The Sigma DN Monsters – Part 1 | SHUTTER JOURNEY SINGAPORE

The Sigma DN Monsters – Part 1
– Featuring Trisha Lim as Guest Reviewer

Image: Guest-Reviewers (L) Trisha Lim & (R) Robing Ng.

07^th January 2016, Singapore – Replacing the older Sigma EX 30mm DN for mirrorless cameras, Sigma redesigned the 30mm and had released the Art version recently. More than just a cosmetic rebrand, the new ART series DN lenses actually packs some serious punches. We were issued the 30mm ART & the 60mm ART – both in Sony E-Mount guise and we had invited two guest-reviewers who are Sony a7 series users to try these ART lenses out. This part 1 review will be on the 30mm DN ART and the guest reviewer is our regular – Trisha Lim.

While the DN lenses gives an 35mm equivalent to 60mm for Micro4/3 mirrorless cameras, Sony E Mount gets the equivalent for 45mm. Spotting a fully metal body and lens barrel, the new DN Art lenses comes either in Black or Silver color. The 30mm is super compact at 60.8mm x 40.5mm which fits almost every pocket in your jeans, and it weights a mere 140gm. For that size, the lens feels light but has that expensive feel. Personally I like the focusing ring (a big part of the barrel) as it was designed for super smooth operation.

Like we mentioned, it’s not just about the cosmetics, the lens opens up with a 7 rounded blades aperture ensuring beautiful bokehs. Focusing from F2.8 t0 F22, sharpness on focused subjects was maintained throughout the whole aperture range. On the optics, you get 7 elements in 5 groups with 2 aspherical elements (1 is a double-sided element) for optical distortion corrections and super sharpness – and of course, the company’s famous Super Coating on the front element which effectively reduces “ghostings” or chromatic aberration.

Image: (L) Trisha’a Sony a7 & Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN Art (R) Robing’s Sony a7 & Sigma 60mm F2.8 DN Art.

The Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN Art starts focusing from as close as 30cm and it allows a magnification ration up to 1:8.1. Running on a newly designed Linear-AF system, the focusing is quiet, accurate and pretty fast. (Although we were hoping for a Mini HSM aka Micro Hypersonic Motor) The lens front accepts 46mm screw-on filters and the lens is shipped with a lens pouch and a hood.

So we passed the Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN ART to Trisha Lim and the Sigma 60mm F2.8 DN ART to Robing Ng (Part 2) for a weekend. Let’s check out Trisha’s images that were shot with her Sony a7 and paired to the Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN ART.

“The Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN Art truly lives up to its worth & the lens designation to wear the Art line. Photos from this lens are tack sharp with beautiful colors rendered, this is very impressive from a small and compact lens like this. The focusing are fast and accurate just as expected from a Sigma Art lens. Although this lens comes with a new AF and not the HSM, I was later told by AL the Editor that it is not quite possible to squeeze the HSM into a lens of this size and Sigma do not produce Ring HSM just like how Canon came up with a Ring USM for lens that has a slimmer profile. However the new Linear-AF feels good and it focuses slightly faster than Canon’s lower end AF STM.” – Trisha Lim.

“The Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN Art feels completely at home when night falls. Combining the wide open F2.8 with the incredible ISO from the Sony a7 series cameras, this lens is a night monster. Unlike some of the lenses that I had used before, this lens does not take ages to focus even at night, in fact it retains the same speed as day time shooting. This is a feat for a lens maker!” – Trisha Lim.

“For anyone (especially Sony E-Mount users) who is looking for a standard walkabout lens with a big aperture, compact sized and light weight, good image quality and affordability, the Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN Art is the lens to buy. You will not regret this!” – Trisha Lim

Based on what Trisha had shared and from the images that she had shot, the Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN Art is a lens that you would want to take it seriously. Combining practicality with quality is something that Sigma had successsfully done for the DN Art lenses. As if Sigma had taken a page out of their successful DG & DC Art-Series, Sport-Series & Contemporary Series, the Art-line DN lenses is a new class of its own. I am sure it will be a hit among the mirrorless community.

Thank you Sigma Singapore for the lens!
Thank you Trisha for reviewing the lens!
-Ed.

Read Robing’s Review on the Sigma 60mm F2.8 DN ART here.

Buy your Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN ART here.

For other Sigma Articles by Ourshutterjourney.com, click here.

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IMPORTANT NOTE:
** Sigma had re-organized their whole lens line into 3 category.
They are “C” Lens, “A” Lens & “S” Lens.

C Lens = Contemporary Lens Line

Featuring the very latest technology, and combining optical performance with compactness, Sigma’s high-performance Contemporary line covers a wide range of needs. Lenses in this category are Standard zoom lenses, telephoto zoom lenses, high-magnification zoom lenses.

A Lens = Art Lens Line

Designed with a focus on sophisticated optical performance and abundant expressive power, Sigma’s Art line delivers high-level artistic expression. Lenses in this category are Large-aperture prime lenses, wide-angle lenses, ultra-wide-angle lenses, macro lenses, fisheye lenses.

S Lens – Sports Lens Line

While offering sophisticated optical performance and expressiveness, SigmaSports line lenses deliver high action-capture performance, enabling photographers to get exactly the shots they want. Lenses in this category are Telephoto lenses, telephoto zoom lenses, super telephoto lenses, super telephoto zoom lenses.