Sigma 28-105mm 2.8 Art Follow Up
- drwhite75
- Jul 3
- 6 min read
Back in July 2024 I had the pleasure of being one of the first photogrphers to get to try the new Sigma 28-105mm 2.8 Art lens that was soon to be released. It was an opportunity I jumped at when offered to me. I wrote this blog for Sigma after using the lens for a few weeks. https://blog.sigmaphoto.com/2024/first-look-sigma-28-105mm-f2-8-dg-dn-art-lens/ You'll see the images I took back then. In that blog I mentioned that I couldn't wait to own the lens myself. Now I do and it's been nothing but pure joy to shoot with on my Nikon Z8.
I wanted to give a little update on the lens and share a few more technical aspects of the construction.
Below info taken directly from BH Website because I'm not that great at explaining it..
Based on my personal experience with the lens, this is what it means to me.
The lens is extremely share throughout the focal range from 28mm to 105mm and for night photography the corners are very sharp at 2.8. The color of even the raw files are very nice. The lens provides a beautiful amount of contrast along with the color to give you an incredible starting point for raw files and instantly printable/publishable files if you need to shoot jpgs...
Lens Features
Two AF-L buttons are available to be programmed based on your shooting needs.
A zoom lock switch prevents the lens from accidentally extending.
The lockable aperture ring with click/de-click function enables smooth adjustments and prevents unintentional value changes
Optical Design
Two F Low Dispersion (FLD) and one Special Low Dispersion (SLD) elements markedly reduce chromatic aberrations and color fringing throughout the zoom range for improved clarity and color accuracy.
Five aspherical elements control spherical aberrations and distortion for increased sharpness and accurate rendering.
A water- and oil-repellant coating is applied to the front lens element to minimize any liquids from sticking to the glass.
Additional Lens Benefits
Lens construction: 18 elements in 13 groups.
Lens weight is approximately 2 lb. The lens barrel near the mount is made of magnesium instead of aluminum, contributing to its lightweight design and allowing users to shoot longer without fatigue.
82mm filter thread for wide compatibility.
Aside from shooting landscapes and general photography, one of the main reasons I wanted this lens was for its 2.8 f stop throughout the entire focal range. This means that it's a fantastic lens for night photography too. So i'll start and end the blog with night photos.
This image "Echo Lake Stars" was shot on the morning of March 3rd. It was very cold and clear out. I arrived at Echo Lake near Idaho Springs, Colorado. I'll admit I was hoping for more snow on the trees but we take what we can get, right. I knew this would be a good opportunity to not only test the low light ability of the Z8 (this blog isn't about the Z8) but to really test the lens in low light again, this time not shooting the Milky Way but just the stars.
The lens did an amazing job with manual focusing, as you can see the details are razor sharp which allows for larger than normal printing if needed. (That's another topic for another blog). After shooting the landscape I then took a series of shots for the sky to help reduce the noise for a better overall image. You don't want a nice clean foreground with a noisy sky, that just wouldn't look right. Even in the cold weather the lens performed flawlessly. I'll show you my most recent image of the night sky at the end of the blog..
We have scrub oak trees around our place that look like fall color most of the year. I captured this more intimate scene of the leaves and branches in all their details. Even at 95mm there is detail from edge to edge, corner to corner. The versitile zoom range really lets you perfect your composition in camera so there is less to do in post processing. The Low Dispersion elements in the lens do a fantastic job of eliminating the Chromatic Abberations that could potentially be problematic in scenes like this.
With the lens coming in right at 2lbs, it makes it an easy walking around lens that I don't feel I need to put away in my bag when walking from place to place. The 2 above images were shot the same morning and are roughly 1/4 mile from each other. While this is a short distance to me, some may consider it longer when walking through the snow. I've walked around towns for several hours and never felt like the lens was too heavy or bulky. I find it balanced well on all 3 cameras I used it with... Nikon Z8, Sigma fp L & Lumix S5ii
When I sat down to photograph these geese I thought they were going to all swim/fly away. The exact opposite happened, they came right up to me to see what I was about. They were moving so fast and my camera wasn't set up to shoot wildlife (AF tracking) so I just did the best I could and was able to capture this image of the goose looking right at me. The lens nailed the focus to give the feathers incredible details to go along with the razor sharp eyes.
Because I generally walk around with my camera & lenses down to my side, I really like the Zoom lock switch which keeps my lens at 28mm so it doesn't extend down while I'm walking.
I'm an absolute sucker for ice photos. Normally, I'd whip out my Sigma 105mm 2.8 macro lens for shots like this. Now I can take advantage of the Sigma 28-105mm's close focusing ability and save the macro lens for more technical work. The crazy amount of details in this image, shows how well the lens performs even at close distances. I'd say the ice is only about 2-3 inches from the golden water below.
The images below showcase what I like to call, subtle details. Snow is the perfect example. By being able to visually see the small bits of snow, it really helps to tell the story of the image rather then if the snow was blown out or not in proper focus. The Sigma 28-105mm 2.8 Art really does a great job of nailing the focus to bring all the deails to the viewer.
Recently while walking around town, I captured a couple images that show differences in the lens ability. Please click on them to see a bit better.
The portrait shows the amazing close focusing ability to capture all the details while shooting at F/2.8 to allow for a gorgeous blurred background. The Street Sign image shows how we can use the zoom range to fill the frame and keep everyting in focus. These are nothing facny by any means but if you're looking for a good travel lens, this one is hard to beat... I need to get out and do some city night photography with it soon.
Mid day walking around lens, the Sigma 28-105mm 2.8 lens can really do it all. It's the new workhorse standard by which all other 24-105's should be compared to. Even after all the shooting I've done with this lens, I've never been in a situaltion where I couldn't get a shot because it was 28mm not 24mm. The 4mm isn't something I even notice and neither will you unless you're working in a confined space or studio.
I really like the idea of having my gear weather sealed for better protection against the elements. When your lens is this close to the water you feel safer knowing it's sealed.
Color, contrast and clarity are all important when it comes to photography and lenses.
I've always said if you want to upgrade your equipment, it's best to look at your lenses first. No matter how good your camera sensor is, it will only record the light that passes through all the elements of the lens...If it doesn't hit your sensor with crisp, colorful details, your camera can't make adjustments to give you a better file.. This is one reason why most people never keep their kit lenses after a year. They are striving for better images and better images come from better light being passed through the lens onto your sensor.
If you enjoy night photography and don't want to buy a bunch of different lenses for the various types of photography you do, I highly encourage you to look at this lens...
Both of the images above were shot with the Sigma 28-105mm 2.8 Art lens. 28mm is my favorite focal length for shooting the Milky Way. I also have the Sigma 28 1.4 Art lens which rarely leaves my D850 which is my dedicated night photography camera. Now that I have the 28-105mm I'm shooting with it in addition to my other lenses.
I can't say enough good things about this lens, it's features and the build quality. I still own the Sigma 24-105mm F/4 F mount lens that I bought roughly 12 years ago... I suspect I'll own this 28-105 even longer... If you have any specific questions about the lens, please don't hesitate to ask. The lens is fast, fairly lightweight, super quick auto focus and makes photography fun without the hassle of changing lenses all the time!
I appreciate you taking the time to visit and read the blog.
All the best shooting to you!
Darren
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