Last month, Sigma announced that it is releasing Sony E-mount versions of its Art lens line to accompany the Canon, Nikon and Sigma camera mount versions. While we’ve been able to use Sigma lenses on Sony’s A7 series thanks to the Sigma MC-11 adapter, the performance is still lacking because it is not a native connection for the Sony A7 lens mount.
Now, Sony users have a native E-mount for the A7 series, as well as other E-mount cameras. However, due to the fact that the identical optics are used for the Sony version, the lenses are substantially larger to accomodate the flange distance for the Sony camera.
Above, the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art lens is shown in Sony (left) and Nikon (right) mounts. Essentially, this is the same barrel length increase as using the adapter on the EF-mount lenses.
The weight increase is minimal, however, since there are no additional optics between the mount and the rear element. We just have to deal with the extended lens barrel. Sigma actually bottlenecks the barrel down as you can see on the 24mm f/1.4 Art lens above. This design minimizes the weight and footprint of the lens as much as possible.
I will be interested to see user reports of the new E-mount Art lenses as they begin arrive to customers later this month. My only real worry is that they feel a little front-heavy with the center of gravity pushed further away from the camera. Otherwise, I think we can expect some winning lens options for Sony shooters.
Sony shooters, what do you think about the new native Sigma Art lenses for the E-mount system?