Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN ART
– Review by Serene Ong, Edited by Melody Tan
Image: Serene Ong from Serene Digital Crafts with the new Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) mounted to a Sony a7.
16th December 2019, Singapore – Probably one of the Sigma’s craziest Ultra-Wide Zoom lens ever released, the NEW Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (Art) definitely lives up to it. Featuring a new internal design and layout that is not seen on any other Sigma lenses, this 14-24mm was designed for many photography genre apart from just landscape that many had presumed. Sitting on the ART line of Sigma lenses, the 14-24mm exudes everything premium from the construction, materials used and the elements. Designed & optimised for Full Frame Mirrorless systems in FE Mount and L Mount, this is the lens that many had been waiting for.
Image: New Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) mounted to a Sony a7R.
The lens is not exactly small – just like any other Ultra-Wide angle lenses – measuring 85mm x 131mm which puts this lens on the large lens category and weight wise, its not too bad at a very manageable 795gm. (this was why we purposely gotten Serene from SDC to be our reviewer!)
Image: New Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) mounted to a Sony a7R.
Featuring an AF-Lock Button right below the AF/MF switch, many FE users will welcome this feature since Sony users will know some of the most expensive Sony lenses has this AF-Lock button on some of Sony’s premium lenses.
Image: New Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) mounted to a Sony a7R.
Inside the Sigma 14-24mm, there’s a massive elements arrangement with 18 whopping elements in 13 groups!!! (WOW!!!), 11 Rounded Aperture blades that focuses from F2.8 to F22, and starts focusing from as close as 28cm which is pretty standard and typical of ultra-wide angle zoom lenses.
For the record, there’s 01 FLD element, 02 SLD elements & several Aspherical elements which made up the lens groups!
Image: New Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) mounted to a Sony a7R.
Once again, we invited our Contributing Editor Serene from Serene Digital Crafts to review this Sigma 14-24mm. As the editorial team knows that she has smaller hands than anyone of us, we decided to let Serene try and see if she complains of anything.
Check out her comments & images below.
Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN ART
Image: Shot by Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) lens on a Sony camera.
So right after I completed the review for the Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN (C) lens, I was booked for another review by Ourshutterjourney’s Editorial team. I remember I was sharing that the 45mm was great but sometimes it will be better and interesting to go wide, I mean really wide, or ultra wide. Next moment I found myself staring at the Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (ART) lens.
Image: Shot by Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) lens on a Sony camera.
I was wondering where shall I review this lens as the first thing that came to my mind was to do landscape – but also wanting to do something different for this round. Looking out of the window, Singapore is currently at the peak of monsoon season with 85% of the time with the skies gloomed out. That just gave me more reason to stay away from landscape and since I wanted to try something different, I heard Editor AL was visiting Gardens by the Bay with Veteran Photographer – Old King Koh – to shoot toys and Christmas deco, I jumped right in and joined them! (with the Sigma 14-24mm in my bag).
Image: Shot by Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) lens on a Sony camera.
I had shot Toys on several occasions during Ourshutterjourney’s ToyArt sessions and so I will be trying to shoot both toys and scenes at Garden by the Bay and see if I can survive the session with just the Sigma 14-24mm lens.
To start, please check out the slide show below for a scene that I had shot in 14mm, 18mm & 24mm focal lengths for your comparisons. While the differences is clearly seen, wide angle fans may say that the difference is minimal – true to a certain extent, but when you needed that extra 1mm wider, you will appreciate being able to capture an entire scene without having to find space to back off to gain that extra wider angle.
Slideshow: Shot at 14mm, 18mm & 24mm focal lengths.
Image: Shot by Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) lens on a Sony camera.
For this shot above, I went really near to take advantage of the minimum focusing distance and to test out the bokeh – turns out to be amazing!
Image: Shot by Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) lens on a Sony camera.
I shot at almost everything that came within my range. While using the Sigma 14-24mm, I find that the handling was quite comfortable as I’ve got tiny hands. While the Editorial team had warned me that this lens was a little on the obese side, I find it to be quite easy to use.
Especially the button layout, it was pretty well designed, I can still switch between modes easily and I love the AF Lock button, it just made shooting really easy (for me at least).
Image: Shot by Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) lens on a Sony camera.
Image: Shot by Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) lens on a Sony camera.
And shooting toys with an ultra-wide angle zoom lens like the Sigma 14-24mm makes me learn a new perspective, to move away from the usual toy shoot where we frame the toys more tightly to gain the ratio advantage, but doing using ultra-wide angle gave me sweet results too.
Image: Shot by Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) lens on a Sony camera.
Image: Shot by Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) lens on a Sony camera.
I also like the how Sigma 14-24mm handles the corner distortions – like there is no distortion at all. (See the next image) and I am pleased with what I’ve gotten while shooting at 14mm. While I pretty much shot at F2.8 like 50% of the time at spot-focus to the centre, the progressive graduation of the depth of field are seamless and beautiful like the example above.
Image: Shot by Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) lens on a Sony camera.
Check out the above scene, image was not corrected for distortions – because there is no need to.
Image: Shot by Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) lens on a Sony camera.
Image: Shot by Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) lens on a Sony camera.
A quick summary, the Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (ART) is a premium Ultra-Wide Angle Zoom lens. Do not be fooled by the specs (which is already impressive), after using the lens for a day, I will say to those who complain of the weight & size, seriously its very manageable. As for the image quality (mated to Sony), it produces great images with nice colors and lots of details. I will highly recommend this lens to anyone who are looking to shoot Ultra-Wide Angle images – not just landscape, you can shoot anything!
– Serene Ong
Image: Serene from SDC with Old King Koh
For the parting shot…………….
Image: Serene Behind the Scenes for the Review
OK, you guys heard the lady. While the rest of us at the Editorial office are still wondering how Serene survived the Sigma 14-24mm without breaking her arms, the Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) turned out to be a really great lens. Although we do not have the MSRP at press time, we reckon this lens will be in the regions of SGD $2,000-$2,200 before you go “Wow that’s ex!” – go check the price of Sony’s equivalent. Enough said!
Buying this Lens
OK people, Buy your Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN (A) from our Accredited Merchants to experience this great lens for yourself!
Renting this Lens
For those of you who wish to try out the lens before purchase, we are pleased to share that this lens is available for rental at our appointed rental merchant:
Camera Rental Centre is Conveniently Located at:
50 South Bridge Road, CMO Building, (very near to Clarke Quay MRT)
#02-18. Singapore 058682
Website: http://sg.camerarental.biz/
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Contributing Editor – Serene Ong
Started photography with a strong affinity in Long Exposure and Macro, Serene has created a following under the name of “Serene Digital Crafts”. She is an experimental photographer who will keep trying until she gets the shots that she had envisioned on her mind. Of a joyful character and friendly personality, Serene had started to contribute to gear review during her free time – when she is not shooting, she will be dedicating her time taking care of her 2 lovely kids.
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Contributing Editor – Melody Tan
Loves quiet walks along beaches, has a mind of her own and decides everything in life in either black or white with nothing in between. Her priority these days revolves around her 2 lovely kids & teaching them music or photography. A lover of yoga and an avid traveler, Melody aims to visit at least 30 countries before she reach 40 years old – from what we know, she had completed 27 as of 2018.
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