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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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)

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Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM ART Review

Dustin Abbott

November 21st, 2017

Sigma has done a fairly amazing job of reinventing themselves as a company in the past five years. It can be easy to forget that Sigma was known as a maker of mostly “cheap” lenses not all that long ago, and often their primary claim to fame was delivering a less expensive product than the first parties. That perception began to slightly shift with the delivery of generally quite good EX 50mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.4 primes, but of course really accelerated with the release of the ART series. A Sigma ART lens has become synonymous with optical excellence and resolution that is generally at or near the top of the class. And with this new success Sigma has also proved to be more daring than the more conservative first parties. They have embraced optical designs outside the traditional scope, and have really “pushed the envelope” with what is possible in maximum aperture in both primes and zoom lenses. The Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM ART is another case in point. At f/1.8, the maximum aperture of the 14mm ART is larger than any competing lens, which makes it a very intriguing option…but it comes at a cost.

As we progress through this review, we will discover that the cost comes both on a monetary level (it isn’t cheap!) and also in its size/weight (largest and heaviest in the class). To the first point: the Sigma ART series was, initially, all priced around the $799-999 mark in the US market. Sigma seemed to studiously avoid breaching the thousand dollar price point until last year. Since that point we have seen a number of the newest ART series lenses at price points well above the thousand dollar mark, including the 50-100mm f/1.8 ART zoom ($1199), 85mm f/1.4 ART ($1199), 24-70mm f/2.8 OS ART ($1299), 135mm f/1.8 ART ($1399), 12-24mm f/4 ART ($1599), and this lens, the 14mm ART, at $1599 USD. Suffice it to say that this particular “glass ceiling” has been shattered, and the 14mm ART is tied with the 12-24mm as the most expensive options in the ART series. I’ve reviewed all of these lenses, and they are excellent lenses, but I think it is safe to say that the idea of Sigma lenses as “bargains” is past.

The 14mm focal length has a huge range of price points. There is the Samyang/Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, which can often be had for around $300. There is the Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II, which is typically north of $2000, and a host of other options in between. I reviewed the excellent Rokinon SP 14mm f/2.4 earlier this year, which retails for around $1000 (but is manual focus). My point is that this lens must compete on merit, as the price, while cheaper than the most expensive option (Canon), is more than 5x as expensive as the least expensive option.

There are counterarguments to make for the Sigma 14mm ART, however, including the fact that it offers a larger maximum aperture than all alternatives (1 1/3^rd stop faster than most, and 2/3^rdsstop faster than the Rokinon XP and its f/2.4 max aperture). It has autofocus (several alternatives don’t), and it is now weathersealed (the Samyang/Rokinon options do not). It does offer something unique when compared to alternatives, but it is also a fairly expensive lens that will make potential buyers consider the alternatives before placing their order.

But is it worth the money? Read to help make that decision for yourself.

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Build and Design

The second place that you will “pay” for this lens is in the weight, which is easily at the top of its class. It weighs 2.57lb (1170g), which makes it heavier even than the Sigma 12-24mm f/4 ART zoom lens I reviewed. The only wide angle option that is heavier is the unique Canon 11-24mm f/4L lens, and it is only a measly 10g heavier (though it’s also $1000+ more expensive). It has a very large glass front element and is quite front heavy. I tried to mount it (paired with a Canon 5D Mark IV) on my Moza Air motorized gimbal for some video, and found that it was nearly impossible to balance due to the odd weight distribution. Pushing the envelope of maximum aperture in this lens comes at the cost of some serious weight.

Then again, the ART series has never been known for being light, and this lens will do nothing to reverse that trend! It isn’t small, either, with a diameter of 3.76” (95.4mm) and a length of nearly 5” (126mm). The lens is fairly narrow at the mount but significantly flares out about halfway down the length to house the extremely large curved front element.

The build is extremely familiar, as I have reviewed the majority of the ART series lenses. It is a mixture of metal and “thermal composite” (engineered plastics) based on a brass bayonet mount. The tactile impression is more metal than plastic, which feels reinforced by the significant heft of the lens. The lens profile is extremely similar to that of the 12-24mm f/4, with the one exception that there is one less ring on the 14 ART (no zoom ring). That lone ring (the manual focus ring) is built into the wide front section of the lens which flows right into the fixed (permanent) lens hood. This is unusual compared to most lenses, but very similar in design to the 12-24 ART. The manual focus ring moves nicely and has a nice, grippy rubberized texture to it.

Sigma’s Global Vision design language has aged well, and the lens is very modern and sleek in a squat, rounded kind of way. It mixes various textures and finishes to keep from being too “monochromatic”. There is one switch on the barrel, an AF/MF switch to allow you to go to manual focus (though full time manual override is available through Sigma’s HSM focus motor). There is a distance window with some hyperfocal markings as well.

The lens notes that it was made in Japan as well as the year of manufacturing (2017). The lens (like other ART series lenses) has a nine-rounded blade aperture iris. It can focus down to 10.63” (27cm), but has an exceptionally low 0.10x magnification figure. If you wanted a wide angle lens that could double as a macro lens, this most definitely isn’t it!

Sigma has begun to incorporate some moisture resistance into its design, which is very welcome in a lens like this. It has a rubber gasket to help with the seal at the bayonet mount, but Sigma’s language says “Dust and Splash-proof mount” and makes no reference to internal seals. Something is better than nothing, but I wouldn’t push this too much.

At the front of the lens you will find a massive curved front element. The glass has some protection on four sides by a fixed petal-shaped lens hood. This is a necessary evil on most lenses 15mm or wider, but it does have a few downsides. The first has to do with the fixed lens hood, which requires the front lens cap to be the large type that slips over the lens hood and is held in place by a combination of friction and suction. I’ve seen no issue with the cap falling off of its own accord, but I do find these types of caps to be a pain because they don’t fit well into a pocket when you pull them off for a quick shot. Even a jacket pocket will be full with this lens cap inside, and you can forget it fitting in most pants pockets.

The second downside is that traditional screw-in filters cannot be used. There will invariably be third party filter makers that will produce adapters for their front filter systems (I use the Fotodiox Pro WonderPana system for the Tamron 15-30 VC). The upside of these type systems is that graduated neutral density filters are very useful for wide angle landscape work, but the downside is that they are big, bulky, and expensive. Fortunately Sigma is working to provide an alternate solution, which comes in the form of the FHR-11 rear filter holder which will mount on the lens mount and allow you to use small rear glass and gel filters. It seems to only be available for the Canon mount lens and only (at the moment) directly from Sigma (I can’t find it at major retailers).

The upside is that Sigma is only charging $36 for it, but you will have to screw it in yourself and provide the filters. Sigma obviously feels the audience for this is small enough to not actually ship the lens with the filter holder included. There are a number of Canon wide angle lenses that have a similar rear filter hold built in.

I have not tested this optional accessory myself, but I am happy to see that Sigma has worked to provide some kind of solution. The lens is also compatible with Sigma’s USB dock (for tweaking autofocus and other features) and is also eligible for Sigma’s mount conversion service if you decide to “jump ship” at some point and move from Canon to Nikon or vice versa.

The lens is only available in Canon, Nikon, and Sigma native mounts, though I did test it on a Sony body with a Sigma MC-11 adapter and, as per usual, the lens actually works quite well there. One serious perk is that Sigma lenses will work in AF-C mode during video capture with the MC-11, which is unlike any other adapted lenses with any of the adapters that I’ve used (Metabones, Vello (x2), etc…) All is not perfect, here, and you should check out my comments in the Autofocus Performance section below.

I also tested it with a Vello Accelerator adapter for Sony APS-C eMount, where the lens behaves like a full frame lens in terms of framing and depth of field (the accelerator allows the maximum aperture to be f/1.4). Autofocus (for stills) continued to work fine, and the image quality was quite good. Here are some interior shots taken with this combination:

All in all the lens feels like a quality piece of kit. It’s expensive, large, and heavy, but feels functional and well made.

Autofocus Performance

I’ve been relieved to see a positive trend for recent Sigma releases in their autofocus accuracy. This has been an area of weakness for many of the Sigma ART lenses in that I’ve seen an unusual amount of focus inconsistencies in my tests and have heard an abnormally high amount of anecdotal reports about focus issues from other photographers. To be fair, I do treat anecdotal reports with a grain of salt, as there are a lot of variables at play, but the sheer volume of them let me know that the problems I saw were systemic. Last year, however, Sigma started increasing the torque on their HSM (Hypersonic Motor) and I personally started seeing better focus accuracy. Lenses like the 85mm f/1.4 ART, 135mm f/1.4 ART, and the 12-24mm f/4 ART (along with the 100-400mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary) all proved better than previous ART series lenses in my testing, though with the wide aperture lenses I found better accuracy when using the center points on my Canon 5D Mark IV and avoiding the outer points. So, usable focus accuracy if not exceptional.

I found the 14mm ART needed only minor focus calibration out of the box, and then specifically went out to field test focus accuracy. Now, to be fair, a 14mm lens puts much less stress on the focus system than a 85mm or 135mm lens. At 6 feet, for example, even at the abnormally large maximum aperture of f/1.8, the depth of field with a 14mm lens is over 8 feet. At a 10 foot distance the depth of field jumps to nearly 57 feet. To give you an idea of the difference with, say, the 85mm f/1.4 ART, the depth of field at 6 feet and f/1.4 is only an 1 ½ inches, or less than 4 centimeters. Even at ten feet that depth of field is only 4 inches or slightly under 11 centimeters. The bottom line is that autofocus accuracy is less of an issue with this kind of lens, though it can still be an issue to some degree.

In my field tests I had nothing to be concerned about. The lens focused on what I wanted it to focus on, and I saw one instance of front focus, but mild enough to still be acceptable. And that was shooting at f/1.8; stopping the lens down only further eliminates the chances of missed focus.

Here are a few images and crops from these focus tests.

I’ve never really had an issue with Sigma lenses when it comes to focus speed or noise; the HSM motor focuses quickly and quietly. No concerns there.

I suspect that a lens like, say, the Canon 14mm f/2.8L II is still the better focusing lens, but frankly I doubt that it is going to make much of a difference for most shooters due to the nature of the focal length. I certainly wouldn’t be concerned.

If you happen to be a Sony shooter, using the MC-11 adapter produces good if mixed results (I tested on a Sony a6500). The lens focuses accurately, but is prone to some pulsing before settling on focus. The MC-11 adapter + Sigma lenses is the only adapter combination I’ve yet found that allows for video AF, but just know that the focus motor is not really optimized for this kind of behavior and tends to produce a lot of clicking during Video Servo AF (AF-C) use.

If you own multiple systems and want to utilize the 14mm ART on both systems, then go for it, but I would recommend purchasing a dedicated lens for Sony E Mount if you are a Sony shooter.

Sigma 14mm ART Image Quality

And now we get to the good stuff! Sigma has built a reputation with its ART series for excellent resolution, and the 14mm ART is right up at the top of the heap, out resolving any and all competitors at this focal length. I recommend that you want this video where I break down the resolution performance.

Resolution

The sharpness begins at f/1.8, and while the extreme corners may not yet be tack sharp at f/1.8, a good part of the image circle is. Center resolution is excellent, and, frankly, stopping the lens down will improve contrast a bit and will increase depth of field, but resolution gains will only be minimal in the center 2/3rds of the frame. Check out these crops from across the frame.

There are some lenses that make a significant leap when stopped down just a bit (even a third stop), but I didn’t really notice any difference between f/1.8 and f/2. Stopping on down to f/2.8 gives an uptick in contrast and edge performance looks better in large part to lifting vignette. There is some vignette at f/1.8, but it does significantly improve by f/2.8, which means that it looks better at f/2.8 in terms of vignette) than any wide angle lens from 12-16mm that I’ve used. I do think the sharpness profile extends a little further towards the edge of the frame, but it can be hard to tell what is more resolution and what is just cleared vignette. Here’s a look at crops across the frame.

Starting at f/2.8 I compared the 14mm ART to the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 VC. It ends up being the benchmark for a lot of wide angle lenses because 1) I own it and 2) it is a very good lens. What I found in the comparison is the Sigma is stronger on the edges of the frame, a position it holds even with the two lenses stopped down (though that advantage shrinks somewhat at typically landscape apertures). The Tamron suffers from some lateral chromatic aberrations along the edges of the frame (both green and purple fringing) while the Sigma shows no inclination towards CA at all. In the center portions of the frame the two lenses look pretty similar (which is to say excellent). The Tamron has a bit more micro-contrast and color saturation/accuracy, but it’s not significant. The Sigma is delivering the more consistent image across the frame, and, for landscape purposes, that is significant. Here’s a look at the comparison between the two lenses across the frame at f/5.6.

I came away extremely impressed by the resolution from the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ART. Not only has Sigma managed to push the envelope in what is possible in maximum aperture at 14mm; they’ve done it while also pushing the envelope in the resolution potential of 14mm. No 14mm (or 15mm) lens that I’m aware resolves as highly as the 14mm ART. Even at closer focus distances the sharpness is exceptional – take a look at this photo of the cat and the crop from it!

Sigma 14mm ART Coma Performance

Another incredibly important metric for such a lens is the coma performance. The single biggest reason for such a wide aperture at such a wide focal length is the light gathering potential. This lens, with a maximum aperture of f/1.8, has 1 1/3 stops more light gathering potential than an f/2.8 lens. What does this mean in real world shooting? Well, for example, a shot like this I took at f/1.8, 15 second shutter speed, and ISO 1600. At ISO 1600 my 5D Mark IV isn’t breaking a sweat, so there isn’t any visible noise in the image.

At f/2.8, however, I would have to be at ISO 4000, where there is definitely more potential for noise. The exceptional performance of many camera bodies at higher ISO settings makes this less of an issue than in times past, but it’s always better to have more light gathering potential than less. The other upside is that you can keep shutter speeds up, which reduces the risk of movement of the stars.

Comatic aberrations are most often seen when distant points of light become deformed. Rather than being a crisp point of light, they will appear to “grow wings” like an insect or be shaped like a flying saucer. I’ve also seen star points stretch and become more like dashes than periods. The best lenses for astrophotography are those that exhibit minimal amounts of coma, and some of the better options I’ve used include the afore-mentioned Tamron, the Samyang XP 14mm f/2.4, and the Zeiss Distagon 15mm f/2.8. The Sigma jumps out as being even more potentially useful because of the larger maximum aperture, but does it pass the coma test?

The answer is yes, and no. Compared to other Sigma options I’ve personally used, this is one of the better performers. It resolves very high (crisp stars), has relatively low vignette (a huge issue for some competitors), and obviously has better light transmission. But it does show some comatic aberrations. They are reserved mostly for the edges of the frame, but I saw a few “flying insects” there. The nature of the very wide 14mm frame means that they aren’t particularly obvious to most eyes (each star point is pretty small in the frame), but those of you for whom this is an issue you will probably notice it. I’ve seen much worse than the 14mm ART, but I’ve also seen better.

For pure astro work I think the Samyang/Rokinon XP 14mm f/2.4 might still be the better option, though you do give up 2/3rds of a stop of light gathering compared to the Sigma (and autofocus, of course!) I think the Sigma 14mm ART works for astro, but Sigma hasn’t entirely solved the coma issue in any lens of theirs that I’ve seen. By contrast this is something that Samyang has been good at for a while.

My opinion is that the positives outweigh the negatives here, but I would have loved to see just a little less coma from the lens. The lens has exceptional chromatic aberration control; it would have been nice if the comatic aberration control was equally exceptional.

Chromatic Aberration, Distortion, and Flare Resistance

A discussion of the distortion in a wide angle lens is a little complicated, as the very nature of the focal length creates a lot of potential for perspective distortion (or the keystone effect). This is really the primary reason that tilt/shift lenses exist. By moving the lens elements in relation to the sensor it allows one to get all of the lines straight when shooting interiors or architecture. Without that capability, however, you will often get a result where it seems like trees or buildings are “leaning” towards the center of the frame. You can reduce this result by bringing the camera up higher, for example, but this sometimes comes at the cost of a less favorable composition.

But this is not actually distortion in a traditional sense. It is the nature of the focal length, not a flaw in the lens itself.

The actual barrel distortion of the lens is fairly minimal. It does bulge a bit in the center, but in mild amounts and without any kind of complex pattern. The standard profile in Lightroom or ACR handles it all fairly well (see above). I feel like there is a bit more distortion than Sigma’s 12-24mm f/4 ART (which is quite exceptional in this area), but this is another strong performance (and a Sigma strength in my experience).

Despite that bulbous front element the lens also does a very good job of resisting flare when the sun is in the frame. Wide open there is a minimal amount of veiling (lost of contrast) near the epicenter of the sun, but next to no ghosting effects (blobs of color).

Stopped down to f/11 there are some very small ghosting artifacts, but they are minimal and unobtrusive. I was very pleased with this performance, as this is an area that the Tamron can struggle (more from side lighting than direct sun).

Chromatic aberration performance is near perfect, with no visible amount of chromatic aberrations (green or purple fringing) showing up in any of my field tests. This is an outstanding performance!

Color and Contrast

I noted earlier that I felt the color rendition from the lens was good but not exceptional. Often Zeiss lenses have a unique “look” to images that doesn’t seem to need additional post processing. The Sigma 14mm ART doesn’t quite fall into that category, but there is a good amount of contrast, that, combined with the complete lack of chromatic aberrations, allows images to seem very crisp. I like the look of the images out of the lens, and, with just a little processing, I think they can look exceptional. Take for example this image, shot at f/1.8.

It’s very crisp even at f/1.8, but looks like a little flat because I purposefully underexposed a bit to give me more highlight room in the sky. A little post processing and the image becomes exceptional:

Wide Open Landscape (Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ART)

All in all you won’t have a problem producing stunning images with this lens, though if you have never composed with a lens this wide it may require some retooling of your mental approach to composition.

Remember that you will often need a foreground element to fill in space so that your image doesn’t look “empty”. Here’s a few landscape samples:

I recommend that you check out the Image Galleries to see more sample images from the Sigma 14mm ART.

Conclusion

There are a lot of photographers who have been very excited about this lens, and my time spent with it leaves me to conclude that they have good reason to be. I noted that the lens has some challenges due to its nature (it’s expensive, heavy, and cannot use normal filters), but Sigma deserves some applause here for once again pulling off what no other lens maker has done. They took on the brief of creating an extremely sharp wide angle prime with a record-setting maximum aperture at this focal length and nailed it. The Sigma 14mm ART isn’t perfect, but neither does it have any fatal flaws, either. It’s imperfections (coma, distortion, vignette) are all so mild as to have little true impact on photographers, while its strengths (resolution, flare resistance, lack of chromatic aberrations) should make it appealing to those with high resolution camera systems looking for a landscape lens that can deliver exceptional results. The wide aperture will also appeal to some wedding and event photographers who crave more light gathering (and action stopping!) than what the average lens can provide. I do think the price and weight may discourage some potential buyers, but those for whom these are not major obstacles will undoubtedly be pleased with the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM ART…another unique lens from Sigma in its ART series.

Pros:

Class leading resolution
Largest maximum aperture ever at 14mm
Excellent flare resistance
Extremely good chromatic aberration control
Low levels of distortion
Effective autofocus system

Cons:

Heaviest lens in its class
Fairly expensive
Not free from coma
Bulbous front elements precludes use of traditional filters

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Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ART Image Galleries

Dustin Abbott

October 31st, 2017

One of Sigma’s most hotly anticipated lenses of the year is this one – the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM ART. It sets the new record for maximum aperture at such a wide angle (this is a full frame compatible lens), and that makes it interesting for a lot of reasons. It looks very similar in “person” to the 14-24mm f/4 ART lens I previously reviewed, but obviously it is a very different kind of lens. I look forward to giving this one a spin for shooting astrophotography work (that huge maximum aperture is a big deal for this!) I will be running the lens through my standard battery of tests over the next few weeks, but in the meantime you call check out images of and from the Sigma 14mm here. To me the biggest competitor to this lens is the Rokinon XP 14mm f/2.4 I reviewed earlier this year, so you might want to check out that review in anticipation of this one.

Photos of the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ART

Photos from the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ART

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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Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 VC HLD Review

Dustin Abbott

April 11th, 2017

APS-C shooters can be forgiven for feeling like they sometimes get left out in the cold when it comes to quality development for their platform. Canon, for example, has an interesting dichotomy. Many of their lens releases for full frame are of the premium “L” series type, while it seems that an abnormal amount of their releases for APS-C are of the budget variety. The number of premium crop sensor releases is incredibly small, but third parties have jumped into that void. Most notable is Sigma with their 18-35mm and 50-100mm f/1.8 ART series lenses that were just as nice as any of their full frame designs save that these were designed for crop (APS-C). Tamron eyed a hole that was missing in the APS-C sphere: a stabilized, wide angle zoom with weather sealing and more premium performance. They have stepped in to to fill that void with the new Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD lens (internally coded B023). The 10-24 VC comes to the table with a rich feature list, but how does it hold up in real world use?

Tamron introduced the first generation of lens in this focal length in 2008, the SP 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 (B001) lens. Tamron has since relaunched the SP branding for its premium lenses (a smart move, in my opinion), so while the lens has lost the SP branding it has gained a number of important other acronyms. Among these are VC, or Vibration Compensation, which is Tamron’s image stabilization system. The value of image stabilization in wider focal lengths is increasingly appreciated for both video and stills, and I will note that the inclusion of VC makes this lens an interesting option for video. Tamron has also debuted a completely new focus motor on this lens, the High/Low Torque Modulated Drive Motor, or HLD. HLD is much catchier! We’ll deal more with this focus motor in a moment, but it’s addition is equally important both for improved focus and for its properties that also make it more attractive for video.

Tamron already boasted the largest focal range in the class, with the 10-24mm besting other 10-22mm variants. 10mm is the full frame focal length equivalent of 15mm on Nikon and 16mm on Canon, while on the long end it represents a 36mm equivalent on Nikon and 38.4mm on Canon. This is obviously a very useful focal range. Canon released a stabilized APS-C wide angle lens (the EF-S 10-18mm IS STM) a while back, but the 10-24 VC one-ups it in both focal length but also a much more serious build quality complete with weather sealing and (unusually for this class of lens) a fluorine-coated front element. The latter is an expensive addition to lenses that typically cost far more than this one. I don’t need to tell you that having weather sealing in a wide angle lens that might be used for landscapes, time lapses, or near splashing water is a big deal, and Tamron has managed to set itself apart in a more serious class by this inclusion. Has Tamron succeeded in bringing out the compelling option in this class? Is the Tamron 10-24 VC the new lens to buy for APS-C shooters looking for a quality wide angle zoom?

Prefer to watch your reviews? My full video review will give you all the details!

Build Quality and Handling

While the 10-24 VC is not a part of Tamron’s new SP premium line, it has inherited the sleek, modern good looks of that series. This is the first lens that I’ve reviewed from Tamron that inherits the looks but not the materials of the SP line. It looks a lot like those lenses, though with a slight bit less gloss due to being constructed from engineered plastics rather than the aluminum alloy the SP line is made from. The lens looks good, though, with a nice modern look that will instantly set it apart from the previous Tamron 10-24 lens. It is a moderately sized lens that is 3.3”/84.6mm long (a couple of millimeters shorter in a Nikon mount) and weighs in at 15.5 oz/440g. This is compact and light compared to most of the lenses I review these days, but is both longer (10mm) and heavier (200g) than the Canon 10-18 STM. That lens also has a much smaller focal range and lacks the higher grade build/weather sealing of the Tamron, so it isn’t really a completely fair comparison. I mention it mostly because it will likely be a lens that many Canon shooters will cross-shop.

The lens has a substantial but common 77mm front filter thread. Unlike any of the Canon APS-C lenses the 10-24 VC comes with a lens hood, and I found the lens hood shaped in a fairly useful way (wide angle lens hoods can be a bit ridiculous!). It also comes with Tamron’s newly designed front and rear lens caps, which are some of the nicest in the business (particularly the front pinch cap).

The 10-24 VC has a 7 rounded blade aperture, and I thought the sunburst/sunstars created with the lens stopped down looked nice. No lens like this will be a true bokeh monster, but if you are focused on an object at close to minimum focus distance (9.4”/24cm), you will be able to blur out the background somewhat. The lens has a useful maximum magnification figure of right under 0.19x, which is actually better than the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 G2 lens that I just reviewed!!

This is a variable aperture zoom (unlike Tamron’s 15-30mm f/2.8 full frame lens), starting at a moderately wide f/3.5 on the wide end and losing about 2/3rds of a stop of light with a maximum aperture of f/4.5 on the long end. As variable aperture lenses go, this isn’t actually too bad. The Canon 10-18 STM that I’ve referenced STARTS at f/4.5 and ends at f/5.6, so the Tamron can let in a fair bit more light across the focal range. The lens can stop down to a minimum aperture of f/22-f/29 depending on the focal length.

The lens has the two basic switches: AF/MF (although it does boast full time manual override), and an ON/OFF switch for the VC. The two rings (zoom and manual focus) feel pretty good, and operate smoothly. The lens focuses internally, so nothing extends or rotates when focusing. It is not entirely internally zooming, and it actually moves in and out with the fully retracted position being in the middle of the focal range and with a tiny extension (only a few mm) out at both the wide and telephoto ends of the focal range. The manual focus ring is fairly narrow, but it easy to find by touch. The action of the focus ring won’t be mistaken for a Zeiss lens, but it moves nicely. The key feature for me is that with Tamron’s HLD motor there is actually direct control over focus as opposed to the detestable focus-by-wire MF of STM lenses.

Another key upgrade is that the 10-24 VC is fully compatible with Tamron’s Tap-In Console, which will allow users to fine tune autofocus (at different focus distances and focal lengths) along with tweaking other functionality (VC behavior, MF ring behavior, etc…). Perhaps most important is that you can install firmware updates to the lens through the Tap In, helping to assure that your lens is future proof.

All in the lens is both attractive and functional with a build and moisture resistance that is superior to other APS-C wide-angle zoom options.

Tamron 10-24 – Now with VC

By popular request the new B023 now comes with Tamron’s Vibration Compensation (VC). While telephoto lenses have the greatest need for stabilization, I’ve used several full frame wide angle lenses with stabilization (Canon 16-35mm f/4L IS, Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 VC) and do find the stabilization useful. That stabilization not only allows you to keep the ISO setting down in lower light situations (when you don’t need to stop action) but also gives you some creative options. I’ve handheld shots where I blurred water or a moving subway car, for example.

This is another nice implementation of Tamron’s VC. It is virtually silent in operation, and there is little sign of its operation other than the extra stability. No jerking when it comes on and off or any other negative behavior. The stabilization is rated for 4 stops, which means that you can handhold VERY low shutter speeds with such a wide focal length.

I handheld a number of low shutter speed shots while visiting Niagara Falls with the lens. I find APS-C’s grain at higher ISO settings more noticeable than that of my typical full frame bodies, so I’m a little more proactive about avoiding higher ISO settings when I use my 70D or 80D bodies. I shot a number of shots at shutter speeds like 1/8^th second when walking around at night (and at very cool, misty, and windy temperatures near freezing, so I’m sure I wasn’t at my most stable). Despite these factors I can’t recall one image lost to camera shake, which shows the value of that stabilization. It also gave me the ability to blur the cascade of the water and produce some very cool images.

The addition of the VC on the 10-24 VC is a very welcome addition.

New HLD Motor

The new High/Low Torque Modulated Drive Motor (HLD) is an interesting one. It’s clear from both the name and the operation that this is a hybrid focusing system somewhat similar to STM. It employs higher torque for fast autofocus when shooting stills, but also allows smooth (and quieter) focus transitions when shooting video. USM/USD motors typically excel in the first task but aren’t nearly as good at the latter. STM and Canon’s excels at the latter, but sometimes isn’t as fast to focus and robs you of the ability to directly manually focus. I’m not a fan. Canon’s new Nano USM is a significant improvement on STM, but still lacks the ability to truly manually focus.

Tamron has found a way to give us fast focus, smooth (and fairly quiet) video AF focus, but also give us real manual focus/focus override. I didn’t find the HLD motor to be as quiet as the best STM motors for video AF (but it’s close), and not quite as fast as Nano USM in focus speed (but it’s close), but I felt it was perhaps the closest I’ve seen to having these qualities without resorting to focus by wire. Kudos for Tamron; this motor is one of the underrated highlights of this new lens.

A wide angle lens with a not overly wide aperture puts relatively little stress on a focus system, but I did find focus accuracy to be excellent on the lens. It needed little calibration and just did its job. Focus was quick and confident, and I doubt that any will be disappointed with this aspect of the lens’ performance.

Interesting Video Option

The HLD focus motor combined with the VC makes this a very interesting video option anyway, but those of us that own a full frame 5D Mark IV ought to pay attention for another reason.

While Canon has slammed the door shut on mounting its own APS-C lenses on full frame (EF-S lenses won’t physically mount on full frame), they surprisingly have left the door open for third party lenses. The reason for this is that third party lenses use the EF and not EF-S mount. While prime lenses made for APS-C don’t cover the full frame image circle, it isn’t unusual for zoom lenses to cover the the full frame image circle over the latter part of their focal range. That is definitely the case here, and surprisingly you only need to zoom into a hair past 13mm before the 10-24 VC covers the full frame image circle (prior to this there is heavy blackening in the edges where the lens diaphragm is physically obscuring part of the image circle). 13mm is very wide on full frame (on Canon APS-C 10mm is the full frame equivalent of 16mm, so even at 13mm the lens is a good bit wider than on its native APS-C). Good APS-C lenses often look very good on the less pixel dense full frame sensor. Here’s a look at a shot on the 5D Mark IV – 13mm:

One of the most desirable applications for this is in the capture of 4K video, as Canon has a 1.7x crop factor when capturing 4K video on the 5D Mark IV. This would be a great place to use Canon APS-C glass, as they are designed for the crop factor, but as already mentioned they physically won’t fit. The 10-24 VC is a great fit here, as the crop factor means that the whole focal range is usable. 10mm with a 1.7x crop is 17mm, which is still nicely wide on full frame and very useful…more so, in fact, than most full frame lenses.

Footage from this combination looked nice and crisp and the quality focus and stabilization made it an intriguing option there.

Tamron 10-24 VC Image Quality

The B023 has a fairly complex optical formula with 16 elements in 11 groups. Included in that formula is one Low Dispersion element, one XLD glass element, one moulded glass aspherical element, and one hybrid aspherical element. These are designed to help reduce chromatic and comatic aberrations (more on that in a moment) and to help control distortions. Another update over the previous lens is Tamron’s new BBAR coatings have been applied, and my experience with them has been favorable. They are effective at reducing flare effects and helping with contrast. Tamron’s benchmark has been its own excellent 15-30mm f/2.8 VC (which I own). While that lens is made for full frame, it has been a showcase for what Tamron can accomplish in a wide angle lens. I’ve compared a number of new wide angle lenses to the Tamron since its release, several of which were far more expensive than it. While there is always some give and take, I’ve noted that the Tamron has held up very well to all challengers. In short, I think benchmarking the 15-30 VC is ambitious, but that gives a frame of reference to compare against.

Before I go further, I will add that APS-C is not my favorite platform for landscape or low light work. The rougher noise and the nature of the pixels to my eye produces less smooth results. It can be hard to communicate, but I just prefer the look of the images produced by full frame, particularly when viewing and processing them at the pixel level. I say that to say that when I first compared the lenses on their native systems (the 15-30 VC on a Canon 5D Mark IV and the 10-24 VC on a Canon 80D), I had a hard time separating the limitations of the platform (APS-C) from the lens. I decided that I would instead compare both lenses on the Canon 80D. What I saw in that test gave a truer representation of the performance of the 10-24 VC.

I compared the image quality throughout the focal range, but there is one fairly constant advantage for the 10-24 VC in that type of comparison – chromatic aberrations. The Tamron 15-30 VC controls longitudinal chromatic aberrations well (often called LoCA), but it does fall prey to some lateral CA along the edges of the frame. Lateral CA can be corrected for in software, but unlike LoCA it is not corrected just be stopping down the lens. I saw trace amounts of lateral CA in the images from the 10-24 VC, but overall it exhibits less chromatic aberrations than its big brother.

AT 10mm the 10-24 VC is very sharp from f/3.5, and the sharpness extends across the frame reasonably well. There is good contrast, with a bit of that lateral CA along the edges of the frame. As you stop the lens down at 10mm the biggest change seen is that vignette is reduced. Here’s a look at the image quality from left to right across the frame wide open (f/3.5):

The vignette wide open doesn’t produce heavily dark corners, but it does extend fairly far into the frame, so the image as a whole brightens when stopped down to f/4 and more at f/5.6. At 10mm the resolution is pretty impressive even at f/3.5, and stopping down to more traditional landscape values reduces vignette and slightly increases resolution. If you are shooting RAW the vignette issue is fairly minor, as it is well within the tolerance of being removed in post without destruction to the image. Here’s a look at the vignette difference between wide open and f/5.6 at 10mm:

Here’s a quick comparison of f/3.5 and f/5.6 in terms of sharpness at 10mm:

Comparing the 10-24 VC to the 15-30 VC at 15mm is interesting. Looking at the image quality globally you will see an obvious difference in the amount of vignette. The 15-30 VC is perhaps the best wide angle lens I’ve seen for vignette control anyway, but it also benefits on APS-C by having the edges of the frame cut off due to being a lens designed for the larger full frame image circle. Once again the amount of vignette is fairly light on the 10-24 VC, but it extends fairly far into the frame.

With both lenses wide open (f/2.8 for the 15-30; f/4 on the 10-24 VC), the 15-30 is sharper on the edges of the frame but the 10-24 VC has a [very] slight edge in the center of the frame. When the 15-30 VC is stopped down to f/4 and they are both compared at f/4 it has the overall sharpness edge. Here’s a look across the frame:

With both lenses stopped down to f/5.6 the overall resolution is similar, with a contrast edge to the full frame lens. The fact that the 10-24 VC stays this close at such a lower price point is impressive.

At 20mm the results with both lenses wide open (f/2.8 vs f/4.5 at this point) very slightly favors the 15-30 VC, mostly in the form of better micro-contrast. Off center the results are more standardized, though, which indicates the sharpness is fairly even on the 10-24 VC. Here’s a look:

With both lenses stopped down to f/5.6 the 15-30 looks a bit better with superior contrast and less light haze, but the lenses remain pretty close overall.

At 24mm we have reached the end of the focal range on the 10-24mm while the 15-30 VC has 6mm more, so its not surprising that the image quality edge favors the 15-30 VC. Overall it is still fairly close, but once again the contrast edge belongs to the full frame lens, though the absolute resolution is not overly different. Here’s a look across the frame at f/4 (f/4.5 for the 10-24):

If they are both stopped down to f/5.6 the superiority of the 15-30 VC shows up, though:

So in a controlled environment it is clear that the 10-24 VC has some serious optical chops even if it doesn’t quite match the 15-30 VC.

Flare Resistance

One area that the 10-24 VC has no problem matching (and besting) the 15-30 VC is when it comes to flare resistance. The full frame lens has a bulbous front element with a fixed lens hood, but there are limits to just how much that lens hood can shade the front element. Tamron’s BBAR coatings have proven their worth in a number of applications, but they cannot completely overcome the 15-30’s propensity for showing flare/ghosting patterns from side light sources. If light comes from the right (wrong?) angle, the 15-30 is definitely vulnerable. Fortunately the less extreme nature of the 10-24 VC means that it has a flat front element and can use traditional filters (77mm size). It is also far less vulnerable to catching stray light from the side. In addition, it proved very flare resistant, maintaining near perfect contrast even with very bright sun in the frame. I was only able to produce the slightest of ghosting patterns that were negligible and definitely put this lens fairly high on the list of flare resistant wide angle lenses that I’ve used.

Stopping down the lens produced a nice if not spectacular sunburst effect with its seven-bladed aperture. All in all I found the lens produced very nice images when I put the sun into the frame…something I dearly love to do with a wide angle lens.

Distortion

At 10mm the lens isn’t distortion free, but the amount of distortion is minimal. There is a bit of barrel distortion noticeable on straight lines towards the edges of the frame, though when I shot a brick wall I saw little distortion throughout the majority of the frame. Most importantly is that there isn’t any odd “mustache” type distortion pattern that proves so difficult to correct. Here’s the distortion at 10mm, 15mm, and 24mm.

It seems to me that a number of lens makers have figured out how to better control distortion as of late, as I’ve seen fewer lenses with really hideous distortion issues as of late. This shot from the Chateau Montebello shows nice lines overall and a crisp result.

At 20mm there is only the faintest amount of barrel distortion, while at 24mm there is the faintest amount of pincushion distortion. All in all actual distortion is fairly well controlled on the lens. Note, however, that with any wide angle lens you can easily produce perspective distortion by the way you compose. Say you are in a forest, for example. If you attempt to hold the camera extremely level (not tilted up or down), you will find that tree trunks will because straight and upright in the viewfinder. If you tilt the camera up, however, it will look as if the trees are all leaning in towards the middle of the frame. This “keystone” effect is the result of perspective distortion.

Use this lens right and you will only encounter minor amounts of distortion that should be fairly easily correctable in post. You can see many more images, including a number of architectural shots, in the Lens Image Gallery.

Comatic Aberrations

Comatic aberrations, or coma, is an aberration that is particularly important to correct for in wide angle lenses. The most common application where this is important is for those that shoot the night sky. While the maximum aperture of f/3.5 is a hair slower than optimal, this lens is still a valid option for shooting the night sky.

The night sky did not really cooperate with me during my review period (it was a lot of overcast), so I couldn’t test coma in a traditional way by shooting nightscapes. What I did do, however, was set up a test of coma control using a laser pointer. I shot a variety of frames with the pinpoint light source (much like a star) in various points of the frame and then combined those shots together in Photoshop. What I found was that the “star points” looked sharp and precise across most of the frame, but in the corners I did see some comatic aberration. Star points grew a bit of what looked like wings. I’ve seen worse, but I’ve seen better too. I think the lens is usable but not optimal for shooting night skies.

Conclusion

It’s great to see lenses like this being built so that APS-C shooters have more quality lenses to choose from. Tamron has significant improved its 10-24mm lens, adding VC, superior performance, a new focus motor, and a weather-sealed build while somehow managing to not charge any more for it ($499) than the previous lens. Canon has its own stabilized APS-C lens (EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM) at a lower price point ($299), but that lens has a smaller focal range, slower maximum aperture, and lacks weather resistance, so it is hard not to see a win for the Tamron here. Their EF-S 10-22mm lens lacks the weather sealing and image stabilization while costing more. The Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 VC HLD seems perfectly positioned to offer buyers the best of both those lenses. It focuses quickly and accurately, the VC works exceptionally well, and the lens does what it should optically. I see no reason why this lens should not be seriously considered by Canon and Nikon APS-C shooters looking for a quality wide angle lens.

Pros:

Upgraded build quality
Highly effective VC system
New HLD focus motor works well both for still and video
Excellent flare resistance
Distortion quite well controlled
Moisture resistance
Good image quality
Compatibility with Tap In Console

Cons:

HLD motor slightly noisier than STM
Vignette noticeable wide open

Thanks to Tamron Canada for providing a retail-sourced copy of the lens for evaluation.

Gear Used:
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (5D4): B&H Photo | Amazon.com | Amazon Canada
Canon EOS 80D: B&H Photo | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca |
Tamron 10-24mm VC HLD: B&H Photo | Amazon | Amplis Foto (use code AMPLIS52016DA in your cart to get 5% everything)
Adobe Lightroom CC Software for Mac and Windows (Boxed Version)
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Alien Skin Exposure X2 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)

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Sigma 12-24mm f/4 ART Review

Dustin Abbott

December 23rd, 2016

Sigma’s recent ART series has primarily been dominated by wide aperture primes along with a few unique, wide aperture zooms. The one exception previously has been the Sigma 24-105mm f/4 OS. The Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM ART lens take the series to a wider focal length than ever before and is one of the rare lenses in the series without a wide maximum aperture. The 12-24 ART is probably best viewed as Sigma’s answer to the Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L, a monster of a lens that pushed the limits of a rectlinear full frame zoom lens on the wide end. I would be interested in knowing how well that lens has sold, as, frankly, it didn’t incite a whole lot of interest in me. 11mm is an incredibly hard focal length to use well, and I can’t help but wonder how many owners end up taking most of their shots between 15-24mm (ie, the more traditional landscape focal lengths). Apparently Sigma decided the lens needed answering, however, because we have a lens with almost the same focal length (a 1mm loss on the long end). I don’t miss that 1mm one little bit, however, as 12mm is still incredibly wide…wider, frankly, than most shooters will ever need. Is the Sigma 12-24 ART a lens that should make it into your kit? Read on to find out.

Prefer to watch your reviews? I’ve got you covered – just click the video review below!

Build Quality

The 12-24mm ART is a beautiful albeit large(ish) lens. When you take it out of its square padded case (thanks for that, Sigma!!), you will quickly note that the lens is so wide (particularly towards the front) as to seem almost square rather than cylindrical.

Its diameter of 4.02”/102mm isn’t far off its length of 5.08”/131.5mm. The unique design makes it seem that the focus ring is on the lens hood, as it is on the flared portion that towards the front of the lens that does include the fixed lens hood. It is perhaps the oddest focus ring I’ve yet encountered, though there is nothing wrong with the action. It moves nicely, though without a particularly big range of focus throw (not uncommon for wide angle lenses).

In this video you can take a closer look at the overall physical dimensions and build of the lens:

The lens is very dense and weighs a hefty 2.54lb (1150 grams). It has a fairly massive lens cap that slips over the fixed lens hood (like other lenses with a bulbous front element). Unfortunately these caps are a bit of a pain, and I’ve been complaining about them for years. They don’t fit in a pocket very well and are generally a pain in the field. The 12-24 ART’s cap does fit securely, however.

Using traditional screw-in filters are out, though I fully anticipate that third party filter companies like Fotodiox, Formatt Hitech, and Lee Filters will fill those gaps. Such systems (I use the Fotodiox Wonderpana for the Tamron 15-30 VC) work very well for landscape work but do incur additional bulk and costs. The physical dimensions of the 12-24 ART are very similar to the chief competitor (the Canon 11-24mm), which is 4.3”/109.22mm x 5.2”/133.8mm and weighs 2.6lb/1180g. Fortunately the Sigma doesn’t copy the Canon’s eye-watering price tag of right under $3000 USD, although the $1599 USD price tag definitely takes the ART series to a new price premium. It will be interesting to see if Sigma loyalists are ready to embrace this new price point.

The lens feels very well made with a feel something like metal (but actually is not). According to Sigma, the lens is constructed from a lightweight and durable thermally-stable composite (engineered plastics) with some internal metal bits, while the lens mount is made from brass. The lens feels just as good (if not better) than most recent Canon L series lenses, though.

Finally! The ART series has some moisture resistance. From Sigma’s press release: “Mount with dust- and splash-proof construction: The lens mount incorporates rubber sealing to protect the mount from dust and water drops. The front and rear lenses feature a water- and oil-repellent coating that is particularly useful when shooting in a drizzle, near ocean spray, and in a wide variety of other conditions. “ While the language here isn’t exactly enthusiastic, it’s a start. I can verify that there is a rubber gasket near the lens mount and also used the lens in some light rain and freezing drizzle without any issues. Those that shoot in more challenging environments, however, will particularly appreciate this new direction for the ART series.

Though not uncommon, I did note that the when the rear element is moved forward there is a fairly significant gap created where I can see into the lens innards. Under normal operational use this shouldn’t be an issue, but if that rear element happened to be forward and the lens was removed (to switch to another lens, for example), it wouldn’t be difficult for dust to get in there.

The zoom ring is fairly close to the barrel and moves nice and smoothly. The lens is internally zooming and focusing. 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).

Image Quality

The bottom line for many is in the overall image quality from a lens. It is fairly large and heavy, moderately expensive, but if the image quality is fantastic many photographers are willing to accept those compromises. We will examine all the different aspects of the optical performance of the lens.

One minor caveat. I had this lens for about 18 days including the last week of November and the first two weeks of December. The weather was incredibly dreary during that period, so my photos in no way reflect the optimal results that this lens can achieve!

Resolution

If you have a few minutes, I recommend that you watch this video where I interactively look at resolution, chromatic aberration and flare control, vignette, and even coma performance.

I set up a landscape comparison test for the 12-24 ART with two comparison lenses: the Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero D that I happened to have for review at the time (which provides a rare comparison at 12mm) and the Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 VC lens that I used to compare the 12-24 ART at the 20mm and 24mm positions. I used mirror lockup, two second delay, and shot at a variety of aperture values. I observed a number of things, including:

12mm Observations

The 12-24mm is a true 12mm on the long end. It framed basically exactly like the Laowa 12mm. In fact, if anything, it was a tiny fraction wider (see comparison photo above and note that the left side of the image shows a slight bit wider framing for the Sigma).
The Sigma was (unsurprisingly to me) sharper than the Laowa with both lenses at f/4. The 12-24 ART has nicely even sharpness across the frame even wide open. This is a very strong f/4 performance at such a critically wide focal length.

I had previously noted the color rendering of the Laowa in my review of that lens, where I found it had a warm, slight green tint. The Sigma renders much cooler by comparison, but when compared to the Tamron the color rendition is almost identical. The color palette of my introductory video (shot on the 80D with the Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 lens) also matches these lenses. For some reason the Laowa lens consistently produced a different white balance than the other two lenses, but even when equalizing the white balances the Laowa has a very slight greenish cast and is still a bit warmer (see above).
When stopped down to f/5.6-f/11 the sharpness difference vanishes (the Laowa sharpens up a lot while the Sigma is actually a bit sharper at f/4 than it is at f/8.) The 12-24 ART is clearly optimized to achieve maximum sharpness at about f/5.6. This makes it a good match for high resolution sensors that hit diffraction limits earlier, but may present a challenge if you wanted to stop down further for greater depth of field or to create a nice sunburst effect for bright light points. Note below the surprising difference between f/4 and f/8.

The 12-24 ART shows very good chromatic aberration control in this comparison.
“Draw distance” from the lens is good; it resolved the textures and details in the distant background very well.

The 12mm performance was encouraging. The lens showed a lot of resolution at f/4, with nicely even sharpness across the frame. The center won’t always shine compared to other lenses with a lot of sharpness packed into the middle but trailing off towards the edges, but the lens provides nicely consistent sharpness across the frame. Good color rendition and low CA result in nice real world results.

White Above | White Below (Sigma 12-24 ART)

20mm Observations

The Sigma faces a much stronger challenger in the Tamron 15-30 VC at 20mm and at wider apertures. The Tamron is a very sharp lens and that is particularly true in the middle of the focus range. They are basically equally sharp wide open with the Tamron at f/2.8 and the Sigma at f/4. The one advantage I can see for the Sigma is that I can see a bit of lateral chromatic aberrations with the Tamron that I don’t see on the Sigma…and those lateral aberrations persist even when the lens is stopped down.

At f/4 the advantage clearly shifts to the Tamron. At equivalent settings the Tamron is delivering a brighter image overall plus has next to no observable vignette for field use. It is clearly sharper and with greater contrast in the center of the frame, though the advantage is very slight at the edges (the Sigma’s sharpness is still very even). There is still some CA at the edges of the frame that the Sigma doesn’t have.
At f/5.6 the Sigma has gained a small edge on the edges of the frame while the Tamron rules the center 2/3rds of the frame with higher resolution and contrast. A slight bit of the fringing from the Tamron persists in the extreme edges.
At f/8 the Tamron is still has the resolution edge, but the Sigma has a slightly more pleasing performance at the edges of the frame (without correction) because a bit of fringing persists with the Tamron. It is worth noting that the Sigma behaves more traditionally from around 16mm on with peak sharpness coming at smaller apertures like f/8.
I slightly prefer the color rendering from the Tamron. It is a bit cooler but I also find the overall contrast and color saturation a little stronger from it.

Here’s a quick look at some crops from the center and edges of the frame along with the full 20mm image.

24mm Observations

The Sigma showed well on the wide end by having a true 12mm focal length when compared to a 12mm prime. It isn’t quite as convincing at 24mm. Both lenses record 24mm in the EXIF data, but the Sigma is framing a little more loosely. 23mm, maybe? This is pretty common for lens makers; they tend to round up or down to the more common focal lengths. No one wants to buy a 11.9-23.1mm zoom! In the photo below you can that there is a whole tree in the frame that isn’t there on the Tamron (which also reads 24mm in the EXIF data).

Comparing sharpness with both lenses wide open shows neither delivering a convincing performance in the corners. The Sigma is bit better across the frame at f/4 than the Tamron is at f/2.8.
The situation strongly reverses with the Tamron stopped down to f/4. It has noticeably better sharpness and contrast throughout all but the very edges of the frame. Extreme edge performance is a strength for the Sigma.
Similarly at f/5.6 the Tamron has a clear advantage for about 90% of the frame, but the Sigma rules the last 10% at the edges of the frame. This trend continues through f/8, though the Tamron is finally looking sharp in the corners now and Sigma’s lead there is marginal.

My resolution conclusion after looking at a lot of pictures over my review is that while the Sigma isn’t a record breaker in the center or mid portion of the frame, it does manage to provide very even consistency across the frame. It holds up well for the most part when compared to the very good Tamron 15-30 VC, which itself covers a less extreme focal length. I wasn’t blown away by the absolute sharpness from the lens but was certainly impressed with the consistency with which it delivers that sharpness. It is worth noting that if you are shooting with a very high megapixel body (where diffraction sets in early) you will be able to get peak sharpness from the lens at f/5.6 (beneath the diffraction limit of any current camera as of 2016)…at least at wide apertures. The tradeoff is that if you want to focus down further to increase depth of field you may find a minor sharpness penalty at smaller apertures. I did find that peak sharpness figures at 18-24mm came at more traditional small apertures like f/8.

Other Image Quality Observations

The vignette at f/4 is noticeable though less extreme than some of the recent lenses I’ve seen (Zeiss Milvus 18mm f/2.8 and Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L III). I’d say it is right under three stops in the extreme corners. I was able to clear it up completely with a moderate +45 strength and moving the midpoint to a 25 value in Lightroom (no automatic profile exists yet for the lens). It isn’t as good as the Tamron 15-30 VC (the best lens I’ve seen for this), but this a pretty decent performance for going so wide.

I’ve been dealing with a lot of grey weather during my review period (I wish all lenses were released in spring, summer, and fall!!), so I grabbed a brief window when the sun was brightly shining to test the flare resistance of the lens. Curved front elements like all lenses this wide have can sometimes catch some stray rays of light and create ghosts. The Sigma does a pretty good job with the sun shining into that huge front element. Contrast remains very good, and, while I got a bit of prismatic haze right in the epicenter of the sun in the frame, the image looks very good. I was able to induce a small amount of green ghosts, but they were small and relatively unobtrusive. Flare resistance is better on the 12mm end than the 24mm, though neither is bad. At 24mm there is a bit of veiling that I don’t see at 24mm.

With the aperture closed down to f/11 the lens produced a nice sunburst/sunstar. It is better defined at the wide end than the telephoto end. This isn’t quite as strong a flare resistance performance as the recent Canon 16-35L III (which has the advantage of a flat front element), but I was pleased with the overall result.

As already noted, chromatic aberrations are very well controlled. I didn’t really see anything for my use that I would consider needing of correction.

Coma Performance

The weather was anything but accommodating during my time with the 12-24 ART. I use an app for my iPhone called SkyLive that helps determine optimal conditions for shooting astrophotography. I saw mostly ratings of 0-10% (out of 100)! Overcast, snowstorms, and generally a very low cloud ceiling night after night. I had pretty much despaired. Sigma Canada was nice enough to offer me an extra weekend just in case with the lens, and on my second to last night with the lens I caught the closest thing to a break that I was going to get. My app said conditions were 34%. Still rated “Poor”, and typically not a night I’d even bother with, but the next night was back to a 6% rating. You take what you can get.

It was the coldest night thus far of the new winter, and my car said the temperature was a chilly -15C where I set up. The things we do for photography…

The biggest challenge on this particular night was extremely bright moonlight that makes it harder to get good “pop” on the stars, but the results weren’t bad.

More importantly I was able to get a get a good read on the coma performance…and what I saw was really pretty decent. f/4 is not a fantastic aperture for typical astrophotography, but on a brighter night it wasn’t a huge impediment. The high, even sharpness of the lens produced nice, crisp star points. Some of the brightest points towards the edges did become a little wedge shaped, but not strongly “winged”. At 12mm, however, each star point fills such a small amount of the frame that any existing coma can only be slightly seen at pixel level.

I compared it with the Tamron 15-30 VC (a very good astrophotography lens). The lens would still be my favorite due to a larger maximum aperture and less vignette, but in terms of the actual comatic aberrations there isn’t a big difference between the two.

So, while I wouldn’t personally choose a lens with a maximum aperture of f/4 primarily for astrophotography, I see no reason with this lens couldn’t be used for this purpose. Viewed “globally” the end results are quite nice.

Distortion Results:

I did a direct distortion comparison with the Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero D lens. The “Zero D” stands for Zero Distortion, so unsurprisingly the Laowa is a very strong performer when it comes to having extremely low levels of actual distortion (see my review here). The Laowa is the better performer, but the difference is surprisingly marginal.

In head to head comparisons I found the differences in barrel distortion to be subtle at best, which means that the 12-24 ART is definitely ahead of the new Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L III or the Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 VC in this regard. Even without correction (there is no profile for this lens yet) I see little to object to in field use.

It is key to understand that any wide angle lens will produce a keystone (perspective distortion) if the sensor is angled in relation to the subject. If you tilt the camera and compose with your subject close the frame you can get some very weird results (see this lovely portrait below).

This isn’t the same as barrel distortion, however, and can be managed by the way that you compose. If the sensor (camera) is level with the subject you should get nice results with this lens.

I shot a small bathroom to see how the lens would work in architectural situations. The advantage to the Sigma is that as a zoom you have different framing options. 12mm is really, really wide, and in very small spaces (like this bathroom), having a very wide framing is advantageous because it allows you to fit the whole room in. In bigger spaces you might really lose a sense of the details by being so far “removed” from them, so zooming in and framing a little tighter is a nice option.

With minimal distortion and negligible CA the only place I’m really missing a corrective profile is for vignette. There are few optical flaws with the lens.

As always, I recommend that you take a look at the image gallery here to see more real world results.

Autofocus

Autofocus is always a point of close attention for me when reviewing any lens, but particularly Sigma lenses due to having had a number of issues with focus inconsistency during previous reviews. Sigma has touted revised HSM motors with one third more torque in both this lens and the 85mm f/1.4 ART, which I had better focus success with than any ART lens previously (particularly with using the center group). Now, to be fair, a lens like the 12-24 ART has very, very little stress on autofocus accuracy. Its whole focal range is either extremely wide or moderately wide (12-24mm). Then there is the smallish maximum aperture of f/4, so if you are focusing at a distance of 10 feet the depth of field is already infinite from 2.82 feet to infinity. In other words, it is very easy for everything to be in focus all the time, and that is pretty much what my experience has been.

You can focus down closely to 9.45″/24cm and have pretty decent reproduction ratio of 0.20x.

You can even create a little bokeh with the lens, but the situations will be fairly rare for this.

Some reviewers have reported an issue with focus shift (cameras focus with the lens wide open and then stop down to the preset aperture when the shutter closes). In most cases accurate focus at the more demanding maximum aperture equals accurate focus at smaller apertures. But in some lenses there is an aberration where wide open focus does not equal correct focus at other apertures (the focus shifts). The end result is that everything should be in focus, but isn’t. It would take a major amount of focus shift to be evident in the real world with a lens like this, and I personally did not really witness that. Yes, I had a few images that I thought should be in focus but weren’t, but it didn’t happen often enough for me to observe a pattern of poor behavior… and you always have a few misfires in the real world when you shoot a lot in varying conditions.

I can’t account for what other reviewers encountered (and this may be more of an issue when shooting charts than in the real world due to the deep depth of field in most situations with the lens), so I’m not going to criticize something that I didn’t actually observe myself. I bring it up more to say that you might want to watch for this with your own copy, and if it isn’t an issue…just enjoy the lens. Although I am a reviewer and people seek my opinion, I often tell people that the most important opinion is their own. Don’t lose sleep over an issue that someone else might have experienced if you are not!

Autofocus was quick, quiet, and, for the most part, accurate. Enough said.

Conclusion

Overall the Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM ART is a very competent lens. It has few major flaws. Chromatic aberrations are well controlled, distortion is low, and vignette, while clearly present at f/4, isn’t quite as bad as some of the recent releases from other major companies. It does a very credible job when shooting the night sky, though having a relatively small maximum aperture puts it at a bit of disadvantage. It is a legitimate 12mm on the wide end, putting it in rare company.

It falls a little short of a true 24mm, but that isn’t unusual, and I would argue that the true 12mm on the wide end is ultimately more important. It isn’t as absolutely sharp at equivalent apertures and focal lengths as the new Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L III or the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 VC, but those lenses have the advantage of being able to stop down a full stop before the comparison begins. One thing to note, however, is that the 12-24 ART is optimized for f/4-5.6 performance (at least on the wide end of the focal range) and I actually saw a trend where the image quality tended to be a bit worse rather than better as the lens was stopped down. There is finally some weather resistance included in the build. It is a big, heavy lens, however, and sets a new price ceiling for the ART series lenses. It has a maximum aperture of f/4 (that will cool the interest of some for it as an astrophotography lens) and is unable to use traditional filters. It obviously undercuts the chief competitor from Canon (the 11-24mm f/4L) by a large margin, however. I think the bigger question will be how many people feel that they need a lens that goes that wide, and if having the wider focal length is worth the additional challenges that come with it. If you are an interior shooter, architectural photographer, or a landscape photographer who wants to capture scenes with a wider focal length than the standard wide angle zooms allow, however, the Sigma 12-24 ART should definitely be a lens that you take a long look at.

Pros:

Very low distortion
A true 12mm on the wide end
Very even resolution across the frame even at wide apertures
Very good coma performance
Extremely low chromatic aberrations
Nice build which now includes some weather resistance
Good flare resistance
Includes nice padded case

Cons

Sets a new high in price for an ART series lens
Can’t use traditional filters
Some competitors sharper in the center of the frame
Bulky and heavy
Not quite a full 24mm on the long end
Some shooters and reviewers have reported focus shift issues

Thanks to Sigma Canada for providing me a loaner copy of the 12-24 ART for review!

Gear Used:
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (5D4)
Canon EOS 6D DSLR Camera (Body Only)

Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM ART | B&H Photo
Sigma 12-24mm f/4 ART | Amazon USA
Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM ART from Simon’s Camera in Canada (Use code SIGDLA for special gift with purchase)
Sigma 12-24 f/4 ART | Amazon Canada
Adobe Lightroom CC Software for Mac and Windows (Boxed Version)
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Alien Skin Exposure X (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. 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: AMPLIS52016DA 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!

Alternatives:

I’ve recently also reviewed a very different way to get to 12mm – the Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero D lens. Which would work better for you? Check out this video where I look at the pros and cons of each lens.

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 12-24mm f/4 ART Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

November 30th, 2016

The new flagship of Sigma’s wide angle lineup has arrived: the Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM ART. This lens is positioned to square off directly with Canon’s extremely expensive EF 11-24mm f/4L lens. This is a sizable, heavy lens (though not quite as heavy as the Canon), and at first blush seems to have done a pretty credible job of pulling off the engineering involved with such an extreme optical instrument. I’ll be putting the 12-24 ART through the paces in my review process, but along the way will be sharing photos of the lens and the photos that I take with the lens here. Unfortunately it is early winter and very grey, but I’m hoping to find some subjects worthy of the lens despite the challenges. Keep an eye on my YouTube channel for more updates. Thanks to Sigma Canada for getting me a copy of the lens for review!

Photos of the Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM ART

Photos Taken with the Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM ART

Gear Used:
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (5D4)
Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM ART In the USA
Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM ART in Canada (Use code SIGDLA for special gift with purchase)
Adobe Lightroom CC Software for Mac and Windows (Boxed Version)
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Alien Skin Exposure X (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. 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: AMPLIS52016DA 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!

Check me out on:

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

Dustin Abbott

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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Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 ART Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

April 5th, 2018

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)

Related Articles at DustinAbbott.net

Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM ART Review

Dustin Abbott

November 21st, 2017

Build and Design

Autofocus Performance

Sigma 14mm ART Image Quality

Resolution

Sigma 14mm ART Coma Performance

Chromatic Aberration, Distortion, and Flare Resistance

Color and Contrast

Conclusion

Pros:

Cons:

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Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ART Image Galleries

Dustin Abbott

October 31st, 2017

Photos of the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ART

Photos from the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ART

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Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 VC HLD Review

Dustin Abbott

April 11th, 2017

Build Quality and Handling

Tamron 10-24 – Now with VC

New HLD Motor

Interesting Video Option

Tamron 10-24 VC Image Quality

Flare Resistance

Distortion

Comatic Aberrations

Conclusion

Pros:

Cons:

Related Articles at DustinAbbott.net

Sigma 12-24mm f/4 ART Review

Dustin Abbott

December 23rd, 2016

Build Quality

Image Quality

Resolution

Other Image Quality Observations

Coma Performance

Distortion Results:

Autofocus

Conclusion

Pros:

Cons

Alternatives:

Related Articles at DustinAbbott.net

Sigma 12-24mm f/4 ART Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

November 30th, 2016

Photos of the Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM ART

Photos Taken with the Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM ART

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