Sigma announced the 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art II which it says has undergone a “significant” evolution to enhance the optical performance, autofocus speed, and operability while also shrinking down its size compared to the original.
The new 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art II is shorter while the lens barrel is also slimmer thanks to a downsizing of the zoom mechanism and moving the buttons to a position directly on the barrel. Sigma says that it also reduced the weight of the lens by 10% and changed the autofocus motor to a linear-type system to make its performance significantly faster than the original. Overall, the design has resulted in what Sigma calls “a highly portable lens body” with a maximum diameter of 87.8mm (3.5 inches), a length of 120.2mm (4.7 inches), and a weight of 745 grams (26.3 ounces).
The lens is constructed of 19 elements arranged into 15 groups including six FLD glass elements, two SLD glass elements, and five double-sided aspherical lenses. Sigma says this construction has allowed aberrations to be “highly corrected” and in particular, sagittal coma flare is heavily corrected. It also sports a high level of flare resistance so that point images, such as stars, at the periphery of the image are closer to ideal points.
It features an aperture range of f/2.8 through f/22 via an 11-bladed diaphragm and has a close-focusing distance of 6.7 inches (17 centimeters) at the wide end with a 1:2.7 magnification. It has a click/declick option on the aperture ring, an additional AF-L button (for a total of two), and a zoom lock switch — that last addition is unusual on a lens with this short of a zoom range.
“The lens has high sharpness throughout the entire image from its maximum aperture, even on high-resolution cameras. Focusing on enhancing its rendering performance, the brightness of f/2.8 produces a large, beautiful bokeh effect, and allows users to experience the power of a flagship lens in all types of visual expression. In addition to its advanced close-up capability and resistance to flare and ghosting, the lens is designed to minimize focus breathing,” Sigma says.
On L-mount cameras, the lens has support for switching between linear and non-linear focus ring settings and Sigma will also offer its mount conversion service for the lens if a photographer switches to another Sigma-supported mount.
Below are a few sample images captured with the lens, provided courtesy of Sigma:
Perhaps most impressive is the price: Sigma is asking $1,199 for the 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art II; that’s just $100 more than the last generation lens retailed for and is half the price of Sony’s 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II; that’s the same line it was able to use with its first generation, too. Sigma expects the lens to be available by late May 2024 in both Sony E-mount and L-mount.