time I have my 24-70 GMII attached to it.

However for traveling I don't like to take it with me (due to size and how expensive the kit is) and purchased the A6700 and absolutely love it.

With my A6700 I generally take the 18-50 F2.8 as its so compact and light.

However with all the rave reviews with the Sigma Art 17-40, Im wanting to know if people here have it and what they think of it? I would appreciate the extra F stops especially for night time photography. Is it light to handle? And what's your experience been with it so far?

Thanks in advance.

It's kind of funny, that lens has the same weight and size as my old 17-70 f2.8 did.

I didn't like the handling much, mostly because I had an a6400 that had a very shallow grip so the setup felt way akward and unbalanced.

On an a6700, I'd be way more tolerant, as the similarly sized 28-200 is totally fine on my A7IV with its thick grip.

If you want to know if it's worth it IQ wise, just shoot your 24-70 on FF.

f1.8 on aps-c will look roughly like that, both the dof and total image noise.

As for weight and size, it will be somewhere inbetween your 18-50 and GM2.

I don't think anyone can tell you if it's worth it or not, as it's a very subjective matter.

For some, even the a6700 itself is too big.

Aswell, the 17-70 f2.8 has always been considered too big of a lens.

 

[dgsjsj]

Sigma 17-40mm F1.8 DC

Published by

Marc Alhadeff

on

29/07/2025

https://sonyalpha.blog/2025/07/29/sigma-17-40mm-f1-8-dc/

Arthur R.'s Review: Sigma 17-40/1.8 vs. a Quartet of Prime Sigma Lenses on YouTube.

 

[José B]

Im a current owner of a Sony A1 and most of the time I have my 24-70 GMII attached to it.

However for traveling I don't like to take it with me (due to size and how expensive the kit is) and purchased the A6700 and absolutely love it.

With my A6700 I generally take the 18-50 F2.8 as its so compact and light.

However with all the rave reviews with the Sigma Art 17-40, Im wanting to know if people here have it and what they think of it? I would appreciate the extra F stops especially for night time photography. Is it light to handle? And what's your experience been with it so far?

Thanks in advance.

My initial impressions are here:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/68358440

I travel with it to Montreal and took it to a photoshoot. I continue to love it. As to night time photography, I haven't tried it yet but I don't foresee any problems with it. The AF is fast and accurate. Also, I won't have any problems with high ISO images since I have Photoshop, DXO 9 Elite and Topaz AI.

 

[Tubbycub]

Im a current owner of a Sony A1 and most of the time I have my 24-70 GMII attached to it.

However for traveling I don't like to take it with me (due to size and how expensive the kit is) and purchased the A6700 and absolutely love it.

With my A6700 I generally take the 18-50 F2.8 as its so compact and light.

However with all the rave reviews with the Sigma Art 17-40, Im wanting to know if people here have it and what they think of it? I would appreciate the extra F stops especially for night time photography. Is it light to handle? And what's your experience been with it so far?

Thanks in advance.

My initial impressions are here:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/68358440

I travel with it to Montreal and took it to a photoshoot. I continue to love it. As to night time photography, I haven't tried it yet but I don't foresee any problems with it. The AF is fast and accurate. Also, I won't have any problems with high ISO images since I have Photoshop, DXO 9 Elite and Topaz AI.

Cool thanks for that!

 

[José B]

Im a current owner of a Sony A1 and most of the time I have my 24-70 GMII attached to it.

However for traveling I don't like to take it with me (due to size and how expensive the kit is) and purchased the A6700 and absolutely love it.

With my A6700 I generally take the 18-50 F2.8 as its so compact and light.

However with all the rave reviews with the Sigma Art 17-40, Im wanting to know if people here have it and what they think of it? I would appreciate the extra F stops especially for night time photography. Is it light to handle? And what's your experience been with it so far?

Thanks in advance.

My initial impressions are here:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/68358440

I travel with it to Montreal and took it to a photoshoot. I continue to love it. As to night time photography, I haven't tried it yet but I don't foresee any problems with it. The AF is fast and accurate. Also, I won't have any problems with high ISO images since I have Photoshop, DXO 9 Elite and Topaz AI.

Cool thanks for that!

I absolutely love the bokeh of this lens. It's almost similar to the look I am getting with my RF 24-70/2.8 L IS with R6MKII.

 

[Bazanzu]

I myself use the a6700 + 17-40 1.8 professionally for small gigs (photography mainly but even some social media videography sometimes), as others stated it is identical to your 24-70 in terms of IQ so you could appreciate it more for low-light - something that APS-C users tend to struggle a bit with.

In terms of weight I wouldn't say it's heavy - I mean compared to my 70-350 it is on the hefty side but nothing you can't handle for a day shoot, so I assume it'll be good for travelling with camera strap attached. Also will say that I really appreciate it's feel and the premium handling it has - hell I prefer it's quality over some GM lenses I used from my work colleagues cameras. To each his own as always and it's very subjective to trade your current sigma lens for this one - but I would jump the shot for that 1 f-stop of light as it's day and night difference when shooting in low light.

 

[Tubbycub]

I myself use the a6700 + 17-40 1.8 professionally for small gigs (photography mainly but even some social media videography sometimes), as others stated it is identical to your 24-70 in terms of IQ so you could appreciate it more for low-light - something that APS-C users tend to struggle a bit with.
In terms of weight I wouldn't say it's heavy - I mean compared to my 70-350 it is on the hefty side but nothing you can't handle for a day shoot, so I assume it'll be good for travelling with camera strap attached. Also will say that I really appreciate it's feel and the premium handling it has - hell I prefer it's quality over some GM lenses I used from my work colleagues cameras. To each his own as always and it's very subjective to trade your current sigma lens for this one - but I would jump the shot for that 1 f-stop of light as it's day and night difference when shooting in low light.

Thanks for that!

Yea APSC does struggle in low light. So with this lens whats the iso level you're getting with low light photography?

 

[Dick Barbour]

Nice reviews, but it looks like this lens isn't currently available for Sony E. Anyone know where it can be found?

****

 

[José B]

Nice reviews, but it looks like this lens isn't currently available for Sony E. Anyone know where it can be found?

****

I checked B&H and it's not in stock. Here in Canada, stores have it in stock.

 

[Dick Barbour]

Nice reviews, but it looks like this lens isn't currently available for Sony E. Anyone know where it can be found?

****

I checked B&H and it's not in stock. Here in Canada, stores have it in stock.

Yes, B&H is always the first place I look. It says "New item - coming soon". No other place I looked even mentions it, although there are plenty of them for Fuji, Canon, and L-mount.

 

[José B]

Nice reviews, but it looks like this lens isn't currently available for Sony E. Anyone know where it can be found?

****

I checked B&H and it's not in stock. Here in Canada, stores have it in stock.

Yes, B&H is always the first place I look. It says "New item - coming soon". No other place I looked even mentions it, although there are plenty of them for Fuji, Canon, and L-mount.

Maybe Sigma underestimated the demand for this lens for Sony mount. I bought after it was announced and seeing the reviews. This lens pretty much solidify my Sony APS-C lineup. And with today's software, I will just continue to support the A6xxx franchise going forward.

 

[Dick Barbour]

Nice reviews, but it looks like this lens isn't currently available for Sony E. Anyone know where it can be found?

****

I checked B&H and it's not in stock. Here in Canada, stores have it in stock.

Yes, B&H is always the first place I look. It says "New item - coming soon". No other place I looked even mentions it, although there are plenty of them for Fuji, Canon, and L-mount.

Maybe Sigma underestimated the demand for this lens for Sony mount. I bought after it was announced and seeing the reviews. This lens pretty much solidify my Sony APS-C lineup. And with today's software, I will just continue to support the A6xxx franchise going forward.

Probably you're right about the demand. From the reviews it is a nice alternative to the 16-55 whose price has gone out of sight. I can't afford it, but might just be able to afford the Sigma. The only real downside is the smaller range on both ends. Of course, f1.8 gives it some unique use cases. I wonder how it is for astro?

 

[José B]

Nice reviews, but it looks like this lens isn't currently available for Sony E. Anyone know where it can be found?

****

I checked B&H and it's not in stock. Here in Canada, stores have it in stock.

Yes, B&H is always the first place I look. It says "New item - coming soon". No other place I looked even mentions it, although there are plenty of them for Fuji, Canon, and L-mount.

Maybe Sigma underestimated the demand for this lens for Sony mount. I bought after it was announced and seeing the reviews. This lens pretty much solidify my Sony APS-C lineup. And with today's software, I will just continue to support the A6xxx franchise going forward.

Probably you're right about the demand. From the reviews it is a nice alternative to the 16-55 whose price has gone out of sight. I can't afford it, but might just be able to afford the Sigma. The only real downside is the smaller range on both ends. Of course, f1.8 gives it some unique use cases. I wonder how it is for astro?

Hi ****, I too was interested in the 16-55/2.8. My standard zoom 16-70/4 OSS is great for travel but for photoshoots I wanted something brighter. I would have saved for the Sony 16-55/2.8 with the maybe the A6800. However, when Sigma announced an even brighter lens albeit limited range, I knew I gotta have it. I don't shoot astro though thus I don't know how it will perform.

 

[Dick Barbour]

Nice reviews, but it looks like this lens isn't currently available for Sony E. Anyone know where it can be found?

****

I checked B&H and it's not in stock. Here in Canada, stores have it in stock.

Yes, B&H is always the first place I look. It says "New item - coming soon". No other place I looked even mentions it, although there are plenty of them for Fuji, Canon, and L-mount.

Maybe Sigma underestimated the demand for this lens for Sony mount. I bought after it was announced and seeing the reviews. This lens pretty much solidify my Sony APS-C lineup. And with today's software, I will just continue to support the A6xxx franchise going forward.

Probably you're right about the demand. From the reviews it is a nice alternative to the 16-55 whose price has gone out of sight. I can't afford it, but might just be able to afford the Sigma. The only real downside is the smaller range on both ends. Of course, f1.8 gives it some unique use cases. I wonder how it is for astro?

Hi ****, I too was interested in the 16-55/2.8. My standard zoom 16-70/4 OSS is great for travel but for photoshoots I wanted something brighter. I would have saved for the Sony 16-55/2.8 with the maybe the A6800. However, when Sigma announced an even brighter lens albeit limited range, I knew I gotta have it. I don't shoot astro though thus I don't know how it will perform.

OK thanks, sounds like it's worth waiting for.

 

[Alphaville]

The only thing that keeps me from using the A6700 with the Sigma 17–40 professionally is the fact that it doesn’t have a dual SD slot, because otherwise it’s an exceptional combination. The 18-50 is also a keeper due to its compactness and min focus distance.

 

[Tubbycub]

The only thing that keeps me from using the A6700 with the Sigma 17–40 professionally is the fact that it doesn’t have a dual SD slot, because otherwise it’s an exceptional combination. The 18-50 is also a keeper due to its compactness and min focus distance.

Yep fair enough! I ended up pre ordering the lens. Arrives in November sometime. Looking forward to it.

 

[saltydough]

I’m thinking this lens will be suitable for portraits and cosplay, but when I try to look for reviews and experience of this lens on cosplay, I couldn’t find any.



perhaps it is new and most reviews are on its general purposes, or that I am wrong and it is adopted for many other purposes…

 

[José B]

I’m thinking this lens will be suitable for portraits and cosplay, but when I try to look for reviews and experience of this lens on cosplay, I couldn’t find any.

perhaps it is new and most reviews are on its general purposes, or that I am wrong and it is adopted for many other purposes…

I shoot a lot of portraits with this lens but not cosplay. I believe with the latter you shoot it mostly indoors with artificial lighting? Having said that I tried this lens indoors and it focuses fast and accurate. The only issue I have with this lens are distortions on the short and long end. However, it is not a show stopper since it is easily corrected in post.