It has been four years since I last reviewed a premium Sigma DN prime lens designed specifically for APS-C. The last one that I tested was the Sigma 56mm F1.4 DN, which impressed me as a portrait/short telephoto lens that was extremely sharp (one of the sharpest APS-C lenses that I’ve tested). Sigma is finally back with a new entry in the line-up, and this one covers the incredibly important full frame equivalent 35mm focal length. The Sigma 23mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary is (according to Sigma) the APS-C equivalent of their 35mm F1.4 DN ART lens, though, as we’ll see, Sigma’s design brief for the APS-C series follows a different formula than their full frame lenses. Here’s a look at the DC (APS-C) DN (mirrorless) lineup thus far.
Hands on with the Sigma 17mm f/4, 50mm f/2 FF and 23mm f/1.4 Contemporary lenses
We got quite excited at DIYP when Sigma announced their new 50mm f/2 DG DN (buy here), 17mm f/4 DG DN (buy here) and 23mm f/1.4 DC DN (buy here) Contemporary lenses at the beginning of April. We wanted to check them out in person and see them for ourselves. So, while we were at NAB 2023, we headed to the B&H booth to speak with Sigma Technical Representative Aaron Norberg to learn more about them.
Sigma’s Contemporary line of lenses are designed to be as compact and lightweight as portable. Contemporary lenses lack many of the bells and whistles of the Art and Sports series lenses in Sigma’s Global Vision lineup, but not everybody needs those bells and whistles. This allows Sigma to bring the price right down and provide the best possible value for those users.
Sigma adds 17mm f/4, 50mm f/2 FF and 23mm f/1.4 APS-C lenses to its Contemporary lineup
Sigma has now officially announced the three rumoured new lenses in their Contemporary lens lineup. As expected, there are two full-frame 17mm f/4 and 50mm f/2 lenses, along with one 23mm f/1.4 APS-C lens. The two full-frame DG DN lenses are part of what Sigma calls its “I series” full-frame lenses with all-metal barrels available in Sony E and Leica L mount.
The 23mm f/1.4 DC DN expands the company’s APS-C lens lineup, adding to the 16mm f/1.4, 30mm f/1.4 and 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary prime lenses and the 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary zoom lens. Sigma has also announced availability and prices for these lenses coming to Nikon Z Mount.
First photo leaks of upcoming Sigma 23mm f/1.4 DC DN lens ahead of announcement
Last week, we reported that Sigma was expecting to announce three new lenses soon. Two of these lenses would be for full-frame cameras. One is a 50mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary and the other is a 17mm f/4 DG DN Contemporary. The third is an APS-C lens, the 23mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary. They’re expected to be announced next week, and we’ve already seen some rumoured specs.
Now, the first photo of the Sigma 23mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary lens appears to have leaked. Not surprisingly, it looks very much like the other f/1.4 APS-C primes in Sigma’s DC DN lineup and brings the range up to a total of five lenses; Four primes and one 18-50mm f/2.8 zoom zoom lens. It’s now also been rumoured that the new lenses are expected to be announced on April 3rd.
Three new full-frame and APS-C Sigma lenses coming soon
Lens manufacturer Sigma is expected to announce three upcoming mirrorless lenses in their Contemporary range in the coming weeks. All three of the lenses are designated “DN”, which means they’re designed for mirrorless, but only two of them are also designated “DG”, denoting full-frame. The third is a “DC” lens destined for APS-C sensors.
The full-frame lenses are a wide angle 17mm f/4 DG DN Contemporary and a fairly standard 50mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary. While specs have only been leaked relating to the Sony E Mount version, I think it’s a safe bet to say they’ll be coming on L mount, too. The third is a 23mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary, offering a similar field of view go 35mm on full frame for Sony L, Leica L and Fuji X mount cameras.
Sigma to announce three new 17mm f/4, 50mm f/2 and 23mm f/1.4 Contemporary lenses
Sigma is preparing to announce three new Contemporary series lenses, according to Asobinet. Two of them, a 17mm f/4 and 50mm f/2, are said to be designed for full-frame, with a 23mm f/1.4 that will expand the company’s DC DN APS-C lineup. The two full-frame lenses will be coming in Sony E and Leica L mounts while the APS-C lens will also be available in Fuji X. Surprisingly, though, not Micro Four Thirds.
50mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary rumours have been getting thrown around occasionally for a little while, although the 17mm f/4 DG DN Contemporary and 23mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary both appear to be fresh rumours. It seems odd to be announcing a 50mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary when they’ve so recently announced the 50mm f/1.4 DG DN Art, but the other two should be quite welcome.
Viltrox introduces limited series of red lenses, and photographers hate them
To celebrate Chinese National Day, Viltrox has announced a limited edition series of 23mm, 33mm, and 56mm f/1.4 lenses. It’s the trio they already have in the offer, only they come in red – and photographers don’t seem thrilled about how they look.
Viltrox to announce six new Nikon Z autofocus lenses – 3 for APS-C and 3 for full-frame
Historically known more for its lens adapters and accessories, Viltrox has been branching out into budget lenses the last few years and they’ve released a mix of manual and autofocus lenses for a number of systems, including a couple for Z-Mount already, including a 20mm f/1.8 manual focus and 85mm f/1.8 autofocus prime lenses.
Now it seems they’re about to release six more lenses for the Nikon Z mirrorless system. All of them are autofocus. Three of them will be for APS-C format and three of them will be full-frame. The six new lenses were on display at the China International Photographic Equipment and Technology Fair (China P&E) in Beijing, China. Interestingly, none of them appeared on the Viltrox lens roadmap published last year.
Tokina promises five new E Mount lenses in 2020 including 23mm, 33mm and 56mm f/1.4 for APS-C
Tokina has announced that they plan to release a number of new lenses in 2020, including an 11-20mm f/2.8 APS-C for Nikon and Canon, 35mm and 50mm f/1.8 primes for full-frame Sony, but also three f/1.4 APS-C lenses at 23mm, 33mm and 56mm for Sony E and Fuji X mount camera systems.
These might seem like somewhat odd focal length choices, but 23mm, 33mm and 56mm on a 1.5x crop equates to the field of view you’d get from the pretty standard 35mm, 50mm and 85mm lenses respectively on a full-frame body.
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