SIGMA lenses are used in countless admirable photo and video applications, but as a company that aims to continually enhance our overall sustainability, it’s extra special to hear when our gear is used to bring awareness to wildlife conservation efforts.
Escape from Extinction: Rewilding is a powerful nature documentary narrated by Meryl Streep, and directed by Matthew R. Brady. The film was brought to our attention by Director of Photography Eduardo Ramirez-Gonzalez, ADFC, who made excellent use of a variety of SIGMA lenses, including several that are long discontinued, but are still making their mark as they capture the important stories this crew is looking to tell.
This film opened in theatres on September 26, 2024. In summary, global wildlife experts fight to save Earth’s most beloved animals from mass extinction and environmental collapse – armed with a radical new approach to conservation called “rewilding” that aims to restore entire ecosystems, from the cloud forests of Rwanda to the California coast.
Which SIGMA lenses were used for this project?
More than 50% of the film’s runtime explores rewilding efforts on the African continent. Ramirez-Gonzalez captured the African footage on a RED Komodo camera paired with SIGMA EF Mount lenses including the 60-600mm F4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM | Sports, 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC OS HSM | Contemporary, and the 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 MACRO DC OS HSM | Contemporary lenses. These lenses were chosen specifically for versatility, portability, and Optical Stabilizer performance.
While these may not be the three lenses most filmmakers and photographers would naturally turn to for a big-screen production, Ramirez-Gonzalez explains:
As a cinematographer, choosing the right gear for the project is crucial. These SIGMA Sports and Contemporary lenses made the most sense. After intense testing of different brands , I landed with the SIGMAs. The quality of the glass and the sharpness of the optical elements was very impressive and made them the only choice.
Eduardo Ramirez-Gonzalez, ADFC
Filming African wildlife with SIGMA lenses
While there are numerous advantages to the lenses Ramirez-Gonzalez chose for this project, perhaps the most crucial was the range. With two long focal lengths plus a 1.4x teleconverter in his bag, he was prepared to capture both video and stills of large, dangerous, endangered animals from a safe distance. Not to mention the all-in-one capability of the 60-600mm Sports and the light weight of the SIGMA Contemporary zooms made his overall lens kit fairly portable for long days of shooting and lots of difficult travel.
The size, portability, and quick AF were huge advantages for this particular project, plus the durability and the capabilities of the lenses under extreme conditions make them an undisputed winner.
Eduardo Ramirez-Gonzalez, ADFC
Versatile and tough, from town to jungle
In addition to the range, compatibility and performance, there is another thing that filmmakers and photographers need from their lenses, and that’s reliability. For this project, Ramirez-Gonzalez was shooting with three lenses that are not just fairly old (as modern lenses go), but had been through the wringer with SIGMA America for years before they were used to film wildlife in Africa. These lenses were literally shipped back and forth across the U.S. dozens of times, used for countless workshops, handled by hundreds of curious customers, and yet, they performed flawlessly in one of the most difficult environments a filmmaker might encounter.
Filming in Africa is always extreme from any point of view, starting from the trip itself, the changing weather, intense hikes, and of course, working into the animal kingdom. Throughout the filmmaking journey, SIGMA lenses offered me the peace of mind that I was looking for.
Eduardo Ramirez-Gonzalez, ADFC
SIGMA lenses help tell a story that needs to heard
While conservation efforts like this often go unnoticed by the majority of us – out of sight, out of mind, in most cases – the work that so many dedicated people put into preserving the lives and habitats of endangered animals is truly remarkable. We at SIGMA are proud to have been a very small part of telling this story, and we hope that Escape from Extinction: Rewilding offers more viewers the insight we need to motivate change.
