Sigma is preparing to announce three new Contemporary series lenses, according to Asobinet. Two of them, a 17mm f/4 and 50mm f/2, are said to be designed for full-frame, with a 23mm f/1.4 that will expand the company’s DC DN APS-C lineup. The two full-frame lenses will be coming in Sony E and Leica L mounts while the APS-C lens will also be available in Fuji X. Surprisingly, though, not Micro Four Thirds.
50mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary rumours have been getting thrown around occasionally for a little while, although the 17mm f/4 DG DN Contemporary and 23mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary both appear to be fresh rumours. It seems odd to be announcing a 50mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary when they’ve so recently announced the 50mm f/1.4 DG DN Art, but the other two should be quite welcome.
17mm F4 DG DN | Contemporary
- Lens construction: 9 elements in 8 groups
- Shortest shooting distance: 12cm
- Maximum magnification: 1:3.6
- Filter diameter: 55mm
- Size: φ64.0mm x 48.8mm (50.8mm for E-mount version)
- Weight: 225g (220g for E-mount version)
- Magnetic metal cap
50mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary
- Lens construction: 11 elements in 9 groups
- Shortest shooting distance: 45cm
- Maximum magnification: 1:6.9
- Filter diameter: 58mm
- Size: φ70.0 x 68.0mm (70.0mm for E mount version)
- Weight: 350g (345g for E-mount version)
- Compatible with magnetic metal caps
23mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary
- Lens construction: 13 elements in 10 groups
- Shortest shooting distance: 25cm
- Maximum magnification: 1:7.3
- Filter diameter: 52mm
- Size: φ65.8 x 76.9mm
- Weight: 340g
- Mount: L mount, Sony E mount, Fujifilm X mount
The 23mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary will be particularly interesting to see once it’s official. As Asobinet points out, it’s the first new f/1.4 lens in Sigma’s APS-C Contemporary lineup in quite a while. It also sits very nicely between the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN and the 30mm f/1.4 DC DN, offering a field of view equivalent to about 35mm on full-frame bodies. Oddly, this lens doesn’t appear to be coming for Micro Four Thirds, as Sigma’s other f/1.4 Contemporary lenses have in the past. Not so oddly, it doesn’t look like it’ll be coming for Canon’s EF-M mount.
At a guess, I’d say the 17mm f/4 DG DN Contemporary is perhaps best suited to vloggers. It offers a nice wide field of view to provide a lot of environmental context around the subject. And being so lightweight, it seems like a bit of a no-brainer to at least try this lens for vlogging – even with an APS-C Sony camera. Of course, such a short focal length on full-frame also lends itself very well to landscapes, events, interiors and other genres, too.
The 50mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary would have to come with an amazing price tag to justify picking this over the recently announced 50mm f/1.4 DG DN Art. Sure, the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG DN costs $850, but that’s already pretty cheap compared to the rumoured upcoming Sony 50mm f/1.4 GM, which is expected to cost around $1,900. I would hope that a 50mm f/2 would come in at less than $500 and, ideally, closer to $400 or less.
There’s no word on when we might hear announcements of any of the three rumoured lenses, nor a price, but we’ll keep you posted as we hear more.
[via Asobinet]
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