Sigma Sigma Sigma this is a surprise Release for me because going back to 2013 Sigma released the 18 to35 DG HSM Something like that it was an apsc f1.8 Zoom lens and at that time it was the Only one available and I remember Because that was just right around the Time where I was starting this YouTube Channel or really trying to push this Growth and every single Tech reviewer That I watched was oozing about that 18 To 35 so you could say for the last 11 Years people have been waiting for the Successor to that lens and we have it Today in the form of this 28-45 f1.8 DG DN now this is a fullframe F1.8 zoom lens and it is the spiritual Successor to that 18 to35 that so many People loved and in this video I'm going To check it out so let's begin this new Art lens comes in a large white box with Manuals a strap zippered pouch lens hood And lens caps this lens is not compact It's large even compared to a decently Sized Tamron 28 to 75 mm G2 and it feels Heavy just over 2 lb 950 G on my scale That being said it feels just as well Built and solid and premium as the 24 To70 Mark I the other thing I noticed is That it does have a floating element Inside so it does make a little noise As You move the lens around Round but this is par for the course as Most lenses with linear Motors are this
Way nowadays starting at the rear there Is a metal Mount electronics and a Rubber gasket this lens is dust and Splash resistant 024 indicates this is a 2024 release minimum Focus is.3 M or 1 Ft and made in Japan the aperture ring Is identical to what you get on any Other modern art lens clicky or D Clicked it's very very well done with Tight tolerances up on top there is a Sigma logo lens specs autofocus manual Focus switch a click switch and another Switch to lock you into or out of Auto Aperture Zoom ring is up next and it's As good as it gets smooth good Resistance good grip well damped and all Of the zooming is done internally so the Lens stays the same size through the Zoom range in front of that there are Two customizable buttons an aart series Logo there is a manual focus ring here As well which is buttery smooth nice and Grippy but it's all electronic so it Spins forever in either direction Finally around the front there is a nice Size front lens element in true art Fashion no lens specs or writing or Logos here it's nice and clean inside This lens has 18 elements in 15 groups An 11 rounded blade diaphragm and Sigma's HLA linear autofocus motor Making everything work together here it Is paired with an a7c and it is a lens That does dwarf the camera body doesn't
It the body is an accessory to the lens Not the other way around anyway apart From the large size it is an attractive Looking lens Sigma is doing a great job With lens design in my opinion now Before I show you what this lens is Capable of there are a couple of things That I want to mention this is an f1.8 Zoom and there are not that many f1.8 Zoom lenses out on the market because It's a challenging task I don't really Know of any of them besides that 18 to35 Which Sigma came out with 11 years ago What you have here is a zoom lens that Is really a bunch of prime lenses inside Of a zoom lens body and in fact Sigma Busted out some MTF charts which show That this 28 to 45 is sharper than their Own 24 mm art and 50 mm art lenses and It takes a big company with big bouquet Balls to come out and say that so I Respect that so here are some samples Taken with my Sony a7c all of these are Straight out of the camera no picture Profiles no edits nothing crazy nothing Nothing fancy this is what you can Expect with this lens and a 4-year-old Sony camera body Ready Set Go [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Down all right so this lens is a solid
Performer it does have a few small Issues but it's a Marvel of engineering Let's talk about sharpness first this Lens is exceptionally sharp in the Center in the corners really everywhere Here it is compared to the Tamron 28 to 75 G2 at 35 mm and at f2.8 it is sharper In the center and quite a bit sharper in The corners even wide open at f1.8 Impressively this art is sharper in both The center and the corner than the Tamron is at f2.8 colors and contrast Levels are excellent the images are Punchy Dynamic and it's really what I've Come to expect from Sigma lenses Distortions are also well controlled There is a tiny bit of barrel distortion On the wide end slight waviness at about 35 mm and the image is pretty flat at 45 Mm vignetting is a nonissue chromatic Aberration is very well controlled there Is surprisingly little of it seen wide Open in bright high contrast shots even When you try to push it it does a good Job of keeping fringing under control Along with this flare performance was Good with a very small effect on Contrast levels and no crazy flares or Anything to take over your image I even Found ghosting to be impressively well Controlled as well whether in the day or At night the bouquet is very smooth Circular at the edges it seems to turn Into ovals instead of cat eyes which is
Pretty cool there's a lot to like from The Optics on this 28 to 45 and really This lens shines at night where it Gathers a ton of light if this is what Your eye sees this lens can gather about This much light and for a zoom lens this Is not something that I'm used to Autofocus performance is solid I found Tracking to be accurate and quick the Linear motor was silent and never seemed To hunt and even with that super shallow Depth of field at 45 mm I had almost no Mis focused photos all right so there Are a lot of positives here but what are The negatives well first I've already Mentioned the size and the weight now This may be more convenient than Swapping let's say three different Primes from your camera bag but this is Probably going to weigh about equivalent To having three separate primes packed Away in your bag and there's really Nothing inconspicuous about whipping This massive lens out if you're trying To be Incognito out and do street Photography then let's talk about the Zoom range I think that a lot of people Will wish that this was something like a 24 to 50 mm when I reviewed the recently Released Sony 24 to 50 I metion Mentioned how even at 24 mm that lens Isn't wide enough for a lot of work Nowadays with stabilization crops even If this lens was a 24 mm on the wide end
People would want it to be a 20 mm it's Just one of those things but the reason I bring this up is because I'm trying to Figure out which primes this lens would Replace yes it could replace the Sony 28 Mm F2 for example and the 35mm f1.8 and Then maybe a 40 mm the 45 mm really Isn't a typical focal length and this Lens doesn't reach 50 mm really this Entire range is a bit narrow but if this Is how big this lens is I can only Imagine how much larger a 20 to 50 mm Version would have been then I have to Mention the focus breathing which isn't Excessive but on the wider end there is Some movement more so than with many of Sigma's newer lenses some of which have No Focus breathing at all through the Range by some miracle and that's not to Say that the focus breathing is horrible But I was just expecting it to perform Similar to let's say the 24 to70 version 2 and it just didn't it was just Slightly worse which may or may not be An issue depending on how you use this Lens now if you take a look at this lens As a let's say a wedding lens or a walk Around hobus lens it doesn't make a Whole lot of sense but if you look at This lens the way it's supposed to be Looked at which is as a production lens Or a video production lens then it kind Of does make sense and sigma spent a lot Of time in their reading materials about
This lens talking about making this Specifically for video production and For people who would use this in studios For YouTube channels for whatever it is And the minimum Focus being as close as It is it would be great for macro like Product shots so that makes a whole lot Of sense and because of the size and the Weight if you're keeping it in a studio On a tripod on a rig then it wouldn't be Much of an issue anyway and the key here Is the difference between f1.8 and f2.8 There are plenty of f2.8 zooms out there That offer way better ranges that are Significantly smaller and still sharp But there is only one f1.8 Zoom that I Know of and f1.8 is 1 and 1/3 stops Brighter than f2.8 that means that a Shot at f1.8 will only take 40% of the Exposure time of a shot at f2.8 if you Keep all other settings the same so you Get much better light Gathering more Bouquet and shallower depth of field all Of this does come at a price however and For this lens that price is $1,349 us and look that is expensive but For a lens that has no other competition I also see that as a bit of a bargain if Sony had made this lens they would be Charging over $3,000 for it you and I Both know it so that is my review of This 28 to 45 mm f1.8 Zoom art lens it's Another brilliant lens from Sigma really Kind of a showoff piece of what they can
Achieve with all of their resources and Brilliant Minds over there in Japan and I think it's going to be a very popular If not slightly controversial lens I Don't plan on adding it to my own Personal collection but if you are Looking for something like this and you Want to add it to your own then uh Please use the link down in the Description to check out read more about It check out pricing pre-order this Thing launches at the end of the month So around the 20th of June 202 4 so it's Very exciting and we'll see what they Come up with next special thank you to Sigma for sending this lens out for Review and a bigger thank you to you Guys for watching these videos and Supporting this channel thank you so Much stay tuned for more have a nice day Bye-bye