Sigma has been on a roll in 2016 with numerous new product launches that have not only been unique, but also well regarded and reviewed. We’ve taken a look at quite a lot of them over the past few months, although mainly only on Canon, Nikon, and Sigma cameras.
There was the excellent Sigma 30mm f/1. 4 DC DN Contemporary, but that’s an APS-C lens for Sony E-mount.
It has seemed rather over the past few years that Sigma haven’t released any lenses for Sony FE, but any negotiations between the two companies seems to have been resolved now. During Photokina, French photography magazine Focus Numerique interviewed the CEO of Sigma, Kazuto Yamaki, and probed them on the direction his company would take in the future.
"I personally bought a A7R II to understand the performance and capabilities of the Sony hybrids. "
Yamaki stated that while the market for lenses is dwindling, and that perhaps Sigma won’t introduce as many lenses in 2017 as they did this year, they still have some big plans. Most specifically, he said (translated by google):
"The future of FE mount is beaming. So yes we will come out with FE mount objectives in the future. I personally bought a A7R II to understand the performance and capabilities of the Sony hybrids. I normally use our own devices with the Foveon sensor, but from time to time I buy new innovative devices (“game changing cameras”). Just a few years I had purchased a Canon EOS 5D. "
This is great news for Sony full-frame users since, while they do have some great glass nowadays from the G-master series, their premium lenses are often priced for the professional. Sigma will bring a huge range of focal lengths and lenses from all price ranges to the Sony FE lineup, completely removing the need for photographers to buy the recently launched, but poorly received MC-11 adapter.
Even Sigma admitted as much, with Yamaki saying:
“Our adapter ring worked very well in the first months following the announcement. Unfortunately, thereafter, it was less the case. The number of people using an adapter ring is quite limited. "
So it appears that not only Tokina and Samyang are betting big on Sony, but so are Sigma. This can only be good for the consumer in the long run, and we can’t wait to see what Sigma has planned for Sony full framers. Most likely it will begin with a conversion of their existing ART lenses, but their focus is clearly on Sony.
"I think the FE mount is one of the most important in this industry. I think Sony will be one of the manufacturers number one in this category of devices thanks to their sensor technology. "
Since they now make lenses for all the major mounts, only Fuji’s X-mount remains unsupported by Sigma. Let’s hope that changes soon.
. digitalrev.com
2016-10-7 03:00
