Have Lens, Will Travel: Exploring with the SIGMA 24mm F1.4 DG DN Art

A Versatile Yet Unique Focal Length

As a portrait and lifestyle photographer, there are so many reasons to love the 24mm focal length. It might seem like an abnormal lens to use in portraiture, but I’m often working in tight spaces within my home and find it’s a necessity. One of my favorite perspectives is to photograph my subject from above. The 24mm length makes it easy for me to capture my subject from this perspective. I also love to include a lot of the environment within my frame and it can be hard to achieve that with any other lens but the 24mm. I can effortlessly include a lot of important details that enhance the overall narrative of my portraits.

Yet another reason to love the focal length – there are times I need to be close to my children, especially while traveling. I’m able to easily photograph my little ones at play while we are out and about, and not have to worry about distancing myself from them to capture wide scenes. I can be close to them without missing those special moments.

Testing the SIGMA 24mm F1.4 DG DN | Art

Recently, I had the opportunity to test out the SIGMA 24mm F1.4 DG DN | Art lens and it quickly became my new favorite wide angle. The reason is simple. While I love the 24mm length for working in tight spaces, the 24mm F1.4 DG DN | Art is also an ideal lens for traveling. Whether I’m at home or out with my family, this lens is truly versatile, and I can use it everywhere with ease.

Also, being a mother of five children, my hands are often full, so I need a lens that is going to be portable. Weighing just over 18 ounces, 24mm F1.4 DG DN | Art lens is easy to carry, especially considering its large F1.4 maximum aperture. From Chicago all the way to Rome, this compact and lightweight lens captures our family trips beautifully.

One thing that impressed me with the 24mm F1.4 DG DN | Art lens was the edge sharpness. Both the center and edge sharpness are the best I’ve ever seen from such a wide-angle lens. Even shooting nearly wide open with moving subjects, my images were tack sharp. I noticed a clear difference in edge sharpness with the landscape images I captured while in Italy. The SIGMA 24mm lens captured such beautiful, sharp details from the very center to the edges of each frame.

One of my favorite features of the 24mm DG DN | Art lens is the manual aperture ring. You can choose to either set the aperture ring to A (auto) to lock the ring and electronically select the aperture, or you can manually select it. Sometimes, I find that manually selecting the aperture is quicker and more efficient, especially when photographing little ones. The aperture ring is smooth and clicks into place easily.

Over the past several years I have gravitated towards prime lenses for several reasons. One of those reasons is that I love to shoot in low light so I prefer to have a lens that can shoot wide open at F1.4 to keep my ISO down when possible. More importantly, the lens needs to be able to focus fast in this type of light especially when I’m photographing my children. The 24mm DG DN | Art lens does just that. It operates beautifully in low light. Focusing is fast and sharp even when there’s no natural light available.

What Makes This Lens Stand Out

There are an endless amount of reasons to love the new SIGMA 24mm F1.4 DG DN | Art lens. For me, it starts with the lightweight, compact design. I’m able to easily photograph my family in tight spaces within my home, or carry it with me while traveling… five kids in tow and all.

Equally important is the incredible center-to-edge sharpness, which elevates every aspect of my shooting, from composition to the final image. Combine those aspects with the minimal distortion, autofocus performance, and the weather resistant design, and this wide-angle lens is nothing short of impressive in every way.