Different camera brands have lenses with specific names, such as Canon’s L, Sony G/GM lenses and Sigma Art. Sigma Art lenses are high-end, high-quality optic products designed for professional photography or videography. Sigma offers quite a few Art lenses, and it can be hard to know which ones to get. In this article, we run through the benefits of using an Art lens and recommend the best Sigma has to offer.
The primary purpose of the Art lenses is to ignite creativity by pairing them with your style, camera mount and photographic journey.
What are Sigma Art lenses?
Sigma Art lenses are designed specifically for capturing sharp and clear images. While these lenses are perfect for photographers looking for high sharpness, these lenses can capture high detail for video as well. For example, Art lenses are great for capturing a sharp focal plane. Canon also claims that these lenses offer unique colors — ones that are different than other lenses. So, while you get a sharp image, you also get a unique look as well.
Sigma Art lenses can be used in a variety of situations. This includes portraits and close-ups. That’s thanks to their ability to capture a large amount of detail. At the same time, Sigma Art lenses work great for landscape, commercial and studio as well. It all really depends on what type of Sigma Art lens you get. Each one offers its own effects and will be best suited to different situations.
Art lenses are Sigma’s high-end line
The Art lenses are the luxury line for the Sigma camera and lenses brand. They are divided into broad categories:
- Wide-angle lenses
- Large aperture lenses
- Telephoto lenses
- Standard lenses
- Macro lenses
- Ultra-wide angle lenses
- Fisheye lenses
Sigma lenses have something for every professional photographer, each carefully engineered for sharpness and optical performance. The Art line also has wider apertures from f/1.2 to f/2.8, excellent focus and top-notch construction. Finally, Art lenses are created in all mounts, so they are compatible with Canon, Sony and Nikon cameras.
Pros and cons of the Sigma Art lens lines
Art lenses produce more vibrant colors than other lenses, such as Canon lenses. Another benefit of Art lenses is they act like native lenses on the camera body you mount them to, making it easier for the lens to communicate with the camera body and retain all native features. Finally, Art lenses are slightly more affordable than other premium lenses.
As for the cons, the most noticeable is that Art lenses are heavier and larger than competitive brands. The extra size and weight are because Art lenses are made with durable metal.
Is Sigma a good brand for lenses?
After mentioning the pros and cons and what Sigma Art lenses are, the question remains, is it good or better than your camera brand of lenses? The answer, of course, depends. However, though Sigma lenses are third-party, the brand is trusted by many professional photographers worldwide. The quality of a Sigma lens (especially the Art line) is often equal to or even better than well-known camera brands. Additionally, Sigma lenses are slightly more affordable. So when purchasing a new lens, keep Sigma in mind.
Sigma lenses abbreviations
Lens manufacturers use different designations in their lenses in the form of abbreviations. For Sigma lenses, we have three lens categories and class abbreviations:
- C (Contemporary): general use lenses
- A (Art): the fastest prime lenses
- S (Sport): telephoto lenses designed for sport and wildlife photography
- EX: old high-end lenses, now replaced with the newer version (Art lenses)
Additionally, we have lens format abbreviations, which are:
- DG: for full-frame sensor DSLR cameras
- DC: for APS-C DSLRT cameras
- DN: for compact system cameras
Then we have lens technology abbreviations such as:
- HSM: ring-type ultrasonic motor designed to provide quick and silent focus
- OS: optical image stabilization
- Macro: macro lenses designed for short minimum focus distance
- Fisheye: very wide-angle view
Best Art lenses by category
Sigma art lenses are perfect for almost every situation, so we will explore some of the best lens options in the following categories:
Prime sets
For Canon EF
- Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art: a unique wide-angle prime designed to produce high-resolution, well-corrected imagery
- Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art: provides fast, smooth and near-silent autofocus performance
- Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art: an optically advanced wide-angle prime that achieves a shallow depth of field and selective focus effects
- Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art: fast standard-length prime designed to achieve high optical performance
- Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art: great for getting images with an exceptionally shallow depth of field and smooth Bokeh
For mirrorless
- Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art: well-suited for landscape, architecture, street scenes, astrophotography and more
- Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DG DN Art: achieves a shallow depth of field and highly selective focus effects and is also suited for working in challenging lighting conditions
- Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN: enables working in low-light conditions and provides increased control over depth of field for achieving shallow depth of field effects
Single Prime
For Canon EF
- Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art: reduce flare and ghosting for higher contrast and color fidelity
For mirrorless
- Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG DN Art: achieves a notable degree of clarity and sharpness with well-controlled distortion and aberrations
Zoom Set
For Canon EF
For mirrorless
Single zoom
For Canon EF
For mirrorless
All Sigma Art Lenses
Primes
- Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art
- Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art
- Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG DN Art
- Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art
- Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art
- Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art
- Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM Art
- Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DG DN Art
- Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art
- Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG DN Art
- Sigma 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art
- Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art
- Sigma 70mm f/2.8 DG Macro Art
- Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art
- Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art
- Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art
- Sigma 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art
- Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art
Zooms
- Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM Art
- Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN Art
- Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG HSM Art
- Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM
- Sigma 24-35mm f/2 DG HSM Art
- Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art
- Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Art
- Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art
- Sigma 50-100mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art
A wide range of lenses for everybody
Sigma Art lenses work great for both videography and photography. This makes them great for both camps and for hybrid shooters. They are designed specifically to capture a high amount of detail. This makes many of them great for portraits and close-ups. This is because the line is capable of softening the background of portraits or capturing stunning Bokeh. At the same time, if you want sharp detail, they can do that, too. They are also great for events such as weddings or travel photography.
The Sigma Art line is an excellent choice if you’re looking for professional quality at a slightly lower cost than your camera’s native lenses, and there are tons of options you can choose from. And that’s great.
