Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN II Art Review

Introduction

Ease of Use

Weighing in at 745g / 26.3oz. and measuring 12cm in length, the Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN II Art is quite a large and heavy lens given its focal length, although it’s actually 85g lighter and slightly shorter than its predecessor.

Its main E-mount rival, the Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II, is slightly lighter again at 695g / 24.6oz. and also measures 12cm in length. On the L-mount side, the Panasonic Lumix S PRO 24-70mm F2.8 is much heavier (935g) and significantly longer too (14cm).

As seen in the photos below, it complements a full-frame camera like the Panasonic Lumix S5II that we tested it with, although it feels somewhat out of place on a smaller APS-C body.

Build quality is excellent given the comparatively affordable price tag. The lens has a plastic shell with a mixture of metallic parts and a compound material, TSC (Thermally Stable Composite), used inside. It also incorporates a brass bayonet mount that’s supposed to be more durable. The optical elements are made of high-grade glass.

In terms of features, the Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN II Art offers almost everything that you need from a standard zoom lens.

This lens does not feature optical image stabilisation, so it relies on the camera body’s own built-in stabilisation, which is fine unless you’re an owner of an older camera body that doesn’t have this feature.

Focusing is usefully internal and manual focusing is possible when set via the Focus switch on the lens barrel. Full-time manual focus override is also available at any time simply by rotating the focus ring.

The Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN II Art lens has a generously sized focus ring, which is ridged for easier grip. There are no hard stops at the ends of the range, making it harder to set focus at infinity. Polariser users should be pleased that the 82mm filter thread doesn’t rotate on focus.

The Lock function switch is a useful feature that helps protect the lens. Set the focal length to 24mm and move it to the Lock position to prevent the zoom mechanism from creeping when the camera is pointed down or in storage.

There are now two dedicated Auto Focus Lock (AFL) buttons that can also be re-configured to assign various functions to the lens barrel.

When it comes to auto-focusing, the 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN II Art is noticeably faster than its predecessor – the maximum drive speed is more than three times faster than the previous model – taking less than 0.10 seconds to lock onto the subject when mounted on the Panasonic Lumix S5III that we tested it with.

We didn’t experience very much “hunting” at all, either in good or bad light, with the lens accurately focusing almost all of the time. It’s also a very quiet performer, which makes this lens equally well-suited to both video recording and more candid stills shooting.

The Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN II Art ships with a good quality soft case and also a plastic petal-shaped lens hood (LH878-05) with a locking mechanism.

Focal Range

At the 24mm focal length the angle of view is 84.1 degrees.

24mm

At the 70mm focal length the angle of view is 34.3 degrees.

50mm

Chromatic Aberrations

Chromatic aberrations, typically seen as purple or blue fringes along contrasty edges, are not a problem for the Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN Art, even at the edges of the frame.

24mm

50mm

Vignetting

With the lens set to its maximum aperture of f/2.8, there is some light fall-off in the corners at both ends of the zoom range. Stopping-down to f/5.6 virtually eliminates this.

24mm

50mm

Distortion

There’s some noticeable barrel distortion at the 24mm focal length and slight pincushioning at 70mm which is apparent in both the Raw files and uncorrected JPEGs.

24mm

50mm

Macro

The Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN II Art isn’t claimed to be a macro lens, but it delivers quite good performance nonetheless if you zoom to 70mm. It has a minimum focusing distance of 17cm at 24mm and 34cm at 70mm, and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:2.7 when set to the 24mm focal length.

24mm

Bokeh

Bokeh is a word used for the out-of-focus areas of a photograph, and is usually described in qualitative terms, such as smooth / creamy / harsh etc.

In the 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN II Art lens, Sigma have employed an iris diaphragm with 11 circular blades, which has resulted in very nice bokeh in our view.

We do realise, however, that bokeh evaluation is subjective, so we’ve included several examples below for your perusal.

Sharpness

In order to show you how sharp the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN II Art lens is, we are providing 100% crops on the following page.