The Sigma 24mm F1.4 DG DN Art designed for mirrorless cameras has arrived! Chris and Jordan took one to the tough streets of Calgary to see how it performs.
That price is still hard. It was at the time when Olympus released the lens, but it has not come down.
You can get it sometimes in second-hand market for under 500 € but it is still hard to swallow. Considering that you get a 17 mm f/1.8 for something like 250 € and 25 mm f/1.8 for 190 € and 45 mm f/1.8 for 90 €.
In my experience the 25 mm and 45 mm that are "plastic fantastic" are very well made, very sharp edge to edge and all. But their plastic body will suffer from wear in time with some visual marks to them. They are more than value for their price!
But when it comes to these 12 mm and 17 mm, Olympus just must have made them to metal, and price them higher. I just last week returned one purchase of 17 mm (third time in last few years) as it just wasn't sharp from one side of the frame (about 1/3 is badly soft).
I have only tried couple times the 12 mm, and they both were very sharp, but I just don't see the value over a 12-40 mm f/2.8 Zoom with it. Same with 17 mm.
Forgot to add. For a cheaper option than Olympus 17 mm f/1.8, I would take Sigma 16 mm f/1.4. 2/3 stops faster, but same time almost 3 times larger in volume and heft with 405 g weight (compared to 120 g of Olympus).
I dislike fixed focal length lenses for most uses, but 12 mm f/2 is interesting one for the size.
I dream that OM System would come to senses and release 12 mm f/1.8 in same form as 25 mm and 45 mm models, and as well bring something crazy like 6 mm f/4 in that same factor. As to get the price down! Get them to 300 € category and you have great reason to get them.
In a photo world that's hooked on video, the caption portion below, focuses on lens breathing. After examining this video example, I've never seen anything like that before. It's bad. Just seeing that fault, and the way it was "explained away," my confidence in this company's glass technology and also the review itself slipped to negative.
Video caption segment:
"you can see the lens breathes quite a bit and that's whereas you manually focus from nearest to infinity you can see that the focal length changes you get that zoom in zoom out effect and that's unfortunate when you want to do any long focus pulls on this lens so one downside but all the other sides are pretty much positive"
Such obvious "breathing" seems to me to be VERY IMPORTANT, if not critical. This one negative, when it comes to video, just cannot be discounted.
If doing video and you don't need the large aperture, it's probably hard to beat the recent Sony FE PZ 16-35mm f/4 for wide angle needs. Reportedly very little focus breathing, plus a wide variety of focal lengths, and not that much more expensive than this prime. Alternatively, if really limited money-wise, I think I read/saw long ago in some review (CameraLabs, I think, but might have been Christopher Frost or Dustin Abbott) that the Sigma 24mm f/3.5 DG DN has relatively little focus breathing. Long ago, so I might not be remembering accurately, you'd need to check.
Like most fast lenses, it's pretty sharp when you stop it down. I'm not a Sony user or fan, but from what I see here, the Sony costs a lot more and the Sony is a lot better.
Does the Sigma keep getting better after f/2.8? Maybe by f/4 it's closer to the Sony?
Yes the blues seem to be shifted towards cyan. All processed in C1, so I guess it would come down to the camera profile being used, unless the operator shifted something by accident.
I'm surprised people in earlier comments didn't mention it. That's why I thought it might be my monitor. Do most people just look at sharpness and aberrations nowadays and don't even look at colors anymore?
Hours after this review was posted and only 22 comments? Unless nearly everyone has been abducted by aliens in flying saucers, such apparent lack of interest is a bad sign re Sigma sales of this particular lens.
And, I would add, the apparent lack of reader interest may be an indication that for Sony FE-mount, the market for several of today's standard prime focal lengths (especially 24, 35, and 85mm) is saturated, and instead of more "me-too" designs, lens manufacturers ought to focus on one or more different things. For instance, top-quality yet not-too-big 28mm and 40-45mm f/2, a 50mm f/1.4, a 105mm f/2, and a prime somewhere in the 120 - 150mm, f/2.8-3.5 range. They could also explore designs that while not fully macro, deliver moderately close focus and high performance when doing so.
Currently using a Sigma 28mm 1.4 DG HSM on an adapter. It is working but AF is really on the slow side and the thing is larger/heavier than I'd like. I know the Sigma exists (existed?) in E-mount but I'd prefer something natively designed for mirrorless cameras (a Sony G/GM, Sigma DG DN or even a Tamron Di III).
Seems like Sigma has its heart in the right place, however the lack of comments might be attributed to the fact that this new lens is not much different from lenses out there already.
I would love to see smaller primes for my A7c. If Sigma were to produce a 28mm f1.8 in FE mount, I would jump on it in a heartbeat! Even if it was a 2.8!
snegron: I reckon half the comments to a "Sigma announces the contemporary 28/2,8 for L- and E-mount" article would ask what Sigma were thinking not making it at least f/2.
That said the the 28mm prime-crowd must be an insignificant blip in every survey the lens manufacturers do.
You wrote: "That said the the 28mm prime-crowd must be an insignificant blip in every survey the lens manufacturers do."
Might be less than the numbers asking for 24mm and 35mm lenses, but couldn't be insignificant, given that Sigma saw fit to develop a 28mm Art lens for DSLRs. And profit might well be greater on a 28mm than on a 24 or 35, if there is less competition, and so total sales though lower are split among fewer manufacturers. In fact, if you are the ONLY manufacturer making a quality 28 for the mount in question, not only would you not be splitting the market with competition, you'd also have far more "pricing power" than you do on a 24 or 35, where competition is significant.
@Becksvart; Yes, I'm sure no matter what lens Sigma releases, there will always be a crowd of people who complain. My issue is that there are almost no small, good 28mm primes to choose from for FE. Sony makes one, but it has very mixed reviews. There seem to be a ton of 24mm primes made by several manufacturers. I wonder if this is a case of "build it and they will come", or if these manufacturers actually did research and found that 24mm was a popular, "must have" lens for many people?
Zilver and snegron22: I also think there's room for one what with less competition at 28mm. I had the FE 28mm at one point, sometimes I miss it a little. Something seems to hinder manufacturers from producing one and it just has to be the money outlook somehow, I refuse to believe in a focal length curse.
Or maybe it's like the 300/4 ie a focal length many manufacturers like to cover with a zoom
Nothing special at leat in the sample images. The bokeh is better on my Nikon z 35mm at 1.8 then it is on this at 1.4 as is sharpness and contrast but its a 35.
The differance of a 24mm and 35mm is very little only few steps to the front or back to get the same view. Unless you with your back to a wall just moving back some with a 35 gives you the same view. A 24mm is a little wider in a smaller room at a wedding reception for table shots other then that i can not think of any reasion to use it over a 35, But a 24-70 2.8 would be the better pick. Look at the size of this new 24mm its not small at all so no space or weight saving with it.
A difference in FOV between 24mm and 35mm is not little at all, especially in small and tight spaces(not necessarily indoors) where “taking a couple steps back” is simply not an option. Also from the samples(ex. #11,17) it seems the Sigma renders bokeh quite nicely in mid-distance(at which many lenses suffer from uneven or layered bokeh), which is a huge plus.
Not much more expensive than the Sigma 24mm f/2 DG DN "i"-series lens, and this new lens adds a bunch of the "Art"-series features like more buttons/switches and de-clickable aperture, but for myself (and I suspect many others), the older "i" series makes more sense -- lighter, smaller, less intimidating to subjects, and a better walk-around and travel lens. Also, given the very good resolution and CA performance of the "i" lens, will this lens beat that? -- from Chris' look at LOCA, this new lens might be inferior on that parameter.
Obviously, if you want to shoot at f/1.4, this new lens wins out over the "i" one.
Does somewhat depend on where you like to walk, among people in good weather or in the woods in inclement weather (better weather sealing). This Art lens is sharper near mfd wide open than the i-series but it has more loca until f/4 it seems like from Chris reviews.
Roughly six people bought the Sigma fp/fpL for stills photography. It makes more sense to review with the Panasonic S1R or Sony A7RIV for better IQ and more confident autofocus.
Sometimes there are pragmatic reasons for choosing gear. The copies of the lens we received from Sigma were L-mount, so the A7RIV wasn't an option. The Sigma fp L still allows us to push the lens to 61MP of resolution.
Of course, sometimes we just choose gear because it's fun or different. We like to have fun too.
If I wanted a nice 24mm for my r4 for landscape, I would have absolutely no clue how well it performs at infinity f 7.1 from this sample gallery. You would think that Calgary didn't have a cityscape:
or that some of the very finest mountain scenery anywhere on Earth wasn't a half hour away. I don't care how well the lens does for street photography because no one gives a damn about how sharp a street photo is. Time to work just a little bit harder, Chris.
It makes me happy that Sigma gives us these lenses in E-mount. Though neither of the new ones fits my needs.
I have the Sigma 85 mm DG DN Art f1.4 lens and it is very nice. If Sigma would make a 50 mm f1.4 below 600 grams or even lighter, I would get it immediately.
The Sigma 85 mm DG DN Art f1.4 is 630 grams. The Sigma 35 mm DG DN Art f1.4 is 645 grams. The 20 mm and 24 mm Sigma DG DN Art f1.4 lenses released today are 635 and 520 grams.
So why shouldn't Sigma be able to make a 50 mm f1.4 DG DN Art at around 600 grams or below?
lattesweden: You just don't get it do you? If you want the ultimate sharpness Sigma aims for (at the expense of character, horses for courses I guess), you need a lot of glass -> weight. Look at the Tokina Opera 50 f.i. But by all means, get a Samyang.
Correct I still don't understand it since you still haven't been able to explain why a Sigma DG DN Art 50 mm f1.4 would be much heavier than the other DN lenses they already have launched in the DN series which are:
Sigma 20 mm DG DN Art f1.4, 635 grams. Sigma 24 mm DG DN Art f1.4, 520 grams. Sigma 35 mm DG DN Art f1.4 , 645 grams. Sigma 85 mm DG DN Art f1.4 , 630 grams.
So again, explain why a 50 mm f1.4 would be so different glass weight wise than the other Sigma lenses in their DN series. What makes the 50 mm focal length so different that it needs more/heavier glass than the other focal lengths in the DN series, and please explain that so that I can understand it. Thank you.
The Sigma ain’t as I see it going to make the 50 1.4 with the trend of making all 50 1.2…. They probably would not even have made the 85 today 1.4 with the trend of 85mm lenses being 1.2.
Also that 85 has some rather ridiculous amount of distortion to get down to that weight, so get a 50 down there would again require equal amount of distortion and other optical compromises.
Personally I think Sigma made a mistake with that 85mm a range that is so easy to make almost distortion free with so much distortion is a red flag and I know many feel the same way about it.
About the Sigma DN 85, it relies upon a correction profile as many other modern lenses does. I don't see that as a problem. If I loose some corner sharpness wide open I can live with that since I don't shot brick walls. At times I actually click out the correction profile since the DN 85 can look better in my eyes without it. If there are lines in background you obviously need it. But you get two rendering options in one lens. Some say the DN 85 is clinical in its rendering, I like mine.
So if they would build a 50 DN from the same principles I would buy it if they can hit the about 600 grams weight or below. Any heavier lenses than that don't come with me and at home they don't make any images at all. So I'll trade lower weight over optical perfection. The 85 DN lens does a good enough job I think and as with all photography gear it is about to balance out the compromises the best way.
But as you say, it might look like Sigma will not make a 50/1.4 DN. Rumors says that a 50/1.2 DN will come and also a 50/2 in the I-series. They hardly will make a 50/1.4 as well in that scenario, but I hope the rumor is wrong.
The Samyang 50/1.4 mkII seems optically be good enough for my needs, but the AF seems to struggle at times, which is a little odd since my 24, 35, 45 and 75 mm f1.8 Samyangs are very good with hitting the AF. Maybe the Samyang 50/1.4 mkII needs to move more focusing glass and that they don't have a good enough AF drive for that.
Sonys 50/1.2 GM is to heavy and so is the old Sony/Zeiss 50/1.4 which also seems to have a so so AF drive.
Even though we have so many options for fast 50 mm lenses for E-mount, I can't find anyone that balances the compromises according to my taste and suits my needs well enough.
Yeah it’s certainly has its flaws in vignetting, chromatic aberration, ghosting, onion ringing, breathing.
It was kinda anticipated it would not be nearly as sharp or as well corrected as the GM but it’s also less expensive so I guess the slightly drop in performance is acceptable, although I do wanna see more accurate test of how much worse it is…
But again it’s an additional choice and that is always welcome
Looks like a pretty nice option between the Samyang f/1,8 and the Sony GM, minus the flare ghost. The sunstar...looks like a sea urchin, just like from every af lens I know of.
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