PhotoPlus The Canon Magazine – August 2019

SUPERTEST

104 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com

Centre Edge Corner

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

Sharpness

f/1/8f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16f/22

SIGMA 14 mm f/1.8 DG

HSM | A £1299/$1599

This Sigma lens has the same focal length as the

competing Samyang, but is faster in every way

e’ve been highly

impressed by Sigma’s

wide-angle prime

and zoom Art series

lenses recently. This one has a

slightly wider angle of view

than the Irix on test, matching

the Samyang 14mm, but beats

both of them for speed in

terms of aperture rating. At

f/1.8, it’s a complete f-stop

faster. And whereas the other

two are manual-focus lenses,

the Sigma adds super-speedy

ring-type ultrasonic autofocus.

Launched recently, the

Sigma is unique in offering

such a short focal length with

such a wide aperture. It comes

at a price, however, not only

because the large-diameter

elements are more expensive

to manufacture, but also

because they result in a

comparatively big and heavy

build. Indeed, it’s about the

same size and 20g heavier

than Sigma’s 14-24mm f/2.8

zoom lens on test.

The optical layout includes

three FLD (‘Fluorite’ Low

Dispersion) elements which

have similar performance to

top-grade fluorite glass, as

well as four SLD (Special Low

Dispersion) elements. The

construction includes a

weather-sealed mounting

plate and a fluorine coating on

the front element.

Performance

The ultra-wide viewing angle

and fast aperture are a

winning combination for

capturing the night sky with

minimal star-trailing. Image

quality is fabulous even when

shooting wide-open, at least in

terms of sharpness, contrast,

colour rendition and the

absence of spherical and

lateral chromatic aberrations.

FeATUres

VerdIc T

01

Big and heavy the

Sigma has an

uncommonly wide

aperture.

02

Ring-type ultrasonic

AF is quick and quiet.

03

The focus distance

scale comes

complete with depth

of field markings.

04

It includes three

‘Fluorite’ Low

Dispersion and four

Special Low

Dispersion elements.

05

A rubber weather-

seal ring is

incorporated into the

mounting plate.

FeATUres

BUIld & hAndlIng

PerFormAnce

VAlUe

oVerAll

01

03

05

w

STITCH THAT

There’s an argument for using longer lenses if you have the patience...

or shooting smaller sections of

the night sky, you’d naturally be

better off with a lens that has a

longer focal length. For star clusters,

Sigma’s 50mm, 85mm and 105mm

f/1.4 Art lenses are great, combining

longer focal lengths with a fast aperture

rating. Indeed, for producing highly

detailed images of the Milky Way,

specialist astrophotographers often

prefer to work their way across the

night sky, taking a sequence of images

that they can be stitched together.

For shooting the moon, a longer

telephoto lens is more ideal. A fairly

basic 70-300mm zoom can yield good

results on an APS-C camera, helped by

the 1.6x crop factor, whereas a

150-600mm lenses is a better option

for full-frame bodies.

F

For the best clarity and detail in astronomical images,

many photographers prefer to shoot a sequence of

shots and stitch them together in post-production

04

02

valio84sl