Digital Photographer - USA (2019-07)

Right far

f16,0.3xmagnification

At0.3xmagnification, there’s

relativelylittle extension

oftheinnerbarrel, and the

electronicallycoupled focus

ringenables precision

Right

f11,1.0xmagnification

Youneedtoget closer than

withotherlenses on test for

full1.0xmagnification, with a

workingdistance of just 6cm

fromthefront of the lens

Right

An extending design

At closer focus distances, the

Sigma’s inner barrel extends and is

printed with scales for focus distance

and macro magnification factor.

Price:£479/$469

Sigma 70mm

f2.8 DG Macro Art

It’s not the most obvious first

choice of lens to get Sigma’s

‘GlobalVision’makeover

sigmamarketstwohighlyaccomplished

macrolensesintherefinedshapeandfinish

ofthe105mmand150mmf2.8eXDgos

HsM.Botharewell-built,deliverexcellent

all-roundperformanceandfeatureoptical

stabilization,albeitwithstandardrather

thanhybridanti-shakeproperties.instead

ofmigratingeitheroftheseintothenewer

globalvisionline-upofArt,sportsand

Contemporarylenses,sigmahaschosen

tocompletelyredesignitsolderand

comparativelybasic70mmmacrolens.the

new70mmArtlens features a coreless DC

autofocusmotor,ratherthanthemoreusual

ring-typeultrasonicvariety.Aswiththelatter,

full-timemanualoverrideofautofocusis

available,butthistimeviaanelectronically

coupled‘flybywire’focusring.Abenefitof

thisisthatitoffersevengreaterprecisionfor

criticalmanualfocusinginextremeclose-ups.

Anothermajordifferencebetweenthe

sigmaandtheotherthreelensesontest

isthattheinnerbarrelextendsatshorter

focusdistances.sigma claims that this gives

greater priority to optical performance rather

than autofocus speed. A downside, however,

is that the lens stretches dramatically at or

near the closest focus setting, where the

working distance between the front of the

lens and the subject shrinks to just 6cm.

Manymightfindthisuncomfortablyclose,

especiallywhenshootingtimidbugs.

thehigh-endopticalpathincludestwoFLD

(‘Fluorite’LowDispersion)elementsandtwo

sLD(specialLowDispersion)elements,along

withonehighrefractiveindexelement.the

design also features two aspherical elements,

with the aim of increasing resolution at very

close shooting distances.

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