It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Sigma! Hot on the heels of the news about the brand's 14-24mm f/2. 8 lens, Sigma has added two further lenses to their well-respected Art series of fast optics.
The latest lenses are the 105mm f/1. 4 Art and the 70mm f/2. 8 Macro Art. Arguably, the sexier of the two lenses is the 105mm which, with an ultra fast maximum aperture of f/1. 4, looks perfect for tight portraits and is sure to deliver some excellent bokeh thanks to the 9-blade rounded diaphragm. Weighing in at a fairly hefty 1645g, the lens is compatible with Canon, Nikon, Sigma and Sony E-mount cameras.
The 105mm optic has a fast maximum aperture of f/1. 4.
Built around a design that features 17 elements in 12 groups, the lens is weather sealed so it’s resistant to dust and moisture. The 105mm f/1. 4 optic also features a minimum focusing distance of 100cm. Having such a fast maximum aperture at this focal range is very desirable as, not only will it keep shutter speeds speedy in low light condition, but it will also help separate your subject from the background, helping them stand out.
The 105mm f/1. 4 Art lens comes with a tripod collar and carbon fibre hood.
As the 105mm lens is a little on the weight side, a tripod collar can be added to help support some of the weight, and there’s full-time manual focus function allows the lens to be switched to manual focus simply by rotating the focus ring. Lastly, instead of standard ABS plastic, Sigma have chosen to make the lens hood out of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, making it stronger and better placed to take knocks and bumps.
Also new is the 70mm f/2. 8 Macro Art lens - a dedicated macro lens ideal for capturing frame-filling subjects such as bugs, bees and flower heads thanks to its 1:1 magnification ratio that captures subjects life size. At 515g, the Sigma is fairly lightweight for a fast aperture macro lens and is compatible with Sigma’s USB dock, which can update the optic’s firmware.
Sigma's 70mm f/2. 8 is the first macro lens to be included in the Art series.
Built around a design that features 13 elements in 10 groups, the 70mm is compatible with Sigma’s teleconverters and can be used with Canon, Nikon and Sony cameras. The build also includes two FLD glass elements, two SLD glass elements, and one element with a high rate of anomalous partial dispersion and a high index of refraction , which Sigma say is to minimise axial chromatic aberration. Unfortunately, no pricing or shipping information has been released for either of the lenses.
The 70mm macro has a 1:1 magnification ratio for life size images.
. digitalrev.com2018-2-28 03:00
