Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 ART Review

Dustin Abbott

April 30th, 2018

In the 12 months Sigma has released two ART series lenses with very similar focal lengths but different purposes. Last year Sigma released the 12-24mm f/4 ART lens, which I reviewed here. This year Sigma followed up with the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG HSM ART lens. Casual observers might wonder at the need of both these lenses, but part of what I’ll cover in this review is why these lenses are really for two different kinds of photographers. Nikon has dominated this focal length for years with what has been the gold standard for wide angle zooms – the Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 G lens. If there was any Nikon lens that gave Canon shooters envy, it was this one. Envy no more, Canon shooters, as the new Sigma 14-24 ART manages to deliver better optical performance at a much cheaper price…and comes with a very unique trick up its sleeve. Read on to find out what it is.

Prefer to watch your reviews? Check out my thorough, real world video review of the 14-24 ART here:

I’m accustomed to getting press releases on new Sigma products well in advance of the public (which always makes it interesting to see people speculate and draw wrong conclusions while you bite your tongue!). As I perused the press release on the Sigma 14-24 ART, however, something jumped out at me. It was this, “The Nikon mount features brand new electromagnetic diaphragm, whereas the Canon mount is compatible with the Canon Lens Aberration Correction function.” I was immediately intrigued, as Canon has been notorious for favoring their own lenses by not allowing in camera corrections for any third-party lenses. Did Sigma crack the code, or did they enter an agreement with Canon? I still haven’t gotten an answer to that, but I can tell you first hand that the Sigma 14-24 ART is in fact compatible with everything in the Lens Aberration tab save “Digital Lens Optimizer”.

And it definitely makes a huge difference in your JPEG files. JPEGs are beautifully corrected for distortion, vignette, and CA (not that I saw any that needed correction) and deliver a beautifully even illumination across the frame. Here’s a look at a test shot without the correction and then with the correction enabled.

They look great, and I was reminded of how much Canon has done to tilt the playing field in favor of Canon lenses in the past. However Sigma has managed to level that playing field, I’m delighted by it. In the past I’ve often had to disable all of the Digital Lens Optimizer settings when using third party lenses because it actually would cause weird problems with the images. That meant that sometimes Lens Optimizations would be inadvertently disabled when I was using Canon lenses. The fact that the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 ART is fully supported by this technology is a huge asset for this lens. The rumor on the street is that future firmware updates for other ART lenses will enable support for them as well…which would be fantastic!

If you are a JPEG shooter (in particular), this is a huge bonus for you. RAW shooters are less impacted, as lens correction for RAW files is done through import profiles in post rather than in-camera. Though I’m a RAW shooter, I do record in dual format (one to the SD slot, the other the CF slot in my 5D Mark IV), so I would prefer my JPEG files to look as good as possible if I’m delivering them directly to clients. I’m delighted about this development for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I think Canon relaxing its stance on this issue could increase its competitiveness with Sony, which tends to be much more “open-source” with third-party lenses.

Sigma 14-24 ART Build Quality

The 14-24mm ART is another beautifully built albeit very large lens from Sigma. Sigma seems to have decided that compact and light aren’t a priority for shooters (though I do beg to differ on that point). In this case, however, I doubt that it would have been possible to develop this lens (with this kind of performance) any other way. The chief competitors are the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 VC, which is physically a bit larger and just slightly lighter (50g), while the Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G lens only minutely smaller and lighter (150g). The 14-24 ART is 3.8” (96.4mm) in diameter and 5.32” (135.1mm) in length. As noted, that’s actually a half inch shorter than the Tamron 15-30 (which I’ve owned for several years), but Sigma managed to once again produce the heaviest lens in the class at 40.57 oz (1150g). It’s a hefty thing, to be sure.

This particular zoom range is not particularly great (less than 2x), but it covers a essentially all the key focal lengths for landscape work, and is a nice compliment to a 24-70mm lens. Here’s a look at the wide end of the focal range compared to the “telephoto” end:

Watch this video to get a close, hand’s on look at the build and design of the 14-24 ART.

When you take it out of its square padded case (thanks for that, Sigma!!), the “look” of the lens is instantly familiar to someone like myself who has reviewed a number of Sigma ART wide angle lenses in the last couple of years. Essentially all of the recent Sigma ART lenses with fixed lens hoods (12-24mm, 14mm f/1.8, etc…) have employed the wide flare at the front of the lens with the focus ring on what looks to be the lens hood (it’s not, actually). you will quickly note that the lens is so wide (particularly towards the front) as to seem almost square. The plus in this application is that you should never grab the wrong ring inadvertently, as they are in very different locations. The zoom ring is a bit narrower and occupies the “normal” spot on the lens barrel.

The focus ring feels about like you’d expect, with decent but not exceptional feel (the hard stops at minimum and infinity have that slightly disconnected feel typical of many autofocus lenses). There is about 150 degrees of focus travel. The zoom ring moves smoothly with a weight just slightly on the firmer side. The front element does move forward as the lens is focused towards the wide end of the focal range, but always with the confines of the lens barrel (the lens never changes length during focus or zooming).

There are those of you who might be interested in using a lens like this in an underwater housing or in a virtual reality configuration and are concerned about the integrated front hood. Sigma will be offering a Front Conversion Service for the lens that reconfigures the front housing and eliminates that fixed hood. You also get a new, custom front cap as a part of that service. You can read more here:

I’m presuming that this lens (like almost all recent Sigma lenses) is also eligible for Sigma’s mount conversion service if you change camera systems. It is compatible with the Sigma USB dock for updating firmware and programming focus tweaks at different focal lengths and focus distances. It is also compatible with Sigma’s MC-11 mount converter to use on Sony mirrorless cameras.

On that note, I had a brief window in which to compare the lens with some Sony mount lenses that I only had on hand for one more day after the Sigma arrived. While shooting some comparisons, I noted that I get inconsistent metering results with the MC-11, which I knew what not at all typical for Sigma lenses and the MC-11. I immediately wondered if either the lens or the MC-11 needed a firmware update. While there was no firmware update for the lens at the time of this review, there was a firmware update for the MC-11 that was specifically targeted at eliminating this issue.

It worked, and the performance of the 14-24 ART on my Sony a7R3 is much improved. There will be an FE mount version of this lens available in the future, but for those of us who shoot two systems that MC-11 option and Canon EF mount lenses is a nice combination. I did notice one lingering quirk: the aperture would sometimes reset when the camera was powered down to f/8. I would often have to set my desired aperture every time, even if was the same aperture that I had previously been shooting with. I also got an occasional blackout in the viewfinder for a split second that seemed to be related to the aperture closing and opening. Sigma may need a secondary firmware update on either the MC-11 or the lens itself to finish the job. There was nothing that was a “deal breaker” here, though; more of a mild annoyance.

The lens feels very well made with the typical Sigma blend of a lightweight and durable thermally-stable composite (engineered plastic) over a metal frame. The lens mount is made from brass. The lens feels just as good (if not better) than premium Canon and Nikon lenses, and I prefer the build and design to the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 VC that I’ve used for the past three years.

Sigma seems to be figuring out how to do weather sealing better, and both the sealing and Sigma’s confidence in that sealing as shown by the language they use to describe it seems much improved. On the 12-24mm f/4 ART, they spoke only about the mount having dust and splash-proof construction. On the 14-24 ART they say, “Dust and splash-proof construction with weather sealing”. No mention of just the mount; now the weather sealing encompasses the lens itself. In fact, the overview on Sigma’s website says this, “Outdoor shooters will appreciate the dust- and splash-proof construction with special sealing at the mount connection, manual focus ring, zoom ring, and cover connection.” There are three more sealing points specifically mentioned. While I’m only evaluating the exterior of the lens, I can attest that even the gasket at the lens mount felt more substantial than previous Sigma lenses, and I could tell that the weather sealing was more complete on the 14-24 ART.

There is only one switch on the lens barrel, and that is a simple on/off switch for the AF (though full time manual override is available with Sigma’s HSM focus motor). There is also a distance window to help with manual or prefocus.

The lens feels heavy, substantial, and well made – definitely professional grade. It is a slight bit front heavy on my Canon 5D Mark IV that I used as the primary test body, but not bad. The balance is obviously a little poorer if you move over a Sony body and the MC-11 (and this will be true of the FE version of the lens when it arrives, too).

Sigma 14-24 ART Focus Observations

In times past autofocus has been a sore point for me with Sigma lenses. While I’ve rarely had issues with focus speed from their HSM (Hypersonic Motor) motors, I have had issues with focus accuracy and consistency. Fortunately things have improved on that front with recent lenses, and my focus accuracy has been improving. A lens like this one (very wide focal range and only moderately large maximum aperture) puts a lot less stress on a focus system, as depth of field for most shots will be pretty large. At 24mm, f/2.8, and a distance of only 6 feet from camera to subject, depth of field is already 3 ½ feet (around a meter). If you are using the 14mm end of the focal range in that same scenario, depth of field jumps to over 24 feet! My point is that nailing focus isn’t particularly hard for a lens like this, and, accordingly, I really didn’t have any issues with focus on the 14-24 ART.

As mentioned, the lens is compatible with the Sigma USB dock, and, if I were to purchase this lens, I would certainly calibrate the focus further, but for the nature of my review period I felt no need. I was happy with the focus accuracy of my test shots right out of the box.

When using the MC-11 adapter, focus accuracy is even better on Sony bodies. Proprietary technologies like Eye AF and DMF work fine, though, unlike the Metabones Fifth Generation adapter that I reviewed here, the MC-11 doesn’t seem to enable automatic zooming of the image when using DMF, though if I turn the switch on the lens barrel to MF, it will automatically zoom when I start turning the focus ring.

While focus accuracy was excellent, focus speed and “confidence” wasn’t perfect. The lens was much more prone to pulsing via the adapter, and thus it would take longer to settle on a focus area. I found this was improved by selecting a “FlexiPoint” (smaller focus area) so that the focus system had fewer options to choose from. I noted just a little more focus noise that many native lenses (a small sound of elements shuffling), which is no doubt due the fact that the HSM focus motor wasn’t really designed for mirrorless. Native mirrorless lenses typically employ some kind of stepping motor instead.

Back on Canon EF, I did test focusing with outer points (particularly because Bryan Carnathan had reported some focus issues with the lens), but I didn’t see anything that concerned me. I seemed to get reliable focus results, and when going through my catalog of real world photos, I didn’t see any focus mishaps. But Bryan is a great reviewer, so know that the risk is there even if I didn’t personally experience it. I can only report on what I saw, however, so it’s a positive picture in my mind on the autofocus front. I have nothing negative to report here.

Sigma 14-24mm ART Image Quality

I had an opportunity to do some comparisons of the 14-24 ART with 3 other lenses – the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 VC on Canon EF (perhaps the most natural competition there), and then with the Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 and Laowa 15mm f/2 Zero D lens on Sony (I also through the Tamron into the mix there). I also used the lens extensively while researching and shooting for an article on the amazing Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa (Ottawa’s Castle), which I detailed in this article here: That gave me a great opportunity to evaluate the lens for both architectural and interior work along with landscape shooting.

I got a lot of amazing pictures as a part of this review cycle. You can get a thorough breakdown of the image quality performance in this video:

Resolution Tests

I tested the resolution of the 14-24 ART at two different focus distances. I did the brick wall test at close focus distances, and then more of a landscape test at infinity. The former test gives me an opportunity to evaluate things like distortion, contrast, chromatic aberration, and resolution in a controlled fashion. The latter allowed me to evaluate how the lens resolves at infinity and how it handles the higher dynamic range of the lighting in real world scenarios.

I will note here that what I covered in reference to the in-camera lens corrections on Canon made a huge difference in the brick wall test. I looked at the JPEGs (corrected) as compared to the uncorrected RAW files, and was pretty surprised by just how well corrected and optimized the images were. The lens exhibits very low levels of chromatic aberration anyway, and thus contrast is already exceptional, but what really stood out to me was how uniformly illuminated the whole frame was. Vignette was, to my eye, perfectly corrected.

I’ll circle back to distortion a bit more in a moment, but I did want to note that sometimes I test wide angle lenses that exhibit enough field curvature that at close focus I can’t really get the edges and center of the image circle in focus at the same time. Image quality on the edges takes a hit not because the lenses isn’t sharp there, but rather because the edges aren’t actually perfectly in focus. There is no such issue here. Distortion is well enough controlled that the focal plane is nice and flat, with even sharpness across the frame. I took this shot through a window, for example, and so shot at f/2.8 to make sure that nothing on the window (specks or dirt) showed on the image. Look at the crop of the detail from the lower left corner.

And that is really what stood out to me. At all tested focal lengths (14mm, 18mm, 20mm, 24mm), sharpness and contrast across the frame was really exceptional. I made a comment in the video review that it almost felt like this lens was engineered for a large image circle than the 35mm full frame image circle. It was like testing a full frame lens on APS-C, in that there was so little image degradation at the extreme edges of the frame. That may be a slight exaggeration, but I’m definitely accustomed to seeing weaker corner performance than what I saw on the 14-24 ART, and real world images are beautifully detailed.

Here’s a look at each of these focal lengths, wide open, with the center and edge performance compared at close focus distances (an area that can be tough on wide angle lenses). All tests are done on a Canon 5D Mark IV mounted on a tripod, mirror lockup, with a 2 second delay.

At 14mm:

The 14mm center of the frame is excellent, with low levels of CA enabling excellent contrast, and high resolution meaning that fine details are crisply rendered. There is some marked barrel distortion at close focus distances (more on this in a moment), so there is some field curvature to contend with at this close focus distance, and there is also some obvious vignette wide open. Despite this the absolute corners still look quite good, though perhaps not as good as they look at infinity.

At 18mm:

The 18mm center performance is flawless. Crisp, detailed, and not marred by any defect that I can see. Vignette is milder than 14mm, which keeps textures in the corners from getting muddied. You can tell that in the extreme corners resolution isn’t quite as high as the perfect center, but it is at a very high level.

At 20mm:

The 20mm center performance is once again essentially flawless. Excellent levels of contrast, very crisp resolution, and no detectable levels of CA. Vignette is probably the mildest here of any focal length, with the corners not much more than a stop darker wide open. While resolution isn’t quite at the exceptional level of the center, it is at a very, very good level, and consistently so all around the image frame.

At 24mm:

The center continues to be remarkably crisp, with excellent contrast and no detectable levels of CA. The corners are held back somewhat by vignette, though it’s more mild than at wider focal lengths. Resolution isn’t as strong at the edge, but it is still very good. There is no moment near the edge where resolution suddenly fails, bur rather a very slight softening.

Stopping the lens down has little effect in the center of the frame, as there aren’t really any image quality gains to be reached. You would be hard pressed to find any improvement in this f/2.8 vs f/5.6 example at 14mm:

An advantage can see on the edges, however, where both the lift of vignette along with a minor uptick on resolution can be seen, leaving the edges now in the excellent level.

Infinity Tests

The 14-24 ART is a bit interesting in that Sigma claims a near zero degree of distortion…at infinity. At close distances (and 14mm), the barrel distortion is actually very pronounced. You can see here both the uncorrected RAW file and also the JPEG that has received in camera corrections.

The latter is better but still not perfect. Distortion levels at other focal lengths are much more moderate, but at close to medium focus distances the 14-24 ART lags behind the 12-24mm f/4 ART, which may be the preferred lens for those that shoot architecture and/or interiors for that reason (see more in the section below).

Having low distortion levels at close focus distances is definitely more important to my mind than at infinity, so while the 14-24 ART is far from the worst offender I’ve seen in terms of distortion, I also view the “zero distortion at infinity” claim to be more marketing hyperbole than anything.

I bring this up at this juncture to point out that my infinity results look even stronger due to the fact that distortion (and thus field curvature) doesn’t have a negative impact on image quality on the edges anymore, and thus edge performance is actually very, very strong. I’ve chosen to view corrected images for this segment, as whether you shoot JPEGs or run the RAW files through your editing software of choice, this is almost certainly the outcome that you are going to see.

If you look at the wide open example here, you will find that sharpness is nearly perfect across the frame. Edge performance is excellent at infinity; as good as what I’ve ever seen.

In fact, when I compared the stopped down performance at f/5.6, I saw only the slightest improvement on the edges as they were already excellent.

If anything, performance at 18mm is even stronger, with near perfect levels of sharpness across the frame:

When stopping down to f/5.6 the improvement even on the edges is very, very mild. Things were already near perfect.

20mm is a little harder to report on. Resolution levels across the frame are still excellent, but they are ever-so-slightly inferior to 18mm. It seems petty to say anything negative, as they are exceptional, but I did detect a little less wide-open contrast and resolution:

As a byproduct, I did see a little more improvement than has been typical when stopping down to f/5.6. The contrast, in particular, stands out a little bit more.

At 24mm the same truth remains, though to a slightly lesser degree. I think the overall IQ is stronger than 20mm, but not quite at the levels of the 18mm focal length.

Stopping down makes only a very mild improvement, which tells me that the lens may not be capable of reaching the stratospheric levels it reached at 18mm even when stopped down.

At the same, however, this is one of the strongest performances I’ve ever seen across the focal range of a zoom lens. It truly is excellent at any focal length and any aperture value. Very, very impressive.

Compared to the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 VC

I would recommend that you watch the image quality video for a more thorough examination, as time does not permit me to fully explore those results here.

Essentially you could sum up my findings by saying that the Tamron is roughly as good as the Sigma in the center of the frame, but the Sigma easily leaves the Tamron behind along the edges. This was true at all tested focal lengths to varying degrees. The Tamron has excellent center sharpness and contrast, but the edge performance looks fairly soft by comparison, as seen in this 18mm comparison:

A few other observations were that the Tamron rendered a little cooler than the Sigma. The Tamron also showed more lateral chromatic aberrations than the Sigma. The Tamron does have the advantage of having VC (Image Stabilization), but I think if I were choosing between the two right now, I would probably choose the Sigma. It is delivering really excellent results.

Compared to the Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 and Laowa 15mm f/2 Zero D (on Sony FE)

I would recommend that you watch this follow-up video where I highlight the performance of all these lenses (and the Tamron) on Sony FE. I used the Sigma MC-11 for both the Sigma and Tamron. Some have asserted that using adapters erodes edge performance, but if that is the case, you won’t know it from these comparisons!

First up is the Laowa 15mm f/2 Zero D lens, which isn’t quite as wide but has a wider maximum aperture. It’s claim to “zero distortion” bears out at closer focus distances, where it definitely has notable advantage barrel distortion. It also has much higher vignette, however, and has a little more lateral chromatic aberration.

In the center of the frame there is little to distinguish the lenses save color, of which the Laowa is considerably warmer.

At the edge of the frame the Sigma has a definite advantage at the f/2.8 comparison, which belies the conventional wisdom that adapters erode edge performance, as this is a very wide lens. I also noted that the 14mm Sigma focal length is definitely a good bit wider on both sides of the frame than the 15mm prime lens, which speaks to the Sigma being close to a true 14mm.

With both lenses stopped down to f/5.6 there is little difference to be seen at either center or on the edge other than a slight advantage in contrast to the Sigma due to not having the lateral CA issue.

The 14-24 ART has taken on its first challenger and came out looking pretty good!

Next, I compared the 14-24 ART to the outstanding Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8. I found that it delivered the sharpest center of the frame performance I’ve seen in a recent review, but I also found that the Sigma is strongest at 18mm. One area Sigma cannot compete (few can) with Zeiss is in color rendition, which was just that extra bit of special in these comparisons.

There was little difference between the two lenses in the center of the frame, but once again the Sigma had a definite edge at the extreme edges of the frame (despite the adapter “disadvantage”).

Stopping down the lens delivers a fairly similar result, with the Sigma giving a slightly better edge performance but with actually higher levels of microcontrast.

All in all, this is a pretty impressive performance, as the Zeiss is an excellent lens, and the Sigma is being used on a non-native system. I don’t know that I’ve seen a stronger performance from any wide angle lens.

I did note that the combination in general shooting delivered excellent, crisp results. I noted that the autofocus would pulse a little bit, but focus accuracy was excellent and the image themselves look fantastic. This is a definitely a great combination optically.

Coma, Flare Resistance, Vignette, and Bokeh

I’ve rarely walked away from a Sigma review where I felt overly impressed with the coma performance, and while I’m not about to say that this is the best lens for astrophotography I’ve ever seen, the picture is better than typical. The best lens that I’ve used for astrophotography (night sky) is the Samyang/Rokinon XP 14mm f/2.4 lens due to the excellent comatic aberration control. While the Sigma isn’t as good at that lens, the amount of comatic distortion is fairly low. There’s a bit of a bulge in star points on the edge of the frame, but they don’t start to “grow wings”, and I felt the look was fairly non-offensive.

Most of all I felt that there was a definite improvement over previous Sigma options. I wouldn’t hesitate to use this lens for astro work, as the high resolution of the lens makes for impressively crisp results like this:

The lens also earns excellent marks for its amount of flare resistance. I found minimal ghosting and veiling at both ends of the focal range. Here’s a look at 14mm and 24mm wide open:

When stopping the lens down to f/11, the flare resistance continued to hold up nicely. No nasty ghosting artifacts appeared. Note the nice-looking sunburst effect with the lens stopped down.

This is another area where it trumps the performance of the Tamron 15-30 VC, as this is a bit of a sore spot with it (particularly with side lighting).

I’ve dealt with vignette somewhat in the resolution section, but it certainly does exist, particularly at 14mm. Fortunately the profile corrections mean that JPEGs (on Canon cameras) will automatically correct for this on JPEGs, and it is an easy fix in post for RAW files. Here’s a look at uncorrected/corrected RAW results:

Bokeh quality on wide angle lens is not nearly as important as on telephoto lenses, but the 14-24 ART does have a useful magnification figure of 0.19x, which means that you can focus down quite closely and throw a background reasonably out of focus. Bokeh quality isn’t bad in a number of situations, though neither does it stand out as exceptional:

What is excellent, however, is that resolution and contrast remains excellent even at close focus distances:

I was pleased with the image quality out of the 14-24 ART. It’s an amazingly sharp lens, and a very versatile wide option for a wide variety of subjects.

You can see many more photos in the image gallery here, and can also read my article about covering the amazing Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa, Canada using this lens here.

What About the 12-24mm f/4 ART?

Some may question Sigma releasing two lenses with such a serious focal length overlap, although it isn’t unusual for first party lens makes to have both f/2.8 and f/4 variants of their major zoom lenses. I see these two lenses as having two different audiences, however. The 12-24 ART (which I reviewed here) has two primary selling points compared to the 14-24 ART. The first is lower distortion where it matters (at close to medium focus distances). I was very surprised when I reviewed that lens and compared it to the Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero D (distortion) lens, which does have next to no barrel distortion, and discovered that the Sigma was very close to matching the performance of the Laowa.

The second advantage is a significantly wider focal length. The 2mm between 12mm and 14mm may not seem significant, but in practice it is a big difference. The combination of these two elements makes the 12-24 f/4 lens, in my mind, the preferred lens for shooting interiors or architecture. If you are a real-estate photographer, for example, the Sigma 12-24 ART lens is an excellent option for giving you different framing options and the ability to add space to your interior photos.

Ironically 12mm is not often a very good focal length for landscape shooting. It’s simply too wide, and unless you are working with the perfect scene you will be left with quite an empty, lifeless shot. You have the rest of the zoom range, of course, but my point is for landscape, photojournalists, wedding and event shooters, etc…the 14mm of 14-24 ART is plenty wide.

The 14-24 ART is the more versatile lens for shooting events and in places like churches due to having the twice as wide maximum aperture of f/2.8. It will function as a better low light lens both in light gathering and focus, and I shot a lot with it in dark conditions with quick, accurate focus results. Also desirable for landscape shooters is the more robust grade of weather sealing, which makes it a more willing companion for shooting in the diverse conditions that true landscape photographers often find themselves in.

So, if you are a real estate photographer, or shoot a lot of interiors where space can be tight, the 12-24mm f/4 ART is a great choice due to the wide focal length and low levels of distortion. If you are a landscape photographer, travel photographer, or an event shooter, the 14-24 ART is probably the lens for you.

Conclusion

I’m very impressed with the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 HSM ART lens. I feel like Sigma has done a great job of creating a very versatile lens that checks essentially all the boxes that one could ask for. It’s a big lens, yes, but no more so than its direct competitors. It undercuts the primary competitors from Nikon and Canon in price while offering great weather sealing, amazing sharpness, and quality focus. I’m very tempted by this lens myself, as it shined in the various situations I put it in during the course of my review. The 14-24 ART’s list of flaws is a very short one, and Sigma should be commended for continuing to grow as a lens maker and refining their craft. This may be the most complete lens I’ve seen from Sigma yet, and for that it receives high marks from me.

Pros

Excellent build with vastly improved weather sealing
Fantastic sharpness across the frame and focal length
Very well controlled chromatic aberrations
Strong flare resistance
Quality autofocus
Excellent contrast
Good color rendition

Cons

Big and heavy
A little more barrel distortion than expected at close to medium focus distances

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Keywords: Sigma 14-24mm, f/2.8, f2.8, 2.8, 14-24, 14-24mm, ART, Sigma, Sigma 14-24 ART, Sigma 14-24 ART Review, Sigma 14-24 2.8, Review, Dustin Abbott, Sigma 14-24 Review, Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 ART, Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 ART Review, Resolution, Contrast, Distortion, Sigma MC-11, Canon 5D Mark IV, Sony a7R3, Autofocus, Nikon 14-24mm, Nikon 14-24, Tamron 15-30, Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8, 2018, 1424ART

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Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 Distagon FE Review

Dustin Abbott

April 11th, 2018

The very first Sony FE lens that I reviewed was not a Sony; it was a Zeiss. When Zeiss approached me about reviewing the Zeiss Batis APO Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 lens, I actually had no way of doing so as I didn’t own any Sony bodies. B&H Photo bailed me out by loaning me an a7R2, which allowed me to also do a mini-review of that camera as well. While I wasn’t completely blown away by the a7R2, I was very interested in the idea of having autofocus lenses with that legendary Zeiss optical performance. While I didn’t take the plunge to purchase the a7R2, some of the positives of that experience (and the thought of autofocusing Zeiss lenses!) translated into serious interest when the Sony a7R3 was announced, and, after reviewing that camera to death, I made the decision to purchase one for myself. One thing I knew after that experience with the Batis 135mm; I was seriously interested in the Batis line if I ever added Sony to my own kit. That interest certainly didn’t go away. So, when I knew that I would be visiting the Shenandoah Mountain region in Virginia along with making a trip into Washington, D.C., I reached out to the great people at Zeiss North America, and they hooked me up with a couple of Batis loaners – the Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 Distagon T* along with the lenses big brother, the Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 Distagon T* (which I’m reviewing here). I decided to look at the two wide angle Batis options at the same time so that I could compare and contrast them for myself…and for you. The Batis 18mm f/2.8 is a serious lens in performance and price (nearly $1500 USD). Does its performance justify that pricetag?

Prefer to watch your reviews? You can see my thorough video review here:

Batis 18mm f/2.8 Build, Design, and Handling

The Batis series has a very familiar look. This is the 22^nd Zeiss lens that I have reviewed. The current “Zeiss look” debuted on the ultra-premium Otus series, and is one of the most elegant looks in the business. One of my favorite aspects of this current design language is how the lens hood design is a part of the “flow” of the lens profile. Many lens hoods are functional, but look like afterthoughts from a design perspective. Zeiss lenses have a reputation for being some of the best made lenses in the business, and that truth ratcheted up with the Milvus series for Canon and Nikon DSLRs due to having thorough weather sealing to compliment the all metal and glass construction. What the Milvus (or Otus) series lenses are not, however, is light. They are typically among the heaviest lenses in their respective classes, with a unique heft and feeling of density that is uniquely Zeiss in my mind.

In this video I take a close, hands on look at the build and design of the Batis 18mm and 25mm lenses:

The Batis series takes the Zeiss design ethos of having very well-built lenses complete with weather sealing but then marries that with the mirrorless need for much lighter lenses. As a result, the Batis lenses look familiar but feel different in the hand. I first reach for them expecting the familiar heft that belies the size of the lens only to find a lens that feels surprisingly light. An excellent case in point is the Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 and the Milvus 18mm f/2.8. Both lenses are made for full frame sensors, and have fairly similar dimensions (Batis is 100mm in diameter and 80mm long, while the Milvus is 90mm in diameter and 93mm in length – which translates to 96% of the same volume). The weight? Well, the Batis lens weighs 330g, while the Milvus lens is 721g! The Batis series is remarkably light by comparison.

In fact, the Batis 18mm even manages to be lighter than the physically smaller Batis 25mm f/2 lens. Despite this light weight, however, the Batis 18mm is fully weather sealed and has an excellent build quality. I carried it mounted on a Sony a7R3 on my Peak Design Slide Light strap throughout Washington, D.C. one day (I walked about 8 miles), and didn’t ever really feel the weight of the camera and lens combination. That’s a remarkable achievement for a wide angle, large aperture prime lens designed to cover the full frame image circle.

The lens has a petal-shaped lens hood, which is made of plastic rather than metal to help conserve weight. It is finished in such a way to match the lens barrel, though I didn’t find the match as seamless as that on the 25mm f/2. The anodized metal satin finish on Zeiss lenses always looks great to me, and this one is no exception. The royal blue Zeiss badges on either side of the barrel are the only ornamentation on the lens outside of the unique feature of the Batis series – an OLED screen mounted on the top of the lens barrel.

The barrel has no switches on it, so you will have to switch into Manual Focus mode in the camera body, or by shooting in DMF (Direct Manual Focus) mode that continues to allow autofocus but allows you to manually override focus at any point. One nice thing about this is the that camera will automatically zoom in the image on the LCD screen or viewfinder when manual input is detected, which makes it much easier to make quick manual adjustments on the fly.

The manual focus ring has a rubberized texture that is very similar to the Otus series. Some has objected to this, citing that the rubberized surface will break down and peel over time, but I have never seen any evidence of this actually happening. Sometimes people just like to complain. It is an easy surface to grip, and, unlike the rubberized focus rings of some other brand lenses that I have used, I have found that the Zeiss material isn’t particularly prone to collecting lint.

There are no distance markings on the barrel, which is typical for mirrorless autofocusing lenses due to manual focus being “focus by wire”. All focus input on the manual focus ring is routed through the autofocus motor of the lens, and it is actually the focus motor, not the ring, that moves the elements. Because there is no mechanical connection to the lens elements, there is no fixed position for the focus ring, and thus no traditional focus distance information. Most mirrorless lenses force you to rely on focus information in the camera body, but, as mentioned, the Batis 18mm has an OLED screen that can display this information instead. When the camera is turned on the OLED will flash the word “Zeiss”, and then what information that is further displayed there will depend on what mode you put it. Out of the box it will mostly stay dark unless you are in manual focus mode, when it will display actual focus distance as a numerical value (in meters [up to two decimal points] or feet), which is very handy and arguably more useful than a traditional focus window.

The usefulness doesn’t end there, however. If you put the camera in MF mode and then turn the manual focus ring to the left past minimum focus 360 degrees you will enter into the control for the OLED. You have three options there: ON, MF (Default Position), and OFF. In the ON position it will show the focus distance even in AF mode. If you put the camera in MF mode and twist the focus ring to the right for a while it will allow you to switch the readout to measuring in feet rather than meters. You might argue that this is of minimal value, but when you consider that many mirrorless lenses lose any kind of distance window, I think that this is one of the beneficial hallmarks of the Batis line.

Moving to the lens mount, you will find a metal lens mount with a rubberized gasket (for the weather sealing) in Zeiss blue (always a nice touch to me). It’s a small thing, but the raised circular area that denotes the lens mount point on the outside of the barrel is actually very useful. Many lenses just have something painted there, but if you are in dark or dimly lit conditions (like when shooting Astro), being able to find the mount point by tactile feel is kind of a big deal. Thank you, Zeiss, for thinking of the small things. Up front the look of the lens is very familiar to Zeiss shooters, with metal filter threads (a large but common 77mm here), and classy branding information.

Unlike the 25mm, the Batis 18mm doesn’t have a particularly useful maximum magnification figure. It can focus down to a respectable 25cm (9.84”), but the shorter focal length doesn’t produce a great magnification figure (about 0.10x).

The Batis 18mm is, like other Zeiss lenses, made in Japan. All in all, this is a beautiful lens that will look very handsome mounted on your camera and is light enough to never be an issue.

Batis 18mm Autofocus

I’ve already dealt briefly with the manual focus ring in terms of its feel, but before I deal with the autofocus, let me briefly detail the nature of the manual focus action (it just seems right when reviewing a Zeiss lens!). It’s pretty well documented by this point that I’m not a huge fan of focus by wire, but I have to admit that some of these premium lenses are starting to make it a much better experience. The weight of the manual focus ring on the Batis 18mm is about right, with the freedom to move fast when making major focus changes but enough weight to make small, precise movements when needed. The speed of movement responds to your input speed, so it will move quickly when making fast input and then slowly when you want more precision. There doesn’t seem to be an issue with lag between your input and focus changes. All in all this is a much more sophisticated implementation of “focus-by-wire” than what I saw with early Canon STM motors. The biggest thing missing is the tactile feel that only great manual focus lenses provide – the hard stops at minimum focus and infinity and the feeling of moving the elements directly.

But this lens is a different breed than most Zeiss lenses; it is an autofocus lens (as are all Batis lenses). Thus far it is only on Sony mirrorless where we have seen true Zeiss (not Sony/Zeiss) autofocus lenses. There are two autofocus Zeiss series on Sony cameras, the Touit series (APS-C) and the full frame Batis series. There’s a lot of things that I like about the Touit lenses, but the behavior of the autofocus systems in the Batis lenses is definitely more sophisticated. The Touit lenses tend to be louder in operation, while the Batis lenses are essentially silent in operation. The only real noise that I typically hear in operation is the beep confirming focus lock.

Focus speed is generally excellent. I had no issue with missed focus, focus pulsing, or any of other annoying behaviors I’ve seen with some wide angle lenses on mirrorless systems. I also had good success with focus accuracy, with no real misses coming to mind.

All of the various Sony focus modes work well, as does technology like Eye AF. There are limits to Eye AF with a wide angle lens, as if your subject is too far away from the camera the focus area (eye) may be almost too small to detect. At reasonable distances (15 feet or less), Eye AF works fine. This is not the kind of focal length where you will be doing a lot of Eye AF kind of work anyway, but the tech does work fine.

All in all the autofocus performance from the Batis 18mm is a positive experience. It is fast, quiet, and accurate. I have no real critiques to offer up here. The effective autofocus combined with this focal length should definitely put this lens on the radar of vloggers, as this will give you one of the best experiences of any current combination.

Batis 18mm Image Quality

The single greatest reason to buy Zeiss is because of their incredible experience with creating excellent optical instruments. The name has been synonymous with excellent image quality, and my expectations are frankly pretty high whenever I review a Zeiss lens. This lens employs the familiar Distagon optical arrangement and has 11 element in 10 groups. It is optically more complex than the 25mm f/2 due to the greater challenges with this wider focal length. Speaking of the Batis 25mm f/2: you can catch my review of it here.

I would encourage you to watch this video where I break down the image quality performance and do a direct comparison to the 25mm f/2:

Both the 18mm f/2.8 and the 25mm f/2 have unique strengths. The Batis 18mm f/2.8 may be one of the sharpest wide angle lenses that I’ve seen in the middle of the frame, with near perfect sharpness and contrast even at f/2.8. Its performance is a little uneven, though, with a noticeable variance between the center 2/3rds of the frame and the outer portion of the frame…particularly at closer focus distances, where some field curvature comes into play. It also exhibits more distortion and vignette than the 25mm f/2. At infinity distances it has a slight edge in sharpness and contrast in the center 2/3rds of the frame, but the extreme corners favor the 25mm…but not by a huge margin.

The Batis 25mm f/2 stands out for the evenness of the resolution across the frame. It never quite reaches the level of sharpness and contrast in the center of the frame of the 18mm (though it is excellent in its own right) but gives a more compelling edge to edge performance. It exhibits lower distortion and vignette as well. The 18mm f/2.8 has lower coma than the 25mm f/2 with both lenses wide open, but stop the 25mm down to f/2.8 and it gives the sharper result with lower coma.

Batis 18mm Resolution and Contrast

It should be noted that at closer focus distances (I formally tested at both close and distant focus distances) the amount of distortion does become a factor. The Batis 18mm f/2.8 actually leaves somewhat of a mustache distortion behind after just the embedded lens correction (Sony embeds some correction even into RAW files). The byproduct of this is some field curvature at close focus distances (10 feet or less), that means that when the center is perfectly in focus the edges are not. This is obviously a non-factor at infinity, and while the corners lack a little in contrast and resolution at infinity, it’s not by a large margin. Check out the comparison at both focus distances between center and edge:

The great, great strength of the Batis 18mm is that in the center portion of the frame image quality is essentially perfect even at f/2.8. It has incredible amounts of sharpness and perfect contrast, producing incredible amounts of detail. Zeiss has always excelled at delivering really excellent microcontrast (the ability to produce high detail in small textures), and the Batis 18mm combined with the Sony a7R3’s great sensor produces some stunning detailed images in the center portion of the frame. Look at this crop from one of the formal dining rooms in the White House – the amount of detail in vase is incredible!

I could also deeply crop into photos including people and have incredible amounts of detail remaining on faces even after a deep crop. Case in point of this shot of my wife and I:

The high resolution from the lens/camera combo also extends the usefulness of the lens as a general purpose walkaround lens, as all three of these takes on the White House are all from the original image.

Even the final deeply cropped image is still more than adequate for sharing in most digital spaces (it is nearly 1900 pixels on the long end, just under the HD format for Facebook, which is 2048 pixels on the long end).

If I compare with the Batis 25mm f/2, the Batis 18mm shows a slight advantage at f/2.8 across a good portion of the frame.

At essentially all apertures the extreme edges never quite equal the center performance, though (as we will see in a moment), that is exaggerated by just how incredible the Batis 18mm is in the center of the frame. Here’s a comparison at f/8 of both center and edge performance at both focus distances:

I did a comparison with the brand new Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 ART lens, which is optically exceptional. While the Sigma is a Canon EF mount, I used the Sigma MC-11 adapter to adapt the lens to the Sony a7R3 body. What I found is that both lenses were similar in the center of the frame, with the Batis giving ever-so-slightly more contrast pop. At the edges of the frame, the Sigma is little bit stronger, but this is also one of the best corner performances that I’ve seen, so the Batis is no slouch. Unsurprisingly the Batis color was a little richer and more deeply saturated (always a Zeiss strength).

Both lenses are pretty exceptional, though the huge advantage for the Batis is that the Sigma weighs more than three times as much and thus isn’t as practical for shooting on Sony.

Another strong contender in this class has been the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 VC lens (another Canon EF mount lens), that has been my standard for a while when comparing to wide angle lenses. The Sigma 14-24mm ART has leapfrogged this lens, however, and the Batis handles it easily. The center performance is fairly close (the Tamron is fantastic in the center of the frame), but at the edge of the frame the Zeiss is the easy winner. As with the Sigma (but even more so), the color reproduction favors the Zeiss lens. The lighting had changed a bit, but I worked to balance exposure in post.

This is a pretty convincing win for the Batis lens, and the same observation about size and weight is applicable here. Bottom line is that the image quality from the lens is excellent, and I got many highly detailed images out of my time with the lens.

This amount of resolution and contrast is useful in a variety of situations. The extreme edges never really match the performance near the middle of the frame, but, as we’ve seen, the corners are still pretty great.

Bokeh, Coma, Flare, and Color Rendition

One thing worth noting is that there is a difference between the two Batis wide angle lenses in their color temperature. The 18mm consistently delivered slightly cooler results than the 25mm. Which is preferable is probably a matter of taste. For me personally my preference varied from one image setting to another.

I preferred the Zeiss color to that from Sigma, Tamron, and Laowa (I also compared the Laowa 15mm f/2 Zero D lens). I’ve got the benefit of looking at the originals on my incredible calibrated BenQ SW271 monitor (a superb display for photographers), and draw my conclusions based on that.

Color rendition from either lens is pretty awesome, though. They have the unique Zeiss ability to deliver results out of camera that really need minimal processing, and what processing you might do is more based on wanting a certain “look” than to help create accurate results. I punched up the colors and contrast in this landscape shot, but the straight from camera result already looked excellent.

Flare resistance is good but not perfect. You can experience some minor ghosting effects with the sun in the frame, but they are limited in scope. I shot into the sun a lot, and what I found is that contrast held up well, though I did see some various ghosting artifacts in a few situations.

All in all, this is a pretty good performance. I essentially had to create torture test scenarios to get anything significant. Stopping down to narrow apertures also produces a nice sunburst effect:

Coma performance is also very good. Even at f/2.8 the amount of coma is minimal. I would say the biggest negative factor for shooting astro is the fact that vignette is pretty heavy. Here’s a night sky shot along with a few pixel level crops from the top extreme corners:

The sharp, crisp star points along with the other excellent optical attributes of the lens will give you a great looking result.

The weak spots of this lens are vignette and distortion. Sony does allow for some correction in camera (which affects both JPEG and RAW files), but the in camera profile leaves both some vignette and some distortion left over. In some situations I found that adding the Lightroom profile for the lens overcorrected the vignette, leaving some the corners somewhat unnaturally bright. I dialed back the vignette correction a fair bit (-68) which left a more even result:

This is something to be aware of. The in-camera profile also leaves some noticeable distortion left behind, and unfortunately it has a bit of a mustache pattern. The good news is that the Adobe profile does a good job of cleaning up the rest of the distortion.

If having very low distortion is a priority for you, the Laowa 15mm f/2 Zero D that I recently reviewed might be a valid alternative.

Chromatic aberrations simply weren’t an issue in any kind of practical use. There’s nothing to worry about there, which contributes to the excellent contrast from the lens.

This lens doesn’t get a perfect score in all optical categories, but its strengths are so pronounced that I suspect that most users will pretty delighted by it anyway. It is just incredibly sharp…and the color and contrast are equally fantastic.

As always, I recommend that you visit the Image Galleries here to look at real images for yourself.

Conclusion

The Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 has few natural competitors. The most likely is the fairly new Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master lens, but I haven’t used that lens personally and can’t account for its performance. What I can tell you is that the Sony lens is twice as heavy and costs an additional $700. That may or may not be a deal breaker for you. If your priority is to keep your mirrorless kit light and portable while retaining exceptional image quality, it would hard to vote against the Batis 18mm. It really delivers as a light, portable, and yet optically exceptional lens. It does have some weaknesses, such as distortion and vignette, but a software profile does a good job of eliminating those. The extreme corners aren’t quite as sharp as the center, but they stand up compared to competitors, and the majority of the frame is incredibly sharp and contrasty. The lens is beautifully made, autofocuses well, and has quality weather sealing. There’s just one final challenge – the price tag, which, at $1499 USD, isn’t cheap. Zeiss lenses rarely are, though, and those who purchase them understand why. The images just have that extra bit of sparkle that spoils you for ordinary lenses!

Pros:

Beautiful build quality that mixes premium finish with light weight
Fully weather sealed
Excellent autofocus system that is fast, quick, and quiet
Incredible sharpness and resolution over much of the frame
Great microcontrast
Great color rendition and rendering
Chromatic aberrations near perfectly controlled

Cons:

Moderate distortion
Strong vignette at wide apertures
Extreme corners never get as sharp as center portion
Expensive

Gear Used

Zeiss Batis 2.8/18mm Distagon T*: B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Ebay

Sony a7R III Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon.ca | Amazon UK | Ebay

Peak Design Slide Lite: Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription

Alien Skin Exposure X2 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Visit my Amazon page for some of my gear of choice! Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

Keywords:

Batis 18mm, Zeiss Batis 18mm, Batis2818, Carl Zeiss, Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8, Zeiss Batis 18mm f2.8, Batis 18mm 2.8, Zeiss Batis 18mm Review, Batis 18mm Review, Dustin Abbott, Sony a7R3, Batis 18 vs 25, Batis 18, Batis, 18mm, f/2.8, Resolution, Flare Resistance, Contrast, Distortion, Real World, Sample Images, Video Test

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 ART Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

April 5th, 2018

It’s been a while since I’ve had a new lens in a Canon mount on hand, but the one I’ve got at the moment is an exciting one – the new Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 ART! The one lens that Nikon has that has made a lot of Canon shooters jealous is the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 G lens – the gold standard for wide angle, wide aperture zooms. Sigma seems to have managed to one-up Nikon in almost every category (excluding size and weight, which favor the more compact Nikkor lens.) The Sigma 14-24 F2.8 is sharper, has lower distortion, goes a little wider and a little longer, and costs about $600 less! Canon shooters can rejoice, too, as the 14-24 f2.8 from Sigma is the first third party lens to have in camera profile support for correcting vignette, distortion, chromatic aberrations, and even diffraction. This makes it a more attractive lens for those that prefer to shoot JPEGs or even those who do video work. All in all, this is a very interesting lens, and I’m looking forward to sharing my coverage with you…so stay tuned! In the meantime, enjoy the photos I’m taking as I review the lens and that I’ll continue to add to the galleries here!

Images of the Sigma 14-24 f2.8 ART

Images taken with the Sigma 14-24 f2.8 ART

Images taken with the Sigma 14-24 f2.8 ART on Sony a7R3 (via MC-11)

Gear Used:

Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Alien Skin Exposure X2 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Visit my Amazon page for some of my gear of choice! Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 Review

Dustin Abbott

April 4th, 2018

The very first Sony FE lens that I reviewed was not a Sony; it was a Zeiss. When Zeiss approached me about reviewing the Zeiss Batis APO Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 lens, I actually had no way of doing so as I didn’t own any Sony bodies. B&H Photo bailed me out by loaning me an a7R2, which allowed me to also do a mini-review of that camera as well. While I wasn’t completely blown away by the a7R2, I was very interested in the idea of having autofocus lenses with that legendary Zeiss optical performance. I didn’t take the plunge to purchase the a7R2, but some of the positives of that experience (and the thought of autofocusing Zeiss lenses!) translated into serious interest when the Sony a7R3 was announced, and, after reviewing that camera to death, I made the decision to purchase one for myself. One thing I knew after that experience with the Batis 135mm; I was seriously interested in the Batis line if I ever added Sony to my own kit. That interest certainly didn’t go away. So, when I knew that I would be visiting the Shenandoah Mountain region in Virginia along with making a trip into Washington, D.C., I reached out to the great people at Zeiss North America, and they hooked me up with a couple of Batis loaners – the Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 Distagon T* (featured here) along with the lenses big brother, the Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 Distagon T*. I decided to look at the two wide angle Batis options at the same time so that I could compare and contrast them for myself…and for you. The Batis 25mm is an extremely interesting option for owners of both full frame and APS-C Sony E mount cameras, but is it the lens for you?

Prefer to watch your reviews? You can see my thorough video review here:

Batis 25mm f/2 Build, Design, and Handling

You can get the whole picture of the build and design in this video here:

The Batis series has a very familiar look. These two lenses are, respectively, the 21^st and 22^nd Zeiss lenses that I have reviewed. The current “Zeiss look” debuted on the ultra-premium Otus series, and is one of the most elegant looks in the business. One of my favorite aspects of this current design language is how the lens hood design is a part of the “flow” of the lens profile. Many lens hoods are functional, but look like afterthoughts from a design perspective.

Zeiss lenses have a reputation for being some of the best made lenses in the business, and that truth ratcheted up with the Milvus series for Canon and Nikon DSLRs due to having thorough weather sealing to compliment the all metal and glass construction. What the Milvus (or Otus) series lenses are not, however, is light. They are typically among the heaviest lenses in their respective classes, with a unique heft and feeling of density that is uniquely Zeiss in my mind.

The Batis series takes the Zeiss design ethos of having very well-built lenses complete with weather sealing but then marries that with the mirrorless need for much lighter lenses. As a result, the Batis lenses look familiar but feel different in the hand. I first reached for them expecting that familiar heft, but instead found a lens that feels surprisingly light. An excellent case in point is the Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 and the Zeiss Milvus 18mm f/2.8. Both lenses are made for full frame sensors, and have fairly similar dimensions (Batis is 100mm in diameter and 80mm long, while the Milvus is 90mm in diameter and 93mm in length – which translates to 96% of the same volume). The weight? Well, the Batis lens weighs 330g, while the Milvus lens is 721g! The Batis series is remarkably light by comparison.

In the case of the 25mm f/2, Zeiss has managed to produce a lens that feels very well made (mostly lightweight metals), has dust and moisture resistance, but still manages to weigh in at a lightweight 335g (11.82oz). This makes it lightweight enough to also pair nicely on the Sony a6500 APS-C camera body that I also tested it on alongside the full frame Sony a7R3. There are a lot of happy users of the Batis 25mm on APS-C cameras. The lens is moderately sized as well, with an 81mm diameter (3.19”) and 78mm length (3.07”). It has more of a squat profile than anything, but the modest length of the lens means that there is little weight situated out from the camera, making it an easy lens to balance even on lighter camera bodies. One weight-saving measure that I’ve noted on the Batis series as compared to other Zeiss lenses is that the lens hood is made of plastic rather than metal. They’ve done a good job of blending the finish of the metal lens barrel and the plastic hood so that visually there is no difference. It is only when you handle the hood that you detect a difference in construction.

On the note of the finish: I personally am a big fan of the sleek, black, anodized satin finish on Zeiss lenses. Other lens makers have followed that visual cue (Tamron and most recently Tokina come to mind). The royal blue of the Zeiss badges look great inset on either side of the barrel. But some have complained that the finish is prone to picking up fingerprints (which can be true).

The barrel has no switches on it, so you will have to switch into Manual Focus mode in the camera body, or by shooting in DMF (Direct Manual Focus) mode that continues to allow autofocus but allows you to manually override focus at any point. One nice thing about this is the that camera will automatically zoom in the image on the LCD screen or viewfinder when manual input is detected, which makes it much easier to make quick manual adjustments on the fly.

The manual focus ring has a rubberized texture that is very similar to the Otus series. Some has objected to this, citing that the rubberized surface will break down and peel over time, but I have never seen any evidence of this actually happening. Sometimes people just like to complain. It is an easy surface to grip, and, unlike the rubberized focus rings of some other brand lenses that I have used, I have found that the Zeiss material isn’t particularly prone to collecting lint.

There are no distance markings on the barrel, which is typical for mirrorless autofocusing lenses due to manual focus being “focus by wire”. All focus input on the manual focus ring is routed through the autofocus motor of the lens, and it is actually the focus motor, not the ring, that moves the elements. Because there is no mechanical connection to the lens elements, there is no fixed position for the focus ring, and thus no traditional focus distance information. Most mirrorless lenses force you to rely on focus information in the camera body, but on the Batis series this particular bit of information can be tasked to the OLED screen further up the barrel. When the camera is turned on the OLED will flash the word “Zeiss”, and then what information that is further displayed there will depend on what mode you put it. Out of the box it will mostly stay dark unless you are in manual focus mode, when it will display actual focus distance as a numerical value (in meters [up to two decimal points] or feet), which is very handy and arguably more useful than a traditional focus window.

The usefulness doesn’t end there, however. If you put the camera in MF mode and then turn the manual focus ring to the left past minimum focus 360 degrees you will enter into the control for the OLED. You have three options there: ON, MF (Default Position), and OFF. In the ON position it will show the focus distance even in AF mode. If you put the camera in MF mode and twist the focus ring to the right for a while it will allow you to switch the readout to measuring in feet rather than meters. You might argue that this is of minimal value, but when you consider that many mirrorless lenses lose any kind of distance window, I think that this is one of the beneficial hallmarks of the Batis line.

Moving to the lens mount, you will find a metal lens mount with a rubberized gasket (for the weather sealing) in Zeiss blue (always a nice touch to me). It’s a small thing, but the raised circular area that denotes the lens mount point on the outside of the barrel is actually very useful. Many lenses just have something painted there, but if you are in dark or dimly lit conditions (like when shooting Astro), being able to find the mount point by tactile feel is kind of a big deal. Thank you, Zeiss, for thinking of the small things.

Up front the look of the lens is very familiar to Zeiss shooters, with metal filter threads (a very common 67mm here), and classy branding information.

One distinct advantage (particularly for my shooting style) of the Batis 25mm over the 18mm f/2.8 is the close focus ability of the 25mm. I tend to value lenses with the ability to focus closely and with a good magnification figure, as it enables more variety in the types of images that you can take with a particular lens. The Batis 25mm allows you to focus down to a very close 20cm (7.87”), where you will have a very useful 1:5.2 reproduction ratio (0.19x). This is nearly double that of the 18mm. The Batis 25mm employs floating elements to enable better performance near minimum focus distance.

The Batis 25mm is, like other Zeiss lenses, made in Japan. All in all, this is a beautiful little lens that will look very handsome mounted on your camera.

Batis 25mm Autofocus

I’ve already dealt briefly with the manual focus ring in terms of its feel, but before I deal with the autofocus, let me briefly detail the nature of the manual focus action (it just seems right when reviewing a Zeiss lens!). It’s pretty well documented by this point that I’m not a huge fan of focus by wire, but I have to admit that some of these premium lenses are starting to make it a much better experience. The weight of the manual focus ring on the Batis 25mm is about right, with the freedom to move fast when making major focus changes but enough weight to make small, precise movements when needed. The speed of movement responds to your input speed, so it will move quickly when making fast input and then slowly when you want more precision. There doesn’t seem to be an issue with lag between your input and focus changes. All in all this is a much more sophisticated implementation of “focus-by-wire” than what I saw with early Canon STM motors. The biggest thing missing is the tactile feel that only great manual focus lenses provide – the hard stops at minimum focus and infinity and the feeling of moving the elements directly.

Video shooters may favor the manual focus Zeiss Loxia series instead, as the purely mechanic focus ring will work better with either manual focus or focus follow systems than any focus-by-wire lens (even a good one like this!)

The Batis 25mm is a different breed than most Zeiss lenses; it is an autofocus lens (as are all Batis lenses). Thus far it is only on Sony mirrorless where we have seen true Zeiss (not Sony/Zeiss) autofocus lenses. There are two autofocus Zeiss series on Sony cameras, the Touit series (APS-C) and the full frame Batis series. There’s a lot of things that I like about the Touit lenses, but the behavior of the autofocus systems in the Batis lenses is definitely more sophisticated. The Touit lenses tend to be louder in operation, while the Batis lenses are essentially silent in operation. The only real noise that I typically hear in operation is the beep confirming focus lock.

Focus speed is generally very good. There was a [very] occasional focus “miss” on the first focus attempt, which would trigger a focus rack before the autofocus queued things up again, but most of the time focus was quick and confident. I also had good success with focus accuracy, with my only real challenges coming at or near minimum focus when the AF system wanted to grab the background rather than the subject.

All of the various Sony focus modes work well, as does technology like Eye AF. There are limits to Eye AF with a wide angle lens, as if you subject is too far away from the camera the focus area (eye) may be almost too small to detect. At reasonable distances (25 feet or less), Eye AF works fine.

One minor thing worth noting is that you can manually focus a little close than what the lens will autofocus, so don’t be afraid to maximize your magnification of close focus objects by using a little manual focus.

All in all the autofocus performance from the Batis 25mm is a positive experience. Having an autofocusing Zeiss is just as great as you think it is!

Batis 25mm Image Quality

The single greatest reason to buy Zeiss is because of their incredible experience with creating excellent optical instruments. The name has been synonymous with excellent image quality, and my expectations are frankly pretty high whenever I review a Zeiss lens. This lens employs the familiar Distagon optical arrangement and has 10 element in 8 groups. Can the smaller, lighter Batis 25mm f/2 maintain the high Zeiss standard?

The short answer is yes. I recommend that you watch this video to get the details along with a comparison to the 18mm f/2.8:

Both the 18mm f/2.8 and the 25mm f/2 have unique strengths. The Batis 18mm f/2.8 may be one of the sharpest wide angle lenses that I’ve seen in the middle of the frame, with near perfect sharpness and contrast even at f/2.8. Its performance is a little uneven, though, with a noticeable variance between the center 2/3rds of the frame and the outer portion of the frame…particularly at closer focus distances, where some field curvature comes into play. It also exhibits more distortion and vignette than the 25mm f/2. At infinity distances it has a slight edge in sharpness and contrast in the center 2/3rds of the frame, but the extreme corners favor the 25mm.

The Batis 25mm f/2 stands out for the evenness of the resolution across the frame. It never quite reaches the level of sharpness and contrast in the center of the frame of the 18mm (though it is excellent in its own right), but gives a more compelling edge to edge performance. It exhibits lower distortion and vignette as well. The 18mm f/2.8 has lower coma than the 25mm f/2 with both lenses wide open, but stop the 25mm down to f/2.8 and it gives the sharper result with lower coma.

Batis 25mm Resolution and Contrast

First of all, applying the Lightroom profile for the Batis 25mm in addition to the embedded RAW profile makes a noticeable if not extreme difference. There is only very mild distortion, and there will be very few situations where you will notice this difference. The Batis 18mm f/2.8 actually leaves somewhat of a mustache distortion behind after just the embedded lens correction, but the native distortion in the Batis 25mm f/2 is obviously pretty mild to begin with. There should be zero concerns after applying the standard profile. There is some vignette that remains after the embedded profile is applied, but the Lightroom profile seems to finish clearing that up without any kind of damage done to the image.

I did notice some chromatic aberrations in a few extreme situations, but in most situations they were well enough controlled as to be nearly unnoticeable. You can tell that axial chromatic aberrations are very low by looking at the infinity results, which, even at f/2, are pretty incredible across the frame. At a pixel level you can see the faintest amount of CA on the high contrast white trunks of the poplars, but it is virtually undetectable.

That amount of sharpness and contrast in a wide angle lens at f/2 is impressive. I felt that the f/2 results were perfectly usable across the frame at f/2, with excellent sharpness and contrast. The Batis 18mm shows a little better sharpness and contrast in the center of the frame, but out on the extreme edges the 25mm f/2 has the edge even at f/2. Stopped down to f/2.8 the results are nearly indistinguishable, though I would give the slightest edge to the 18mm everywhere save the extreme edge.

Stopping the lens down to f/4 from f/2 (2 stops) makes only a minimal amount of improvement in the center of the frame, as the results were already excellent. You gain a slight bit of resolution and contrast at either portrait distance or infinity:

Improvement along the edge is a little more noticeable, where you go from very good to excellent.

At a traditional landscape aperture like f/5.6 the results from corner to corner are nothing but excellent. This is a magnificent lens to pair with the excellent 42 MP sensor of the Sony a7R3 that I reviewed the lens on.

This is a lens that is sharp at any aperture, and delivers a superb optical performance in terms of resolution and contrast. The center of the frame is not record setting, but it is excellent, and the sum total of the performance across the frame is exceptional. It delivers amazing landscape results:

Masanutten: Where Winter and Spring Collide

Bokeh, Coma, Flare, and Color Rendition

One thing worth noting is that there is a difference between these two lenses in their color temperature. The 18mm consistently delivered slightly cooler results than the 25mm. Which is preferable is probably a matter of taste. For me personally my preference varied from one image setting to another. Both are close to accurate, though I think the 25mm may just be slightly more so. I’ve got the benefit of looking at the originals on my incredible calibrated BenQ SW271 monitor (a superb display for photographers), and draw my conclusions based on that.

Color rendition from either lens is pretty awesome, though. They have the unique Zeiss ability to deliver results out of camera that really need minimal processing, and what processing you might do is more based on wanting a certain “look” than to help create accurate results. Case in point is this landscape image, where I dialed in a lot more lavender to create more of a desired look – the image was beautiful out of the box, however (the second image is SOOC):

I came home from a trip to the Shenandoah Mountains in Virginia, and was simply delighted with a lot of the images I got right out of the camera. The color, contrast, and detail is near flawless. Here’s a small sampling:

Flare resistance is good but not perfect. You can experience some minor ghosting effects with the sun in the frame, but they are limited in scope. These represent the worst I saw in real world use:

So yes, not really anything worth complaining about.

Coma performance is also very good. Even at f/2 the amount of coma is minimal (some star points on the edge of the frame become slightly wedge shaped), but stopping the lens down to f/2.8 (where most of the competitors start) gives you a truly excellent performance. Here’s a comparison between f/2 and f/2.8:

The sharp, crisp star points along with the other excellent optical attributes of the lens will give you a great looking result:

While 25mm isn’t a major “bokeh” focal length, the close focus distance of the lens does give you the ability to throw backgrounds out of focus when you are close to your subject. The Batis 25 has 9 rounded aperture blades, and definitely has the ability to “make some bokeh” if used right:

As you can see, the quality of the bokeh rendering is pretty good, though in certain situations you will see some “onion bokeh”.

The nature of such a wide focal length means that you probably won’t see this often…nor will it occupy enough of the frame to be visible at anything other than a pixel level. I’ve also noted that the roundness of Zeiss apertures isn’t quite as smooth as a number of other lensmakers when stopped down to smaller apertures.

As you can see, I’m trying to find the potential weak spots of this lens optically and really not coming up with a whole lot. Distortion is well controlled, vignette is pronounced but not really after in the camera corrections take place, flare and chromatic aberrations are well controlled, and color rendition, sharpness, contrast, and bokeh are all positives. Bottom line is that this is a lens that delivers a great performance on its native full frame.

As always, I recommend that you visit the Image Galleries here to look at real images from the lens for yourself.

APS-C Results

I did not formally review the Batis 25mm f/2 on APS-C, but I did shoot with it a fair bit on a 24 MP a6500. The lens has an equivalent focal length of 37.5mm with Sony’s 1.5x crop factor, which delivers an angle of view just a little tighter than the traditional 35mm. This is coming close to “normal” territory, and it proves to be a great “walkaround/general purpose” focal length. It’s good for a lot of subjects, and I enjoyed the ability to diversify my images by getting alternately very close to subjects or shooting at traditional distances. Here’s some examples:

I found that the lens translated well to APS-C, with good contrast, sharpness, and color rendition whether near or far from my subject. The last two examples are shot at f/2:

There are a number of people who use this lens exclusively on APS-C, and I can see why they would enjoy it there. I personally would happily use it on both my a6500 and a7R3, as it is a great fit on both systems.

Conclusion

If you are looking for the best lenses to pair with your Sony full frame (or even APS-C) mirrorless camera, this is a lens that should definitely be on your radar. The Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 Distagon T* is one of the better performing wide angle lenses available for any system, and its optical performance belies its light weight. Some will hesitate at the price tag, which is a fairly hefty $1299 in the US. There are certainly cheaper alternatives, but none of them exceed the combination of optical performance, build quality, and compact size that the Batis 25mm affords. Its weaknesses are few and not very pronounced, and its strengths are excellent. I’ve heard basically nothing but good from actual owners of this lens, and after spending the last month with it, I can see why. If the focal length meets your needs, and the price tag is within reach of your wallet, there are few other reasons to avoid this lens. The Batis 25mm is a winner!

Pros:

Beautiful build that is both robust and lightweight
Very even sharpness profile across the frame
Good contrast and low chromatic aberrations
Distortion is very mild
Autofocus is quick, quiet, and accurate
Beautiful color rendition
OLED helps with manual focus
Moisture and dust resistance
Good coma performance (particularly at f/2.8)

Cons:

Pricey
In rare situations you will see some onion bokeh

Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 Distagon: B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Ebay

Sony a7R III Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon.ca | Amazon UK | Ebay

Peak Design Slide Lite: Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription

Alien Skin Exposure X2 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Visit my Amazon page for some of my gear of choice! Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

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Keywords: Batis 25mm, Batis 25, Zeiss Batis 25mm, Batis225, Carl Zeiss, Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2, Batis 25mm f2, Zeiss Batis 25mm f2 review, Dustin Abbott, Zeiss Batis Distagon, Review, Video Test, Sample Images, Resolution, Distortion, Vignette, Autofocus, Speed, Accuracy, Flare Resistance, Contrast, 25mm, f2, f/2m Distagon, Real World

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 Image Galleries

Dustin Abbott

March 24th, 2018

The very first Sony FE lens that I reviewed was not a Sony; it was a Zeiss. When Zeiss approached me about reviewing the Zeiss Batis APO Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 lens, I actually had no way of doing so as I didn’t own any Sony bodies. B&H Photo bailed me out by loaning me an a7R2, which allowed me to also do a mini-review of that camera as well. While I wasn’t completely blown away by the a7R2, I was very interested in the idea of having autofocus lenses with that legendary Zeiss optical performance. While I didn’t take the plunge to purchase the a7R2, some of the positives of that experience translated into serious interest when the Sony a7R3 was announced, and, after reviewing that camera to death, I made the decision to purchase one for myself. One thing I knew after that experience with the Batis 135mm; I was seriously interested in the Batis line if I ever added Sony to my own kit. That interest certainly didn’t go away. So, when I knew that I would be visiting the Shenandoah Mountain region in Virginia along with making a trip into Washington, D.C., I reached out to the great people at Zeiss North America, and they hooked me up with a couple of Batis loaners – the Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 Distagon T* (featured here) along with the lenses big brother, the Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 Distagon T*. I decided to look at the two wide angle Batis options at the same time so that I could compare and contrast them for myself…and for you. I’ll be sharing my findings soon, but, in the meantime, I’ve got a lot of great photos from them to share with you from the Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 Distagon T*. Stay tuned for my final review!

Images of the Zeiss Batis 25mm F2

Images taken with the Zeiss Batis 25mm F2

APS-C Images taken with Sony a6500 and Batis 2/25

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Visit my Amazon page for some of my gear of choice! Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

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Keywords: Batis 25mm, Batis 25, Zeiss Batis 25mm, Batis225, Carl Zeiss, Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2, Batis 25mm f2, Zeiss Batis 25mm f2 review, Dustin Abbott, Zeiss Batis Distagon, Review, Video Test, Sample Images, Resolution, Distortion, Vignette, Autofocus, Speed, Accuracy, Flare Resistance, Contrast, 25mm, f2, f/2m Distagon, Real World

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

March 23rd, 2018

The very first Sony FE lens that I reviewed was the, ironically, the newest lens in the Batis line for Sony FE (full frame E-mount). When Zeiss approached me about reviewing the Zeiss Batis APO Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 lens, I actually had no way of doing so as I didn’t own any Sony bodies. B&H Photo bailed me out by loaning me an a7R2, which allowed me to also do a mini-review of that camera as well. While I didn’t take the plunge to purchase the a7R2, some of the positives of that experience translated into serious interest when the Sony a7R3 was announced, and, after reviewing that camera to death, I made the decision to purchase one for myself. One thing I knew after that experience with the Batis 135mm; I was seriously interested in the Batis line if I ever added Sony to my own kit. That interest certainly didn’t go away. So, when I knew that I would be visiting the Shenandoah Mountain region in Virginia along with making a trip into Washington, D.C., I reached out to the great people at Zeiss North America, and they hooked me up with a couple of Batis loaners – the Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 Distagon T* (featured here) along with the very slightly smaller little brother, the Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 Distagon T*. I decided to look at the two wide angle Batis options at the same time so that I could compare and contrast them for myself…and for you. I’ll be sharing my findings soon, but, in the meantime, I’ve got a lot of great photos from them to share with you from the Zeiss Batis 18 f/2.8. Stay tuned for my final review!

Images of the Zeiss Batis 18 f2.8

Images taken with the Zeiss Batis 18 f2.8

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Visit my Amazon page for some of my gear of choice! Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

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Keywords: Batis 18mm, Zeiss Batis 18mm, Batis2818, Carl Zeiss, Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8, Zeiss Batis 18mm f2.8, Batis 18mm 2.8, Zeiss Batis 18mm Review, Batis 18mm Review, Dustin Abbott, Sony a7R3, Batis 18 vs 25, Batis 18, Batis, 18mm, f/2.8, Resolution, Flare Resistance, Contrast, Distortion, Real World, Sample Images, Video Test

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Zeiss Touit Series |12mm, 32mm, 50mm| Galleries

Dustin Abbott

September 5th, 2017

I’ve had the privilege of testing some autofocus Zeiss lenses designed for Sony’s E-Mount mirrorless cameras. Zeiss has a couple of autofocus lines for mirrorless, including the full frame Batis line and then this APS-C mount Touit (pronounced “too-it”) series. The Touit line includes (at the present) a wide angle 12mm f/2.8 Distagon T* lens, a 32mm f/1.8 Planar T*, and a 50mm f/2.8 Makro-Planar T* lens that is a full 1:1 macro. Zeiss was kind enough to loan me the lenses so that I had some lenses to use on my new Sony a6500 body that I purchased in late June 2016. I’ve used them in a wide variety of situations, and will be bringing a collective review along with mini-reviews of each lens when my schedule permits. In the meantime, enjoy the images from these beautifully made “mini-Zeiss” lenses along with my video reviews that I’ll be releasing over the next few weeks.

Images of the Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 Distagon T*

Images taken with the Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 Distagon T*

Images of the Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T*

Images taken with the Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T*

Images of the Zeiss Touit 50mm f/2.8 Makro-Planar T*

Images taken with the Zeiss Touit 50mm f/2.8 Makro-Planar T*

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

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New Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 DI VC USD G2 Announced

Dustin Abbott

February 6th, 2017

Dustin’s Thoughts: I’ve been using the Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD for about three and a half years. It’s served me well in many, many wedding and portrait sessions along with countless events. I chose it over the extremely popular Canon version because I thought the optics and bokeh were superior, though the AF system isn’t quite as flexible as the Canon. I’ve had no issues with the AF, however. I particularly wanted to see two things addressed here: 1) Improved MFD (Minimum Focus Distance). The previous generation disappointed me a bit there. Tamron has addressed this with the G2, though it still isn’t quite up to the level of the Canon competition. 2) Better performance with extenders. Tamron flat out stated that the previous generation lens wasn’t designed to work with extenders, but a big part of the press release below is about compatibility with Tamron’s fancy new 1.4x and 2x extenders. Tamron has also added more speed and flexibility to the USD autofocus system, and the vibes I’m getting from those that have had a go with the lens already says that the AF is fantastic. I should have one in my own hands in the next few weeks, and I’ll report accordingly.

Beyond that the lens has been given the beautiful new SP design language along with more thorough weather sealing, which is always welcome. The lens was already excellent optically, so any improvements are just gravy. I wouldn’t mind less vignette than the previous generation lens, though I don’t see any specific reference to this being improved. Tamron claims less CA, better flare resistance, and improved coatings, too.

Another physical upgrade is an improved, Arca compatible tripod foot (that means that it can slide right onto your tripod with using a QR plate). Always helpful. The lens looks beautiful, and I’m personally already prepared to do an upgrade if it stands up during my testing. Read on for the specific press release (courtesy of Tamron Canon) along with the MTF charts.

—————————————————————————————————

PRESS RELEASE
www.tamron.ca
Amplis Foto Inc. | 22 Telson Road, Markham, ON L3R 1E5 |T: 905.477.4111 | www.amplis.com

Tamron redefines the fast telephoto zoom category with the introduction of the next generation 70-200mm F/2.8 zoom All-new optical design delivers a dramatically faster autofocus speed and image stabilization performance of 5 stops*1

SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2 (Model A025)
February 7, 2017, Saitama, Japan – Tamron Co., Ltd. (President & CEO: Shiro Ajisaka), a leading manufacturer of optics for diverse applications, announces the launch of SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2 (Model A025), a new telephoto zoom lens product for 35mm full-frame DSLR cameras. Model A025 was developed by substantially enhancing the features of its predecessor. These included a thorough review of the optical, mechanical and electronic designs to enhance increase autofocus speed and precision, reinforce VC (Vibration Compensation) functions and to shorten MOD. New features include eBAND Coating, Moisture-Proof and Dust-Resistant Construction, Fluorine Coating and compatibility with tele converters. The lens design features a metal-based barrel for improved handling and ease-of-use. The result of this dramatic evolution is Model A025, a high-speed telephoto lens that widens the scope of expression for photography in a broad range of genres, such as portraits, landscapes, sports and photojournalism.
*1. CIPA Standards Compliant Using in VC MODE 3 (For Canon: EOS-5D MKIII is used / For Nikon: D810 is used)

PRODUCT NAME

SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2
(Model A025)

DATE OF LAUNCH (in Japan)

February 23, 2017
The Canon and Nikon mount models will be launched simultaneously.
Model A025

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS

1. Outstanding resolution and contrast reproduction performance, beautiful bokeh and full compatibility with Tamron tele converters Based on the current model (A009), the optical design has been revised and improved. Both the resolution and contrast reproduction performance far exceed the present levels. Bokeh has been enhanced and expanded to deliver outstanding background effects across the entire zoom range. Use of a circular diaphragm with nine blades further improves bokeh. The optical design of the new A025 consists of 23 elements in 17 groups. Optimum deployment of XLD (eXtra Low Dispersion) and LD (Low Dispersion) glass elements thoroughly eliminate chromatic aberrations, which tend to become particularly prominent in high-speed telephoto lenses, across the entire zoom range, while ensuring uniform, high-level image quality even on the periphery of the image plane.

The new lens is also fully compatible with the TELE CONVERTER 1.4x (Model TC-X14)*2 and TELE CONVERTER 2.0x (Model TC-X20)*2, which increase the focal length of the lens to 1.4 times and 2 times the original, respectively. Both tele converters are carefully designed and constructed to provide outstanding high quality.

2. Improved VC system provides highest Vibration Compensation ability in its class*1 (5 stops using CIPA standard compliant) and offers three situation-specific VC modes Utilizing Tamron’s original VC (Vibration Compensation) system, which uses a moving coil mechanism, further reinforcement of the drive system power and control performance has now achieved the highest VC level in its class,*4 with an image stabilization performance of 5 stops according to the CIPA standard (when using VC Mode 3).

Also, the VC system of Model A025 offers three VC modes, including one mode exclusively for panning. Photographers can freely choose between the different VC modes according to the shooting
conditions. Even for telephoto shooting in low light, which tends to be severely affected by camera shaking, photographers can now enjoy jitter-free handheld shooting with much greater flexibility.
*4. Among 70-200mm F/2.8 interchangeable lenses for full-frame DSLR cameras (as of January :Tamron)
VC MODE 1 is the standard mode that strikes a great balance between the stability of the viewfinder
image and the stabilization effects.
VC MODE 2 is exclusively used for panning.
VC MODE 3 prioritizes the stabilization of the captured images and forgoes the stabilization of the viewfinder image.

3. Demonstratively improved autofocus speed and responsiveness
Model A025 is equipped with a USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) ring-type ultrasonic motor, whose outstanding responsiveness and control ensures accurate high-speed focusing. Incorporating two
advanced, high- performance microcomputers and optimizing the algorithm has improved both the focusing speed and accuracy compared with SP 70-200mm (Model A009). Additionally, thanks to the Full-time Manual Focus override mechanism, photographers shooting with AF can instantaneously make fine focusing adjustments using MF without wasting time by switching the AF-MF mode back and forth.

4. Focuses closer (shorter Minimum Object Distance, or MOD) for greater versatility
Improvements made to the focus cam and zoom cam inside the lens barrel have reduced the MOD from 1.3m (50.7 in) in the older Model A009 to 0.95m (37.4 in) for Model A025, which has a maximum magnification ratio of 1:6.1. The shorter MOD, coupled with the excellent optical performance of the SP 70- 200mm (Model A025), allows photographers to further broaden their range of expression.

5. Optimized and exclusively designed eBAND Coating
The new A025 features Tamron’s original eBAND (Extended Bandwidth & Angular-Dependency) Coating, a technology that combines a nano-structured layer with an extremely low refractive index with the conventional multiple-layer coatings. Optimized and exclusively designed for this new zoom, the eBAND Coating provides superior anti-reflection performance, effectively reducing any flare and ghosting. Even when taking backlit portraits, the new lens delivers flawless, crystal clear images.

6. Moisture-Proof and Dust-Resistant Construction
Ideal for use in outdoor photography, the new 70-200mm telephoto zoom has moisture-resistant construction because special sealants that are dust-resistant and moisture-resistant are used at
every joint and seam. The sealant material helps to prevent the intrusion of any dirt, dust or water droplets, compared to conventional Moisture-Resistant Construction.

7. Fluorine Coating for greater protection
The front surface of the lens element is coated with a protective fluorine compound that is water- and oil- repellant. The lens surface is easier to wipe clean and less vulnerable to the damaging
effects of dirt, dust, moisture and fingerprints.

8. Electromagnetic diaphragm system now used also for Nikon-mount lenses
An electromagnetic diaphragm system, which has been a standard feature for Canon-mount lenses, is now available for in Nikon-mount lenses*5. More precise diaphragm and aperture control is possible because the diaphragm blades are driven and controlled by the motor through electronic pulse signals.

*5 Available only with cameras compatible with the electromagnetic diaphragm (D3100, D3200, D3300, D3400, D5000, D5100, D5200, D5300, D5500, D5600, D7000, D7100, D7200, D300, D300s, D600, D610, D700, D750, D800, D800E, D810, D810A, D3x, D3s, D4, D4s, Df, D500, D5). (As of January; Tamron)

9. Lightweight and easy-to-hold tripod mount is compatible with Arca-Swiss style quick release plates A new textured grip and Arca-Swiss style tripod interface enhances both speed and utility. Because the tripod mount is made of lightweight magnesium, it is much easier to carry.

10. Compatible with TAMRON TAP-in ConsoleTM, an optional accessory product
The optional TAP-in Console provides a USB connection to a personal computer, enabling users to easily update the lens firmware as well as customize features, including fine adjustments to the AF and VC.

11. Based on the rigorous quality standards worthy of the SP series, this new lens is manufactured with a thorough attention to details
For the SP series products in particular, Tamron has established rigorous design and quality standards. These standards apply to the optical design, mechanical design and the cosmetic
appearance, as well as to such wide-ranging areas as the product’s robustness and improvements in the various individual functions. Tamron thoroughly reviews of all of the design and manufacturing processes in order to offer products to customers with even-higher levels of precision and quality. For the SP 70-200mm G2 (Model A025), the optical design was refreshed, mechanical parts were improved and a new exterior design was adopted. To maximize the optical performance intrinsic to this product, Tamron improved the accuracy of the component parts and increased the precision of the overall zooming mechanism.

Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2, Tamron 70-200 G2, Tamron SP 70-200 G2, Tamron 70-200mm G2, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 G2, Tamron 70-200 VC G2, Review, Comparison, Dustin Abbott, Announcement, Resolution, Sharpness, MFD, Maximum Magnification, Contrast, AF, #withmytamron

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 ART Review

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April 30th, 2018

Sigma 14-24 ART Build Quality

Sigma 14-24 ART Focus Observations

Sigma 14-24mm ART Image Quality

Resolution Tests

Infinity Tests

Compared to the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 VC

Compared to the Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 and Laowa 15mm f/2 Zero D (on Sony FE)

Coma, Flare Resistance, Vignette, and Bokeh

What About the 12-24mm f/4 ART?

Conclusion

Pros

Cons

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Batis 18mm f/2.8 Build, Design, and Handling

Batis 18mm Autofocus

Batis 18mm Image Quality

Batis 18mm Resolution and Contrast

Bokeh, Coma, Flare, and Color Rendition

Conclusion

Pros:

Cons:

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Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 ART Image Gallery

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April 5th, 2018

Images of the Sigma 14-24 f2.8 ART

Images taken with the Sigma 14-24 f2.8 ART

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Batis 25mm f/2 Build, Design, and Handling

Batis 25mm Autofocus

Batis 25mm Image Quality

Batis 25mm Resolution and Contrast

Bokeh, Coma, Flare, and Color Rendition

APS-C Results

Conclusion

Pros:

Cons:

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Images taken with the Zeiss Batis 25mm F2

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Zeiss Touit Series |12mm, 32mm, 50mm| Galleries

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September 5th, 2017

Images of the Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 Distagon T*

Images taken with the Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 Distagon T*

Images of the Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T*

Images taken with the Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T*

Images of the Zeiss Touit 50mm f/2.8 Makro-Planar T*

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PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS

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