Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens Review

I can't remember a time when an approximately 100mm macro lens was not part of my core photography kit. A lens in this class is both extremely useful and frequently used.

Those two factors increase the value of such a lens and increase the importance of this lens being a high-performing model. The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens heartily qualifies for the latter designation.

This lens produces outstanding image quality, has a high-quality design and build, and the price is low. Seldom is it so easy to recommend a lens — the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens is a great deal.

Focal Length

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Focal length decisions should be made based on the perspective and subject framing desired. How far do you want to be from the subject, and what juxtaposition between the elements in the frame is desired? If tight framing with a longer subject distance is preferred, a longer focal length is needed, and the opposite is also true.

One of the primary uses for a 105mm lens is portraiture. I know, this is a "macro" lens. However, it performs superbly at all normal 105mm lens uses, especially portraiture. The 105mm focal length provides a great perspective for all types of portraits, especially for individual portraits ranging from moderately tightly cropped headshots to as widely framed as you have working space for. With adequate working distance, small group and family portraits are even within this lens's capabilities. A 105mm lens with a close focusing capability is a great choice for weddings, capturing details of a dress one minute, portraits the next, and photos of the rings moments later without a lens change required.

While many sports are best captured with long focal length lenses, not all require such, and you may find a 105mm lens ideal for some sports. The 105mm focal length (like most others) can be successfully used for landscape photography. A 105mm lens also works well for commercial and general studio photography applications, along with a wide range of other uses too numerous to mention.

While the 105mm focal length general uses list is long, adding macro focusing capabilities dramatically extends the usefulness of this lens. Macro lenses are available in a variety of focal lengths, but I find the 90-105mm range usually ideal for general-purpose macro photography.

Typical for a macro lens is the 1.0x maximum magnification, a reason alone to purchase such a lens.

Relevant to the focal length discussion is the working distance provided by this focal length at 1.0x magnification. The longer the focal length, the more working distance is available, and the less likely that little living creatures such as (insects) will be frightened away before or while being photographed. In this regard, 105mm is average for the range of available macro lens focal lengths, with the difference between 105mm and 90mm or 100mm being insignificant for most practical purposes. Those chasing insects and using a full-frame camera might prefer a longer focal length (perhaps 150mm or 180mm), and those working with mid-sized products at close distances may prefer a wider focal length macro lens (perhaps 35mm or 50mm). Otherwise, and in general, 105mm is likely just right for macro photography needs.

Additional focal length considerations especially relevant to macro photography are how much of the background is visible at a given working distance (the angle of view strongly influences this) and how that background is rendered via compression and magnification — the strength of the blur. Once again, the 105mm focal length is average for the macro lenses available in all comparable mounts. With 105mm in use, more background is in the frame, and the background is less blurred than when using focal lengths such as 150mm and 180mm. However, 105mm provides considerably less background and significantly more background blur than wider focal lengths such as that of the Sony FE 50mm f/2.8 Macro Lens.

With a macro lens in hand, nearly everything on the planet becomes a potential subject. Great little macro subjects abound – they are everywhere. Insects, spiders, plants, food and candy, coins, jewelry, craft items, and commercial products – the list goes indefinitely.

Bringing home flowers for your spouse may help them better enjoy (support) your macro photography pursuits, and they will likely appreciate prints of the results adorning your walls.

Simply walking around outside of your house will surely turn up interesting things to focus on. Focusing your mind on the incredible details in nature is a great way to relax.

This lens encourages color blur creativity.

Always helpful to understanding a lens's angle of view is a focal length comparison.

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For lens selection purposes, the 105mm angle of view is nearly the same as that of the 100mm focal length shared above.

APS-C sensor format cameras utilize a smaller portion of the image circle, and that means a scene is framed more tightly, with 1.5x being the angle of view multiplier for the Sony lineup. The 157.5mm full-frame angle of view equivalency does not change the attributes of the lens, with the 1:1 reproduction ratio (subject imaged at life-size onto the imaging sensor) capability remaining. However, again, the framing is considerably tighter at 1:1, or the working distance is significantly longer with the subject framing equaled.

Max Aperture

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While an f/2.8 aperture is not especially wide for prime lenses of approximately this focal length, f/2.8 is common for the macro prime lenses, and f/2.8 is a relatively wide (fast) aperture among lenses in general.

With an f/2.8 aperture, this lens is handholdable and capable of stopping action in relatively low light levels without resorting to noisy-high ISO settings. The f/2.8 aperture provides adequate light for AF to perform well in low light conditions.

Combine an ultra-short minimum focusing distance with the short telephoto 105mm focal length, and the background can be blurred into obscurity. While there are times when everything in the frame should be in focus, most macro portrait subjects look great set against a creamy background blur, free of distracting elements. This lens, with a closely positioned subject and the f/2.8 aperture selected, permit such a strong, subject-isolating background blur.

While talking about the available apertures of a macro lens, it should be mentioned that at close focusing distances, the effective max aperture decreases. The following chart details the measured (metered) light loss incurred at the specified subject magnification.

Magnification:	∞	.9m	.5m	.4m	.3m	.3m
Exposure Factor (loss in stops)	0	1/3	2/3	1	1 1/3	1 2/3
Effective Aperture	f/2.8	f/3.2	f/3.5	f/4.0	f/4.5	f/5.0

If using auto exposure, the camera will automatically account for the varying amount of light. If using a manual exposure, adjusting the exposure becomes your responsibility. This attribute is not unique to Sigma or any other brand macro lens. Still, it is important to understand that a manual exposure may not remain correct when the focus distance changes.

Circling back to the f/2.8 aperture, this modest opening at 105mm avoids two wide aperture disadvantages, large size and heavy weight. The smaller and lighter aspects of the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens substantially increase its fun factor.

When you move in close to a subject, the DOF (Depth of Field) becomes shallow at wide apertures, and at macro subject distances, DOF becomes shallow at even narrow apertures. Careful camera alignment is essential to place the plane of focus on the desired subject parts (such as a butterfly's wings) even at f/8 and f/11 when near or over 1.00x magnification.

Focus closely, open the aperture to f/2.8, and find a distant background. The result is this:

That smooth background stands ready to accentuate your in-focus subject.

The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens features an aperture ring, permitting a manually chosen aperture to be selected. With the ring in the A (Auto) position, the camera controls the aperture setting. All other settings electronically force the aperture to the chosen opening. A 2-position switch toggles the aperture ring between 1/3 stop clicks and smooth, quiet, non-clicked adjustments, ideal for video recording.

Aside from a slightly more complicated design, I find inadvertent aperture changes the primary disadvantage of an aperture ring (especially when photographing in the dark). Eliminating that issue is this lens's aperture ring lock switch.

Image Stabilization

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Sigma has omitted included image stabilization, OS (Optical Stabilization) from this lens.

One reason for this omission is that Sony IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization) in their mirrorless cameras. In addition to reducing camera shake, the stabilized imaging sensor provides a still viewfinder image, enabling careful composition. Sensor-based AF takes advantage of the stabilized view for improved accuracy.

With no IS switch on the lens, the camera menu must be used to enable or disable IBIS, a slight impediment to working quickly, going from tripod to handholding, for example.

Image Quality

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Want to see outstanding image quality? Mount the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens on your camera.

From the center of the frame into the extreme corners of a full-frame imaging sensor, this lens delivers impressive sharpness wide open at f/2.8. Stopping down improves sharpness negligibly, and no improvement is needed.

The resolution chart results back up that statement, but it is always interesting to see results with natural subjects. Below is a series of center-of-the-frame 100% resolution crop examples. These images were captured in RAW format using a Sony Alpha a1 and processed in Capture One using the Natural Clarity method with the sharpening amount set to only "30" on a 0-1000 scale. Note that images from most cameras require some level of sharpening, but too-high sharpness settings are destructive to image details and hide the deficiencies of a lens.

It is usually helpful to see the results of multiple apertures, typically showing sharpness improving as the aperture is narrowed a stop or two. In this case, the extra examples were superfluous, and therefore, omitted.

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Again, these results are impressive.

Focus shift, the plane of sharp focus moving forward or backward as the aperture is narrowed (residual spherical aberration or RSA), is not exhibited by this lens. Many modern lenses automatically correct for focus shift.

Next, we'll look at a comparison showing 100% extreme corner crops captured and processed identically to the above center-of-the-frame images. The lens was manually focused in the corner of the frame to capture these images. The first two sets are from the top left, and the last set is from the bottom right.

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Samples taken from the outer extreme of the image circle, full-frame corners, can be counted on to show a lens's weakest performance. This lens shows little weakness.

When used on a camera that utilizes a lens's entire image circle, peripheral shading can be expected at the widest aperture settings. Again this lens shows itself impressive with just over 1.5 stops of shading in the corners at f/2.8, a remarkably low amount of shading for a wide-open aperture. Slightly over a stop of shading remains in the corners at f/4, and the shading continues to push outward at narrower apertures, though the modest extreme corner shading hangs on slightly longer, until about f/11.

APS-C format cameras using lenses projecting a full-frame-sized image circle avoid most vignetting problems. In this case, the under 0.7 stops of shading showing at f/2.8 will seldom be visible in images.

One-stop of shading is often used as the visibility number, though subject details provide a widely varying amount of vignetting discernibility. Vignetting is correctable during post-processing with increased noise in the brightened areas being the penalty, or it can be embraced, using the effect to draw the viewer's eye to the center of the frame. Study the pattern showing in our vignetting test tool to determine how your images will be affected.

Lateral (or transverse) CA (Chromatic Aberration) refers to the unequal magnification of all colors in the spectrum. Lateral CA shows as color fringing along lines of strong contrast running tangential (meridional, right angles to radii) with the mid and especially the periphery of the image circle showing the most significant amount as this is where the most significant difference in the magnification of wavelengths typically exists.

With the right lens profile and software, lateral CA is often easily correctable (often in the camera) by radially shifting the colors to coincide. However, it is always better to avoid this aberration in the first place.

Color misalignment can easily be seen in the site's image quality tool, but let's also look at a worst-case example. The image below is a 100% crop from the extreme top left corner of an Alpha 1 frame showing diagonal black and white lines.

Only black and white colors should appear in these images, with the additional colors indicating only the slightest presence of lateral CA.

A relatively common lens aberration is axial (longitudinal, bokeh) CA, which causes non-coinciding focal planes of the various wavelengths of light. More simply, different colors of light are focused to different depths. Spherical aberration along with spherochromatism, or a change in the amount of spherical aberration with respect to color (looks quite similar to axial chromatic aberration but is hazier) are other common lens aberrations to observe. Axial CA remains somewhat persistent when stopping down, with the color misalignment effect increasing with defocusing. The spherical aberration color halo shows little size change as the lens is defocused, and stopping down one to two stops generally removes this aberration.

In the real world, lens defects do not exist in isolation, with spherical aberration and spherochromatism generally found, at least to some degree, along with axial CA. These combine to create a less sharp, hazy-appearing image quality at the widest apertures.

The examples below look at the defocused specular highlights' fringing colors in the foreground vs. the background. The lens has introduced any fringing color differences from the neutrally-colored subjects.

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Again, only a minor color separation is showing here. While we are looking at 100% crops, let me again point out how sharp the f/2.8 image is in the center of the plane of sharp focus.

Bright light reflecting off of lens elements' surfaces may cause flare and ghosting, resulting in reduced contrast and sometimes interesting, usually destructive visual artifacts. The shape, intensity, and position of the flare in an image are variable, dependant on the position and nature of the light source (or sources), selected aperture, shape of the aperture blades, and quantity and quality of the lens elements and their coatings.

Sigma utilizes Super Multi-Layer Coating to combat flare and ghosting. Aided by the relatively low 12-element count, this lens produced practically no flare effects even at narrow apertures in our standard sun in the corner of the frame flare test, reflecting excellent performance.

Flare effects can be embraced or avoided, or removal can be attempted. Removal is sometimes challenging. High flare resistance is a welcomed trait of this lens.

Two lens aberrations are particularly evident when shooting images of stars, mainly because bright points of light against a dark background make them easier to see. Coma occurs when light rays from a point of light spread out from that point instead of being refocused as a point on the sensor. Coma is absent in the center of the frame, gets worse toward the edges/corners, and generally appears as a comet-like or triangular tail of light which can be oriented either away from the center of the frame (external coma) or toward the center of the frame (internal coma). Coma clears as the aperture is narrowed. Astigmatism is seen as points of light spreading into a line, either sagittal (radiating from the center of the image) or meridional (tangential, perpendicular to sagittal). Remember that Lateral CA is another aberration apparent in the corners.

The image below is a 100% crop taken from the top-right corner of an a1 frame.

While a small amount of motion blur (earth rotation) is showing in this crop, the stars appear crisply rendered otherwise.

This lens shows a small amount of pincushion distortion. Critical applications may require distortion correction, but the amount is unlikely to often show otherwise.

Most modern lenses have correction profiles available (including in-camera), and distortion can easily be removed using these. Still, geometric distortion correction requires stretching which is detrimental to image quality.

As seen earlier in the review, it is easy to illustrate the amount of blur a lens can create, and the close focus capabilities of macro lenses provide a huge advantage in this regard. However, due to the infinite number of variables present among all available scenes, assessing the bokeh quality is considerably more challenging. Here are some f/11 (for diaphragm blade interaction) examples.

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The first example shows defocused highlights in a 100% crop smoothly filled and rendered relatively rounded despite the f/11 aperture. The last two results show full images reduced in size and appearing nice/normal.

Except for a small number of specialty lenses, the wide aperture bokeh in the frame's corner does not produce round defocused highlights, with these effects taking on a cat's eye shape due to a form of mechanical vignetting. If you look through a tube at an angle, similar to the light reaching the frame's corner, the shape is not round, and that is the shape seen here.

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From a comparison standpoint, this corner performance is excellent. As the aperture narrows, the entrance pupil size is reduced, and the mechanical vignetting absolves with the shapes becoming rounder.

With a 9-blade count diaphragm, point light sources captured with a narrow aperture setting and showing a sunstar effect will have 18 points. In general, the more a lens diaphragm is stopped down, the larger and better-shaped the sunstars tend to be. While f/16 is a good number of stops down from f/2.8, the sunstar produced by this lens is unremarkable.

Finally, we have found a weakness for this lens model. Fortunately, most will not care about this weakness in a lens of this class.

The Sigma 105 DN lens optical design features a single SLD lens element, and I'm impressed with the results this design delivers. The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens is super sharp and optically excellent in most regards. This is not the right lens to use for producing giant sunstars, and there is slight pincushion distortion. Otherwise, this lens is optically remarkable.

Focusing

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The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens's AF system is powered by a Hypersonic Motor (HSM) optimized for smooth and accurate AF. While this lens's focus speed isn't the fastest available, and some focus hunting was experienced, the speed is rather fast and adequate for most uses.

Remember that (at least some) cameras, including the Sony a1 and a7R IV, defocus the image slightly before final focusing in AF-S mode even if the subject was initially in focus, adding significantly to the focus lock time. Autofocus speed is noticeably faster in AF-C (continuous) mode.

With adequate contrast on the subject, this lens focuses in dark environments, though low light focusing is slow.

I found this lens to consistently focus accurately, which is the number one requirement of an AF system. A quiet shhhhh and some clicks are audible during autofocusing.

Normal is for the scene to change size in the frame (sometimes significantly) as the focus is pulled from one extent to the other, referred to as focus breathing, a change in focal length resulting from a change in focus distance. Focus breathing negatively impacts photographers intending to use focus stacking techniques, videographers pulling focus, and anyone critically framing while adjusting focus. With a significant focus distance range, this lens produces a big change in subject size through a full extent focus distance adjustment.

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This lens features a focus distance range limit switch that, in addition to enabling the full focus distance range, allows distance selection to be limited to 0.97-1.64' (.295-.5m) and 1.64' (0.5m) - ∞, with the narrower ranges potentially decreasing focus lock times (reduced hunting).

A customizable AFL (Autofocus Lock) button is provided. With the camera set to continuous focus mode, press AFL to lock focus at the currently selected focus distance, permitting a focus and recompose technique. This button also acts as a custom button and can be programmed to another function using the camera's menu.

FTM (Full Time Manual) focusing is supported via Sony's DMF (Direct Manual Focus) AF mode. This lens has an AF/MF switch, allowing this frequently used camera setting to be changed without accessing the menu system.

Characteristic is for Sigma Art lenses to have large, sharp-ribbed, rubberized focus rings that perform exceptionally well, and this lens fits that description. This modestly raised ring is smooth and has an ideal amount of resistance. The 590° of MF rotation linearly adjusts focusing at an ideal rate, allowing precise manual focusing even at close distances. Turned quickly, the MF ring imparts a full extent change in about 360°.

Strange is that, when focused fully to infinity, a slow focus ring turn in the closer direction does not affect a change. The focus setting seems stuck at infinity. In that case, a fast focus ring turn is required to acquire a shorter focus distance. Then everything seems fine again.

This lens does not specify reproduction ratios, including in-camera.

With a minimum focus distance of 11.6" (295mm), the 105mm DN Macro lens achieves an always-impressive 1.00x maximum magnification spec.

Model	Min Focus Distance "(mm)		Max Magnification
Canon RF 100mm F2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens	10.2	(260)	1.40x
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens	11.6	(295)	1.00x
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens	12.3	(312)	1.00x
Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS Lens	11.0	(280)	1.00x

A subject measuring approximately 1.3" x .9" (33 x 22mm) fills a full-frame imaging sensor at this lens's minimum focus distance.

The minimum focus distance is measured from the imaging sensor plane with the balance of the camera, lens, and lens hood length taking their space out of the number to create the working distance. When focused to the minimum focus distance, this lens provides a reasonable approximately 5.3" (135mm) of working distance without the lens hood in place. The lens hood consumes a significant 2.25" (57.2mm) of that distance and potentially impedes lighting.

Need a shorter minimum focus distance and higher magnification? Mount an extension tube behind this lens to noticeably decrease and increase those respective numbers. Extension tubes are hollow lens barrels that shift a lens farther from the camera, allowing shorter focusing distances at the expense of long-distance focusing. Electronic connections in extension tubes permit the camera and lens to communicate and otherwise function as normal. As of review time, Sigma and Sony do not publish extension tube specs or manufacture these items, but third-party Sony-compatible extension tubes are available.

This Sony E-mount version of this lens is not compatible with Sigma or Sony teleconverters, though the Leica L-mount version is compatible with the Sigma TC-1411 (1.4x) and TC-2011 (2.0x).

Build Quality & Features

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From aesthetic and construction perspectives, Sigma's Art lenses are beautifully built.

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This fixed-size lens utilizes Sigma's Thermally Stable Composite material for exterior construction.

The AF/MF and focus range limiter switches and AFL button are positioned on a modestly raised switch bank with the click button located just below the switch bank. The aperture ring lock switch is positioned on the right side of the lens, where it is convenient to reach with the right hand's fingers. All switches click firmly into their available positions, with the AF/MF switch showing a white background when in the AF position. The focus limiter switch requires slightly more dexterity to access the middle position, as usual for a three-position switch.

The 105mm DN macro lens features a "dust- and splash-proof structure", including a mount seal.

A feature especially valuable when outdoors is this lens's "Water- and oil-repellent coating", helping to shed water drops and dust along with making the front element considerably easier to clean.

Overall, the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens has a modest size, with a relatively narrow and slightly long shape. From a weight perspective, this lens is in line with the other members of its class, weighing a modest amount that is comfortable to carry for long periods.

Model	Weight oz(g)		Dimensions w/o Hood "(mm)		Filter	Year
Canon RF 100mm F2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens	25.8	(730)	3.2 x 5.8	(81.5 x 148.0)	67	2021
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens	25.1	(710)	2.9 x 5.3	(74.0 x 135.6)	62	2020
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens	25.6	(726)	3.1 x 5.0	(78.3 x 126.4)	62	2011
Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS Lens	21.3	(602)	3.1 x 5.1	(79.0 x 130.5)	62	2015

For many more comparisons, review the complete Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens Specifications using the site's lens specifications tool.

The narrow design of this lens means that the joints on my fingers clear the common impact issue with the barrel of this lens when tightly gripping the Sony a1.

Here is a visual comparison:

Positioned above from left to right are the following lenses:

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens
Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS Lens
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens
Canon RF 100mm F2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens

The same lenses are shown below with their hoods in place.

Use the site's product image comparison tool to visually compare the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens to other lenses.

The Sigma 105mm DN Macro Lens has 62mm filter threads. While 62mm is a relatively small size, it is not among the most common size. In our database, 21 out of 496 lenses are specified as having 62mm filter size. Interestingly, nearly half (10) are macro-designated lenses.

Sigma does not offer a tripod mount ring available for this lens. Tripod rings provide balanced tripod mounting, avoiding tripod head and camera strain and sag, and allow easy camera rotation, features valuable for macro photography.

As usual, Sigma includes the lens hood in the box, the model LH653-01. This semi-rigid plastic hood has a rib-molded interior for reflection avoidance. Not included in this design is a push-button release to make the bayonet mount easier to use, though the rear end of the hood is rubberized, making it easier to grasp and adding a touch of class to the design.

The rounded shape means the lens can stand on its end, even with the camera attached, at least in situations where you are comfortable with that (the narrow and long lens and hood shape limit the trustworthiness of that scenario).

The relatively large size of this hood enables significant protection from bright light and from impact.

Sigma provides my favorite lens packing material in the box — a nice zippered padded nylon case. This case does not feature a neckstrap or attachments for such, but a belt loop is provided.

Price, Value, Compatibility

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For the impressive image quality this well-built, useful lens delivers, the price tag seems low. The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens is a great deal.

The "DG" refers to full-frame camera compatibility, and the "DN" indicates that this lens was designed for short flange mirrorless cameras. The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens is compatible with all Sony E-mount cameras, including APS-C sensor format models, and it is also available in the Leica L mount.

Produced only in Sigma's Aizu, Japan factory, each DG 105mm DN Art lens is tested with Sigma's proprietary MTF measuring system, ensuring a quality product. In regards to the Sony E-mount version of this lens, Sigma develops, manufactures, and sells lenses based on the specifications of E-mount, disclosed by Sony Corporation under license agreement. Sigma provides a limited 1-year warranty, and Sigma USA provides a limited 3-year warranty extension.

The reviewed Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens was online-retail sourced.

Alternatives

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The impressive optical and overall performance of this lens, combined with the low price, creates a problem for the competition. There are few weaknesses remaining for competitors to target.

Those shopping for a short telephoto macro lens for the Sony E-mount are likely to consider the Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS Lens as the first alternative to the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens.

In the image quality comparison at f/2.8, the two lenses appear similarly sharp in the center of the frame, but the Sigma lens noticeably outperforms the Sony in the periphery. The similarities increase as the aperture narrows until the two lenses are mostly equalized at f/8. The Sigma lens has less peripheral shading at wide apertures, and the Sony lens has less geometric distortion.

The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens vs. Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS Lens comparison shows the Sony lens slightly smaller and lighter. The Sigma lens has a larger focus ring. Both lenses utilize 62mm filters. The Sony lens features OSS, working in coordination with IBIS. The Sigma lens is considerably less expensive. I find it hard to make a business case for the Sony lens in this comparison.

Those not locked into a specific lens mount may consider the Canon RF 100mm F2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens an alternative.

In the image quality comparison shows the two lenses being similarly sharp. The Sony camera creates slightly sharper images, but it also creates false color (influenced by the Capture One software conversion). The Sigma lens has modestly less peripheral shading and slightly more geometric distortion. At review time, the Canon lens shows a slight focus shift as the aperture is narrowed.

The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens vs. Canon RF 100mm F2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens comparison shows the Sigma lens slightly smaller, primarily narrower. The Canon lens's 67mm filter threads are more common than the Sigma lens's 62mm threads. The Canon lens provides up to 1.4x magnification and has image stabilization. The Sigma lens is considerably less expensive.

Use the site's comparison tools to create additional comparisons.

Summary

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I love reviewing great-performing lenses. There are no long, usually tedious and boring tangents of trying to qualify shortcomings that likely will prevent at least some from purchasing the lens. While helping you avoid bad purchases is valuable, it is much more exciting to celebrate a great performing lens model. The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens is that.

This lens delivers remarkable image quality, is well built, has a great functional and aesthetic design, and provides significant utility in the kit. The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens gets both thumbs up.