Lens News

A few days after Sigma announced a new 24mm F/1.4 DG HSM Art lens, the company has revealed its pricing and availability. And the lens will cost a lot less than people were probably expecting.

The Photokina news keeps coming, as Sigma just introduced five new Global Vision lenses for shooting everything from landscapes and street photography to portraits and sports. The new glass includes a 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary, 70-200mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Sports, and the 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports.

Third-party lens manufacturer Sigma unveiled the new 14-24mm F2.8 DG HSM Art wide aperture zoom lens today. 

Although Sigma released their first lens with a built-in Optical Stabilizer (OS) system in the spring of 2004, the company employed this technology in only one pro-grade lens, the 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6. That has changed with the introduction of a more compact/affordable (digital-only) 18-200mm OS zoom. Sigma will not comment about future plans, but a reliable source indicates that...

Because most consumers demand very compact, lightweight equipment, the majority of lenses are designed with a relatively small aperture: f/4 to f/5.6, for example. That makes sense because the same focal length with a wide aperture would be larger, heavier, and more expensive due to the oversized optical elements and barrel. Even so, many photo enthusiasts really appreciate an...

Technical Specifications

Lens Construction: 18 Elements in 14 Groups
Angle of View: 27.9 ° - 9.5 °
Number of Diaphragm Blades: 9 Blades
Minimum Aperture: F22
Minimum Focusing Distance: 100cm / 39.4 inches
Maximum Magnification:...

While searching for a new portrait lens I saw Sigma's APO MACRO 150mm f/2.8 on their website. But wait, you say, this is a macro lens, not a portrait lens! Here's my thinking: Any portrait photographer out there worth his light meter will gladly extol the virtues of a long, fast lens for portraiture. The reasons are simple--limited angle of view to get rid of...