Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-07-04)

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 49

The lens resolves good

centre sharpness at its

maximum aperture Sony A7R

IV, Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN Art

at 14mm, 1/400 sec at f/2.8, ISO 100

SIGMA has always been quick to

acknowledge gaps in the market.

Up until recently, full-frame

E-mount and L-mount users have

been limited by the selection of

wideangle zooms available to

them; in particular those with a

fast f/2.8 maximum aperture.

For Sigma to call it the ultimate

large-diameter, wideangle zoom

lens for full-frame mirrorless

cameras was a bold claim, but

having tested it extensively with

the highest resolution mirrorless

camera on the market, I can

confi rm it is at this current time.

Constructed to a robust, weather

sealed standard with quiet and

accurate focusing, there’s very

little not to like if you’re into

landscape, architectural or astro

photography. The fact it doesn’t

accept screw-in fi lters will make it

more expensive if you don’t

already own a large fi lter system,

but if you do, your only added

expense will be a new adapter ring.

Photographers who prefer to

shoot wider than faster may fi nd

themselves holding out for a

mirrorless version of the Sigma

12-24mm F4 DG HSM to appear,

but how long before this arrives for

E-mount and L-mount systems is

unknown. If you can see an extra

stop being useful in low-light and

14mm is wide enough, look no

further than this lens. To

summarise, it’s the fi nest example

of a fast wideangle zoom we’ve

tested for full-frame mirrorless

cameras at sensible money.

focus ring doesn’t have hard end
stops and is electronically rather
than mechanically coupled, but
operates smoothly and combined
brilliantly with the automated
manual focus magnifi cation on
the A7R IV to quickly establish
pin-sharp focus.
Having good weather resistance
is extremely important on a lens
that’s likely to see a lot of use
outdoors in demanding
environments. The dust-and
splash-proof structure features
seals at seven strategic points in
its construction, including a
rubber seal around the perimeter
of the metal mount that
compresses against the mount on
the camera when it’s attached.
The autofocus lock (AFL) button
is also weather sealed and soft to
press, but does exhibit a subtle
click in use.
As mentioned earlier, the lens
comes with a rear fi lter holder
and locking mechanism so
drop-in fi lters can be used. If
you’d prefer to use the lens with
fi lters that don’t require you to
remove the lens, it can be with
more conventional fi lters from the
front too, though you will need a
specially designed ultra-wide
angle system such as the LEE
Filters SW150 Mark II. At the
time of writing a custom adapter
hadn’t been made by LEE Filters
for this lens, but we expect one
will appear at some point in the

future. One fi lter manufacturer

that does currently offer fi lter

support for the lens is NiSi. The

adapter isn’t cheap (£180), but it

works with the company’s S5

fi lter system, which can hold up to

two 150mm fi lters, as well as an

integrated circular polariser.

Performance

With strict social-distancing

measures and non-essential

journeys curtailing my plan of

using the lens extensively at the

coast, it was tested close to home

as part of my daily exercise.

Inspecting images at different

zoom settings across the

aperture range with in-camera

corrections for shading, chromatic

aberration and distortion turned

on revealed that its image quality

is sublime. The level of sharpness

at the far edge of the frame at

14mm doesn’t match that in the

centre at f/2.8, however users will

notice corners are quick to

sharpen up by stopping down to

f/4. For the best edge-to-edge

sharpness at the longer end of

the zoom (24mm) users are

recommended to stop down from

the maximum aperture to around

f/5.6, which I identifi ed to be close

to the lens’ sweet spot at any

given focal length. Diffraction

starts to soften detail at f/16 and

f/22, so it’s best to avoid these

small apertures if you want to be

rewarded with the sharpest shots.

The in-camera lens

compensation plays an important

role. There’s no reason to turn

this off, but if you do you should

be prepared to witness mild

chromatic aberration creeping

into your images. Shading

compensation is effective at

reducing vignetting at the long

end of the zoom when the lens is

used at f/2.8, however it doesn’t

remove it completely when the

lens is used between 14mm to

18mm where some manual

correction is still required. Stop

down to f/4 and f/5.6 and you’ll

notice that corner shading

subsides. Shooting towards the

light also revealed the new Nano

Porous Coating does a fi ne job of

reducing ghosting and fl are.

As for distortion, it should be

noted that the lens does exhibit

barrel distortion when used in the

region of 14-16mm, even with

distortion compensation applied.

Though admittedly it doesn’t

handle curvilinear distortion quite

as well as the Sigma 14-24mm

F2.8 DG HSM at the wide end,

distortion at longer focal

lengths is negligible.

Price £1,299

Lens mount

E-mount or L Mount

Filter diameter N/A

Lens elements 18

Lens groups 13

Aperture blades 11

Aperture f/2.8-f/22

Minimum focus

distance 28cm

Dimensions

85x131mm

Weight 795g

Included

accessories Lens

cap (push-on), rear

cap, padded case

Data file

LENS TEST Testbench

Ve r d i c t

‘The bulbous front element does extend

slightly when the zoom is being retracted’

GOLD