Gear Archives - Photo Lowdown

Sigma recently released a new lens in their Art line of lenses, The Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 DG HSM OS. Sigma has had a 24-70 f/2.8 IF EX DG HSM Lens already in their line of lenses, but the new Art series improves on the original in almost every way. The Sigma Art lenses are optically superior than the non Art lenses. They have a sturdier build quality and protection against the elements. When Sigma announced the 24-70 f/2.8 Art lens, it caught my attention because I was thinking about adding this focal length to my kit. The reason I never got the Canon 24-70 was because it lacked Image stabilization. But the new Sigma 24-70 2.8 offered Optical Stabilization. This feature along with the track record Sigma has had with the Art lenses sold me. I shelved out my hard earned money and ordered this lens within the first few seconds of it going up for preorder. Lets hope I don't regret this decision... Lens Specifications Price (MSRP) $1299.00 (LINK) Focal Length 24mm-70mm Maximum aperture/Minimum Apertur F/2.8 - F/22 Lens Mount Canon, Nikon, Sigma Image Stabilization Yes Autofocus Yes Front Element Thread Size 82mm Weight 2.24 lb (1020 g) Angle of View 84.1° - 34.3° Minimum Focusing Distance 37cm / 15in. Focal Length 24mm-70mm Features Optical Stabilization - The included optical stabilization is a clear advantage over the Canon 24-70 f/2.8. The OS provides about 3 stops of stability. I was shooting at 1/15th second without a shaky picture. Weather Sealing - The lens has weather sealing around the lens mount. This prevents moisture and dust from entering the lens or camera at that place. The "Sports" line of sigma lenses have better sealing than the "Art" line. The sports line has seals around the focus and zoom rings as well, the Art line does not. Fast Auto focus - A newly redesigned HSM (hypersonic motor) produces 1.3x more torque to move the large glass elements around inside the lens to provide a powerful reliable autofocus. The lens seems to focus fairly quickly even in low light. The Sigma 24-70 f2.8 Art lens comes with a nice zippered storage pouch, Lens hood, and a 82mm lens cap. The pouch has a loop so it can hang on your belt. Build Quality The Sigma 24-70 2.8 Art has a superb build quality. The focus and zoom rings have a smooth weighty feel. They also have a nice rubber grip texture. The autofocus and Optical stabilization switches have a nice snap feel. They are stiff enough to hold their position when they brush up against something or when taking out of your camera bag. The filter threads feel like they are plastic, so one good knock and you might just break a chunk of that filter ring off. The lens hood is quite nice. In fact I might prefer the sigma lens hoods over the canon lens hoods. The sigma hood has the the name of the Lens and the focal length imprinted into a nice rubber band around the edge of the hood. The inside of the hood has a ribbed texture to cut down on light reflections. The canon lens hoods have a velvet material on their interiors but those tend to collect lint. The only complaint about hood is it might feel a little thin and less durable than the Canon hoods. Image Quality Sharpness - Sigma has been hitting home run after home run with their Art line of lenses. But the 24- 70 does not keep up with the rest of the pack. The corners are somewhat soft when shooting at f/2.8. But this drastically improves when you move on up to around f/4-f/8. Anywhere above that and the IQ begins to degrade again. In my testing over the past month, I have noticed a lot of chromatic aberration especially towards the bottom of the frame. It is not in every picture, but in high contrast scenes it can appear. Chromatic Aberration Notice the pink and yellow Chromatic Aberration along the vertical supports and the knob at the top of the watertower. The edges of the shadows have green and pink chromatic aberrations along their edges. You can notice it along the building shadow, and along the edges of the girls dress. Sample Images Verdict The Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 DG OS HSM Art Lens is a decent lens, but adding the "Art" label to it means it is in their top class of lenses. Sigma hit some home runs over that last couple of years with the 35mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.4, and 85mm f/1.4. Those lenses were all Prime lenses but the 24-70 2.8 is a zoom lens, not a prime. but the 24-70 2.8 Art lens does not seem to keep up with the other "Art" lenses. A zoom lens will never be as sharp as a prime lens and the Sigma 24-70 2.8 Art lens is no acceptation. Image quality suffers sharpness problems, especially the corners of the frame as well as some very noticeable chromatic aberration. The image quality improves as you adjust the aperture from 2.8 to about f8. As you increase it higher, the image quality begins to degrade again. The lens is also pretty heavy. You are going to feel the extra weight after a day of shooting. The large 82mm front element as well as oversized internal optics all add up to a lens that is about 2.3 lbs (1020 grams). In comparison, the Canon 24-70 2.8 II weights about a half pound lighter coming in at about 1.75 lbs (800 grams). The Sigma 24-70 2.8 Art lens is a nice lens that can produce some beautiful images, but after having this lens for some time, the flaws have become far too obvious to ignore. I will be selling this lens and will be buying the Canon 24-70 2.8 II. With a MSRP of $1299, it is not worth settling for average results at a premium price when other brand 24-70 2.8 lenses produce far superior results at a comparable price. Sigma seems to have really missed the mark with this Art lens. The other Sigma Art lenses have been incredible lenses, its unfortunate that the 24-70 2.8 DG OS HSM Lens did not live up to those expectations. With a MSRP of $1299, it is not worth settling for average results at a premium price when other brand 24-70 2.8 lenses produce far superior results at a comparable price. Amazon Link - MSRP $1299 BH Photo Link