In late 2019 I reviewed the Sigma 45mm F2.8 DN lens, and, while I loved the build of the lens, I concluded that it was a bit of an oddball.  It was released in concert with a couple of other lenses, one being the uber-premium 35mm F1.2 DN and the other being the 24-70mm F2.8 DN ART.  The design of the 45mm F2.8 was completely different than any other Sigma lens…including the other lenses it was released alongside.  A year later, however, and things start to make a little more sense, as it turns out that Sigma was experimenting with a new sub-class within their Global Vision “Contemporary” line-up – the i-Series.  These lenses are designed for those who love A) exceptional build and care over the tactile feel and handling of their gear B) who aren’t interested in their lenses being “clinical” but prefer beautiful, “analog” rendering rather than just sterile sharpness.  Sigma is releasing two new lenses in the i-Series side by side, and both of them are beauties.  I’ve previously looked at the Sigma 35mm F2 DG DN (my review here), but today we are exploring the other – the Sigma 65mm F2 DG DN.  These lenses will soon be joined by a fourth lens in the series – the Sigma 24mm F3.5 DG DN.  

The idea of a 65mm lens is a novel one for many people, though I can’t count myself as one of them.  I’ve owned the Voigtländer APO 65mm F2 Macro lens for years and found the focal length to be incredibly useful…not the least for video, where the focal length provides more compression of the background than a 50mm lens, a good, natural sense of presence for a person on screen, but is also short enough to not be restrictive for indoor settings.  But while I love the Voigtlander, it is of course a manual focus only lens, and as such is but a niche player in the market.  Sigma’s new Sigma 65mm F2 DN lens solves that last problem ably while also providing a lens with a gorgeous build, excellent autofocus, and a killer optical performance.  The 65mm F2 DN is good enough that it just might put the 65mm focal length on your radar permanently.

Sigma’s marketing of the “i-Series” has three concepts, “Identity – Celebrating your uniqueness | Iconic – A fresh approach to lens design | Instinctive – Intuitive user experience”.  Most of that is, frankly, marketing gobbly-gook that sounded really clever to the marketing team (the same team that brought you “Contemporary” as a lens designation) but is rather meaningless in the real world.  I’m not quite sure how purchasing a camera lens marketed to the masses is “celebrating my uniqueness”, but I digress.  I’ll forgive the marketing mostly because the actual lenses are beautifully crafted and a real joy to use.

As we will also see, I think that Sigma has managed to strike a nice balance between a high quality rendering along with excellent sharpness.  This isn’t a cold, sterile lens, but rather one with some character despite being well corrected.  I had a lot of fun shooting with the lens, and loved the look of the images I was able to get with it.  I get the feeling that if I were to own this lens, it would quickly become a favorite.

You can check out my text review of the lens or watch the video review on my YouTube channel

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Photos of the Sigma 65mm F2 DN

Photos Taken with the Sigma 65mm F2 DN

Gear Used:

Purchase the Sigma 65mm F2 DG DN @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 

Purchase the Sigma 35mm F2 DG DN @ B&H Photo  | Amazon | Camera Canada  | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 

Sony a9 Camera:  B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada  | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 
Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 
Sony a7R III Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon.ca | Amazon UK  | Ebay
Peak Design Slide Lite:  Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK
Sony a6500: B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon.ca | Amazon UK | Ebay
Peak Design Leash Strap:  Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada  | Amazon UK
BenQ SW271 4K Photo Editing Monitor – B&H Photo  | Amazon | Amazon.ca | Amazon UK
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Exposure Software X5 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)
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Purchase the Sigma 65mm F2 DG DN @ B&H Photo https://bhpho.to/3qgR8rc | Amazon https://amzn.to/3mny5bu | Camera Canada https://shrsl.com/2olep | Amazon Canada https://amzn.to/2WqKwc8 | Amazon UK https://amzn.to/34oStCV | Amazon Germany https://amzn.to/3r67T8V | Ebay https://bit.ly/Sig65DN

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