Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-08-23)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 17 August 2019 49

LENS TEST Testbench

Sigmahasasuperbselectionofwideangleprimes.

MichaelTophamreviewsthenewest addition

U

puntillatelastyear,Sigma’slineup
of large-diameter,wideangleprime
lensesconsistedof fourexamples.
Theserangedfromtheultra-wide
14mmF1.8DGHSMto theseven-year-old,but
stillpopular,35mmF1.4DGHSMArt.Sittingin
betweentheseimpressiveprimesarethe24mm
F1.4DGHSMArtandthemagnificent20mm
F1.4DGHSMArt– bothlensesreceivedGold
Awardstatusin theirrespectivereviewsin 2015.
ThenewestadditiontoSigma’srangeof
wideangleprimes,whichwasannouncedat
PhotokinalastSeptember,is the28mmF1.4
DGHSMArt.Witha widerfieldof viewthan
the35mmF1.4DGHSMArtandbeinglonger
thanthe24mmF1.4DGHSMArt,it fills a gap
in thelineupandofferstheclassicfocallength
thatstreet,travel,weddingandreportage
photographerslovetouse.It’sanopticwe’ve
wantedtolayourhandsonfora whileandnow
it’s time to fi nd out if it lives up to expectations.

Features

Afterreviewingthehulkthatis theSigma

40mmF1.4DGHSMArt(AP,2 March)it’s

somewhatof a relieftobetestinga lensthat

weighslessthana kilo.Thatsaid,thelenswe’re

lookingat hereisn’texactlysmallandis both

largerandheavierthanSigma’s24mmf/1.4

and35mmf/1.4primes.Thereasonforthisis

thesheeramountof glassthat’susedin its

construction.It arranges 17 glasselementsin

12 groups,whichincludestwoFLD(‘F’Low

Dispersion)glasselementsandthreeSLD

(SpecialLowDispersion)glasselements.The

threeasphericallenses,whichincludea large-

diameterasphericallensjustbehindthefront

element,aredesignedtopreventchromatic

aberrationandsagittalcomaflarewhile

keepingcurvilineardistortionundercontrol.

Witha morecomplexopticalconstruction

thanthe 15 elementsin 11groupsyoufind

inside the 24mm F1.4 DG HSM Art and the

Vignettingreduces

significantlywhen

thelensis stopped

downfromf/1.4tof/2

CanonEOS5DSR,

1/4000sec at f/2, ISO 100

1.4

13 elementsin 11groupsyougetinside

the35mmF1.4DGHSMArt,it’llcome

asnogreatsurprisethatit’sheavier.With

the24mmF1.4DGHSMArtand35mm

F1.4DGHSMArtbothweighing665g,the

28mmF1.4DGHSMat865gworksout

precisely200gmore.

LikeSigma’sotherfastwideangleprimes,

thelensfeaturesSuperMulti-LayerCoatings

topreventflareandghostingcausingissues

whenshootingdirectlytowardsthelight.These

arealsodesignedtomaximisehigh-contrast

imagesin backlitconditions.A water-and-oil-

repellentcoatingis appliedtothefrontand

rearelementstoo,allowingwatertobewiped

awayeasilyandpreventanyoilorgrease

stickingtothesurface.Photographerswhofind

themselvesshootingin wetordampconditions

willbepleasedtoreadthatit featuresa

dust-andsplash-proofstructure,withspecial

sealsat themountconnectionandmanual

focusring.Aswe’reusedtoseeing,thelens

incorporatesSigma’sHyperSonicMotor

(HSM)whichperformsautofocusduties

and supports manual override (MO).