# Review: Sigma 24-35mm f/2 DG HSM Art



## Canon Rumors Guy (Jul 14, 2015)

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SLRGear has completed their review of the recently announced Sigma 24-35mm f/2 DG HSM Art series lens, the first f/2 zoom for full frame DSLRs. As we’ve seen from previous ART lens reviews, the optical performance appears to be terrific.</p>
<p>From SLRGear:</p>
<blockquote><p>We think Sigma has done it again! Sigma once again dares to be different and builds a unique lens not offered by the major manufacturers. In what is essentially a range of fast prime lenses built into a single zoom lens, the new Sigma 24-35mm is stunning with super-sharp images, even when shot wide open. <a href="http://slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=1804" target="_blank">Read the full review</a></p></blockquote>
<p>This lens is not yet available for preorder from the major retailers.</p>
```


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## Alan (Jul 14, 2015)

Can't wait for Sigma 24-28mm lens next year.


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## max (Jul 14, 2015)

this lens needed to be at least 2x zoom to be worth it...


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## LSXPhotog (Jul 14, 2015)

I look forward to this one. That sharpness is stellar. I understand the jokes about the limited focal range, but it's clearly not for you...and those people probably don't even realize it's a full stop faster than f/2.8. Many people think 1.8 is a full stop and they're wrong.

This is only one stop slower than the Art 24mm and 35mm f/1.4 and a full stop faster than a can 24-70 f/2.8. I like it. A 24mm prime is so limited IMO...


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## yorgasor (Jul 14, 2015)

LSXPhotog said:


> I look forward to this one. That sharpness is stellar. I understand the jokes about the limited focal range, but it's clearly not for you...and those people probably don't even realize it's a full stop faster than f/2.8. Many people think 1.8 is a full stop and they're wrong.
> 
> This is only one stop slower than the Art 24mm and 35mm f/1.4 and a full stop faster than a can 24-70 f/2.8. I like it. A 24mm prime is so limited IMO...



I agree. This is a huge boon when shooting events in dark environments. I was thinking of getting the 35mm f/2 IS, but I think I'll hold off and see how this lens turns out. Granted, a bag of 1.4 primes would be better in low light, if you're in a rapidly changing environment you can either drape yourself with a camera for each anticipated prime focal length, or you can do one camera with this, and maybe another with a 50 or 85 f/1.4.


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## davidcl0nel (Jul 14, 2015)

max said:


> this lens needed to be at least 2x zoom to be worth it...



A 85-135 f/2 wouldn't be a 2x zoom and awesome for portraits.


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## wockawocka (Jul 14, 2015)

Is the zoom range really so bad? I usually shoot at F2 and it'll mean more space in the lens bag.


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## docsmith (Jul 14, 2015)

For this lens to be worth both the money and a place in my bag it really needs to be excellent at f/2. I will wait for more reviews...but that is an excellent start.


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## m8547 (Jul 14, 2015)

It has slightly more of a zoom ratio than the Tokina 11-16, and I think that's a great lens.


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## TommyLee (Jul 14, 2015)

I originally thought the range to be too small... but the performance is good enough to ...represent 2 or 3 fast primes.... now it seems useful....

sure is fun to sit around and see lens contests....
I would love an 85 f1.4 ...and 24-70 i.s. ... (?f2?) Art


curious to see canon's 35 L II....which was stopped from release when thye saw sig 35 f1.4 ...
I have sig....wonderful.....and I promised myself the 35L II if it came out....better than sig

the sig 35 has...for me some nice bokeh...(attached)
my guess is the canon will have to leap over this


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## bmwzimmer (Jul 14, 2015)

Curious what the T/Stop value is with all those elements. Most f/2 primes have T/stop values of t/2.0-2.2. If it manages a f/2.2, it is impressive. Just wish the focal length was a bit more useable...


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## wockawocka (Jul 14, 2015)

Oddly I don't get on with the 50mm lenses so the next useful zoom for me would be 70-100mm F2


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## Rudeofus (Jul 14, 2015)

Was anybody else confused by the following statements?



> Even diffraction-related softness is extremely minor by the time the lens is stopped down to its smallest aperture of ƒ/16.



and 



> Diffraction barely takes a toll on image sharpness at the very small apertures, either.



Did Sigma break a law of optics, or is the author of a review overly enthusiastic here? Does the author know that only with crappy lenses diffraction at F/16 is not noticeable?


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## Rick (Jul 14, 2015)

SLRGear.com is off-line at the moment. Maybe GoDaddy pulled their plug. Needs to be sharp across the frame at f2 for me to care about it.


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## Dutchy (Jul 14, 2015)

Is it me, or is there some reasoning-error in this sentence from the review:

"_Canon offers a 16-35mm ƒ/2.8L II and a 24-70mm ƒ/2.8L II zoom lens, which -- in a way -- would provide the 24-35mm focal length range of the Sigma. However, it's split between two lenses and you'd have to carry both of them around._"

Both the 16-35 and the 24-70 have the 24-35 range in them, you'd either get more wide-angle or more tele with either one. You certainly don't have to carry them both.

Anyways, I shot with the Sigma 18-35 1.8 Art for a year and a half, until I got the 6D and sold it. My main lens on the 6D is now the 24-105 L, but I sometimes missed the fast aperture of the 18-35, so I got the Sigma 35 1.4 Art. I could swap the 35 for this new 24-35, but I'm not sure I'd use it that much + I'd lose a stop of light compared to the 1.4 of the 35.


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## kubelik (Jul 14, 2015)

man I can't wait to see someone test the coma on this. it would be really great if it were a usable astrophotography lens, I'd consider trading in my 24-70 f/2.8 L for it. it's sad how nobody seems to field a 24mm focal length with good coma characteristics except for Rokinon and their hazy manual-only prime lens.


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## 9VIII (Jul 14, 2015)

Good sharpness and Vignetting is well controlled compared to the primes, good lens in that regard.

Unfortunately I was looking for something with less distortion, it seems that prime lenses still did better in that regard.
The 35mm Art performs better in basically every way, and the 24mm Art still has a few slight advantages is still pretty much better in every way, so you can't quite say that the zoom lens matches two prime lenses, how that balances out for people will be up to them.


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## LSXPhotog (Jul 14, 2015)

docsmith said:


> For this lens to be worth both the money and a place in my bag it really needs to be excellent at f/2. I will wait for more reviews...but that is an excellent start.



These guys are one of THE best at reviewing lenses. Check out their site for years and years of credibility. I'm sure more good reviews will soon leak out.


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## Sarpedon (Jul 14, 2015)

Like a lot of others here, this lens has zero appeal to me personally. Ditto most of the Art lenses, with the possible exceptions of the 24 and 35, if I ever get to use one of them.

But I applaud Sigma for making unusual stuff, and for undercutting and putting pressure on the big brands. I look forward to seeing what other photographers make of it.


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## Cranswick852 (Jul 14, 2015)

Looking at the photo of the lens mount, this looks like the Canon mount for those lenses that accept 1.4 and 2x extenders (2+8). Are Sigma using this for something else (their usb dock?) as I cannot see the merit in an extender on a wide angle lens.


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## LSXPhotog (Jul 14, 2015)

davidcl0nel said:


> max said:
> 
> 
> > this lens needed to be at least 2x zoom to be worth it...
> ...



"Human Sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!!"

That lens would become one of the greatest lenses ever built immediately.


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## candc (Jul 14, 2015)

Dutchy said:


> Is it me, or is there some reasoning-error in this sentence from the review:
> 
> "_Canon offers a 16-35mm ƒ/2.8L II and a 24-70mm ƒ/2.8L II zoom lens, which -- in a way -- would provide the 24-35mm focal length range of the Sigma. However, it's split between two lenses and you'd have to carry both of them around._"
> 
> ...



that statement made sense when i read the review. i was thinking "hey, this lens is useful after all because it covers a gap" lol


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## deleteme (Jul 14, 2015)

While the range is limited, I do feel that Sigma's recent track record of excellent optics bodes well for the performance. In real world applications I can see this as an excellent choice for the available light wedding photographer.


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## Lenscracker (Jul 15, 2015)

The worst review I have ever read. First of all, I do not agree with the idea that it would take two different zoom lenses from Canon or Nikon to cover the same zoom range of this lens. I had to read that several times to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me. 
Second of all, nothing is "comprised of" anything. Your English teacher will explain that the whole is "composed of" the parts; and, the parts comprise the whole. I conclude the author can not think or write very well. Should I trust the review?


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## 9VIII (Jul 15, 2015)

After looking at a bunch more wide angle zoom lenses it only reinforces how special the 18-35f1.8 is. I almost wish they just would have worked on improving that lens instead of making this one, or if they could have just made this a 20mm-30mm instead.
Those extra few mm on the wide end could have kept it reasonable for crop shooters and then this would have been an interesting wide angle zoom, as-is it comes close but still misses the mark in just about every category.


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## Hjalmarg1 (Jul 15, 2015)

davidcl0nel said:


> max said:
> 
> 
> > this lens needed to be at least 2x zoom to be worth it...
> ...


+1, it would be the holy grail for portraiture. 
I currently love my 70-200mm f2.8L IS II but one very fast zoom in the portraiture range will be incredible.


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## Hjalmarg1 (Jul 15, 2015)

kubelik said:


> man I can't wait to see someone test the coma on this. it would be really great if it were a usable astrophotography lens, I'd consider trading in my 24-70 f/2.8 L for it. it's sad how nobody seems to field a 24mm focal length with good coma characteristics except for Rokinon and their hazy manual-only prime lens.


Hope it has better coma than the 24mm Art. The latter was tested and coma was the only real issue. I hope they could solve this issue with the new 24-35mm Art.


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## hotforphotog (Jul 15, 2015)

Hjalmarg1 said:


> kubelik said:
> 
> 
> > man I can't wait to see someone test the coma on this. it would be really great if it were a usable astrophotography lens, I'd consider trading in my 24-70 f/2.8 L for it. it's sad how nobody seems to field a 24mm focal length with good coma characteristics except for Rokinon and their hazy manual-only prime lens.
> ...



I know, I'm all over this thing if it has acceptable coma. Definitely hoping that f2 makes this feasible vs the Art 24mm prime. I've never been able to pull the trigger on a 24mm prime because they all have coma issues. I even consider the Nikon 14-24 from time to time, but that's a lot of money and not that fast. 24-35 + Samyang 14mm would make a really sweet combo for my landscape/nightscape hiking epics. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Surely it's not for everybody, but for somebody in my situation it could be just the ticket. Quit whining people.


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## Xyclopx (Jul 15, 2015)

Dutchy said:


> Is it me, or is there some reasoning-error in this sentence from the review:
> 
> "_Canon offers a 16-35mm ƒ/2.8L II and a 24-70mm ƒ/2.8L II zoom lens, which -- in a way -- would provide the 24-35mm focal length range of the Sigma. However, it's split between two lenses and you'd have to carry both of them around._"
> 
> ...


yeah and that's a partial quote too... he goes on for another paragraph or two on that strange reasoning. i have no idea what he's talking about. i reread it many times too wondering if i stupid or something.


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## Stone (Jul 15, 2015)

I might be in the minority, but size and weight aside, this seems like a street photogs dream lens. The ability to go from a 24mm standard wide angle to a 35mm focal length would be great for travel and street. The constant f2 would benefit low light event photography as well where adding context to a scene can be very important. I'll definitely give it a test run once I take delivery of my A7RII & suitable adapter.


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## kubelik (Jul 16, 2015)

hotforphotog said:


> Hjalmarg1 said:
> 
> 
> > kubelik said:
> ...



if this lens doesn't wind up being any better than the 24 f/1.4 Art, I may just pick up that lens instead. Both TDP and a poster on Dpreview have mentioned that while the coma characteristic looks almost exactly like the Canon 24 f/1.4 L II wide open, the Sigma's coma distortion cleans up somewhat at f/2 and almost completely by f/2.8, while the Canon's needs f/4 to get cleaned up. my current options (16-35 f/2.8 L II and 24-70 f/2.8 L) are both heinous at f/2.8, you don't even have to zoom in to 100% to see the wings on stars, they're readily visible at 25% magnification on my monitor.


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## caMARYnon (Jul 16, 2015)

Stone said:


> I might be in the minority, but size and weight aside, this seems like a street photogs dream lens. The ability to go from a 24mm standard wide angle to a 35mm focal length would be great for travel and street. The constant f2 would benefit low light event photography as well where adding context to a scene can be very important. I'll definitely give it a test run once I take delivery of my A7RII & suitable adapter.


Agreed, except A7R2.


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## infared (Jul 19, 2015)

Cranswick852 said:


> Looking at the photo of the lens mount, this looks like the Canon mount for those lenses that accept 1.4 and 2x extenders (2+8). Are Sigma using this for something else (their usb dock?) as I cannot see the merit in an extender on a wide angle lens.



Hmmm...maybe it is for the dock. I have the Sigma 35mm f/1.4, the 50mm f/1.4 and The Dock.. The Dock is great for fine-tuning...although I can't help but feel that I am doing someone else's job! LOL!
I also have the new Canon 16-35mm f/4 IS which I love...so I cannot see me owning this new Art Lens....but I am a huge fan of the Art Series lenses, even after sending a copy of the 50mm back for AF issues that we have all read about. My second copy just needed some slight tweaking on The Dock. Spectacular lens, too!
I would NEVER thought that you would hear me say this either....but....LOL!nI can say that I have used my 1.4x III ON MY 17mm f/4 TS II. It makes it almost exactly a 24mm TS lens. Surprisingly this combo performs very well!!
The sharpness in not as good ad the 24mm TS...but it is VERY acceptable. That surprised the crap out of me!


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## infared (Jul 19, 2015)

caMARYnon said:


> Stone said:
> 
> 
> > I might be in the minority, but size and weight aside, this seems like a street photogs dream lens. The ability to go from a 24mm standard wide angle to a 35mm focal length would be great for travel and street. The constant f2 would benefit low light event photography as well where adding context to a scene can be very important. I'll definitely give it a test run once I take delivery of my A7RII & suitable adapter.
> ...


I agree too...except for the A7RII with an "adapter". Street photographers and event photographers require a "fast-focusing" AF lens. I am going to guess that combo is not. Right?
Sony rocks the best FF sensor out there but........


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