48 ary (^2020) I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
AWARD
WINNER
2020
WIDEANGLE
ZOOM LENS
Nominees■NikonNikkorZ 85mm
F1.8S
■Sigma56mmF1.4
DCDN| Contemporary
■ Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GMNominees■NikonNikkorZ
14-30mmF4S
■Tamron17-28mm
F2.8DiIII RXD
■Tokinaopera
16-28mm F2.8 FFSigma 56mm F1.4
DC DN | Contemporary
Tamron 17-28mm
F2.8 Di III RXD
Telephoto Prime Lens of the Year
Wideangle Zoom Lens of the Year
USUALLY,it’sthelarge,expensivelensesthatendupwinning
awards,astheyhavethesharpest,best-correctedoptics.But
in thiscategory,wechosea differentoption.Sigma’s56mm
F1.4DCDNis a lovelyshort-telephotoportraitprimefor
APS-CandMicroFourThirdsmirrorlesscameras,buta
pricetagof just£349givesit realmass-marketappeal.
Relativelysmallandlightfora f/1.4prime,thelens
providesan85mmequivalentviewonCanonEF-Mand
SonyE-mountcameraswithAPS-Csensors,whileMicro
FourThirdsusersbenefit froma slightlylonger112mmview.
Despiteitsaffordableprice,it includesoneSLDglass
elementandtwoasphericalelementsin its10-element,
6-groupdesign.A nine-bladediaphragmprovidesa circular
apertureforattractivebokeh,whiletheautofocusstepper
motorgoesaboutitsbusinessquicklyandquietly.
Shootingwideopendeliverssatisfyingresults,withsharply
definedsubjectsstandingoutagainstsmoothblurred
backgrounds.Theaestheticof out-of-focushighlightsis pleasing
too,andthere’sjusta littlevignettingthat’softencomplimentary
tothesubject.Indeedforthesizeandprice,youreallycan’targue
withthelens’soverallperformance.It’sa finecompactprime that
should attract the attention of many mirrorless users.SURELYthesmallestandlightestf/2.8full-framewideangle
zoomonthemarket,thisfinelensachievesitscompact
sizebyemployinga relativelymodestfocal-length
range.It featuresmoisture-resistantconstruction
forshootingoutdoorsin challengingconditions,
withfluorinecoatingonthefrontelementto
repelraindropsandfingerprintsalike.Autofocus
workswellforbothstillsandvideoshooting,
beingsuper-fastandessentiallysilent.
Wherethelensreallyexcelsthough,is with
regardtoimagequality.Thiskindof ultra-wide
zoomis liabletobeusedforsubjectssuchas
landscapesandarchitecture,soneedstodeliver
highresolutionrightacrosstheframe,low
distortion,andstrongresistancetoflare.Thankfully
it scoresstronglyonallthesecounts,outperforming
mostDSLRequivalents.It describesexcellentlevelsof detail
evenat f/2.8,andstoppeddowntof/8tof/16it produces
imagesthataresuper-sharpfromcornertocorner,with18-point
sun-starsthankstothe9-bladeaperturediaphragm.
Overall,thisis a verylikeablelensthatcombinesimpressive
sharpnesswitha fastmaximumaperturein a compact,lightweight
design. It really hits a sweet spot for Sony full-frame mirrorless users.
Whywelike it
●Fineoptics
●Rapid,quietautofocus
●Compactsize
●Robustbuild
● Very competitive price
Whywelikeit
●Impressivelysharp,
evenwideopen
●Largemaximumaperture
●Compactsize and light
weight
●Weather-sealed
construction
●Super-fastand silent
autofocus