Jaw Dropper

On June 25, at 7:59 a.m. MST, I called Sigma to say, “This lens made me believe in zooms again.” Sigma announced the 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art lens as “the world’s first zoom lens with a constant F1.8 aperture for full-frame mirrorless camera systems.”

I’m a prime lens kind of guy, but even so, my jaw dropped for two reasons: the aperture and the focal range. Ninety percent of my images are taken with three lenses—a 24mm, a 35mm, and a 50mm. With this focal range, I could do 90% of my work with one lens.

Photographers and filmmakers now have the sharpness and depth of field that comes from a prime lens, coupled with some of the best focal lengths for telling intimate stories.

Like all Art lenses made by Sigma, its dust- and splash-resistant design makes it suitable for shooting stills and videos out in the elements. It’s available for the Leica L-Mount and Sony E-Mount and sold for $1,349. I tested it with the Leica SL3. The click/declick and lockable aperture ring provides a unique experience for those who enjoy manually setting the aperture from the lens as opposed to internally within the camera.

The Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art also features a minimum focus distance of 11.8 inches throughout the range, meaning you can photograph at 45mm or 28mm and achieve a maximum magnification of 1:4. That’s like having a macro without the macro. When you look at the image of the Mini Cooper’s engine, you will know what I mean (below).

TESTING

With the Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art lens on a Leica SL3, I headed out to the desert with friends to photograph a turbo-charged off-road Mini Cooper. The project was to tell the story of Nathan, who worked on customizing this car to take a break from medical worries after his 5-year-old daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. This trip was to document the first time Nathan was taking the car off-roading, and it was my first time putting this lens through its paces.

The two primary pieces of criteria I look at when I review a lens are, how sharp is it wide open, and does it render light and color consistently throughout each focal length.

In the Idaho desert, we found some open trails and told Nathan to let the tires fly. A side note: If I can choose, I will always choose to backlight my subject. With the sun setting, I got plenty of opportunity to do so with Nathan and his Mini. For the two hours we were out shooting, I experimented with the range of aperture settings, from wide open to f/14.

I wanted to see what this lens would do and how it would look. I wasn’t disappointed.

As you can see in the behind-the-scenes image (p. 39), I was sitting in the back of a Jeep Grand Wagoneer, and the Mini Cooper is behind us. The contrast in light between the subject and the setting sun makes for a difficult scenario, however the lens performed flawlessly.

When we were not driving, I took advantage of the shallow depth of field and photographed candid moments of Nathan talking, with the lens wide open at f/1.8. When you buy a lens like this, you buy it to photograph wide open, and you expect it to be sharp, and it was.

As a photographer accustomed to constantly switching between prime lenses, it was a real pleasure not to have to, especially in this dusty setting. With the sharpness of a prime lens, and the depth of field, the Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art allowed me to spend more time creating and less time worrying about which lens I needed next.

For family and wedding photographers, imagine having the consistency and sharpness of multiple prime lenses without having to switch back and forth or carry multiple camera bodies. It almost sounds too good to be true, but now it’s not.

PARTING THOUGHTS

When a new piece of technology is released, I’m eager to know the story behind it. Why did Sigma produce this lens and why hasn’t anyone else? Most lens manufacturers have a 24-70mm f/2.8, but why a 28-45mm f/1.8?

It’s a peculiar lens with an interesting focal length, but what makes Sigma so unique is that the company acts like a small business: thinking on its feet, making it quick and nimble. Although Sigma is far from a small business, the company sees the world differently, and it sees the value it can provide to photographers and filmmakers.

When the stakes are high and I need a lens I can rely on, regardless of the conditions, this is what I will reach for. The optical performance of this lens has not only surpassed that of the Sigma 24mm F1.4 DG DN Art and Sigma 50mm F1.4 DG DN Art, it has made me believe in zooms again.  

Tyler Rickenbach is a filmmaker and photographer based in Idaho.