Update on July 16, 2015: Sigma announced that the 24-35mm F2 DG HSM Art lens will sell for $999, available later this month.
Sigma is introducing a new 24-35mm full-frame zoom lens with a constant f/2 aperture – the first of its kind for the industry, Sigma says. Part of its Global Vision Art lens series, the 24-35mm F2 DG HSM Art is available in Canon, Nikon, and Sigma mounts.
The 24-35mm lens is built upon the 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM Art lens for APS-C cameras. Instead of carrying multiple lenses with fixed focal lengths, Sigma says the 24-35mm covers three of the most popular lengths: 24mm, 28mm, and 35mm. While it isn’t the longer-zoom kit lenses consumers might be used to, for enthusiast and pros, that bit of flexibility with the constant f/2 aperture is a nice option to have. Sigma says the lens’ optical performance is comparable to its fixed 24mm and 35mm f/1.4 lenses, although those are much brighter options.
The lens uses Sigma’s latest autofocus algorithm for “smooth, fast, and accurate” focusing, but there’s a switch to put it into manual focus. “Thermally Stable Composite (TSC) compound material is used, which has a high affinity to metal parts, consistently performs well at extreme temperatures, and reduces the size and weight of the lens,” Sigma says. “In addition, its Super Multi-Layer Coating reduces flare and ghosting, and provides sharp and high-contrast images, even in backlit conditions. It’s ideal for close-up shooting, portraits and deep-focus landscape photography.”
The lens also supports Sigma’s USB Dock, which lets users easily update firmware, adjust focal points, and customize full-time manual focus settings, simply by attaching the lens to the Dock, and the Dock to a computer.
Sigma Japan-made Art lenses are high-quality optics that aren’t super expensive. From our experience with the company’s lenses, we’ve captured some terrific-looking images from this third-party lens maker.
Other features include (per Sigma):
- Large-diameter, aspherical lens elements, which require advanced technologies to produce, one “F” Low Dispersion (FLD) glass, and seven Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements with two aspherical lenses. The advanced optics and optimized lens power distribution minimizes spherical aberration, axial chromatic aberration and field curvature, resulting in outstanding optical performance
- A video-friendly, inner focusing system that eliminates front-lens rotation, enhancing the lens’ stability and allowing use of circular polarizing filters
- A Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) that ensures a silent, high-speed AF function. Smoother AF is achieved when the this AF algorithm is optimized
- Full-time MF by rotating the focus ring of the lens while auto focusing
- A nine-blade, rounded diaphragm creates an attractive blur to the out-of-focus areas of the image
- Specifications: Lens construction containing 18 elements in 13 groups; a weight of 33.2 ounces; a diameter and length of 3.4 inches by 4.8 inches, respectively; a minimum aperture of F16; and angle of view (35mm) of 84.1° to 63.4°; minimum focusing distance of 11 inches; and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:4.4
(This article was originally published on June 18, 2015.)
