Hands-on c with Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN
The Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN contemporary is a compact, lightweight wide-angle zoom lens for Sony E-mount and L-mount full-frame and APS-C format digital cameras. Click through this article to learn more about Sigma’s latest compact zoom.
‘Contemporary’ vs. ‘Art’ and ‘Sports’
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Sigma’s ‘Global Vision’ lens line has three sub-brands: ‘Art’, which Sigma reserves for its best-performing and most expensive optics, ‘Contemporary’, which describes the company’s enthusiastic lenses, emphasizing compactness and uniqueness, or unusual Focal length range, and ‘Sport’, the brand that Sigma uses for its long telephoto prime and telezim.
The 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN is a ‘contemporary’ lens designed to accompany the 28-70mm F2.8 DG DN. C, provides the same constant maximum aperture of F2.8 in a highly compact form factor. Used in the APS-C body, it covers a focal length range equivalent to 24-42 mm in full-frame conditions.
Size and weight
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16-28mm F2.8 DG DN | C is really small, considering it covers a full-frame imaging circle. Weighing in at just 450g (~ 1lb) and measuring just 100.6mm (~ 4 in), it’s a perfect companion to the small full-frame ILC like the Panasonic Lumix DC-S5, but doesn’t feel unbalanced on a body as big as the S1R pictured above.
Somewhat unusual for such a lens, the zoom movement is complete InternalWhich means the lens doesn’t change in length at all when zoomed.
Optical construction
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Optically, 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN | The C11 group consists of 16 components, including five FLDs (Sigma describes them). Fluorite-like) And four aspherical lens components. The minimum focus is 25 cm (9.9 inches), providing a respectable maximum fertility ratio of 1: 5.6.
The nine rounded aperture blades help ensure rounded out-of-focus highlights when you stop outside the maximum aperture. Super multi-layer coatings are employed to help keep contrast high and a minimum spread.
Construction and handling
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Despite its light weight and compact dimensions, 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN | The C fits perfectly with the other ‘contemporary’ lenses in the Sigmar lineup for a solid and well-formed feel. With the exception of the textured rubber focus ring, the barrel of the lens is almost entirely plastic, but the combination of tight molding and tight matte black finish gives a distinct impression of quality. We’ve all been fascinated by the fit and finish of the Sigmar Global Vision lens, and 16-28mm is no exception.
Controls
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The only physical controls of the lens barrel are a focus ring (man-made plastic), a rubberized zoom ring and an AF / MF toggle switch. Both rings are smooth and well-damp, while the focus control toggle moves with a strong ‘click’ that requires enough power to avoid accidental operation. This is a focus mode toggle – it’s hard to make noise (but trust us – not impossible).
Autofocus
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Of all the criteria for judging such a lens, the least relevant one is arguably the autofocus speed. That being said, 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN | The C is not a slash, and the stepper motor that drives the AF runs reasonably fast and very quietly. The process has enough granularity to ensure manual focus, expected, ‘by wire’, and precise control if you need to take it in hand.
In addition to stills, of course, 16-28mm is designed for use in video shooting, where both silent autofocus and smooth manual focus are advantageous during filming.
Seal mount
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This image shows the back of the lens, and highlights the thin rubber gasket around the brass mount that helps protect dust and moisture from entering the camera. Sigma makes no great claims about weather-ceiling but describes mounts accordingly (and Only Mount) as ‘dust and splash resistant’.
Go to seven
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No, this is not the 22nd model of the lens to exit the production line: ’22’ refers to the year of introduction and ‘0’ is an indication of Sigma’s confidence in the longevity of the Global Vision Line.
In conclusion, Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN | The C is a welcome addition to the contemporary lineup for E and L-mounted shooters, offering a range of useful wideangle focal lengths in one package that won’t reduce the weight of your camera bag. In terms of image quality, it turns out to be a good performance, but in a high-resolution body like the Panasonic Lumix DC-S1R, Sigma’s ‘art’ lineup doesn’t quite match the more expensive optics. Our specimens are usually 16mm stronger than 28mm, but overall performance is very tough given the sub- 1000 MSRP. You can check out a full gallery of samples via the link below.
