A First Look At Sigma's 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary

Today Sigma announces a new lens for E and L mount cameras - the Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN | Contemporary. With a lighter weight, and compact size, the lens is going to be much more "everyday use" friendly than the 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art, and also $200 less. Sigma sent us a 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN | C for L-Mount to test out for a few days, read on to see our initial impressions.



Art VS Contemporary



At the time of its release, the 28-70mm will be the smallest and lightest full frame f/2.8 standard zoom for mirrorless cameras. It comes in at just over 16oz, almost a full pound lighter than the 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art. Using lighter weight materials in the lens barrel construction, and reducing the focal length on the wide end by 4mm allows the lens to be noticeably shorter than the Art, while still making it dust and moisture resistant. At 28mm, the close focus distance is just 7cm, allowing for "casual macro" photography. As with all Sigma lenses, the 28-70mm is made in Japan.




Initial Thoughts and Comparisons



Sigma announcing this lens is a bit of a head-scratcher. While being smaller and lighter is always great for a constant f/2.8 zoom, its not without some tradeoffs. A 4mm loss may not seem like a big difference, but on the wide end, it's noticeable. But unlike the Tamron which also starts at 28mm, the Sigma only goes to 70mm on the telephoto end, instead of 75mm. The price of the Tamron is $20 less, so that is negligible. For L-mount users though, this may be a good alternative to the Sigma Art if size and weight are major factors.

Using a product photography tent with a white backdrop, we tested the Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 C, 24-70mm f/2.8 Art, Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8, and Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM at their widest end both at f/2.8 and f/4 to see how prominent vignetting was. (Sigma 28-70mm tested on a Panasonic S1r, the rest on a Sony A7R III)






We also tested to see how prominent color fringing was at f/2.8 and f/4 zoomed all the way in, about a foot away, and cropped in:





Sample Images (taken with Panasonic S1R):

Stay tuned for a part two of this overview where we go more in-depth comparing the Sigma 28-70mm Contemporary to its competitors, along with more sample photos.

The Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN | Contemporary for E and L mounts can be pre-ordered here.