This Sigma 16-28mm DG DN contemporary The latest addition to the really rough good lens pile that doesn’t cost thousands of dollars.
Construction standards
The Sigma 16-28mm DG DN Contemporary Lens is made of thermally stable composite on the outside, a polycarbonate component found in most of the company’s products. This allows a relatively light texture of 15.9 ounces (450 g) when roughly matched to the thermal properties of the metal parts inside.
Measuring 3.03-inch diameter 4.03-inch length (77.2 by 102.6 millimeters), it is a fairly compact design as it is a full-frame wide-angle f / 2.8 lens. This size is constant because the lens has internal focusing and internal zoom. The lens is made entirely in Japan.
Overall, my impression of it at hand is positive. Both the zoom ring and the focus ring have adequate amounts of excitation so that they are easy to use without being too loose to move away from space. I also noticed that the focus ring has a very smooth start and stop which is suitable for video recording in manual focus.
There is only one switch on the side that has to control the focus mode. There is no aperture ring, no aperture D-click switch, no way to change the intensity of the zoom ring, and no programmable buttons. The front of the lens has 72mm threads for attaching filters which is larger than the 67mm threading of Sigma 28-70mm, so this is not a matching set.
Sigma has some levels of dust and splash resistance because there is a thin rubber gasket next to the lens mount.
Image quality
Inside, the lens uses 16 components in 11 groups, including 5 FLD ultra-low-scattering components and 4 aspherical components. Sigma also employs super multi-layer coatings, to enhance the contrast in the backlit situation.
During the shooting, it was clear that this lens could handle the sun or other bright light sources exceptionally in the shot. As promised, it maintains good contrast, and has only minimal lens flare that does not spoil the images. It has also proven to be a good lens for sunscreen effects. There are no signs of color fringing in my period with this.
Checking the sharpness in the center of the frame, opening 16mm wide at f / 2.8, things start to get stronger. Stopping at f / 4 where it looked best. Then, once you reach f / 11, the photo clearly starts to soften from scattering. At a 16mm angle, it was still f / 4 which looks the sharpest.
At the 28mm edge, seeing the sharpness of the center, wide open is fine but it starts badly from 16mm. Stopped at f / 4.5 where it looked best. From here, the 28mm retains the sharpness for a long time and the frame starts to soften clearly until f / 16. In the corner, f / 8 looked the sharpest.
The lens uses a nine-blade spherical aperture for smooth bokeh and the defocused image quality is good but it did not close my socks. The bokeh ball has a small layer at the edges on the outside of the engagement and focus that usually comes with a wide-angle lens. Still, it’s not bad enough to make the images irresistible.
Good-round, wide-angle good luck
Anyone who reviews the fair part of the lens, there comes a time when the glass easily falls into my bag and almost immediately becomes like family. The Sigma 16-28mm DG DN contemporary is one of those lenses. No fuss about the lens, but at the same time, whenever I wanted to use a wide-angle for a shot, I knew that Sigma could be relied upon to capture what was in my mind’s eye.
As a tool for photography, it excels in its image quality, gives me the sharpness and detail I need, and corrects myself from any potential problems directly outside the camera.
Have options?
Expensive At $ 900, Sigma makes a strong case for itself as the new go-to for this focal range for 16-28mm DG DN L-mount cameras. From the Sony E-Mount side, intense competition is coming from $ 900 Tamron 17-28mm f / 2.8 Di III RXD. That lens is slightly smaller, slightly lighter, and Sigma has a smaller minimum focal length of 9.8 inches vs. 7.48 inches. As with all, the Tamron 17-28mm will be a good lens and worthy of consideration.
Will you buy it?
Yes. The Sigma 16-28mm DG DN contemporary Handles stress in any lighting condition, has sharp, excellent handling, is not too large and does not cost thousands of dollars. Anyone looking for a wide-angle zoom should be satisfied with what Sigma has created with this lens.
