Hold on to your hats people! This is SIGMA’s biggest announcement since they entered the mirrorless realm! Well, for many of us, anyway. If you have not yet heard, SIGMA is releasing a brand new 70-200mm F2.8 DG DN OS | Sports lens designed specifically for mirrorless cameras. Words alone can’t express how excited I am for this lens… but maybe pictures can!
I was able to get SIGMA’s brand new 70-200mm F2.8 lens in the field for a quick moto shoot close to home in Colorado, and was also able to bring it with me to Antarctica for a brief ski adventure. In short, it was brilliant. While SIGMA’s 70-200mm for DSLRs has served me well for many years, I was hoping for a more compact, lighter version, specifically made for my Sony mirrorless cameras. Now that it’s here, I can safely say that it’s great to finally have this lens in my photo pack.
Special thanks to Ice Axe Expeditions for supporting my recent photography adventure in Antarctica, where some of these images were taken.
The always-versatile 70-200mm zoom
The 70-200mm has long been a favorite, or even a must-have, focal range for photographers of many genres. This short to mid-telephoto range has wedding and portrait photographers flock to the 70-200mm as eagerly as action sports and landscape shooters do. There are so many use cases for this lens it’s kinda crazy. Personally, I use a 70-200mm lens to shoot portraits, action sports, landscape and even wildlife.
But there’s more to a 70-200mm zoom lens than versatility. Speed, sharpness, build quality and features are also hallmarks of this professional staple. The all new SIGMA 70-200mm F2.8 DG DN OS | Sports lens excels in all of these departments. Let’s zoom in and take a closer look at what this incredible lens has to offer and why you should have one in your camera bag.
Features of the SIGMA 70-200mm F2.8 DG DN OS | Sports
Outstanding autofocus speed
SIGMA has a new AF drive introduced in 2023 called HLA (High-response Linear Actuator) and it is currently found in another one of my favorite SIGMA zoom lenses, the 60-600mm DG DN OS | Sports. The new 70-200mm F2.8 DG DN OS | Sports lens actually employs two HLA drives making the autofocus incredibly fast! So whether it’s unpredictable kids, high flying dogs, or athletes at high speed the lens is sure to lock on immediately to help you capture some unreal moments.
Tack sharp image quality
The image quality of the SIGMA 70-200mm F2.8 DG DN OS | Sports lens is unparalleled. When I look at the images I have shot through this lens, it is absolutely breathtaking. My wife, who is not a photographer, noticed the detail as she walked past my computer exclaiming “Wow, everything looks so crisp!” And of course, those of us with even more discerning eyes will greatly appreciate the immense detail this lens can capture, especially with a high megapixel camera like Sony’s A1 which is what I have paired it with. And this sharpness extends across the entire frame, not just the center.
Lightweight and maneuverable
The lens designers at SIGMA have figured out how to keep size and weight to a minimum. This new DG DN version weighs 47.1 ounces (down from the 63.7 ounces of the DSLR version) and now sports a smaller 77mm front element. This is a significant weight savings and your back will thank you for that!
Another great feature of the 70-200mm F2.8 DG DN OS | Sports is that it features internal zoom. This means the lens is the same overall length at 70mm as it is at 200mm. Video shooters will love this feature because it keeps a camera rig balanced, which is especially useful when using a gimbal.
Fast aperture with highly effective optical stabilization
The constant F2.8 aperture makes the SIGMA 70-200mm F2.8 DG DN OS | Sports lens great for low light shooting. The large aperture also makes it great for isolating subjects while blurring the backgrounds beautifully. This is something that portrait shooters are going to love. For us outdoor photographers, the fast F2.8 aperture will be very useful in pre-dawn and post-sunset light, and also in dense forests or dark stormy days in the field.
In both of these circumstances, photographers tend to shoot handheld, and the new 70-200mm features the latest OS2 Optical Stabilizer giving you 7.5 stops at 70mm and 5.5 stops at 200mm. This will help ensure tack sharp images even at slower shutter speeds.
“Sports” means rugged build and weather resistance
The 70-200mm is “Sports” line lens, meaning it built tough for professional use in extreme environments. From dusty trails in Colorado to ice-covered terrain in Antarctica, I had complete confidence in the 70-200mm F2.8 DG DN OS | Sports lens. It is very well sealed to the elements, and also has water and oil resistant coatings on the front elements. Whether in the dust or on the ice, it was right at home.
Overall Impressions
Having the SIGMA 70-200mm F2.8 DG DN OS | Sports lens in my pack is fantastic. It’s not just fun to shoot, but it’s an incredibly productive tool and creative companion. While I have only had out in the field for a short time, I guarantee it’s going to get a tremendous amount of use over the coming year.
So who is this lens for? Well, really, it’s for just about everyone. It dovetails perfectly with the 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN | Art and 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN | Art lenses, and for many people this could be the ultimate three-lens kit.
If you shoot with a Sony mirrorless camera, it’s an absolute must-have (and if you shoot with an L-Mount camera, check out this First Look article by fellow SIGMA Ambassador Jim Koepnick). Hope to see you out there!
Learn more and order yours!
available for Sony E-mount and L-Mount
This my be a lens I get for my Sony system. This new Sigma lens has the performance that’s way too close to the Sony GM version for a much much better price . Sigma lens build quality usually rivals the anything else or betters it . I have many Sigma lenses for my Sony and Nikon cameras.
Sure hoping Sigma can start manufacturing Nikon Z mount lenses.
Thanks Sigma for ….. well just being Sigma and a class A product with class a morals towards being and lens manufacturer for the people !