Today is the day that Sigma fills out its Art-series lens lineup to offer what could easily be considered everything you'd really need since its most recent release of the 85mm f/1.4 Art. Four new full-frame lenses cover the gamut from an ultra-wide, ultra-fast 14mm f/1.8 Art, a similarly fast 135mm f/1.8 Art portrait lens, to the wedding photographer's favorite 24-70mm f/2.8 Art and sports shooter's 100-400mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary "compact" super-zoom. If you've been waiting for that next Sigma lens, odds are it's one of these.
The 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art features the "largest glass mold (80mm) in the industry," contributing to less flare, ghosting, and distortion. Edge-to-edge sharpness and great chromatic aberration control is also promised, which gives hope to astrophotographers that have been waiting quite some time for a high-end, fast, ultra-wide lens such as this.
Sigma's 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art features a new focus motor that promises increased torque and overall performance with the addition of a focus limiter to optimize the experience in various situations.
The 24-70mm f/2.8 DG HSM OS Art is built with a metal barrel for durability and composite internal materials for less variation in thermal expansion and contraction. The lens' design also incorporates a new optical stabilization (OS) system as well as a thicker center glass design that Sigma says helps provide amazing bokeh.
Finally, the dust- and splash-proof Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG HSM OS Contemporary features a push/pull zoom function in addition to a standard twist-zoom design. A macro feature offers up to a 1:3.8 reproduction ratio. (UPDATE: the standard twist-zoom function is the main method of zoom, but for those in a hurry for a quick adjustment, a push/pull mechanism is also incorporated).
All four lenses are compatible with Sigma's MC-11 Sony E-Mount converter and will be available in Nikon, Canon, and Sigma mounts. Another feature of note is that all of the Nikon-mount versions feature a new electromagnetic diaphragm – a feature that Nikon has been incorporating in its latest professional lenses with an "E" designation in order to improve exposure accuracy during high-frame-rate shooting by more accurately and quickly setting the aperture for each shot.
Sigma has yet to announce pricing or availability for all four lenses, but we'll have updates as soon as pre-orders go live.
All four lenses are made for full-frame sensors, so expect a 1.5x (Nikon) or 1.6x (Canon) crop factor if you'll be using these on your APS-C bodies. It won't be long before we know more about the quality of each lens (Sigma's 85mm f/1.4 Art rivals Zeiss' Otus), and we'll certainly have some reviews for you once the lenses become available.
Comparisons to watch out for would be between the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 and Nikon's still-new 105mm f/1.4G or Canon's; the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 and Nikon's now-ancient 14mm f/2.8, Canon's 14mm f/2.8, or Rokinon's 14mm f/2.8; the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 and the Nikon or Canon versions; or the Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 and its Nikon and Canon equivalents.
Which lens are you looking most forward to trying out? Let us know in the comments!
24-20 2.8 WITH os? omg. that will be so useful.
If that 135 is priced around $1000, it's gonna be hot. I'll bet it's gonna be a really great lens.
I sure hope so too! This is the one lens that I lack in my lineup. I have the Sigma 50 and 85 Art and they're both phenomenal lenses. This will complete my portrait lens line-up for sure.
may I ask when do you use 50 art and when do you use 85 art? Thanks.
Portraits. Most of my work is shot with those two lenses
if you have canon, you should definitely rent out the 135L for comparison. IMHO that is one of the best lens for headshot portraits/outdoor portraits. Oh the dreamy bokeh!
I've been waiting for this lens for a long tome - glad to see those rumours finally become reality!
If the 135 is priced around $1000 it better blow Canon's 135 out of water with its performance. Currently I hold that as a pinnacle in terms of performance at that range. My guess is Sigma will target their lens more around the $800 mark (or maybe I am being very optimistic).
Definitely drooling the 14 as well as the 24-70. It is right time for me to replace my old 24-70 too and I am guessing as always sigma will be cheaper than Canon (and this also has OS)
Not sure what you're seeing as so impresive, it's a 20-year-old design, and it shows. Granted, it's a "look" unto itself (I shoot with various 35+-year-old lenses for their particular rendering, so I can appreciate an older design), but it's no match for a modern lens. The Samyang is superior to the Canon and Nikon 135s, albeit manual focus, and the Sigma will probably improve on the concept.
"features a push/pull zoom design"
extending barrel, yes, but that sure doesn't look like a push/pull lens
It's great to see the 24-70 get OS, but it's a shame the 135 didn't. Hopefully the 135 stayed lighter than the 135L by keeping it out.
Thank you for the note on the 100-400. I am actually going to double-check this as well, as that struck me as incredibly odd. But it said that in their press release. But totally looks like a normal twist-zoom. I'll get back to you on this.
It's both. The idea is that you can resort to push/pull when you want to change focal length as quickly as possible.
That seems as though it could be an invitation to zoom creep when the lens faces down.
They have the same design on the 150-600, a lens with a much heavier front element, and so far I haven't heard of any creep issues.
The Sigma 135 is 50% heavier than the Canon 135L (1130g vs 750g)
Do you have the link to all the specs?
I found the weight on Sigmaphoto.com
The Sigma has more elements and is a slightly wider aperture. Bear in mind the Canon optical design is over 20 years old, the Sigma is present-day optical design. The lesser-known Samyang 135 MF lens is a modern design, and it is superior to the Canon and Nikon 135s. I don't expect this to be any different. Both Canon and Nikon are overdue for a 135 replacement, this Sigma will probably make it harder for either of those manufacturers to justify their replacement, which I'm sure will be astronomically priced.
24-70/2.8 with OS for under a grand?!? Whut da whut!?! Heh, dreams are free, right?
Tamron have had one with OS for years now for around a grand. But, no doubt it will be optically inferior by a large margin to the Sigma.
Love the size of the 135mm and 24-70mm, stubby.. thats how I like my lenses! Why the 85mm ART needed to be so crazy large? That prevented me from getting one.
Standard that Sigma has been releasing. I would have to say that the 100-400 missed the ball ever so slightly. Being Canon/Nikons stop at f/5.6. So I'd still buy the Canon Version. 14mm is just astounding. Everything else was expected.
The 100-400 is part of their "Contemporary" line as opposed to the top-of-the-line "Art" range like the other lenses announced today.
Though you are right but their 150-600 contemporary vs sport, doesn't have different aperture. So I don't see their sport version changing.
Ugh once again no love for Pentax it appears. The k1 is my favorite FF landscape oriented body and that 14mm is drool worthy. I get it, I'm in the minority here and it may not be profitable for sigma to adapt it to pentax but this still sucks.
What about good and affordable smaller APSC zooms, so that smaller cameras like the Sony a6000 series make much more sense?
I don't think that'll happen until Sony does it themselves. Sony has created a downward spiral of demand for the APSC E mount system in favor of the FF E mount system (can ya blame them?). If Sony is showing a lack of interest in their customers, why would Sigma bother to court them when the presumed future would be limited?
Also, there is only one company investing in enthusiast-friendly APSC lenses and that's Fuji. Canon, Nikon, and Sony aren't doing much.
It makes no sense for Sony or Sigma to not properly support the E mount. The a6000 series has been very popular. That's a market that Sigma could tap into, and for Sony that's a market that can be expanded much further by offering compact, reasonably priced zooms.
I agree with your proclamation but I disagree with your impression of support. I agree that it would make no sense for Sigma and Sony to not support the APSC E mount. Which is why they do... To the point that it makes fiscal sense. What they have apparently decided is to not support the APSC E mount to a degree larger than what they currently offer. This is what seems to be at odds with your hopes and expectations.
When a company employing hundreds of experts come to a decision that someone disagrees with, that person needs to ask themselves if they think they are more of an expert then the hundreds of people who collaborated to come to the conclusion which they did. I would venture a guess that in the vast majority of situations the single person who disagrees with the hundreds of experts likely doesn't have all of the information they need to come to a proper conclusion. Does that seem like a fair analysis?
You wrongly assume that corporations always make the right decisions. It should go without saying that Sony has excelled at making very poor decisions since the height of their success in the 90s.
Many prospective owners of the a6000 series of cameras have been deterred from buying one because there are no good, reasonably priced compact zooms made for them. This is a constant demand for these cameras. I am just another one of those prospective owners that has been deterred.
You incorrectly assumed that I assume that. I'm basing my comment on two things. Number one is that two different companies, one of which is now known for producing lenses other manufacturers won't make, have decided to forego lenses for this system recently. Number two is simply a probability. It's much more likely that you are wrong and they are right.
Honestly, number one is enough for me to have made my comment and number two was just icing on the cake.
You're certainly assumed it in this case, and you're still assuming it.
Well. We've reached an impasse. Neither of us can prove anything. But we both know we're right.
Wrong. It is obvious that you think that Sigma and Sony are correct. You also do not acknowledge that they could be wring in not offering reasonably priced compact zooms for the Sony APSC E mount.
I think in your haste to hate everything I say that you may have misread my post. What I was saying is that I think I'm right and you think you're right.
And I do acknowledge that they could be wrong but I think the chance of that is pretty slim.
I think one area of business you may be ignoring is production capacity and opportunity costs. I have no doubts that if either of these companies produced the lenses you were asking for that they would sell and probably sell in decent numbers. My contention is that there are other areas where both companies can make more money and/or they simply don't have the production capacity to add your personal wish list to their product portfolio.
@Jonathan Brody
Hate? No, I'm simply disagreeing with you. One of my hates is cold pizza, if you're interested.
Your weren't acknowledging that they could be wrong. That was my point.
Get a ROOM GUYS lol... jk :) interesting conversation!! I was actually waiting for Jonathan to mention the SIGMA MC-11 E-mount adapter or the METABONES equivalent which I use on my Sony A6300 with the SigmaArt 50 1.4 and 18-35 1.8. My thinking is simply that in considering these adapters there is no need to specifically get into the DESIGN and PRODUCTION cost of taking these lenses and making them E-mounts. The users who come to know and love the SIGMA ART line will simply purchase an adapter and never look back!! Also, most "new" sony users come from NIKON or CANON and have invested in glass of a particular mount. Therefore, I can't see the logic or business sense in doing so. I would simply invest RND in keeping the adapter updated and improve on the functionality of it with SONY cameras.
Just my 2 pennies 👍.
Those adapters add bulk, expense, and are simply adapting full size lenses. The point of APSC sized lenses is their smaller size, which would be in harmony with the smaller size of the Sony a6000 series.
Even Sigma's APS-C zooms aren't small. 18-35/1.8 Art and 50-100/1.8 Art dwarf the a6000. Same goes for the 18-300 Contemporary. And Sigma should seriously rethink the "Contemporary" designation. It just doesn't roll off the tongue the way "Art" and "Sport" do.
I looked up Sigma APSC E mount lenses on B&H's excellent site and only got 1 hit, and that was for an incorrectly classified 18-35/1.8 Art in Canon EF mount with an adapter to allow it to work on Sony APSC E mount. In other words, I got zero results for Sigma APSC E mount zooms. Zero. None.
A 70-200 f/2.8 would be great too!
I suspect one is almost certainly in development. That said I'd argue it shouldn't be a major priority for Sigma. The industry already is tightly packed with really good 70-200s making it a very tight market. I think Sigma has more to gain from targeting focal lengths that have a ton of value but aren't being prioritized by other makers. The 135mm was a perfect choice in this regard. Nikon and Canon both haven't updated their's in 20 years and 135mm is considered one of the best focal lengths for portraiture. This lens has no real competition and it will be highly sought after.
I'd love to see Sigma back burner the 70-200 and focus on maybe some more innovative stuff at the full frame level sort of like the 18-35 and 50-100 they made for APSC. For example imagine if, instead of a 70-200mm, they came out with a 70-150mm that opened up to f/2.0? Game changer. Or another mega boon could be a 180mm f/2.0 at a fraction of the price of the big 200mm f/2.0s that exist now. Another cool zoom idea I'd be interested in seeing would be 50-85mm f/1.8.
Personally I think those small zooms are hard to sell. 50-100 is the limit...but 50-85? At some point, you're giving up a decent chunk of image quality for the capability of shooting 20% closer (when you could just take a few steps forward). It's not the same, I know. But it's so close it's hard to justify if you ask me. But maybe people want that...
To your point, I think they're killing it with their selection of what to come out with. That 135 and the 14....people have been BEGGING for new lenses like those.
From what I've seen from the small zooms such as the 18-35mm the image quality has been pretty amazing. Personally, during a shoot I find I'm usually just swapping between 50 and 85 most of the time. If they cold come out with a lens that offers both and great max aperture without sacrificing IQ, I think it would be a hit.
I'd like to see a 35-70 f/2. Or even faster if it's feasible. Adding IS would make it incredible. Again, if the added size wasn't ridiculous.
Now would be the time for a 70-200. Since Nikons is ridiculously over priced and still can be cheaper than Canon. That's an easy swoop in to steal market share. Tamron has hit it big with their new 70-200.
In the 100-400 text it says:
(UPDATE: the standard twist-zoom function is the main method of focus, but for those in a hurry for a quick adjustment, a push/pull mechanism is also incorporated).
Should be: 'the main method of ZOOMING'.
Both twist and push-pull is also available on my Sigma 150-600 C. I never use the push/pull, was one of the reason I never looked into a Canon 100-400 (Mk1, before tje Mk2 was out).
Whoops! Thanks for catching that! ;-)
Could you imagine how great the 14 and 135 will potentially be for astrophotography? Looking forward to reviewing either of those.
I've contacted Sigma about me pointing that 135mm tube to the night sky. Let's see how it fares when it's tracked and the images are stacked. :)