It’s hugely impressive in terms of build quality, handling, and the performance of its autofocus and stabilization systems. The Sigma 24-70mm Art is a fabulous lens.

Resistance to ghosting and flare is also very good. Distortions are also very well controlled, performance being on a par with the Canon and Tamron lenses and slightly better than in the Nikon.

In this respect, the Sigma easily beats the Nikon lens, is slightly better than the Canon, but marginally less excellent than the Tamron. Colour fringing is minimal, even at the corners of the image frame. Ultimately, the Sigma is every bit as sharp as the Canon and Nikon own-brand lenses, and draws ahead of the Tamron at the long end of the zoom range.īokeh (the quality of defocused areas in images) is wonderfully smooth and creamy at f/2.8īokeh (the quality of defocused areas in images) is wonderfully smooth and creamy at f/2.8, and remains very good when stopping down a little, helped by a well-rounded nine-blade aperture. The only noticeable dip in sharpness is at the extreme edges of the image frame, when shooting wide-open at 24mm. Sharpness and contrast are excellent throughout the entire zoom range, even at the widest aperture of f/2.8. As we’ve mentioned, the Canon lens doesn’t have a stabilizer. The optical stabilizer gave a 4-stop benefit in our tests, matching the performance of the Nikon lens’s VR system but losing out to Tamron’s 5-stop stabilizer. PerformanceĪutofocus is very fast and whisper-quiet, thanks to an upgraded ultrasonic drive system that has a third more torque than in Sigma’s previous 24-70mm lens. It’s certainly no lightweight, but nevertheless feels well-balanced even on relatively compact full-frame bodies like the Canon EOS 6D Mk II and Nikon D750. The Sigma is marginally lighter than the Nikon, but a little heavier than the Canon and Tamron, weighing in at 1,020g. With a physical length of 108mm, the Sigma is a little shorter than the Canon and Tamron alternatives, and considerably shorter than the Nikon (155mm), which has an internal zoom mechanism so it doesn’t extend at longer focal lengths. The rotational direction matches that of Canon zoom lenses but will feel counter-intuititive for Nikon photographers. The inner barrel extends at longer zoom settings as you rotate the zoom ring counter-clockwise, viewed from the rear. The construction is rock-solid and the zoom and focus ring operate with super-smooth precision. The Sigma looks and feels every inch a precision engineered, professional-grade lens. Little shorter than the Canon and Tamron alternatives.And if you should swap your camera system from Canon to Nikon, or visa versa, the lens qualifies for Sigma’s mount conversion service. It’s also compatible with the Sigma Mount Converter MC-11, enabling the Sigma SA and Canon EF editions of the lens to be used on Sony E-mount bodies. Well connected, the lens is compatible with Sigma’s optional USB Dock for applying firmware updates and customisation options like AF fine-tuning.

Sigma 24 70 2.8