The Sigma I Series, a line of compact, metal-barrel camera lenses, continues to grow. Sigma is adding two new lenses to the family, bringing the total up to six prime lenses, all with similar design language and handling characteristics.
The additions—the wide 24mm F2 DG DN Contemporary and short telephoto 90mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary—look and feel much like the others in the series. Optics are housed in squat barrels, fabricated in black anodized aluminum instead of the more pedestrian polycarbonate materials that most modern lenses use.
The construction, along with on-lens control for aperture, adds appeal to photographers who appreciate tactile control, and pair well with slimmer full-frame cameras, like the Sony a7C, Panasonic S5, and Sigma fp.
Sigma is bringing both lenses to market for Sony E-mount systems, as well as L-mount cameras. The L-mount was developed by Leica, with Panasonic and Sigma itself now making cameras to support it as well. Aside from the mount—the connection point to your camera—the E and L versions are identical.
Other aspects of the I Series design concept continue. The new lenses ship with reversible hoods, finished with the same knurled metal ridges as the lens itself, and snap-on magnetic lens caps.
Sigma skips out on full-on weather protection and doesn’t coat the glass with anti-smudge fluorine, though—the a gasket at the lens mount protects your camera’s sensor, but these aren’t all-weather lenses.
I’ve had some time to use both new entries. The 24mm F2 DG DN Contemporary is the second wide I Series prime, following the 24mm F3.5 DG DN Contemporary, released earlier this year. The 24mm F2 is a bigger lens all around, and about 5 ounces heavier (12.9 ounces). It gathers more light when shot wide open, nearly twice that of the 24mm F3.5, but drops support for macro close-up focus. The F2 is a more appealing option for astrophotography and for anyone who wants to get the blurred background look from a wide prime.
Autofocus is smooth and quiet. The I Series lenses use stepping motors to drive focus, a pretty common choice for optics with lightweight focusing motors. They’re not quite as speedy as the linear motors Sony puts in its high-end 24mm F1.4 GM prime, which is something to think about if you’re a fan of snapping shots of subjects in quick motion, but for day-to-day photography you won’t notice.
The 90mm is the second short telephoto lens in the I Series. Its focal length is more common than the 65mm F2 DG DN Contemporary from earlier this year. The short telephoto view is a classic one for portraiture, and the 90mm F2.8 focuses close enough to get 1:5 macro photos.
And the 90mm focal length nets quite a bit of background blur, despite the lens not gathering as much light as the F2 entries in the series—Sigma markets 35mm and 65mm primes in addition to the new 24mm. The longer focal length comes into play, so you’ll get background blur when working at smaller f-stops too, and rounded aperture blades give the background bokeh a more natural look.
We’ve just published a full review of the 90mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary, tested on a high-resolution a7R IV camera. Check back soon for additional details on the 24mm F2; our review is still in progress.
Both lenses are set to ship in late September, and each is priced at $639.
