Firsts are always an exciting thing. Now, world’s first? That's another category in and of itself. At Fstoppers, we had the pleasure of testing Sigma's brand new 28-45mm f/1.8 DG DN Art lens for Sony E mount. A behemoth of specs in a tiny package. So, of course, we had to take it somewhere epic—and what better place than the lush, dark, and moody ancient forests of central Pennsylvania?
Right off the bat, the most impressive aspect of the Sigma 28-45mm f/1.8 DG DN Art is that it has that constant f/1.8 aperture throughout its entire zoom range. There has never been a full frame zoom lens like this before. The brightness and optical performance are sharp as a tack. It's so sharp that it's even rated as rivaling the sharpness of many prime lenses. This is all due to its construction of 18 elements in 15 groups. The lens boasts three aspherical and five Special Low Dispersion elements. This all helps control glare, ghosting, and visual aberrations. The diaphragm of the lens is an 11-blade design. This not only hones in on both clarity and sharpness but also provides that smooth bokeh we love as photographers when we’re photographing wide open.
The next spec that catches my eye as a landscape photographer is that the Sigma 28-45mm f/1.8 DG DN Art has an 11.9-inch minimum focusing distance. This means that you can do layered compositions with a foreground, middle ground, and background with your foreground right up close leading into the scene. Or you can get in tight on textural details almost like a macro. This came in very handy for me, which I'll explain later.
Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art Splash-resistant Design
Not Just for Photos
I also want to touch on how the Sigma 28-45mm f/1.8 DG DN Art can be an amazing tool for video production. The zoom function of this lens is all internal. If you do video, you know this means you can put it on a gimbal and not have to worry about rebalancing while zooming. The autofocus is also extremely quiet, and I could not hear any mechanical sounds while shooting video on either the internal microphone of the camera or an external mic with or without a wind muff shield or cover for noise reduction.
Full Specs
Here’s a rundown of all the juicy specs of this lens before we dive into how it performed in the field:
- Maximum Aperture: f/1.8
- Minimum Aperture: f/16
- Lens Mount: Sony E
- Lens Format Coverage: Full frame
- Angle of View: 75.4° to 51.3°
- Minimum Focus Distance: 11.9 inches / 30.2 cm
- Macro Reproduction Ratio: 1:4
- Optical Design: 18 Elements in 15 Groups
- Diaphragm Blades: 11, Rounded
- Focus Type: Autofocus
- Image Stabilization: No
- Filter Size: 82 mm (Front)
- Dimensions (ø x L): 3.5 x 6 inches / 87.8 x 153.4 mm
- Weight: 2.1 lb / 950 g
- Two AFL buttons
- Focus mode switch
- Super multilayer and nano porous coatings
- Water- and oil-repellent coating on front element
- Dust- and splash-resistant design
- Durable brass bayonet mount
In the Field
So, of course, on paper, this lens looks amazing, but how did it actually perform in the real world? Well, to test a lens at f/1.8, I had to take it somewhere to push that brightness to the limits. I brought it to the ancient forests of Northwestern and Central Pennsylvania. Under a canopy of thousands of acres of towering hemlocks and white pines, this forest provided the perfect low-light environment to test an aperture of f/1.8.
I hiked the forest trails in a full rainstorm, the leaves and lush ferns dripping and glistening. I photographed everything from wide forest scenes and waterfalls in long exposure to tight close-ups of mushrooms. The splash-resistant design and water-repellent front element were very helpful as I was completely soaked in the rain. The experience and resulting photos were well worth days of hiking in wet boots.
Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art 1:4 Macro Style
The mushrooms in particular were something special—some were as large as a dinner plate, others tiny and fragile-looking. With the Sigma 28-45mm f/1.8 DG DN Art lens’s close 11.9-inch focusing distance, I was really able to get up tight and show off the colors and textures of the fungi. You could even see the tiny insects crawling around this little fungi world. With a macro reproduction of 1:4, it's a nice lens to explore tiny worlds with.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, I went wide. When photographing the waterfalls in long exposure, I also upped the difficulty factor by creating my photographs as a panoramic. With large, sharp individual files for my pano, I was able to puzzle them together into one huge picture with all of the little details captured. I can imagine it making a beautiful print. I really love creating panoramic pictures, even when I don’t necessarily need to, just to have that extra resolution and file size in my final image. A lens as sharp and versatile as this is perfect for that kind of thought process because you're capturing that fine detail you really want.
Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art Woodland Scenes
Final Thoughts
As I look back on my experience reviewing the Sigma 28-45mm f/1.8 DG DN Art, another aspect I noticed in the field was just how petite this lens is. At 2.1 lb for an f/1.8, it’s really good. This matters to me because, as someone who is traveling or hiking as part of my photography experience, the weight of my gear is important.
Speaking of puzzles and things fitting together, as I test more gear, I start to look at how it will fit into your kit. With the zoom range of this lens being 28 to 45mm, it's a really good sweet spot for photographers of all genres that walk around and take pictures where you need a wide to normal zoom range. Then, with that bright constant f/1.8, you can tackle all different types of light—even video, as mentioned. All in all, it's a solid offering by Sigma and a great world’s first. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!
If you would like to add the Sigma 28-45mm f/1.8 DG DN Art for Sony E to your photography kit, you can find it at B&H by clicking here.
