Sigma 401965 24mm F1.4 DG HSM | A For Sony SE, Black

Product Information

The image quality comparison shows the 20mm lens noticeably sharper throughout the frame at f/1.4 and still sharper at f/2.8. Coma is absent in the center of the frame, gets worse toward the edges/corners, and generally appears as a comet-like or triangular tail of light which can be oriented either away from the center of the frame (external coma) or toward the center of the frame (internal coma). Normal is for the scene to change size in the frame (sometimes significantly) as the focus is pulled from one extent to the other.

At this price point, you might expect a basic plastic hood, but Sigma supplies its I series with aluminium hoods that continue the ribbed style of the lenses for a classy vintage look and feel. I really like the way these lenses look. Some questions remain about whether the blur that I experienced with the Sigma lens on some of my resolution test shots was the result of missed focus rather than vibration. I only had the problem with the Sigma lens, but the lens was also much heavier than the Sony and I was using my Vanguard tripod with the right-angle arm extended slightly to get the camera beyond the barrier at the edge of the falls, so it would have been more susceptible to vibration. Vignetting APS-C sensor format cameras utilize a smaller portion of the image circle, and that means a scene is framed more tightly, with 1.5x being the angle of view multiplier for Sony's lineup. Minimising vignetting along with the improved efficiency at large apertures secures fantastic brightness and high contrast visible in the images produced by the Sigma 24mm f1.4 DG HSM. This includes indoor photography, astronomical photography as well as blue sky photography. Corresponding AF MountsIn this case, the about 1.4 stops of corner shading showing at f/1.4 may be visible in select images, primarily those with a solid color (such as a blue sky) in the corners. I would say that the target market for this lens is more wedding or event shooters who need a strong center performance at F1.4. Sigma 24 ART Rendering Fortunately, this lens produced only minimal flare effects even at narrow apertures in our standard sun in the corner of the frame flare test, showing excellent performance. Mount an extension tube behind this lens to significantly decrease and increase those respective numbers (expect only short tubes to be usable). Price: The Sigma costs around 750 EUR (incl. 19% VAT) which is not cheap but a fair price for the ambition Sigma has for this lens. The AF-S 24/1.4G ED Nikkor for example costs more than double that at around 1700 EUR. But the manual focus Samyang is even cheaper than the Sigma at around 550 EUR. [+]

Electronic connections in extension tubes permit the lens and camera to communicate and function normally. As usual for Sigma Art lenses and priced considerably lower than Sony's similarly specced lens, the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art Lens is a strong value. So does the Sigma 24mm F1.4 DN ART hold up under intense scrutiny? You can judge for yourself by either watching my video review below or reading on to get the full picture. Away from the center, they’re both just a hair softer, but still quite good. The Sigma lags a bit further behind wide open, but still catches up around f/2.8.This is simply because the Sigma has a slightly narrower angle-of-view than the Sony lens, though I didn’t take the time to measure which one is more accurately a 24mm (if either of them are). However, I did compare the distance between some set points in two photos taken from the exact same location (in fact, I did this on two sets of photos, just to be sure). Wedding and event photography often utilize a wide-angle lens for capturing the large scene, for environmental-type portraits, and for group portraits, including in tight spaces.

The Sony lens uses 67mm filters vs. 72mm and has a slightly higher maximum magnification, 0.17x vs. 0.14x. Optics: 15 elements in 11 groups. This is pretty complex design with 22 glass/air-surfaces and a lot of special elements including two aspherical elements. “Super-Multi-Layer” coating should reduce flare and ghosting. [+] These lenses both feature an 11-bladed rounded aperture and the quality of bokeh they produce is wonderful. With such a wide-angle field of view and shallow depth of field, having these pleasing out-of-focus elements in the image really adds dimension to the scene. Choices, Choices The Sigma 24mm F1.4 DG DN Art Lens is a good choice for those looking for the 24mm angle of view and an ultra-wide aperture at a reasonable price.As I also tested Nikon’s own AF-S Nikkor 24mm f1.4G and the manual focus Samyang 24mm f1.4 I can give you a good impression on how the Sigma compares to the competition. All lenses were tested on a 36MP Nikon D810 body. Taking a closer look at image sharpness, I saw that for the 20mm lens, it held together really well throughout the aperture range. At the center of the image, f/8 was perhaps the best, but it was hard to tell when everything looked good. There was a slight dip at f/16, the lens’ maximum aperture. At the corners, f/5.6 through f/8 looked sharpest. With a minimum focus distance of 9.8" (250mm), this lens has a relatively low 0.14x maximum magnification spec.

A narrow aperture's advantages are related to (often significantly) reduced lens element size, including smaller overall size, lighter weight, and lower cost. This means Sigma now has two 24mm lenses in this series, with the smaller, lighter and slightly cheaper f3.5 version seen here launched just nine months earlier. Sony also has a compact 24mm f2.8 seen here launched in March 2021, and there’s also faster f1.4 models from both companies as well as an older f2.8 option from Tamron. In this review I’ll show you how the Sigma 24 f2 performs to help you make the right choice. Still, this lens improves significantly upon its predecessor in this regard, and f/1.4 images look nice, at least until you compare them with the impressive results at f/2.8. Oh and if you’re looking for sunstars, here’s what you can achieve with the Sigma 24mm f2 closed all the way to f22. Here’s another example at f22, this time filming video where the Sun’s peaking in and out from behind leaves and branches.Hanging out under the stars is great fun, and the photographic results from these times take the fun far into the future.