Sigma Cine Lenses Review Roundup

Announced earlier this week, Sigma’s new Cine Lenses are making a splash at the IBC Show.

Here are some of our favorite quotes we’ve seen so far!

Newsshooter

Sigma controls its own mass production facilities at its Aizu factory and is clearly in a position to produce high quality lenses in volume – something that smaller bespoke makers cannot hope to compete with. I expect its pricing to be extremely competitive, just as it is for their photo lenses. I also suspect that these are just the first in a wide range of Sigma cine lenses and I for one are glad that the Japanese lens giant is getting into the cine game.

CNET

Sigma reinvented itself in 2012 with a terrific new lens design (I was initially skeptical about the branding) at relatively inexpensive prices, which really seemed to usher in a new competitive era in third-party lenses. Now it’s taking it all a step further by getting into the cinema-lens business, hopefully bringing with it the same low prices and quality optics. It enters the market with a full set of key lenses, too, rather than just floating a trial balloon of a single lens.

Resource Magazine

Less than five years ago, Sigma upset the photo world apple cart by changing the game and releasing incredible top-tier optics at a reasonable price point. Continuing on that “game changer” mentality, they have announced the impending release of eight super high-end cinema lenses for Canon EF and Sony E mount (with PL to come shortly after) starting in the next year.

DIY Photography

When Sigma set their mind to something, they really seem to go all-in lately. That’s what they’ve done today, by announcing EIGHT new Cinema lenses at the same time. The new collection of lenses comprises five T1.5 primes and three zoom lenses. Well, it’s certainly a nice collection to kick off their entry in the world of cinema lenses.

It makes sense that Sigma are expanding their range into other markets. Their quality control has gone way up in recent years. Many of their photography lenses now keep up well with Nikon, Canon and other 3rd party counterparts. With the move toward video for many photographers, this is a smart move. And if Sigma’s photography lenses are anything to go by, they’ll be extremely competitive.

Yahoo

Lens designer Sigma isn’t just entering the cinema market — it’s heading into new territory armed with eight new lenses designed for high resolution 6K to as high as 8K recording.

Film and Digital Times

The rumors are confirmed. The big booth at IBC makes sense: Sigma is jumping into the cinema industry with a new line of CINE LENSES. The big news is that most of them are Full Frame, High Speed, ridiculously small and incredibly light. Image quality is outstanding. These are not rehoused lenses. They come from the same factory where the superb Sigma Art DSLR lenses come from—the northern region of Japan—Aizu.

See the new lenses in action!

Sigma Global Vision: The Journey Continues

What a difference a couple of years makes!

Two years ago, we were gearing up for PhotoPlus, just days after the announcement of the Sigma Global Vision at photokina 2012. We were preparing ourselves for discussions and briefings to explain the philosophy behind the three new lines being offered.

At that time, many photographers and technical editors were confused as to what Art, Sports, and Contemporary was meant to convey in a lens name. We spent a lot of time that fall explaining the way that Sigma is rethinking lenses and how this relates to the three new lens markings.

The Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | Sports lens is one of the newest lenses in the Sigma line, announced at photokina 2014. This lens is designed for exceptional outdoor performance.

Shortly thereafter, though, the first of the new Sigma lenses, the 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art lens was released, and almost overnight, the conversations changed. Photographers and editors around the world were blown away by the build quality, and more importantly, the total image quality of this new Sigma, full-frame, fast-aperture wide prime. People realized that this new lens, the original Art lens, was something quite special. It defined the Art category and heralded a new era for Sigma under the guidance of new CEO Kazuto Yamaki. It was the perfect proof of the promise of the Sigma Global Vision. Continue reading Sigma Global Vision: The Journey Continues

Geometric and Diffraction MTF Charts: A Clearer Picture for Photographers

Our technical product information has been expanded to now include both Geometric and Diffraction MTF charts for new Sigma lenses. You can take a look at the technical information about the new Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM | Contemporary lens on the Sigma Global Vision website to see these graphs plotted as part of the total package of information we share to help photographers understand the performance of our lenses.

The Diffraction and Geometric MTF Charts for the Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 Contemporary lens at both 18mm and 200mm.

Previously, only the Diffraction MTF charts have been published, and we will be adding in the Geometric MTF charts in the near future to our full line of lenses. Why, you may ask, are we doing this? Simply, because it helps provide a clearer picture of both theoretical and practical lens performance. And this information allows photographers to more fully understand and comprehend the real-world impact on their imagery of the MTF data.

As you can see, these two charts for the 18-200mm are similar, but not identical. This is due to the consideration of the diffraction of light as it passed through the elements of a lens in the Diffraction calculations. The Geometric chart is a simplified approach that does not include the effects of diffraction on the results. Continue reading Geometric and Diffraction MTF Charts: A Clearer Picture for Photographers

Why the New Lens Mount Conversion Service is Great for Photographers

Many times I’ve been asked on Facebook and elsewhere if it is possible for a photographer to keep their favorite Sigma lens and get a lens mount swap after making the decision to switch from one camera to the next, and now, finally, I can answer them with the answer they (and I) want to hear!

Owners of lenses in Sigma’s line of the Sigma Global Vision lenses: Art, Sports, and Contemporary, can now send their lenses in for a mount swap. This is a paid service, and lenses will be shipped to our Aizu, Japan factory for the mount conversion service. You can read the full details and process here in the press release. For photographers, this is great news.

Previously, there has been a great amount of what you could call “existing lens investment inertia” that made the concept of switching from brand X to brand Y or Z a pretty terrifying financial decision. Deciding to swap camera brands to take advantage of improved autofocus for sports action tracking, or a better HDSLR feature set–or any other personal and performance reasons–meant that you’d also be forced to replace all your lenses to match the new lens mount. But now, with the Mount Conversion Service from Sigma, you can keep your Art, Sports, and Contemporary lenses, and have them switched to the new camera system. (Current SLR lenses that can be converted include the 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | Sports, 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art, 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM | Art, 30mm F1.4 DC HSM | Art, 17-70mm F2.8-4.0 DC OS HSM | C, and DN lenses for swapping between Micro Four Thirds and Sony E-Mount include the 19mm F2.8 DN | A, 30mm F2.8 DN | A, and 60mm F2.8 DN | A lens.)

Continue reading Why the New Lens Mount Conversion Service is Great for Photographers

A Look Inside our Aizu Factory

Originally released to announce the Sigma Global Vision at Photokina 2012, this artful view into our factory in Aizu, Japan, has been getting a lot of views lately as more and more photographers are discovering how Sigma is revolutionizing the world of photography.

Learn more about Sigma’s A1 Testing procedures for new Global Vision lenses, named for our Aizu Factory.

A1 MTF Testing for New Sigma Lenses

On the Sigma Global Vision site, you may read and learn about every aspect of the evolution of Sigma. In this occasional blog series, we discuss aspects of the Global Vision in greater depth.

The Global Vision explains:

There are three requirements for outstanding lenses: fine design, precise manufacturing and inspection that ensures compliance with all specifications. Sigma lenses are born of well-thought-out design concepts and sophisticated, advanced Japanese manufacturing technology: the final clincher is our lens performance evaluation.

We used to measure lens performance using conventional sensors. However, we’ve now developed our own A1 proprietary MTF (modulation transfer function) measuring system using 46-megapixel Foveon direct image sensors. Even previously undetectable high-frequency details are now within the scope of our quality control inspections. The lenses in our new lines will all be checked using this new system before they are shipped.

Thanks to our new sensors, with their extremely high resolution, you can expect our high-performance lenses to be better than ever.

At the heart of the A1 measurement system is the same Merrill Generation 46 Megapixel Foveon sensor in the Sigma SD1 Merrill, and the Merrill Generation DP cameras. The incredible resolution of this sensor makes it perfectly suited to this advanced scientific purpose. The lenses to be measured are hooked up to the  image capture device, and the special charts are captured and analyzed using new, proprietary algorithms designed to work in conjunction with the high-resolution sensor. This level of detail analysis is critical for creating lenses capable of meeting the demands of the most detailed image sensors in cameras such as the Sigma SD1 Merrill and the Nikon D800.

Continue reading A1 MTF Testing for New Sigma Lenses

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