Sigma 401965 24mm F1.4 DG HSM | A For Sony SE, Black

Product Information

The dust- and splash-resistant structure* of the lens itself and the water- and oil-repellent coating of the front element will keep the lens safe and functioning even during shoots in harsher environments. Thoughtful Features A 24mm f/1.4 lens has long been an important model within a lens lineup, and the Sigma 24mm F1.4 DG DN Art Lens is the first to fill that slot in Sigma's mirrorless DN series.

Architectural photography, large product photography, interior photography, and birthday parties are just a few uses for 24mm. The shorter the focal length, the smaller subject details (captured at the same distance) are rendered, and the less still the camera must be held to avoid subject details crossing imaging sensor pixels, the source of motion blur. It is clear that Sigma was aiming high when designing the 24mm f/1.4 Art lens. With its impressive optical formula comprising of a total of 15 elements in 11 groups, four of which are low dispersion, three of which are low-dispersion (FLD) and two of which are of aspherical type. That’s a lot of high-quality glass to use in a lens! In comparison, the Nikon 24mm f/1.4G has a total of 12 elements in 10 groups, two aspherical and only two low dispersion glass elements. As a result, the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art obviously gained some size and mass – the lens is both bigger and heavier than its Nikon counterpart. However, a few millimeters and grams here and there should not upset a potential buyer, since the performance gain is definitely worth it. If one is interested in going for a smaller and lighter 24mm lens, the Nikon 24mm f/1.8G would be a better candidate, at almost half the weight. NIKON D750 + 24mm f/1.4 @ 24mm, ISO 50, 5/1, f/11.0 Focus accuracy and repeatability is critical to consistently produce sharp shots especially with large aperture lenses. Repeatability (the accuracy of focus on the same subject after repeated focus-acquisition) of this lens was measured 97.6% in Reikan FoCal. There was no outlier over a series of 40 shots on the well lit and contrasty focus test target but I found that results depended a bit on whether the lens was coming from infinity or from closer. Here is where the rubber meets the road, in my mind. When a company like Sigma elects to completely abandon the idea of building a compact lens, their lenses must stand solely on their optical performance. And, in fact, that is largely what Sigma has successfully done. Many people associate the ART brand with optical excellence. Is that true of the 24 ART, particularly since it is (by a fair margin) the largest option of its focal length in the Sony system? We’ll explore that in this section, as the answer is a little, well, nuanced. It should be noted that optical formula of the FE version of the lens is identical to Canon EF or Nikon F mount lenses, so if you are considering the lens in those mounts my observations will be equally applicable.Though bokeh is less of a concern with wide angle lenses than many others, both lenses did pretty well in my limited tests. Looking at this set of out-of-focus stage lights, we see that the bokeh in both cases is nicely round without busy artifacts or contrasty edges (though I personally like the contrast in the bokeh of the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART lens, for example, it’s all a matter of taste). In some areas, I did see a hint of the concentric circles that are typical of aspherical lenses in the Sigma (often called “onion rings”), but they were just that… hints, not obvious patterns. Distance information is relayed to the camera, so the Nikon body can do all the advanced exposure-related stuff with this lens. [+] With a minimum focus distance of 9.8" (250mm), this lens has a relatively low 0.14x maximum magnification spec.

if shooting night skies is among your major interests (the Sony potentially has better coma correction than the Sigma, though I have not yet tested this). In case of astrophotography, the distance to the subject does not change and it is necessary to fix the focus after manual focus adjustments have been made. This is to prevent the focus ring from accidentally being moved, which would cause out-of-focus images. In the past, it was left to the user to invent ways of achieving this, such as using tape to hold the focus ring in position. This was not ideal due the tape’s adhesive strength decreasing when temperatures drop. This lens produces a significant change in subject size through a full extent focus distance adjustment.

The Sigma 20mm F1.4 DG DN Art Lens was released at the same time as the 24, and with only a modestly wider angle of view, this lens is worthy of comparison. Vignetting is correctable during post-processing with increased noise in the brightened areas the penalty, or it can be embraced, using the effect to draw the viewer's eye to the center of the frame. Lateral CA shows as color fringing along lines of strong contrast running tangential (meridional, right angles to radii), with the mid and especially the periphery of the image circle showing the most significant amount as this is where the most significant difference in the magnification of wavelengths typically exists. Those photographing moving subjects, such as at sports events or under the night sky where light levels are so low that the earth's rotation becomes a source of camera motion, will appreciate this lens's capabilities. Tastes in imaging style over the years have continually tended towards wider and wider lenses. This is probably partly due to such lenses becoming more affordable, partly due to our visual tastes evolving to more readily accept an ultra-wide view as relatively normal, but also to the advances in lens design and manufacture considerably lifting the quality. Coupling this up with the Sigma Art series, itself aspiring to the highest quality, this classic 24mm focal length, with its fast, bright f/1.4 aperture, is available to users of Sony FE and L mount cameras. Armed with the42MP Full Frame Sony A7R IIIbody,let's see how the new lens handles and performs.

Size (diameter x length): 85 x 90 mm. This is pretty decent although it’s funny to see a wide-angle lens being so long. [0] The Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art features the same high quality “HSM” hyper-sonic motor found on other Sigma lenses, which provides fast and quiet autofocus operation. I really don’t have any complaints with AF speed, but when it comes to AF accuracy, I had some issues with the first lens sample. While the lens did well for focusing manually, I had AF accuracy problems when shooting at wider apertures. For example, take a look at the below image: NIKON D7200 + 24mm f/1.4 @ 24mm, ISO 100, 1/40, f/1.4 In regards to the Sony E-mount version of this lens, Sigma develops, manufactures, and sells lenses based on the specifications of E-mount, disclosed by Sony Corporation under license agreement.

Before Updating

I’ve been a fan of 24mm f/1.4 lenses ever since I bought Nikon’s AF-S 24mm f/1.4G for my DSLR many years ago (using it with a Nikon D7000 at the time, followed by a Nikon D800E). For years, it was my primary landscape photography lens, and I took a lot of my favorite photos with it. The Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM follows the same tradition and improves upon DSLR 24mm f/1.4 lenses in a number of ways, as you’ll see through this review.