Plenty of companies are having a busy Photokina this year, and Sigma is no different.
Fresh from the news of the L-Mount alliance with Panasonic and Leica, Sigma has announced its own full-frame mirrorless system, which you can read more about here. If this wasn’t enough, the company also unveiled five new lenses to be released over the coming months.
The big headliner of the batch is the 60-600mm superzoom monster, which you can read all about here.
This wide-angle prime is part of Sigma’s ‘Art’ series of high-quality lenses for photographers demanding the best in quality. It promises top-notch quality across the frame with distortion and aberrations virtually eliminated thanks to a construction incorporating two FLD (“F” Low Dispersion) elements, three SLD (Special Low Dispersion) elements and three aspherical lenses. It’s also hardily constructed, with a water- and oil-repellent coating on the front element paired with a dust- and splash-proof structure. It’s expected in January 2019, available for Canon, Nikon, Sony E and Sigma mounts. Price to be confirmed, but in the $1,000-1,300 region.
Another prime for the Art series, this optic is designed to meet the exacting standards of cine lenses, making it useful for shooting high-quality video. Sigma says the optical construction of this lens will allow it to accommodate stills cameras shooting at resolutions higher than 50-million pixels, and video cameras shooting even at high resolutions of 8K. Its large aperture also means it can produce beautiful bokeh, and it has the customary extremely high optical quality of the Art series, with distortion and aberration virtually eliminated, and it has the same hardy construction as the 28mm. It’s expected sooner than the 28mm, in October 2018, available for Canon, Nikon, Sony E and Sigma mounts. Price to be confirmed, but in the $1,000-1,300 region.
This lens joins the ‘Contemporary’ line, and is designed for APS-C mirrorless cameras. Sigma is billing it as ‘the smallest mid-tele in its class’ thanks to its compact, lightweight design. Despite this, the firm is promising optical quality comparable to the Art line, thanks to the inclusion of an SLD glass element. Sigma also recommends this lens for video shooting, thanks to its snappy AF driven by a stepping motor that means it is compatible with Sony’s Fast Hybrid AF system. It’ll be available for Micro Four Thirds and Sony E-mount (APS-C), expected in November 2018. Price will be €429.
The workhorse 70-200mm f/2.8 lens joins Sigma’s pro-oriented Sports line with a robust but lightweight lens. Dustproof and splashproof, this lens is constructed of magnesium alloy and offers both Intelligent OS (Optical Stabilisation) and high-speed autofocus thanks to a Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM). It incorporates ten low-dispersion elements for optimal quality, and its 11-bladed rounded diaphragm means it’s useful for portraiture as well as fast action. It’ll be available for Canon, Nikon and Sigma mounts from December 2018. Price to be confirmed, but in the $1,300-1,600 region.