I love Sigma, and the other brand I can't help but love is the original lens company, and my first lens: VOIGTLAENDER. Could a mirrourless photographer be completely happy with only Voigtlaender lenses? Both adapted and sometimes native.
Yep agreed. If Sigma dropped a bunch of Z-mount lenses I'd ditch most of my Nikon ones sharpish. It's about more than just the optics too: I prefer the feel and design of most of their lenses, and the fact they're still made by a smaller company in Japan is a plus in my book. And if someone puts out a decent wildlife L-mount camera I'd be tempted to swap in that direction just to have access to more of their excellent lenses.
@@SMGJohn Great in low light, but too slow for my use case (mostly birds in flight). Something with 10FPS+ with C-AF and CFExpress Type B would be nice. Hopefully the next S1 will offer something like that!
@@robert_may S5 IIX owner here -- I have to agree that it's not particularly impressive for wildlife. TBH, I would like a pre-burst option even more than a higher framerate C-AF for wildlife. Though, for me, that's not a big issue since I mostly do video work. My Lumix L mount lenses (20-60, 50 f1.8, 85 f1.8) have all been incredible for my general photography and videography. I can't recommend the S5 II(X) enough, as long as it's not for sports or wildlife -- I'm super impressed with the Lumix lenses so far, and I'll be sticking with L mount for the foreseeable future. Thus far, Panasonic has perfected the video features, so fingers crossed for an S1 II with amazing photo features!
@@vivek_v They are actually bringing out a pre-burst option and improved AF in a week or so as a firmware update, which I’m looking forward to trying out! Not sure how well the pre-burst will work with quite a slow sensor but it’s still a nice to have and a good sign for future cameras, hopefully!
At last someone gets up and says it loud. Sigma is killing it for the last 10 years. And now they are at the point of challenging the main manufacturers on their own turf. And the reviewers after a decade of moving the goalposts (to satisfy the big players) can't help but admit it. At first it was excellent optically but too big to carry. Then it was excellent optically and not too big but slow focusing. Now they are SUPERB optically, focus as fast, and they are as small and light. And oh...they still are 1/3 cheaper while being always MADE IN JAPAN. BRAVO SIGMA!
3rd party lenses, specifically the great full frame Sigmas, are pretty much the biggest asset Sony has. Not that their cameras or lenses aren't great on their own, but just having all these options available is a big plus, in my opinion.
Absolutely the biggest advantage for Sony right now. If sigma starts making lenses for Canon and Nikon then Sony better start making those compact 1.8 G lenses for all the primes at a decent price. Sony’s cheaper lenses are a bit dated.
@@Image1Nation Nevertheless, Sony’s “middle” is implemented better than Canon’s. In Canon, not a single not L lens fits into the “middle”. They can make fantastic optics and functionality like in the 85 2, but it’s as if they purposely gave it a terrible focus mechanism. They also never provide moisture protection to non L lenses. I think we can cautiously say that Canon has the best developed low-end segment, but Sony compensates for this with a whole zoo of different samyangs, viltrox and so on. Even EF legacy can't fight this.
For my old APS-C Canon camera, I now almost exclusively carry the 18-35 and 50-100 F/1.8 Art Zooms from Sigma. Absolutely love those lenses, and they cover most things I could ever need.
Great video. Now an APS-C version might be interesting featuring the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 and others. What a fantastic little lens. I love it on my a6700. if you made such a video, Kazuto Yamaki might think you were cool. :)
Agree with the APS-C lineup. Their primes and zooms are fantastic, so small, and very nice prices. It would admittedly be nice if they had an image-stabilized crop sensor lens option, but otherwise it’s an excellent lineup. I have huge respect for Sigma as a company, too
The Sigma 10-18 2.8 is one of the most impressive lenses in recent history but has flown under the radar. It's crazy sharp across the frame (more so than many more expensive lenses) while being comically small and light.
Honestly, the only reason I‘m sticking with Sony glass is their pro services. If Sigma offered the same repair and loaner services, I‘d probably switch over.
I've owned 5-6 GM lenses, today only 1 (135 GM) - the rest are Sigma (they are the only 3rd party I really will shoot and only the DG DN versions) 35 & 85 1.4, 35 & 65 2.0 and 24-70. Love their lenses - huge fan!
As a portrait photographer and occasional wildlife, Sigma has been the only 3rd party brand that I have used with my Sony bodies. I have been using them professionally since 2018 and have not been disappointed in any way.
I’m a videographer, and my bread and butter is high end corporate films and I exclusively use the Sigma lineup. I have an FX6, FX3 & FX30. While I do miss the lens breathing compensation you get with the Sony lenses, it’s not a huge deal breaker as I think that’s less important in my work and I don’t typically rack focus throughout the range so it’s not too noticeable, and if I have I can losely correct for it in post. I love the sigma lenses, I think the build quality is great, the AF works in the scenarios I put it in and they work in my budget. I’d have half the amount of lenses if I had Sony glass. My current lineup is 24 1.4 art dg dn art, 24-70 2.8 dg dn art, 85 1.4 dg dn art and the new 70-200. Surprised you put that away because it’s my favourite lens!
I love the Sigma I-Series lenses. I first bought the 35/2 and 65/2. Love shooting street and urban landscape with them. I ended up getting the 90/2.8, 45/2.8, 24/2 and 17/4. These lenses are addictive like crack😀
I really like this video, but perhaps more as a general "what lenses are available" overview. Shooting Sony E mount it's great to have the huge selection but it's easy to get lost! I'd love a similar video that runs down the current lens lineups of other manufacturers, maybe including the first-party manufacturers themselves.
Great timing of this video. Sigma are now really a 1st party manufacturer with bold ideas and their last few full frame lenses are amazing. Please always ask Sigma for an updated and sharper 18-35mm f1.8! Aah, if only they could also make good hand-holdable cameras!
I have the Sigma 65mm f2 and 100-400 both for Sony. I'd happily use only Sigma if I needed to. I have 2 Sony lenses that I got for an EDU discount, so oddly enough they were the cheaper options. My next lens will probably be a Sigma though. They're just that good 😊
I'm a big fan of Sigma on my Fuji cameras, some great lenses for relatively very cheap brand new, even if they're not the newest designs. As a side note I'd love to see what you think in the budget side of things, as i recently also got an original Sony A7 I've found Samyang to be crazy good for cheap, compact lightweight lenses.
Chris, you're my most favorite Sigma male! 😂 But yeah, I only buy Sigma lenses for my Sony. They have some outstanding ones like the 24 1.4, from which I have the older one. Great lens. 70mm 2.8 macro, before they released their 90mm macro, very sharp for digitizing film. I also agree with the 100-400 which is really good. Not for Chris of course but the 35 2.0 iSeries is a great daily lens and feels so good in the hands.
Basically the tease of sigma dropping RF lenses is the only reason I'm keeping my Canon gear. If the Z7III is coming and has the Z8 autofocus or better I might as well switch.
When I was a Nikon shooter, I used Sigma A and S lenses exclusively. They were phenomenal. Even when I switched from the D800 to the Z7, I used the FTZ just so I could continue using Sigmas over native Z glass.
One of the most untalked about lens for an entry zoom is the 100-400mm contemporary. I had one of those for about a year until I upgraded to the RF 100-500mm L. And I’ll tell you what, I kind of second guessed my decision to upgrade because it really wasn’t as big of a jump in quality as the price would suggest. The sigma was 90-95% of the L glass in all categories. Sharpness, auto focus, image stabilization, etc. Can’t recommend it enough and it’s an old lens being adapted. Wonder how good a RF specific design would be?
i really hope they make an updated 28mm f1.4 for L and E mount. the current one is the old EF version with essentially a converter mount on it. a nice small 28mm is much needed.
I hope they actually replace both 28mm and 40mm with smaller prime without compromising in optical quality. Optically these two are almost optically perfect.
Sigma is awesome. Their 30mm f1.4 for EF-M was the lens that made me fall in love with photography on my Canon M50. I really wish they update both f1.8 zooms. Everyone loves the 18-35mm but I am a fan of the 50-100mm despite it being HEAVY AF. It would be awesome to have both zooms for Fuji but more than that, we need that 500mm f5.6 prime in X mount!
Haha you sound similar to me. I also had the Sigma 30 for the Canon M50 ii until I switched to Fuji. I'd also love the 500 5.6 to come to X-Mount and team it up with the 70-300? Do you use the Art Zooms with the Fringer adapter?
I own a few Sigma ART lenses - 2470 f/2.8, 35 f/1.4 & 24105 f/4. They are superb lenses and with good build quality. However, since they are not native lenses, they are somewhat crippled. AF & AF speed not the same as the native Sony lenses. Good price to performance ratio.
Love my Sigma 20mm 1.4 and 35mm 1.4 art lenses, adapted to my Canon. I am considering switching to Sony in order to use the Sigma 85 and the new 50mm unadapted. When is Canon finally allowing Sigma to produce RF lenses as well? Terribly silent on that topic for a looooooong time.
Ever since the launch of the brilliant Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art lens, Sigma began to really introduce some of the best lens optics on the market. The only downsides at that time were the autofocus and lack of weather sealing. Eventually. the size of the lenses got a little out of hand as well. Now, it seems, Sigma has fine tuned the lenses to compensate for those previous shortcomings. I genuinely believe they're just as good or better than all available first party lenses. Sadly....many cameras are restricting/limiting camera performance when you mount these lenses to some camera bodies. Sigma is a fantastic company as well and all of my Sigma Art lenses from DSLR still look/perform like new. They also work better adapted to mirrorless than they ever did on DSLR.
Canon user here ✋ I have a lot of money invested in Canon glass for my profession, but all of the sigma art glass I have tried has been fantastic and I would more than likely choose Sigma if it were available on Canon RF. I know I can adapt the EF glass, but if I'm hand held, I really don't like the balance with adapted lenses. I have held off from buying 'fun' lenses (like fast primes) that aren't core to my work because I really don't want to pay Canon prices for those, nor do I want to settle for the non-L versions Canon makes (aka, the 1.8 primes). If Sigma starts making some good tilt-shift lenses... I'm going to be VERY tempted to move to a platform where I can go all Sigma... I'm getting very tired of waiting for Canon to update their 24mm for RF.
Well... I am on the E mount now and is using Sigma lenses nearly exclusively (I do use a EF 135mm adapted using the MC11). Have been working great for me ever since I switched from Canon.
Excellent review and agree with the choices. I used two primes and two zooms from the Contemporary line and kept one of the zooms. I found Sigma lenses to be very sharp, very well built and very important, very well priced. One comment though is that they have a distinctive look, just like Sony and Tamron lenses have a distinctive look, so it's better to try before buying.
honestly it's not that much more convenient than just having 24 and a 35mm (at f/1.4 for that matter), would rather see them remake 18-35mm for crop, or something even better
Great video Chris, i have been a Sony shooter since the beginning, the A100 and the A77 Mark 2 in the A mount series and started buying Sigma lenses for affordability reasons as I am a hobbyist shooter and own Sigma 10-20mm wide angle zoom F4.5-5.6, the 24mm F1.8 and the 70-300mm macro F4-5.6 and they have all worked for me without any problems , I bought the new A7M4 when it came out in Dec.2021,i wanted to start doing video so i bought the hybrid camera body that you gave a thumbs up amongst several other photographers did, I bought the Sony LA-EA- 5 adapter with it to be able to continue to use my A-mount lenses , it works great , no loss of any of the AF features or tracking so far ,I was recently in Montreal this year at the beginning of March for about a week for my sister in laws celebration of life and stayed in old Montreal at the port and used 2 of the 3 Sigma lenses and to my surprise the 70-300mm worked amazingly well catching a couple of birds in flight not too far away and turned out ok and even for a bit of skyline from the port which turned out pretty good also, remember I am a hobbyist hack and have tons to learn yet and am glad i shoot Sony, they make good camera bodies and living in Manitoba is proof enough using them in -25-35 weather with out issues other than batteries only last so long at those temps,😁 I guess the prices you were quoting are US dollars the Sony Canada website showed the 70-200mm F2.8 to be $3499 CDN and i just can't afford that so I am seriously looking at the new Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 for $2100/tx and i still afford to take my trip to Yosemite in September for a week with the savings on the lenses and what is saved more than pays for my flight thx again👍
They will continue to drag their feet. They (and Nikon) predicated 2020s profits on being able to charge premium prices on the mirrorless lenses as everyone had to replace EF lenses. They locked the system to ensure max profits. They didn't expect Sony to undercut them by opening their protocols - they expected a tacit antitrust (price fixing) agreement. Oops.
@@mengshun The situation it's complicated. You now have two fully open mounts, the Sony E and Fuji FX mounts. And in a semi open way the Nikon Z that just allow chinese manufacturers like Viltrox, Yongnuo, TTartisan, etc. What it's more problematic it's that Canon EF glass can be adapted to Fuji, Nikon and Sony, allowing the users to migrate from Canon EF to another brand system. I bet Canon will start to losing users faster (las year Canon lose 7% market share).
There are a lot of people out there who have not yet gotten the memo, but in fact third party lenses are perfectly viable alternatives to first party lenses these days. It’s not like 20-30 years ago when they were just simply inferior to first party lenses.
I'v been a Sigma lens shooter since 2016 and have NEVER regretted it. They make the sharpest lenses in the price range! My best photos have always used Sigma lenses.
I am a Sony user who prefers compact lenses, and my current favourite short telephoto is Sigma’s 90mm F2.8 in the I-series (Contemporary). I am also impressed with my Sigma 65mm F2 in the same series, although it is not compact; it is a stunning lens, in my opinion.
Having shot both G Master lenses as well as a TON of Art primes, I actually prefer Sigma. The transition from in focus to out of focus looks better, and I haven't had to deal with 3 decentered lenses in a row like I did trying to get a good copy of a 24mm 1.4 G Master.
The incoming Z-Mount lenses have been very interesting to me. I've got both the 24-70 2.8S and 70-200 2.8 S for my Z7, and while I'd love to move towards more primes, the Z-Mount options are almost all prohibitively expensive. Hopefully some Sigma lenses make their way over soon!
Consider reevaluating Tamron's lineup - they compromise ever so slightly on the extreme end of each zoom in order to regain compact design and same filter threads among other benefits. You'll have essentially the same coverage overall using fewer lenses and spending a lot less.
Can only agree! With the recent announcements of the mentioned 50mm f1.2 and 500mm f5.6 I´ve come to realise my kit when complete will be almost fully Sigma 😅
So awesome to hear these lens (still) hold their own. When I got my first full-frame, I decided to buy glass and opted for the 85, then I added the 24-70 (on a A7 III). I think you just convinced me to get to 100-400. So make sure you get the commission😉
I recently sold Sigma 100-400. Got it for $620 when Amazon had a big sale, didn't think I needed it, but the price was good. It turns out I don't like that range, it's too long for some things and too short for other, as a result this lens saw almost no use.
I got the Sigma 500mm 5.6 DG DN OS Sports Lens which is very compact and light weight, a very sharp Lens with good AF and very good handling, this Lens you can go hiking for hours carrying it in your hands, I can recommend it, but at the moment there are not ANY other Sigma Lens that I want, if Sigma from now on makes better Lenses that do not need software to perform at the best, then maybe... I will keep my Sony GM Lenses, Zeiss Lenses and Voigtländer APO-Lanthar Lenses !
Really enjoying the 65mm F2: It's tactile to use, a unique focal length, and very very strong optically. Looking forward to adding more Sigma lenses to my Tamrons and others. Right now I'm using zero Sony lenses, which is why I went E Mount in the first place: value.
I shoot almost exclusively sigma lenses on my L mount cameras. I want to let people know that the sigma I-series lenses are actually wonderful and incredibly well made. I have Sigma art glass and the quality is amazing, but don't be afraid of the Sigma I-series glass.....they produce wonderful images. I have the 35 f2, 65f2, 90mmf2.8 and I couldn't be happier with my purchases. I prefer the smaller lenses and aperture rings of the I series over the Art series. Sigma is a great company and I wish they would make a rangefinder L mount camera!
I'm not a snob when it comes to size and weight...but holy smokes...those lenses are huge and appear to be heavy. I can see that as a turn off for many. Sigma does make some optically very awesome lenses, no doubt...but that may not be enough to have people choose them. Just an observation on my part. Feel free to disagree.
@@TigaWouldThis is exactly the difference between professionals and amateurs/hobbyists. A professional will pay extra for that bullet proof reliability. Smallrig makes a tripod for $400, but every film set still uses $4k Sachtler legs and heads. When missing a shot or having technical difficulties with gear directly affects your business and income, you're willing to pay more to ensure you never put yourself and a client in that position.
@@POVwithRC You can shoot 3rd party lenses on Nikon Z mount with 20 FPS no problem. Definitely Sony crippling the competition, to sell more of their own lenses.
Looking forward to seeing a Sigma 50mm f/1.2 for Z mount some day. Have a number of Sigma Primes that you spoke about for F mount and I love them but I have focusing issues with my FTZ II and my Z8. Thanks for the review.
I’m not a pro and I shoot Sony APSC I see no reason on APSC to pay double for a Sony lens to performs the same as a Sigma lens I only buy 3rd party lenses. I have Sigma, Tamron and Viltrox. They are all perfect
I used to have the Sigma 20mm 1.4, 35mm 1.4, 50mm 1.4, 24-70 art and 105mm macro... But because they were so big and heavy I sold the 20, 35 and 50mm. Got Sony 35 GM in return and it's even sharper than the Sigma. Sigma did make some great progress with their latest lenses, lighter and smaller, though unfortunately the price has gone up.
I'm using Canon R and R5 bodies and with the control ring adapters all my lenses are sigma EF mount, yes older designs but sufficient for my needs at far more affordable price points than Canon RF lenses.
My Sigma 24-105 Art lens on my 99ii (yeah I know, but it still is a great camera for me) has never let me down through many shoots. Heavy as a brick, but gives me some great images.
I really respect Sigma as a brand. I started using their lenses 16 years ago when I was just 16 years old and had a Canon DSLR. Was a massive upgrade from the Canon kit lens, I can remember being really impressed with the bokeh from their 17-70mm f/2.8 - 4. Of course that's a far cry from a full frame f/1.2 but I actually preferred the look of the bokeh from that 17-70 than I did from my Canon 50mm f/1.8. And getting Sigma's 30mm f/1.4 was the first time I could see how much colour rendering could be affected by just the lens...I got lovely, saturated colours from that thing. And Sigma's 10-20mm was the attainable way I could get into ultra-wide (Canon didn't introduce their 10-18mm until a while later). So if it wasn't for Sigma, I would not have been able to afford to build up a little collection of lenses giving me creative possibilities that the first parties charge significantly more for. Eventually ended up buying their 50-100mm f/1.8 which had absolutely beautiful rendering. Unfortunately I'm not using any Sigma products at the moment as I have a Micro Four Thirds setup. After some financial difficulties I had to sell all my Canon DSLR kit and when I was in a position to get back into photography with a dedicated camera I chose MFT as the best balance between price, performance and portability. I know Sigma have a couple of their APS-C lenses available for the MFT mount and I am interested in the 56mm f/1.4 as you get a unique 112mm equivalent focal length on MFT ideal for portraits. Aside from this, I do miss enjoying Sigma's lenses and for much of the stuff I like to shoot - concerts & music stuff that is regularly in low light, and portraits that can make the most of shallow depth of field capability - I've realised that full frame kit would definitely have a lot of benefits for me. The availability of Sigma lenses - and other third party options from Tamron etc. - are one of the main draws of choosing Sony for a full frame mirrorless setup. Hopefully by the end of the year I will be able to start myself off with an A7IV and a Sigma prime🙂 Also worth mentioning how great Sigma is as a company. They really changed the game with the introduction of their Art line, not only great for themselves & customers but also resulted in other lens manufacturers having to step things up. Their CEO seems like he's really passionate about their products and photography in general, he's surprisingly candid for a Japanese CEO, they respect their staff, and it's awesome that they like to manufacture as much as possible from scratch in their own domestic factory. All of this and yet they are still able to deliver on one of the main things they are known for - providing significantly better value than the first parties. I'm following their development of a full-frame Foveon sensor camera with interest as any of the images I've seen taken with their previous Foveon cameras had absolutely lovely colours.
Interesting combo! I like shooting gigs and other music stuff so those first two would be some of my dream lenses for that. At the moment I only have Micro Four Thirds kit which can struggle with low light. Definitely planning to start building up a Sony FE system when it makes sense financially.
I don’t as thinking investing in G Master but ended up with Sigma, mainly because of the cost. 24mm f1.4 , 50mm f1.4, 14-24mm f2.8 and 24-70mm f2.8. I’m also gathering some money to eventually buy 70-200mm f2.8. They’ve been just so good and I love it! P.S: Since when G Master 24-70mm f2.8 is $1100? 🫠
@@danieldougan269 I definitely can't, I am a cheapskate who is satisfied with my Sony 200-600 and have no interest in getting a 400mm f/4.5 and 600mm f/6.3 prime even if their sharpness are better in the corners.
Nikon has a glaring gap in their lens lineup, the most useful lens is missing: 16-35/2.8. Sigma for whatever reason doesn't make it either. I have to use Sony with an adapter on my Nikon.
Sigma lenses are first party lenses when mounted on their own cameras. "Third party" is a relative term, not an absolute one. Of course, vastly more people buy Sony cameras than Sigma cameras, so to most people, Sigma is a third party.
@@gabedamien Fair enough. In olden times there was more... cross-pollination? Interbreeding?... for example, Nikkor lenses came as original equipment on cameras from Minolta and Bronica, and you could put your Leica thread-mount lens onto your Canon thread-mount camera (thus turning Leica into a "third-party manufacturer"!) Now, cross-platform interchange is an accepted feature of Micro Four Thirds and to some extent on L mount, but I get it that for a lot of systems -- especially ones with complex, not-fully-documented data interchange between camera and lens -- there's some temptation to regard own-brand lenses as a safer choice... a temptation that Sigma seems to have countered successfully...
I had the 17-50/2.8 on my APS-C Canons, I have the 56/1.4 for my MFT cameras, and the 24-70/2.8 on my S5. I bought them because I read a lot of reviews first. They have been EXCELLENT. I’ve also owned and/or used several lenses from Canon, including a couple EF L And RF L and consumer RF lenses, and I have a few PL lenses for MFT, just so everyone knows what I’m comparing to. Sigma has become one of the best lens makers today, IMO. I think pairing up with Leica (and Panasonic) probably motivates and enables Sigma to be this good.
I have their 24-70, their 85 and I wholeheartedly agree. I got the 200-600 from sony though for that internal zoom and I'm going to buy the sony 14 gm for the compact size. The sigma is a beast, but I would not make it an every day carry lens, with that size and weight.
Chris... so glad you did this video. Matching up the 14mm, 50mm and 85mm with the SL3 is going to be a real joy. Own the 14. 85 arrives tomorrow. 50 f1.2 is on order. Thanks for confirming what my gut tells me. Using the 24-90 and 100-400 already. Now all I have to checkout is the 500. Thanks again.
Some people sniggered when Sigma launched their World-domination business plan ten years ago. They were proven right, though, and more importantly, they have forced the big camera companies to up their lens game.
I’m on L mount and apart from the Lumix 70-200mm f4.0 my entire lineup is Sigma. 16-28mm f2.8 24-70mm f2.8 35mm f2.0 85mm f1.4 I also have the EF mount 18-35mm f1.8 which I use with the Sigma adapter. If that got re-released as a DC DN I’d buy it no question.
I am shooting with APS-C (a6300) and right now I have only three lenses left two of which I use almost exclusively - Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 and Sigma 100-400mm and both of those are perfect - lightweight&portable and giving exceptional images. When the space is scarce (like flying Ryanair) I only bring my Tamron 18-300mm but otherwise - team Sigma all the way. Especially when I photograph my family the sigma 18-50mm I am always amazed by the image quality!
I am a working professional with two Nikon Z9's, previously two D850's. While I have Nikon Z zoom lenses, I had no desire to switch to the Mirrorless primes when moving to mirrorless. Sigma Art 24mm 1.4, 40mm 1.4, 85mm 1.4, and 135mm 1.8 have been long standing lenses in my kit. The Sigma Art 40mm is incredibly underrated, it will be difficult to get me to switch to the Nikon 35mm 1.2 whenever it does arrive.
My opinion, yes with exception. The exception would be what you shoot and your client demands. Back in 2015/16 I was the head photographer for Los Angeles Fashion Week. I owned almost every Sigma lens S and A lens at the time When shooting fashion runway and delivering images to the client, the Sigma lenses more than delivered. Today as of this comment, I shoot medium format almost exclusively for my commercial work, and I tend to use old lenses, because low cost, they work, and not one client has complained. I learned the hard way that we shoot for clients not for other photographers... I finaly stopped the measurebaitng back in 2016
Great review and concept. Way back when (1970’s on for a few decades) I stuck with Nikkor lenses because even though they didn’t Have the widest aperture or the longes zoom range they were sharp. Segue to the digital age- I began using Sigma and have a wide range of lenses now. However, I bought one of their zooms AND IT ZOOMED THE WRONG WAY! (I’m speaking of the rotation of the zoom ring). Naturally, that’s very frustrating when the other Sigma zooms I had were the opposite. The crowning touch was speaking to a Sigma rep at the NECCC when he laughed and said “It’s just a tool” to which I replied “that doesn’t work!”. That was my last Sigma purchase. I hope you don’t have a similar disappointment.
Nikon not opening up their mount to Sigma as much as Sony is one of the things that keeps me on Sony. A few weeks ago I picked up a used z7 for ~$1000 to test out the system, and aside from some minor gripes (and middling AF) the lens selection for Nikon just feels terrible compared to Sony.
Agreed! Now that I have added Leica SL to my Sony Alpha, wouldn't it be great if Sigma made an adapter to swap lenses between the two mounts! Now, THAT would be sweet!!
These lens are not what makes sigma special to me. I like old dslr apsc 18-35 f1.8. And in mirroless world, sigma makes some really lightweight zoom lens. for apsc there are 10-18 f2.8 and 18-50 f2.8. So small and lightweight. It is unthinkable in old dslr days. For full frame there are 28-70 f2.8 and 16-28 f2.8. Also very small and lightweight also unthinkable in old dslr world. These are the lens I feel special and differ from major brand.
Hi, I use Sigma Art lenses on my NikonZ9 and Z8 cameras. I use Megadapt adapters. I love these lenses, I also being old school like aperture rings with clicks. Sigma UK give exceptional support too. Love the channel …….. thank you TonyH
@@kapurar Hello, to answer your question, yes I use Sony “e” mount, but only Sigma not Sony lenses. Auto focus on both cameras is fast and never hunts. I think it is helped by the megadaptors, they update regularly and now the cameras are updated just as Nikon does. I must say, however, I don’t have any zooms, other than Nikon Fx f2.8. These are even sharper now than on my late D5, and D850. Hope this helps ……. TonyH
Chris, I knew that the 35mm hater in you wouldn't want to talk about the 35mm F1.2 I had that lens for Sony and I still remember the videos I made with it, it's an awesome lens but no way to balance that on a gimbal or carry it around on a full shooting event day. Very good video. Sigma art and Zeiss batis are my go to on Sony e mount
I switch to all sigma lenses, I am more than happy with them, some of my old lens were GM and were great but I couldn’t justified the price and sold them
For L mount, I'd be interested in a comparison of the Leica Apo's vs. Sigma. Not to put Sigma down but to see how close Sigma can get to lenses that are unaffordable to most photographers. My guess is a few stops down there will be little if any difference across many criteria. Panasonic also makes some great lenses for L mount, their emphasis on small light lenses give us great choices.
Honestly, both Tamron and Sigma have been absolutely crushing it with E-Mount. E-Mount is such a complete package at this point, cause there’s also Samyang and Viltrox who make even more budget friendly lenses and I’d argue that the Samyang 85mm 1.4 II is easily on par with the Sigma Art and the G-Master.
Not 'Sigma plz', ' Nikon plz' Tamron may only make the lenses Nikon allow and is forced to make it in the Nikon plastic exterior. It's Nikon preventing Sigma to enter Z-mount, not the other way around. It's by far the biggest reason i went from F-mount to Sony E-mount, shame on you Nikon. I wanted to stay. But not without Sigma options.
the T stops on these lenses are nothing close to the marketing departments f stop aspirations. If it wasnt for in camera vignette corrections, they would just be a thought.
Correction: At 4:11 the wrong price is shown for the Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II. The actual list price is $2300. Apologies for the error.
u is canceled
Ha, I got all excited and had to double check those numbers. Sadness.
man if sony could produce the GMII for $1100 MSRP I could be at peace with myself buying one.
i was coming here with a pitchfork! but fixed :(
I love Sigma, and the other brand I can't help but love is the original lens company, and my first lens: VOIGTLAENDER.
Could a mirrourless photographer be completely happy with only Voigtlaender lenses? Both adapted and sometimes native.
At This Point, I’d Happily like to see Chris open one more button on his shirt
Looks like we are both gonna get what we want.
That'd make him a noct heavier.
And he could definitely get one more roll up on those sleeves.
😅😅😅
Time to go full casual open silk kimono top. 😎
Sigma is probably my favourite company. They make beautifully sharp lenses at a variety of focal lengths for a sensible price relative to fstop.
So true
& Made in Japan!!!
@@Santiago-ys2pp that's why canon was so jealous
Yep agreed. If Sigma dropped a bunch of Z-mount lenses I'd ditch most of my Nikon ones sharpish. It's about more than just the optics too: I prefer the feel and design of most of their lenses, and the fact they're still made by a smaller company in Japan is a plus in my book. And if someone puts out a decent wildlife L-mount camera I'd be tempted to swap in that direction just to have access to more of their excellent lenses.
Whats wrong with the Panasonic S5M2 for wild life??
@@SMGJohn Great in low light, but too slow for my use case (mostly birds in flight). Something with 10FPS+ with C-AF and CFExpress Type B would be nice. Hopefully the next S1 will offer something like that!
onion farts
@@robert_may S5 IIX owner here -- I have to agree that it's not particularly impressive for wildlife. TBH, I would like a pre-burst option even more than a higher framerate C-AF for wildlife. Though, for me, that's not a big issue since I mostly do video work. My Lumix L mount lenses (20-60, 50 f1.8, 85 f1.8) have all been incredible for my general photography and videography.
I can't recommend the S5 II(X) enough, as long as it's not for sports or wildlife -- I'm super impressed with the Lumix lenses so far, and I'll be sticking with L mount for the foreseeable future. Thus far, Panasonic has perfected the video features, so fingers crossed for an S1 II with amazing photo features!
@@vivek_v They are actually bringing out a pre-burst option and improved AF in a week or so as a firmware update, which I’m looking forward to trying out! Not sure how well the pre-burst will work with quite a slow sensor but it’s still a nice to have and a good sign for future cameras, hopefully!
At last someone gets up and says it loud. Sigma is killing it for the last 10 years. And now they are at the point of challenging the main manufacturers on their own turf. And the reviewers after a decade of moving the goalposts (to satisfy the big players) can't help but admit it. At first it was excellent optically but too big to carry. Then it was excellent optically and not too big but slow focusing. Now they are SUPERB optically, focus as fast, and they are as small and light. And oh...they still are 1/3 cheaper while being always MADE IN JAPAN. BRAVO SIGMA!
To be honest they still are too big and bulky, especially the primes. Worth it in a lot of cases though.
Note - Sigma price shown for the GM II 24-70 Sony at 4:11 - I wish this lens was only $1,100
I was excited thinking Sony dropped its price. Then I was disappointed lol
Me too 😂
This.
Maybe he meant $1,100 more than the Sigma.
yeah that's the price of the G 24-50 2.8
3rd party lenses, specifically the great full frame Sigmas, are pretty much the biggest asset Sony has. Not that their cameras or lenses aren't great on their own, but just having all these options available is a big plus, in my opinion.
Absolutely the biggest advantage for Sony right now. If sigma starts making lenses for Canon and Nikon then Sony better start making those compact 1.8 G lenses for all the primes at a decent price. Sony’s cheaper lenses are a bit dated.
@@Image1Nation Nevertheless, Sony’s “middle” is implemented better than Canon’s. In Canon, not a single not L lens fits into the “middle”. They can make fantastic optics and functionality like in the 85 2, but it’s as if they purposely gave it a terrible focus mechanism. They also never provide moisture protection to non L lenses. I think we can cautiously say that Canon has the best developed low-end segment, but Sony compensates for this with a whole zoo of different samyangs, viltrox and so on. Even EF legacy can't fight this.
Same goes for Lumix :)) I absolutely love my S5 mk1 with the 28-70 Sigma
For my old APS-C Canon camera, I now almost exclusively carry the 18-35 and 50-100 F/1.8 Art Zooms from Sigma. Absolutely love those lenses, and they cover most things I could ever need.
I've shot high school basketball and volleyball with the 50 - 100 on an R7. Great lens!!!! I also have the 18 - 35. Hasn't let me down yet.
Great video. Now an APS-C version might be interesting featuring the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 and others. What a fantastic little lens. I love it on my a6700. if you made such a video, Kazuto Yamaki might think you were cool. :)
This lens gave a whole new life to my Leica CL
It's a great lens and I use it daily!
I love my Tamron 17-70 f/2.8, it's not perfect though, so I imagine a Sigma version would be fantastic!
Agree with the APS-C lineup. Their primes and zooms are fantastic, so small, and very nice prices. It would admittedly be nice if they had an image-stabilized crop sensor lens option, but otherwise it’s an excellent lineup. I have huge respect for Sigma as a company, too
The Sigma 10-18 2.8 is one of the most impressive lenses in recent history but has flown under the radar. It's crazy sharp across the frame (more so than many more expensive lenses) while being comically small and light.
That's why Canon don't want to open the mount. Sigma will eat the cake and unfortunately cake is getting smaller every year.
Cake?
You mean Market share!
@@SimplifyingTechh Exactly 🎂🙄
Sigma and Tamron finally announced lenses for RF mount
@gourami7 Yes but for APS-C cameras only.
@@TomasRamoska unfortunately at least for now
Sigma Only professional photographer here. I don't even miss the first-party lenses. The Art line look is part of my brand at this point.
same here
Same here man
When I used the I series I was blown away and knew I could come over to their lenses completely.
Honestly, the only reason I‘m sticking with Sony glass is their pro services. If Sigma offered the same repair and loaner services, I‘d probably switch over.
Same here, I only own one Sony lens and it's power zoom one on my video rig.
I've owned 5-6 GM lenses, today only 1 (135 GM) - the rest are Sigma (they are the only 3rd party I really will shoot and only the DG DN versions) 35 & 85 1.4, 35 & 65 2.0 and 24-70. Love their lenses - huge fan!
As a portrait photographer and occasional wildlife, Sigma has been the only 3rd party brand that I have used with my Sony bodies. I have been using them professionally since 2018 and have not been disappointed in any way.
I’m a videographer, and my bread and butter is high end corporate films and I exclusively use the Sigma lineup. I have an FX6, FX3 & FX30. While I do miss the lens breathing compensation you get with the Sony lenses, it’s not a huge deal breaker as I think that’s less important in my work and I don’t typically rack focus throughout the range so it’s not too noticeable, and if I have I can losely correct for it in post. I love the sigma lenses, I think the build quality is great, the AF works in the scenarios I put it in and they work in my budget. I’d have half the amount of lenses if I had Sony glass.
My current lineup is 24 1.4 art dg dn art, 24-70 2.8 dg dn art, 85 1.4 dg dn art and the new 70-200. Surprised you put that away because it’s my favourite lens!
Your lens selection is great 👍
If Sigma makes a 35-150 2-2.8, I'd be pretty happy...
Nah, make a 24-120mm F1.7, do it!
I prefer 24-105 F2.8. Would buy it instantly if parfocal and no focus breathing. :D
I refuse to buy any zoom lens that is slower than 1.2 and doesn't also fit in a pocket.
Why not just take Tamron?
@megamastah I don't think those work on L mount
I love the Sigma I-Series lenses. I first bought the 35/2 and 65/2. Love shooting street and urban landscape with them. I ended up getting the 90/2.8, 45/2.8, 24/2 and 17/4. These lenses are addictive like crack😀
You forgot the i-Series 35mm f/2 DG DN, an absolute gem of a lens 🤣
Yes, his favorite focal length :D
I really like this video, but perhaps more as a general "what lenses are available" overview. Shooting Sony E mount it's great to have the huge selection but it's easy to get lost! I'd love a similar video that runs down the current lens lineups of other manufacturers, maybe including the first-party manufacturers themselves.
Great timing of this video. Sigma are now really a 1st party manufacturer with bold ideas and their last few full frame lenses are amazing. Please always ask Sigma for an updated and sharper 18-35mm f1.8! Aah, if only they could also make good hand-holdable cameras!
I have the Sigma 65mm f2 and 100-400 both for Sony. I'd happily use only Sigma if I needed to. I have 2 Sony lenses that I got for an EDU discount, so oddly enough they were the cheaper options. My next lens will probably be a Sigma though. They're just that good 😊
I want to know about Chris’s personal Olympus gear setup and how he uses is for his own projects. Same for Jordan!
I'm a big fan of Sigma on my Fuji cameras, some great lenses for relatively very cheap brand new, even if they're not the newest designs.
As a side note I'd love to see what you think in the budget side of things, as i recently also got an original Sony A7 I've found Samyang to be crazy good for cheap, compact lightweight lenses.
Chris, you're my most favorite Sigma male! 😂
But yeah, I only buy Sigma lenses for my Sony. They have some outstanding ones like the 24 1.4, from which I have the older one. Great lens. 70mm 2.8 macro, before they released their 90mm macro, very sharp for digitizing film. I also agree with the 100-400 which is really good.
Not for Chris of course but the 35 2.0 iSeries is a great daily lens and feels so good in the hands.
Basically the tease of sigma dropping RF lenses is the only reason I'm keeping my Canon gear. If the Z7III is coming and has the Z8 autofocus or better I might as well switch.
When I was a Nikon shooter, I used Sigma A and S lenses exclusively. They were phenomenal. Even when I switched from the D800 to the Z7, I used the FTZ just so I could continue using Sigmas over native Z glass.
One of the most untalked about lens for an entry zoom is the 100-400mm contemporary. I had one of those for about a year until I upgraded to the RF 100-500mm L. And I’ll tell you what, I kind of second guessed my decision to upgrade because it really wasn’t as big of a jump in quality as the price would suggest. The sigma was 90-95% of the L glass in all categories. Sharpness, auto focus, image stabilization, etc. Can’t recommend it enough and it’s an old lens being adapted. Wonder how good a RF specific design would be?
i really hope they make an updated 28mm f1.4 for L and E mount. the current one is the old EF version with essentially a converter mount on it. a nice small 28mm is much needed.
I hope they actually replace both 28mm and 40mm with smaller prime without compromising in optical quality. Optically these two are almost optically perfect.
Sigma is awesome. Their 30mm f1.4 for EF-M was the lens that made me fall in love with photography on my Canon M50.
I really wish they update both f1.8 zooms. Everyone loves the 18-35mm but I am a fan of the 50-100mm despite it being HEAVY AF.
It would be awesome to have both zooms for Fuji but more than that, we need that 500mm f5.6 prime in X mount!
Haha you sound similar to me. I also had the Sigma 30 for the Canon M50 ii until I switched to Fuji. I'd also love the 500 5.6 to come to X-Mount and team it up with the 70-300?
Do you use the Art Zooms with the Fringer adapter?
I own a few Sigma ART lenses - 2470 f/2.8, 35 f/1.4 & 24105 f/4. They are superb lenses and with good build quality. However, since they are not native lenses, they are somewhat crippled. AF & AF speed not the same as the native Sony lenses. Good price to performance ratio.
Love my Sigma 20mm 1.4 and 35mm 1.4 art lenses, adapted to my Canon. I am considering switching to Sony in order to use the Sigma 85 and the new 50mm unadapted. When is Canon finally allowing Sigma to produce RF lenses as well? Terribly silent on that topic for a looooooong time.
Ever since the launch of the brilliant Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art lens, Sigma began to really introduce some of the best lens optics on the market. The only downsides at that time were the autofocus and lack of weather sealing. Eventually. the size of the lenses got a little out of hand as well. Now, it seems, Sigma has fine tuned the lenses to compensate for those previous shortcomings. I genuinely believe they're just as good or better than all available first party lenses. Sadly....many cameras are restricting/limiting camera performance when you mount these lenses to some camera bodies. Sigma is a fantastic company as well and all of my Sigma Art lenses from DSLR still look/perform like new. They also work better adapted to mirrorless than they ever did on DSLR.
Canon user here ✋ I have a lot of money invested in Canon glass for my profession, but all of the sigma art glass I have tried has been fantastic and I would more than likely choose Sigma if it were available on Canon RF. I know I can adapt the EF glass, but if I'm hand held, I really don't like the balance with adapted lenses. I have held off from buying 'fun' lenses (like fast primes) that aren't core to my work because I really don't want to pay Canon prices for those, nor do I want to settle for the non-L versions Canon makes (aka, the 1.8 primes).
If Sigma starts making some good tilt-shift lenses... I'm going to be VERY tempted to move to a platform where I can go all Sigma... I'm getting very tired of waiting for Canon to update their 24mm for RF.
Well... I am on the E mount now and is using Sigma lenses nearly exclusively (I do use a EF 135mm adapted using the MC11). Have been working great for me ever since I switched from Canon.
Excellent review and agree with the choices. I used two primes and two zooms from the Contemporary line and kept one of the zooms. I found Sigma lenses to be very sharp, very well built and very important, very well priced. One comment though is that they have a distinctive look, just like Sony and Tamron lenses have a distinctive look, so it's better to try before buying.
The 105 is gigantic, but it's my favorite lens.
Sigma needs to get the DGDN version of their 24-35 f2 to my doorstep.
honestly it's not that much more convenient than just having 24 and a 35mm (at f/1.4 for that matter), would rather see them remake 18-35mm for crop, or something even better
@@SatongiFilms It’s my three favorite focal lengths at my favorite aperture and it’s already on my camera.
24-35 is too little to be useful, I would rather take 24/1.4 instead
Great video Chris, i have been a Sony shooter since the beginning, the A100 and the A77 Mark 2 in the A mount series and started buying Sigma lenses for affordability reasons as I am a hobbyist shooter and own Sigma 10-20mm wide angle zoom F4.5-5.6, the 24mm F1.8 and the 70-300mm macro F4-5.6 and they have all worked for me without any problems , I bought the new A7M4 when it came out in Dec.2021,i wanted to start doing video so i bought the hybrid camera body that you gave a thumbs up amongst several other photographers did, I bought the Sony LA-EA- 5 adapter with it to be able to continue to use my A-mount lenses , it works great , no loss of any of the AF features or tracking so far ,I was recently in Montreal this year at the beginning of March for about a week for my sister in laws celebration of life and stayed in old Montreal at the port and used 2 of the 3 Sigma lenses and to my surprise the 70-300mm worked amazingly well catching a couple of birds in flight not too far away and turned out ok and even for a bit of skyline from the port which turned out pretty good also, remember I am a hobbyist hack and have tons to learn yet and am glad i shoot Sony, they make good camera bodies and living in Manitoba is proof enough using them in -25-35 weather with out issues other than batteries only last so long at those temps,😁 I guess the prices you were quoting are US dollars the Sony Canada website showed the 70-200mm F2.8 to be $3499 CDN and i just can't afford that so I am seriously looking at the new Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 for $2100/tx and i still afford to take my trip to Yosemite in September for a week with the savings on the lenses and what is saved more than pays for my flight thx again👍
Hopefully Canon opens up the RF mount soon enough, having more lens options would be great!
agreed!
I wouldn't hold hopes... It seems like Canon wouldn't open the RF mount
Canon controls what, 60% of the market? I doubt they are hard pressed to do so.
They will continue to drag their feet. They (and Nikon) predicated 2020s profits on being able to charge premium prices on the mirrorless lenses as everyone had to replace EF lenses. They locked the system to ensure max profits. They didn't expect Sony to undercut them by opening their protocols - they expected a tacit antitrust (price fixing) agreement. Oops.
@@mengshun The situation it's complicated. You now have two fully open mounts, the Sony E and Fuji FX mounts. And in a semi open way the Nikon Z that just allow chinese manufacturers like Viltrox, Yongnuo, TTartisan, etc.
What it's more problematic it's that Canon EF glass can be adapted to Fuji, Nikon and Sony, allowing the users to migrate from Canon EF to another brand system.
I bet Canon will start to losing users faster (las year Canon lose 7% market share).
There are a lot of people out there who have not yet gotten the memo, but in fact third party lenses are perfectly viable alternatives to first party lenses these days. It’s not like 20-30 years ago when they were just simply inferior to first party lenses.
I'v been a Sigma lens shooter since 2016 and have NEVER regretted it. They make the sharpest lenses in the price range! My best photos have always used Sigma lenses.
I've certainly been impressed with my 56mm f/1.4 for Fuji.
Ditto, my first choice for portraits
Exactly - use the lens on a Leica CL
I am a Sony user who prefers compact lenses, and my current favourite short telephoto is Sigma’s 90mm F2.8 in the I-series (Contemporary). I am also impressed with my Sigma 65mm F2 in the same series, although it is not compact; it is a stunning lens, in my opinion.
Having shot both G Master lenses as well as a TON of Art primes, I actually prefer Sigma. The transition from in focus to out of focus looks better, and I haven't had to deal with 3 decentered lenses in a row like I did trying to get a good copy of a 24mm 1.4 G Master.
The incoming Z-Mount lenses have been very interesting to me. I've got both the 24-70 2.8S and 70-200 2.8 S for my Z7, and while I'd love to move towards more primes, the Z-Mount options are almost all prohibitively expensive. Hopefully some Sigma lenses make their way over soon!
Consider reevaluating Tamron's lineup - they compromise ever so slightly on the extreme end of each zoom in order to regain compact design and same filter threads among other benefits. You'll have essentially the same coverage overall using fewer lenses and spending a lot less.
Agreed. Tamron for zooms and Sigma for primes 👍
What about the APS-C lenses for us poor prosumer Sony 6x00 users?
Can only agree! With the recent announcements of the mentioned 50mm f1.2 and 500mm f5.6 I´ve come to realise my kit when complete will be almost fully Sigma 😅
confirmed: Chris doesn't use small lenses for travel ;) Sorry I-series and aps-c lovers
All this and no mention of the great, compact Contemporary primes?
They are great, and we’ve reviewed many of them. Consider them mentioned.
So awesome to hear these lens (still) hold their own. When I got my first full-frame, I decided to buy glass and opted for the 85, then I added the 24-70 (on a A7 III). I think you just convinced me to get to 100-400. So make sure you get the commission😉
I recently sold Sigma 100-400. Got it for $620 when Amazon had a big sale, didn't think I needed it, but the price was good. It turns out I don't like that range, it's too long for some things and too short for other, as a result this lens saw almost no use.
Never mind the lenses - what's that wrist strap?
Those are by Wotancraft. They make fantastic wrist straps that are either metal split ring or Peak Design compatible
@@niccollsvideo Fabulous! Cheers.
I got the Sigma 500mm 5.6 DG DN OS Sports Lens which is very compact and light weight, a very sharp Lens with good AF and very good handling, this Lens you can go hiking for hours carrying it in your hands, I can recommend it, but at the moment there are not ANY other Sigma Lens that I want, if Sigma from now on makes better Lenses that do not need software to perform at the best, then maybe... I will keep my Sony GM Lenses, Zeiss Lenses and Voigtländer APO-Lanthar Lenses !
Really enjoying the 65mm F2: It's tactile to use, a unique focal length, and very very strong optically. Looking forward to adding more Sigma lenses to my Tamrons and others.
Right now I'm using zero Sony lenses, which is why I went E Mount in the first place: value.
I shoot almost exclusively sigma lenses on my L mount cameras. I want to let people know that the sigma I-series lenses are actually wonderful and incredibly well made. I have Sigma art glass and the quality is amazing, but don't be afraid of the Sigma I-series glass.....they produce wonderful images. I have the 35 f2, 65f2, 90mmf2.8 and I couldn't be happier with my purchases. I prefer the smaller lenses and aperture rings of the I series over the Art series. Sigma is a great company and I wish they would make a rangefinder L mount camera!
Hell yeah, go Sigma!
Hopefully we'll see showcase rundowns of other manufacturers as well
I'm not a snob when it comes to size and weight...but holy smokes...those lenses are huge and appear to be heavy. I can see that as a turn off for many.
Sigma does make some optically very awesome lenses, no doubt...but that may not be enough to have people choose them. Just an observation on my part. Feel free to disagree.
If Sony would stop crippling the FPS for 3rd party (I shoot some dance and sports), I would happily use more Sigma.
well that's exactly why they don't do that
That is the sole reason Sony won't stop crippling features for 3rd party lenses.
@@TigaWouldThis is exactly the difference between professionals and amateurs/hobbyists. A professional will pay extra for that bullet proof reliability. Smallrig makes a tripod for $400, but every film set still uses $4k Sachtler legs and heads. When missing a shot or having technical difficulties with gear directly affects your business and income, you're willing to pay more to ensure you never put yourself and a client in that position.
Has Sony or any other party determined or spoken as to whether it is a technical limitation or crippling without merit?
@@POVwithRC You can shoot 3rd party lenses on Nikon Z mount with 20 FPS no problem. Definitely Sony crippling the competition, to sell more of their own lenses.
I’d also add the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 Macro!
Looking forward to seeing a Sigma 50mm f/1.2 for Z mount some day. Have a number of Sigma Primes that you spoke about for F mount and I love them but I have focusing issues with my FTZ II and my Z8. Thanks for the review.
I’m not a pro and I shoot Sony APSC
I see no reason on APSC to pay double for a Sony lens to performs the same as a Sigma lens
I only buy 3rd party lenses. I have Sigma, Tamron and Viltrox. They are all perfect
If only focus breathing compensation worked with 3rd party lenses ;(
Chris, as someone green to photography your videos are fantastic. Super easy to digest and enjoy. Thank you!
I used to have the Sigma 20mm 1.4, 35mm 1.4, 50mm 1.4, 24-70 art and 105mm macro... But because they were so big and heavy I sold the 20, 35 and 50mm. Got Sony 35 GM in return and it's even sharper than the Sigma. Sigma did make some great progress with their latest lenses, lighter and smaller, though unfortunately the price has gone up.
I'm using Canon R and R5 bodies and with the control ring adapters all my lenses are sigma EF mount, yes older designs but sufficient for my needs at far more affordable price points than Canon RF lenses.
You left out the Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 Art. She's a beast of a lens and great for nighttime video.
My Sigma 24-105 Art lens on my 99ii (yeah I know, but it still is a great camera for me) has never let me down through many shoots. Heavy as a brick, but gives me some great images.
Why Sigma not "weathersealed" big dealbreaker i think
I really respect Sigma as a brand. I started using their lenses 16 years ago when I was just 16 years old and had a Canon DSLR. Was a massive upgrade from the Canon kit lens, I can remember being really impressed with the bokeh from their 17-70mm f/2.8 - 4. Of course that's a far cry from a full frame f/1.2 but I actually preferred the look of the bokeh from that 17-70 than I did from my Canon 50mm f/1.8. And getting Sigma's 30mm f/1.4 was the first time I could see how much colour rendering could be affected by just the lens...I got lovely, saturated colours from that thing. And Sigma's 10-20mm was the attainable way I could get into ultra-wide (Canon didn't introduce their 10-18mm until a while later).
So if it wasn't for Sigma, I would not have been able to afford to build up a little collection of lenses giving me creative possibilities that the first parties charge significantly more for. Eventually ended up buying their 50-100mm f/1.8 which had absolutely beautiful rendering.
Unfortunately I'm not using any Sigma products at the moment as I have a Micro Four Thirds setup. After some financial difficulties I had to sell all my Canon DSLR kit and when I was in a position to get back into photography with a dedicated camera I chose MFT as the best balance between price, performance and portability. I know Sigma have a couple of their APS-C lenses available for the MFT mount and I am interested in the 56mm f/1.4 as you get a unique 112mm equivalent focal length on MFT ideal for portraits. Aside from this, I do miss enjoying Sigma's lenses and for much of the stuff I like to shoot - concerts & music stuff that is regularly in low light, and portraits that can make the most of shallow depth of field capability - I've realised that full frame kit would definitely have a lot of benefits for me. The availability of Sigma lenses - and other third party options from Tamron etc. - are one of the main draws of choosing Sony for a full frame mirrorless setup. Hopefully by the end of the year I will be able to start myself off with an A7IV and a Sigma prime🙂
Also worth mentioning how great Sigma is as a company. They really changed the game with the introduction of their Art line, not only great for themselves & customers but also resulted in other lens manufacturers having to step things up. Their CEO seems like he's really passionate about their products and photography in general, he's surprisingly candid for a Japanese CEO, they respect their staff, and it's awesome that they like to manufacture as much as possible from scratch in their own domestic factory. All of this and yet they are still able to deliver on one of the main things they are known for - providing significantly better value than the first parties. I'm following their development of a full-frame Foveon sensor camera with interest as any of the images I've seen taken with their previous Foveon cameras had absolutely lovely colours.
What about Tamron? I felt their latest lenses are quite stellar too
They do make great lenses but the mirrorless lines are lacking the prime department. Some of the most interesting zooms I’ve used for sure.
My holy trinity. Sigma 14mm F1.4, Tamron 35-150 F2.-2.8, Sigma 150-600 F4-6.3 Sports
Sigma 150-600mm holds special place in my heart, it even transform an old DSLR such 40D into new level 😊
@@Durio_zibethinus Exactly, lenses gives the image quality, not camera.
Do you walk/backpack with the Tamron out? How bad is it with that chunky boi?
Interesting combo! I like shooting gigs and other music stuff so those first two would be some of my dream lenses for that. At the moment I only have Micro Four Thirds kit which can struggle with low light. Definitely planning to start building up a Sony FE system when it makes sense financially.
I don’t as thinking investing in G Master but ended up with Sigma, mainly because of the cost. 24mm f1.4 , 50mm f1.4, 14-24mm f2.8 and 24-70mm f2.8. I’m also gathering some money to eventually buy 70-200mm f2.8. They’ve been just so good and I love it!
P.S: Since when G Master 24-70mm f2.8 is $1100? 🫠
need more z mount lenses.
Nikon has so many telephoto lenses, and according to RUclips comments, those are all the lenses you need.
@@shang-hsienyang1284 Who can afford them though?
@@danieldougan269 I definitely can't, I am a cheapskate who is satisfied with my Sony 200-600 and have no interest in getting a 400mm f/4.5 and 600mm f/6.3 prime even if their sharpness are better in the corners.
Nikon has a glaring gap in their lens lineup, the most useful lens is missing: 16-35/2.8. Sigma for whatever reason doesn't make it either. I have to use Sony with an adapter on my Nikon.
Wait, Sigma makes cameras too, don't they? So why aren't they considered a first-party manufacturer?
Sigma lenses are first party lenses when mounted on their own cameras. "Third party" is a relative term, not an absolute one.
Of course, vastly more people buy Sony cameras than Sigma cameras, so to most people, Sigma is a third party.
@@gabedamien Fair enough. In olden times there was more... cross-pollination? Interbreeding?... for example, Nikkor lenses came as original equipment on cameras from Minolta and Bronica, and you could put your Leica thread-mount lens onto your Canon thread-mount camera (thus turning Leica into a "third-party manufacturer"!) Now, cross-platform interchange is an accepted feature of Micro Four Thirds and to some extent on L mount, but I get it that for a lot of systems -- especially ones with complex, not-fully-documented data interchange between camera and lens -- there's some temptation to regard own-brand lenses as a safer choice... a temptation that Sigma seems to have countered successfully...
I use the Sigma 24-105 f4 Art lens and it is superb.
I had the 17-50/2.8 on my APS-C Canons, I have the 56/1.4 for my MFT cameras, and the 24-70/2.8 on my S5. I bought them because I read a lot of reviews first. They have been EXCELLENT. I’ve also owned and/or used several lenses from Canon, including a couple EF L And RF L and consumer RF lenses, and I have a few PL lenses for MFT, just so everyone knows what I’m comparing to. Sigma has become one of the best lens makers today, IMO. I think pairing up with Leica (and Panasonic) probably motivates and enables Sigma to be this good.
Bring on the Nikon Art primes. The Nikon fast primes are too big.
I have their 24-70, their 85 and I wholeheartedly agree. I got the 200-600 from sony though for that internal zoom and I'm going to buy the sony 14 gm for the compact size. The sigma is a beast, but I would not make it an every day carry lens, with that size and weight.
Thank you Chris, as always very helpful and informative! Good luck!
Chris... so glad you did this video. Matching up the 14mm, 50mm and 85mm with the SL3 is going to be a real joy. Own the 14. 85 arrives tomorrow. 50 f1.2 is on order. Thanks for confirming what my gut tells me. Using the 24-90 and 100-400 already. Now all I have to checkout is the 500. Thanks again.
What’s the size comparison for the 85 f1.4 versus the 50 f1.2? I prefer the feel and weight of the 85 and have been wondering if the 50 is close to it
Some people sniggered when Sigma launched their World-domination business plan ten years ago. They were proven right, though, and more importantly, they have forced the big camera companies to up their lens game.
Sigma clearly on that lens grindingset ;)
I’m on L mount and apart from the Lumix 70-200mm f4.0 my entire lineup is Sigma.
16-28mm f2.8
24-70mm f2.8
35mm f2.0
85mm f1.4
I also have the EF mount 18-35mm f1.8 which I use with the Sigma adapter. If that got re-released as a DC DN I’d buy it no question.
I am shooting with APS-C (a6300) and right now I have only three lenses left two of which I use almost exclusively - Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 and Sigma 100-400mm and both of those are perfect - lightweight&portable and giving exceptional images. When the space is scarce (like flying Ryanair) I only bring my Tamron 18-300mm but otherwise - team Sigma all the way. Especially when I photograph my family the sigma 18-50mm I am always amazed by the image quality!
I am a working professional with two Nikon Z9's, previously two D850's. While I have Nikon Z zoom lenses, I had no desire to switch to the Mirrorless primes when moving to mirrorless. Sigma Art 24mm 1.4, 40mm 1.4, 85mm 1.4, and 135mm 1.8 have been long standing lenses in my kit. The Sigma Art 40mm is incredibly underrated, it will be difficult to get me to switch to the Nikon 35mm 1.2 whenever it does arrive.
My opinion, yes with exception. The exception would be what you shoot and your client demands. Back in 2015/16 I was the head photographer for Los Angeles Fashion Week. I owned almost every Sigma lens S and A lens at the time When shooting fashion runway and delivering images to the client, the Sigma lenses more than delivered. Today as of this comment, I shoot medium format almost exclusively for my commercial work, and I tend to use old lenses, because low cost, they work, and not one client has complained. I learned the hard way that we shoot for clients not for other photographers... I finaly stopped the measurebaitng back in 2016
Great review and concept. Way back when (1970’s on for a few decades) I stuck with Nikkor lenses because even though they didn’t
Have the widest aperture or the longes zoom range they were sharp.
Segue to the digital age- I began using Sigma and have a wide range of lenses now. However, I bought one of their zooms AND IT ZOOMED THE WRONG WAY! (I’m speaking of the rotation of
the zoom ring). Naturally, that’s very frustrating when the other Sigma zooms I had were the opposite.
The crowning touch was speaking to a Sigma rep at the NECCC when he laughed and said “It’s just a tool” to which I replied “that doesn’t work!”.
That was my last Sigma purchase. I hope you don’t have a similar disappointment.
Nikon not opening up their mount to Sigma as much as Sony is one of the things that keeps me on Sony. A few weeks ago I picked up a used z7 for ~$1000 to test out the system, and aside from some minor gripes (and middling AF) the lens selection for Nikon just feels terrible compared to Sony.
Agreed! Now that I have added Leica SL to my Sony Alpha, wouldn't it be great if Sigma made an adapter to swap lenses between the two mounts! Now, THAT would be sweet!!
These lens are not what makes sigma special to me. I like old dslr apsc 18-35 f1.8. And in mirroless world, sigma makes some really lightweight zoom lens. for apsc there are 10-18 f2.8 and 18-50 f2.8. So small and lightweight. It is unthinkable in old dslr days. For full frame there are 28-70 f2.8 and 16-28 f2.8. Also very small and lightweight also unthinkable in old dslr world. These are the lens I feel special and differ from major brand.
Hi, I use Sigma Art lenses on my NikonZ9 and Z8 cameras. I use Megadapt adapters. I love these lenses, I also being old school like aperture rings with clicks.
Sigma UK give exceptional support too. Love the channel …….. thank you TonyH
I am a Z8 shooter. Are you using E mount lenses on your Z8 & Z9. Also curious about autofocus performance.
@@kapurar Hello, to answer your question, yes I use Sony “e” mount, but only Sigma not Sony lenses. Auto focus on both cameras is fast and never hunts. I think it is helped by the megadaptors, they update regularly and now the cameras are updated just as Nikon does. I must say, however, I don’t have any zooms, other than Nikon Fx f2.8. These are even sharper now than on my late D5, and D850. Hope this helps ……. TonyH
@@tonyh4266 thank you for your reply. That is very helpful. Cheers!
Chris, I knew that the 35mm hater in you wouldn't want to talk about the 35mm F1.2 I had that lens for Sony and I still remember the videos I made with it, it's an awesome lens but no way to balance that on a gimbal or carry it around on a full shooting event day.
Very good video. Sigma art and Zeiss batis are my go to on Sony e mount
I switch to all sigma lenses, I am more than happy with them, some of my old lens were GM and were great but I couldn’t justified the price and sold them
Sigma zooms sucking dust in the lens crazy. No exception. Changed Sigma zooms to Tamron zooms.
I'm shocked the Sigma 35mm f/1.2 wasn't on the list; I thought Chris didn't leave home without it! 😋
For L mount, I'd be interested in a comparison of the Leica Apo's vs. Sigma. Not to put Sigma down but to see how close Sigma can get to lenses that are unaffordable to most photographers. My guess is a few stops down there will be little if any difference across many criteria. Panasonic also makes some great lenses for L mount, their emphasis on small light lenses give us great choices.
I like how one of the sigma arrows points towards Chris ;)
Honestly, both Tamron and Sigma have been absolutely crushing it with E-Mount. E-Mount is such a complete package at this point, cause there’s also Samyang and Viltrox who make even more budget friendly lenses and I’d argue that the Samyang 85mm 1.4 II is easily on par with the Sigma Art and the G-Master.
Since going back to Nikon I truly miss those 1.4 Art primes. Please Sigma PLEASE!!!
Not 'Sigma plz', ' Nikon plz' Tamron may only make the lenses Nikon allow and is forced to make it in the Nikon plastic exterior. It's Nikon preventing Sigma to enter Z-mount, not the other way around.
It's by far the biggest reason i went from F-mount to Sony E-mount, shame on you Nikon. I wanted to stay. But not without Sigma options.
the T stops on these lenses are nothing close to the marketing departments f stop aspirations. If it wasnt for in camera vignette corrections, they would just be a thought.
85mm F1.4 is fantastic.