Whaaat! Sigma just announced today that they will be releasing a brand new 16mm f/1.4 lens for Sony E-mount and APS-C Mirrorless cameras. This got me thinking... I was just complaining (to myself) that I wish the 15-45mm kit lens on my Canon M6 was available with a better aperture, and lo and behold! Sigma came through and created this new lens, without me even having to voice my opinion to them! Arigato!!!
Unfortunately, this lens doesn't work with my Canon M6, and I recently sold my Sony A6000, (which would have been perfect for this lens). The release of this lens has me curious about buying an A6500 just to try out this lens.
The wide focal length will be perfect for videographers using the lens for smooth panning shots. This would be especially perfect for anybody who intends to use their mirrorless camera on a gimbal, like the Zhiyun Crane or something like that - you want a wide lens for smooth pans and tilts!
However, you also want a lens with a wide open aperture to create sharpness and bokeh! Let's face it - shooting in f/3.5 and f/4 is no fun! Mannnnn, I can NOT wait to try out this new Sigma lens!
Let's take a closer look!
The lens looks to be very well constructed - apparently, it is supposed to be up to par with Sigma's Art Lens lineup.
The 16mm F1.4 DC DN | C is making its first world appearance at PhotoPlus Expo in NYC this week. Damn, I wish I could go and check it out! This looks to be such a great lens option!
The Sigma 16mm 1.4 DC DN Contemporary is a high performance prime with a large aperture of F1.4 designed for APS-C Mirrorless cameras including Sony E mount and Micro Four Thirds. The Contemporary line is part of Sigma Global Vision and is aimed at combining image quality and compact size. The large aperture is great for low light and for creating depth of field and its small size makes it highly portable.
The optical design and stepping motor are said to deliver smooth autofocus during video shooting. The lens design fully accommodates the Fast Hybrid AF of Sony E-mount cameras for super-fast autofocus functionality. Using face recognition AF results in consistent autofocusing on faces, even as the subjects move.
Like all SGV lenses, each lens is hand crafted in Aizu Japan, individually inspected before shipping.
Sigma hasn't announced pricing yet, so let's cross our fingers over here! For automotive shooters like me, you might want to order a good 67mm CPL filter off Amazon already, so you'll have it ready to go once you pick up one of these new Sigma 16mm lenses!