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Whereas Sigma has a popularity for its Artwork line, it’s the I-series of lenses that at all times catch my curiosity for one fundamental purpose: steel. Just like the others within the sequence, the brand new Sigma 20mm f2 DG DN is a chief lens with a fantastic steel barrel and a devoted aperture ring. Whereas it appears to be like luxurious on the surface, it homes strong optics inside that seize sharp, punchy photos.
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Whereas the Sigma 20mm f2 DG DN is a fairly priced ultra-wide that appears prefer it prices greater than it does, there are a couple of quirks. Chief amongst them, the weather-sealing isn’t all through the entire lens. However, at $699, are these quirks value embracing?
The lens for this assessment was offered by LensRentals.
The Large Image
Execs
Sharp imagesSome enjoyable flares, but a lot of contrastPunchy colorsBeautiful steel bodyMinimal distortions for astrophotographyDedicated aperture ringReasonably pricedNot too giant or heavy
Cons
Solely weather-sealing on the mountOccasional autofocus misses
The Sigma 20mm f2 DG DN is a fantastically constructed, steel, prime lens that’s enjoyable to shoot with. The pictures are sharp with punchy colours and distinction, and comparatively little distortion to complain about. The lens is technically nice with lots of sharpness, and it leaves a little bit of room for character with some small flare and that 20mm perspective distortion. And, it isn’t terribly costly.
Nonetheless, the weather-sealing is simply on the mount, making it prone to break from mud and moisture. It’s not your best option for photographers capturing in inclement climate or working in dusty or sandy environments. It additionally had a couple of autofocus misses, however these weren’t widespread.
I’m giving the Sigma 20mm f2 DG DN 4 out of 5 stars.
Gear Used
I used the Sigma 20mm f2 DG DN within the L-Mount model, mounted on the Panasonic S5. A transparent Sigma protecting filter was used as effectively. The lens was offered by LensRentals and the S5 is on mortgage from Panasonic.
Improvements
As a part of Sigma’s I sequence, the Sigma 20mm f2 DG DN has a steel physique. It makes use of Sigma’s newest optical tech designed for sharp corners and minimal sagittal coma flare. However, they’re not doing something loopy uncommon right here.
Tech Specs
LensRentals lists the next specs for the Sigma 20mm f2 DG DN:
Angle of View: 94.5°Autofocus: AutofocusBrand: SigmaCompatibility: Full FrameFilter Dimension: 62.0mmFocal Size: 20.0-20.0Hood Included: YesImage Stabilization: NoItem Sort: LensLens Sort: Vast AngleMacro Replica Ratio: 1:6.7Max Aperture: 2.0Maximum Magnification: 0.15xMfr. Mannequin Quantity: 490969Minimum Aperture: 22.0Minimum Focusing Distance: 0.7feetMount: L MountOptical Design: Teams/Components: 11/13Special Low-Dispersion Components: 1Aspherical Components: 3“F” Low-Dispersion Components: 1Aperture Blades: 9, RoundedPhysicalDimensions (ø x L): 2.8 × 2.9″Weight: 0.8 lb.
Ergonomics
The Sigma 20mm f2 DG DN is a reasonably-sized, steel construct, prime lens. This design is considered one of my favorites from Sigma. Steel lenses with aperture rings are my jam and that’s precisely what this lens is. It brings a beautiful steel prime choice to the E-Mount and L-Mount. And it feels nice within the fingers.
The primary management subsequent to the mount is the auto to guide focus swap. This isn’t solely a pleasant huge swap, however it’s really color-coded so you possibly can simply see what mode the lens is in even from a distance. In AF mode, there’s a spot of grey underneath the swap. In MF mode, the swap is all black.
The subsequent management is the aperture ring. This ring has a really satisfying click on to it, and it’s properly labeled from f2 to f22, with an A for auto. I did want to verify this ring didn’t twist within the bag when saved, however in any other case liked the texture of it.
Closest to the entrance of the lens is the guide focus ring. It is a bit bigger than the aperture ring and, after all, turns smoother. That makes it straightforward to inform the 2 controls aside by really feel.
The entrance of the lens takes 62mm filters. The glass doesn’t take up the complete entrance of the lens, however that’s not sudden for an f2. It ships with a steel, petal-shaped hood.
Construct High quality
The steel construct of the Sigma 20mm feels beautiful within the fingers. The click aperture ring is so satisfying to make use of. Sigma actually must make extra primes with such a physique. It’s merely beautiful.
Whereas the construct appears to be like and feels nice, the weather-sealing is simply on the mount. With such an expensive really feel to the construct, I actually want Sigma spent the additional couple of bucks for full weather-sealing. I’d hate to see dust have an effect on the gorgeous flip of the rings or to get contained in the lens and have an effect on efficiency and picture high quality. Whereas it appears to be like sturdy, the prospect mud and water might spell hassle is bigger than with a lens that’s totally weather-sealed.
The steel construct makes it really feel sturdy, however an absence of full weather-sealing can create overconfidence whereas capturing with this lens in eventualities it shouldn’t be in. After capturing with the Sigma 20mm alongside the seaside and close to the spray of a waterfall, the lens fared okay. The S5 did have some seen mud on the sensor, nevertheless, at the very least a few of these mud spots had been there once I first mounted the lens.
Autofocus
The Sigma 20mm f2 did an honest job at specializing in the kind of topics that ultra-wides are usually used for. I didn’t have any points capturing landscapes or structure. I did have a couple of snapshot-style images that had been inexplicably tender. To elucidate {that a} bit additional, we had been specializing in individuals in a scene. At occasions, the digital camera and lens would nail specializing in their faces. However then all of the sudden, it could lose focus for some purpose. Nonetheless, the autofocus locked on a excessive majority of the time.
With motion in the direction of the digital camera, the lens missed sometimes, however nonetheless stored many of the photos in focus. The S5 doesn’t have the quickest autofocus system, so I can’t say for sure whether or not or not the lens could have any points on one of many super-fast burst modes on a Sony E-Mount. Whereas the miss price was minor, it was just a little excessive provided that ultra-wides are likely to lock on simpler than longer lenses.
Ease of Use
Shot handheld, edited RAW
Controlling the aperture on the lens feels extra pure to me than making these changes on the digital camera physique. That’s one of many causes this lens feels nice to make use of. There’s the off likelihood that newbies may discover the labeled controls daunting, however I don’t assume too many photographers who don’t know what aperture is are drawn to prime lenses. In any other case, utilizing this lens is de facto easy.
This lens isn’t outfitted with picture stabilization. With such a large angle and with many our bodies together with stabilization, that’s not a deal-breaker. However, which will nonetheless trigger some pause for photographers who will use this lens primarily to shoot handheld low gentle. Nonetheless, on the S5, I used to be in a position to get a little bit of blur out of a waterfall with out utilizing a tripod.
Picture High quality
Photographs from the Sigma 20mm f2 DG DN are sharp and punchy. However, this lens additionally handles distortions moderately effectively. It will possibly seize some sharp stars, whereas barrel distortion is pretty minimal. Flare is suppressed, however there’s nonetheless a few of it available and when capturing this fashion, and there’s nonetheless some distinction too.
Bokeh
Certain, you will get extra bokeh with an extended lens or an f1.2. However, there’s some good background separation right here. This lens will create essentially the most bokeh when capturing in shut, the place the background softly fades away. The out-of-focus factors of sunshine didn’t have an apparent onion ringing and most had been additionally away from cleaning soap bubbles. Bokeh balls are largely spherical, with the anticipated cat-eye form solely in the direction of the sides.
Sharpness
Even vast open, the Sigma 20mm f2 DG DN has a pleasant sharpness to it. It’s sharp, however not clobber-you-over-the-head sharp. There’s a minor softening on the corners —pixel peepers could discover the sides of bushes and scenes right here aren’t fairly as sharp. However, there are only a few eventualities the place such a minor softness can be a problem.
Lens Character
With such a large angle, the lens has surprisingly little barrel distortion. There’s some slight bending in the direction of the sides that you simply’ll see if you happen to shortly flip again between a JPEG and a RAW file with out the lens profile utilized. However, it’s pretty minor. You’ll, after all, get the exaggerated views that include an ultra-wide — not fairly as excessive as a 16mm however not as impartial as a 35mm.
Edited RAW
I used to be additionally in a position to take a couple of astrophotography photos with this lens. The celebs had been sharp and didn’t undergo from many distortions that alter their form.
Photographers can get some flare right here with just a little effort. Pointed in the direction of the solar, the lens could have a tender flare of sunshine with a couple of small ghosting spots. But, the picture nonetheless retains fairly a little bit of distinction on this state of affairs. It’s not the sort of flare that Photoshop artists will recreate later, however there’s a bit to play with right here.
Colour Rendering
The Sigma 20mm f2 DG DN has solely very minor chromatic aberration. Solely pixel peepers will actually discover it, and it’s a must to get in actual shut.
Colours felt only a tad additional from this lens. The sky and greenery had a bit extra punch, but not in an overbearing approach. RAW information might simply be manipulated to satisfy a selected coloration imaginative and prescient.
Additional Picture Samples
From day one, the Phoblographer has been large on transparency with our viewers. Nothing from this assessment is sponsored. Additional, a lot of of us will put up critiques and present a lot of enhancing within the images. The issue then turns into that anybody and everybody can do the identical factor. You’re not displaying what the lens can do. So we’ve got a complete part in our Additional Picture Samples space to point out off edited and unedited images. From this, you can also make a call for your self.
Edited
Unedited
Who Ought to Purchase It?
The Sigma 20mm f2 DG DN has a fantastic steel construct and delivers strong photos. Photographs have strong sharpness, punchy coloration, and even only a little bit of character flare. Distortion is effectively managed. To high it off, the steel physique feels actually nice to work with. It’s an honest alternative for astrophotography and landscapes. The $699 worth level makes it a really tempting alternative for vast photographs. The lens is an honest possibility for photographers on a restricted price range — it’s inexpensive, but the picture high quality doesn’t actually look it.
However, it’s not totally climate sealed. If the Sigma 20mm f2 DG DN was totally weather-sealed, I’d advocate it to lots of photographers (and, if I shot E or L-Mount, would critically take into account choosing it up for myself). The restricted weather-sealing signifies that it’s not for photographers who shoot within the rain or in sandy, dusty environments akin to seashores. The even cheaper Tamron 20mm f2.8 Di III has higher climate sealing, although there’s important distortion to are likely to with that lens. It additionally had a couple of autofocus misses.
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