A lens that may exchange a bag stuffed with primes, whereas nonetheless being lighter and smaller than its predecessor, just isn’t one thing you see day-after-day. The Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC Artwork lens pushes APS-C techniques into territory that was once reserved for far more costly gear.
Coming to you from Gordon Laing, this thorough video takes you thru the Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC Artwork’s strengths and what units it aside in a crowded discipline. On Canon APS-C our bodies, the lens offers you an equal vary of about 27 to 64mm, and on others, it’s round 25.5 to 60mm. Which means you get protection from vast angle to barely past normal, all whereas having fun with a quick aperture. The f/1.8 most makes it a singular software, providing you with get flexibility for portraits, low-light work, or normal walkaround use. Laing factors out that in case you’re happy with f/1.8, this one zoom may simply stand in for a number of primes.
This lens builds on Sigma’s observe report with quick APS-C zooms. The traditional 18-35mm f/1.8 DC Artwork lens for DSLRs was beloved for a motive, nevertheless it was heavy and large. Now, the 17-40mm is slimmer, shorter, and a few third lighter at 560 g, all whereas extending its vary at each ends. It makes use of 67mm filters (extra reasonably priced than earlier than) and maintains weather-sealing, together with a rubber gasket on the mount. The design tweaks for every mount are sensible: on the Canon RF, you get a clicky management ring for publicity changes; on different variations, there’s a conventional aperture ring. You additionally get two customized buttons and a swap for AF/MF. Importantly, there’s no optical stabilization, so that you’ll depend on your digital camera physique in order for you that characteristic.
Key Specs
Focal Size: 17 to 40mm (25.5 to 60mm equiv.)
Aperture: f/1.8 to f/16
Lens Mounts: Sony E, Canon RF, Leica L, Fujifilm X
Format: APS-C
Min Focus Distance: 28 cm
Max Magnification: 0.21x
Optical Design: 17 parts in 11 teams
Aperture Blades: 11, rounded
Autofocus, no picture stabilization
Filter Dimension: 67 mm
Dimensions: 72.9 x 115.9 mm
Weight: 560 g
When you shoot JPEG, lens profiles for distortion and vignetting are routinely utilized, however uncooked shooters will need to add them in submit to keep away from barrel distortion, particularly on the vast finish. Autofocus is fast, quiet, and clean for each stills and video, with face detection performing effectively for environmental portraits and shows. At 40mm, you may simply blur backgrounds for portraits or small group photographs, and focus respiratory is stored in verify, particularly on the longer finish.
Sharpness is powerful throughout the body, even vast open at f/1.8. Stopping down simply barely brings a small increase intimately, however for many makes use of, you’re already getting crisp photos. Vignetting and nook softness are there, however to not the purpose of distraction, and lens corrections deal with most of it. Background blur is well-behaved, with minimal outlining, and the rounded aperture blades hold bokeh clean even when stopped down. Macro efficiency isn’t this lens’ focus, however you will get decently shut for small topics if it is advisable to.
Laing’s video additionally covers how the lens behaves on a full- rame digital camera and the way a lot of the body you may truly use, relying on crop mode, however that’s an space you’ll need to see demonstrated within the video, so take a look at the video above for the complete rundown from Laing.
