After something of a banner year for the company, Sigma's new year begins with the announcement of two new lenses, the 35mm f/1.4 DG II Art Lens for Sony E and L-mount full-frame cameras and the 15mm f/1.4 DC Contemporary Lens for Sony E, Canon RF, and FUJIFILM X mounts.
The versatility of the 35mm focal length means the lens can accomplish high-quality work across many domains, including portraits, street photography, landscapes, and fashion photography. The 15mm (about a 23mm full-frame equivalent perspective) lens is a fast, wide-angle prime for APS-C cameras, excelling at landscapes, cityscapes, travel photography, and astrophotography. Both lenses represent Sigma's continuing dedication to developing high-speed, top-tier optics with portable, weather-resistant builds.
The 35mm f/1.4 DG II belongs to the company's Art line of premium lenses and its new optical design and feature set reflect that stature. The second generation of this lens comes with a complete optical redesign whose 15-element, 12-group construction yields gains in sharpness, bokeh, and size.
On that form factor front, Sigma claims the lens is 14% shorter and 20% lighter than its predecessor, while in terms of image quality, the improvements in sharpness against the first-generation lens are joined by reductions in axial chromatic aberrations, flaring, and ghosting.
The lens employs Sigma's dual high-response linear actuator (HLA) system for its autofocus system, moving the lens's larger, heavier f/1.4 optical elements with quiet ease for fast and accurate AF in both stills and video applications. This autofocus system combines with the optical design to suppress focus breathing when recording video.
Like other Art lenses, the 35mm f/1.4 DG II boasts premium materials like aluminum and TSC for its build, offering dust- and splash-resistant structure alongside water- and oil-repelling coatings on the front element. The lens is also equipped with two customizable AFL buttons, and aperture ring lock, and a switch to declick the aperture ring.
Sigma's other lens announcement is the 15mm f/1.4 DC Contemporary, a fast, wide-angle prime that also combines optical performance with portability. The palm-sized body is just 2.6" long and weighs less than 8 oz—nearly half the size of an earlier 16mm lens—while still offering a large maximum aperture with uncompromising sharpness across the whole frame, even when shot wide open.
The lens achieves autofocus with a lightweight stepping motor delivering fast accuracy, tracking performance, and minimal focus breathing. In fact, due to its wider perspective and depth of field, the lens excels in video applications, especially those requiring a gimbal. The lens is also well-suited for e-commerce, webinars, and other corporate scenarios.
The lens joins other high-quality DC lenses for APS-C, employing the same dust- and splash-resistant build and water- and oil-repellent coatings. On the Canon RF edition of the lens, the aperture ring is replaced with a control ring, allowing function customization via the camera.
For more information about the new lenses, including additional features, specs, and highlights, be sure to check out the detailed product page for the 35mm f/1.4 DG II Art and 15mm f/1.4 DC Contemporary lenses.
