Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art Lens Review

When I see a lens with a short focal length range, I expect it to be small, light, and affordable — or fast. While this lens's well-under 2x 28-45mm focal length range does not impress, the "F1.8" in the name does. The Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN | Art is the world's first full-frame F1.8 zoom lens.

While this lens's focal length range is short compared to most general-purpose lenses, the range is huge relative to the prime lenses its f/1.8 aperture competes against.

Four new lenses arrived in a week, and while I noticed the "F1.8" in this lens's name, I was intensely focused on getting the testing done. However, my attention was abruptly captured while reviewing this lens's test images. The f/1.8 results were so sharp that I was compelled to verify that the site's standard sharpness settings were used during raw processing vs. the sharper default settings. There was no mistake — the f/1.8 results are impressive, this lens is special.

With only one focal length to design for, prime lens engineers can focus on optical optimization without the significant complications required by a zoom range. The engineers behind the 28-45 appear to have overcome those complications, because this lens delivers prime-lens-grade optical quality at f/1.8.

Sigma's 18-35mm F1.8 Art Lens, shown above to the left of the 28-45, is itself a record holder. This game-changing lens has been extremely popular, usually positioned near the top of the best sellers list, #3 on the DSLR list at B&H at review time. Multiply 18-35mm by a 1.5x APS-C crop factor, and you get a full-frame 27-52mm angle of view. While 28-45mm is not quite 27-52mm, that APS-C lens's spirit is covered, and the 28-45mm lens covers a solid portion of the most-used general-purpose focal length range.

In addition to delivering great optical quality at an impressively wide aperture, this lens leaves little else to want. Fast and silent AF, excellent build quality and design, and a reasonable price are featured.

Focal Length Range

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The focal length range is a primary consideration for lens selection. A specific angle of view is required to get a desired subject framing with the optimal perspective (or from within a working distance limitation).

I typically consider 28-70mm the most important range for general-purpose use. While this lens drops the last 25mm of that range, the wide-angle through standard 28-45mm focal length range still covers a solid set of general-purpose needs, making it an ideal option for photographing a wide range of subjects.

Of primary value is the 28-45mm range's usefulness for photographing people.

This range is ideal for portraits, weddings, parties, events, family gatherings, documentaries, interviews, lifestyle, theater, fashion, studio portraiture, and candids. Zooming to only 45mm invites getting too close for tightly framed portraits, such as headshots, but backing up enough to include at least some of the subject's torso can result in a pleasing perspective. The wider end will tackle large group and environmental portrait needs.

This range is valued for media and photojournalistic needs, and it is a great option for street photography. Or, forest photography.

This focal length range is up for an adventure, and it was time to throw a few lenses in a MindShift Gear BackLight 26L and go adventuring. This time, the destination was World's End State Park.

A 28-45mm lens is an excellent choice for landscape and cityscape photography. It is not difficult to create compelling landscape compositions using the 28mm perspective, allowing emphasis on a foreground subject against an in-focus background, providing the viewer with a sense of presence in the scene. At the other end of the range, 45mm pulls in more distant subjects such as mountains or waterfalls.

The super-wide f/1.8 aperture makes this focal length range an outstanding choice for photographing the night sky. While many photographers reach for ultra-wide-angle focal lengths to photograph the Milky Way, longer focal lengths fill a wider portion of the frame with the Milky Way. One of my favorite Milky Way images was captured at 35mm.

A 28-45mm lens can be used for commercial photography, and the wide end of the range can work for exterior architecture and larger interior spaces. There are plenty of street uses for this range. This lens's capabilities list includes flowers, medium and large products, and much more.

Sports photographers able to get close to their subjects (such as basketball shot from over or under the net) or wanting to capture a wider/environmental view of their events appreciate this focal length range. The perspective invited by this range can make action figures large in the frame.

The f/1.8 aperture enables strong artistic capabilities.

The 28-45mm range features ideal angles of view for video needs, especially those involving people, including yourself.

Here is the 28-45mm focal length range illustrated.

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I mentioned that 28-70mm is what I consider the most important range for general-purpose coverage. How important is it to have the 46-70mm range included in many standard zoom lenses? That answer depends.

Not all needs include the 46-70mm range, and in that case (or if you can satisfy infrequent needs via cropping), there is no concern.

The 46-70mm range is especially useful for portraits and products, and I seldom roll without 70mm coverage. However, a second camera with a lens covering minimally 70mm, such as the Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 DG DN OS Sports Lens, may sufficiently cover the longer need (and far more). If a lens change and the short downtime it entails is acceptable, the second lens unmounted in the case may also cover this need.

APS-C imaging sensor format cameras utilize a smaller portion of the image circle, framing a scene more tightly. The Sony field of view crop factor is 1.5x, with the 28-45mm range providing a 42-67.5mm full-frame angle of view equivalent. This angle of view has increased value for portraiture while foregoing some of the best landscape angles.

Max Aperture

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At review time, no full frame zoom lens opens as wide as this one. We are usually excited by an f/2.8 zoom lens's opening, but f/1.8 opens 1 1/3 stop wider, letting well over twice as much light to reach the sensor.

Wide apertures are useful for stopping action, both that of the subject and that of the camera, in low light levels while keeping ISO settings low. They also benefit AF systems, enabling them to work better in low-light environments.

Even when photographing under bright light conditions, wide apertures are useful for creating a strong background blur that clearly isolates a subject from even highly distracting backgrounds. Here is an example of the maximum background blur this lens can produce at the specified focal lengths:

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In part due to its close-focusing capability, this lens can create a strong background blur even at wide angles.

How does the background blur at f/1.8 compare to f/2.8 and other apertures? Here is that comparison:

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The background blur difference between f/1.8 and f/2.8 is big, and it is differentiating in the results.

A disadvantage of a wide aperture is the required increased physical size of the lens elements, which come with heavier weight and higher cost penalties. In this case, those penalties are minimal, and this lens is moderately-sized, mid-weight, and still affordable.

Videographers will especially appreciate this lens's iris ring, which enables a manually selected aperture. The camera controls the aperture setting with the ring in the A (Auto) position, while all other settings electronically force the aperture to the chosen opening. A 2-position switch on the lower left side of the lens 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, inadvertent aperture changes are the primary disadvantage of an aperture ring (especially when photographing in the dark). The Iris Lock switch eliminates that problem, holding the ring in the A position or within the manual range.

Sigma nicely integrated the two aperture ring switches into the lens body where they remain functional but stay out of the way.

Image Stabilization

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The Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art Lens does not feature image stabilization. Omitting the optical stabilization system reduces the size, weight, complexity, and cost. However, image stabilization is a very useful feature.

Sony addresses that omission with Steady Shot IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization) in their Alpha cameras. In addition to reducing camera shake, the stabilized imaging sensor provides a still viewfinder image, enabling careful composition. Furthermore, 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 or check the current settings. This extra step is a slight impediment to working quickly, going from tripod mounted to handholding, for example.

Image Quality

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Records are great, but they matter only if the record-setting feature performs suitably. How does the Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art Lens perform optically at f/1.8? As already revealed in the intro, this lens impresses.

This lens produces extremely sharp center-of-the-frame results from the entire focal length range, results that rival high-end prime lens results.

As shown in that comparison, the mid and peripheral frame areas are also impressively sharp at f/1.8.

Moving out to the periphery of the image circle, where light rays are refracted to a stronger angle than in the center, lenses typically show decreased sharpness. While the 28-45 does not produce perfect corners, its performance rivals the best lenses.

Taking the testing outdoors, we next look at a series of center-of-the-frame 100% resolution crop examples. These images were captured in RAW format using a Sony Alpha 1 and processed in Capture One using the Natural Clarity method. The sharpening amount was 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.

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Be sure to find details in the plane of sharp focus for your evaluations. These results are outstanding, leaving little room for improvement at f/4.

Next, we'll look at a series of comparisons showing 100% resolution extreme top left 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.

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Count on samples taken from the outer extreme of the image circle, full-frame corners, to show a lens's weakest performance. Even with peripheral shading impacting the contrast at f/1.8, these sample crops show excellent resolution, discerning fine details. The 28mm samples are slightly softer than the 35mm and 45mm results, but they are still excellent from a relative perspective.

With f/1.8 results having good resolution, stopping down primarily reduces shading, which improves contrast.

Corner sharpness does not always matter, but when it does, including when photographing landscapes and architecture, this lens delivers them.

This lens does not exhibit focus shift, the plane of sharp focus moving forward or backward as the aperture is narrowed (residual spherical aberration or RSA).

Obviously, this lens shows peripheral shading, as usual for a lens used at its widest aperture on a camera using its full image circle. The f/1.8 shading amount is just under 3 stops at 28mm and 35mm and about 3.5 stops at 45mm. These amounts are noticeable, especially at 45mm, but they are not unusual for an ultra-wide-aperture lens.

Want less corner shading? Stopping down usually provides that. F/2.8 reduces shading amounts by about a stop, and about a stop of shading remains in the f/4 corners, with slightly more present in the 28mm corners. Just under 1 stop of shading remains at f/16.

APS-C format cameras using lenses projecting a full-frame-sized image circle avoid most vignetting problems This lens's worst case is the just under 1.5 stops of APS-C corner shading showing at 45mm f/1.8 that may be visible in select images, especially those with a solid color (such as a blue sky) in the corners.

One-stop of shading is often considered the number of visibility, though subject details provide a widely varying amount of vignetting discernibility. Vignetting is correctable during post-processing, with increased noise in the brightened areas 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 shown 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 be seen in the site's image quality tool, but let's also look at a set of worst-case examples. The images below are 100% crops from the extreme top left corner of Sony a1 frames showing diagonal black and white lines.

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Only black and white colors should be present in these images, with any additional colors indicating the presence of lateral CA. Few zoom lenses have produce as little lateral CA as this one.

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 compare the fringing colors of the defocused specular highlights in the foreground to the background. The lens has introduced any differences from the neutrally colored subjects.

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Modest color differences are seen here, but they are minimal for an f/1.8 lens.

Bright light reflecting off lens elements' surfaces may cause flare and ghosting, resulting in reduced contrast and sometimes interesting, usually objectionable visual artifacts. The shape, intensity, and position of the flare and ghosting effects in an image are variable, dependent 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. Additionally, flare and ghosting can impact AF performance.

Sigma incorporates Nano Porous and Super Multi-Layer Coatings to suppress flare and ghosting, but the relatively high 18-element count increases the challenge. This lens produced essentially no flare effects at f/1.8 and only modest effects at f/16 in our standard sun in the corner of the frame flare test.

Flare effects can be embraced or avoided, or removal can be attempted, though removal is sometimes challenging.

Two lens aberrations are particularly evident in 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 that can be oriented either away from the center of the frame (external coma) or toward the center of the frame (internal coma). The 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). This aberration can produce stars appearing to have wings. Remember that Lateral CA is another aberration apparent in the corners.

The images below are 100% crops taken from the top-left corner of a1 images captured at the widest available aperture.

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The 28mm and 35mm results show some winged stars, limited primarily to the extreme corners. At 45mm, the wings are less prominent, and the stars show only slight warping. Stars are among the most challenging camera lens subjects, and this lens produces excellent star sharpness over the balance of the frame.

Optical geometric distortion correction is included in this lens's design. This lens has slight barrel distortion at the wide end that transitions to moderate pincushion distortion at the long end.

As seen earlier in the review, it is easy to illustrate the strongest blur a lens can create. Due to the infinite number of variables present among available scenes, assessing the blur quality, bokeh, is considerably more challenging. Here are some f/11 (for diaphragm blade interaction) examples.

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The first example shows defocused highlights smoothly filled and exceptionally rounded for being stopped down over 5 stops. The second set of examples shows full images reduced in size and looking nice.

Except for a small number of specialty lenses, the wide aperture bokeh in the frame's corner does not show round defocused highlights, instead showing cat's eye shapes 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. That is the shape we're looking at here.

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Yes, there is some peripheral shape truncation. As the aperture narrows, the entrance pupil size is reduced, and the mechanical vignetting diminishes, making the corner shapes rounder.

An 11-blade count diaphragm will create 22-point sunstars (diffraction spikes) from point light sources captured with a narrow aperture. Generally, the more a lens diaphragm is stopped down, the larger and better shaped the sunstars tend to be. Wide aperture lenses tend to have an advantage in this regard, and this lens can produce beautiful stars, as illustrated below.

The 35mm example above was captured at f/16.

The design of this lens is illustrated above.

Lenses with optical performance as good as this one make reviewing easy. Little time was required to analyze and verify weaknesses. Well, there was still a problem — the challenge of selecting from the over 1,000 test images to share with you. This lens has some peripheral shading at f/1.8, shows moderate pincushion distortion at 45mm, produces minor color fringing differences, and puts little wings on the extreme peripheral stars. What you will notice most from this lens is the impressive sharpness of its images, including those captured at f/1.8.

Focusing

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Like the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN II Art Lens, the 28-45 uses a linear motor HLA (High-response Linear Actuator) to drive AF.

This lens smoothly focuses extremely fast and with excellent accuracy. Only a faint shuffling is heard during AF — by an ear practically against the lens.

This lens's low-light AF capability is incredible. When mounted on a Sony Alpha 1, it focuses on strong contrasting colors in near-total darkness.

Non-cinema lenses usually require refocusing after a focal length change. However, as illustrated in the 100% crops below, the reviewed lens exhibits parfocal-like characteristics. When focused at 45mm, accurate focus is retained while zooming to 28mm.

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FTM (Full Time Manual) focusing is supported in Sony's DMF (Direct Manual Focus) mode with the shutter release half-pressed or the AF-ON button pressed.

Two customizable AFL (Autofocus Lock) buttons are provided. With the camera set to continuous focus mode, pressing AFL locks focus at the currently selected focus distance, enabling a focus and recompose technique. These buttons are customizable to another function using the camera's menu.

As usual for Sigma Art lenses, this one provides an outstanding manual focus experience. The large, strongly ribbed rubber focus ring is modestly raised from the lens barrel and is ideally positioned at the front of the lens where it is easy to locate tactilely, thanks in part to being located immediately behind the lens hood. It turns smoothly with ideal resistance, and the AF/MF switch makes this feature readily accessible.

This lens features a variable manual focus adjustment rate based on the ring's rotation speed. About 460° of slow rotation imparts a full extent focus distance change, and a fast 210° rotation does the same. The manual focus adjustment rate of L-mount lenses can be customized using the dock, with linear adjustment also available.

It is normal for the scene to change size in the frame as the focus is pulled from one extent to the other. This effect is focus breathing, a change in focal length resulting from a change in focus distance. Focus breathing impacts photographers intending to use focus stacking techniques, videographers pulling focus (without movement to camouflage the effect), and anyone critically framing while adjusting focus.

This lens produces a strong change in subject size through a full-extent (worst-case) focus distance adjustment at 28mm and a modest change at 45mm.

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This lens has a minimum focus distance spec of 11.8" (300mm) over the entire focal length range. At 28mm, this lens focused slightly closer to 10.8" (274mm). At 45mm, it produces a strong 0.25x maximum magnification spec.

Model	Min Focus Distance		Max Magnification
Canon RF 28-70mm F2 L USM Lens	15.4"	(390mm)	0.18x
Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens	11.0"	(280mm)	0.23x
Sigma 24-35mm f/2 DG HSM Art Lens	11.0"	(279mm)	0.23x
Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN II Art Lens	6.7"	(170mm)	0.37x
Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art Lens	11.8"	(300mm)	0.25x
Sigma 28-70mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary Lens	7.5"	(190mm)	0.22x
Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II Lens	8.3"	(210mm)	0.32x
Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM Lens	15.0"	(380mm)	0.24x
Tamron 20-40mm f/2.8 Di III VXD Lens	6.7"	(170mm)	0.26x

At 28mm, a subject measuring approximately 7.7 x 5.1" (196 x 131mm) fills a full-frame imaging sensor at this lens's minimum MF distance. At 45mm, a 5.2 x 3.5" (132 x 88mm) subject does the same.

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The individual USPS love stamps shared above measure 1.19 x 0.91" (30.226 x 23.114mm).

At 28mm f/1.8, only the center of the frame is sharp at the minimum focus distance. The 45mm f/1.8 results are improved, but only slightly so. F/11 brings on increased depth of field that provides a significant improvement in corner image quality.

Mount an extension tube behind this lens to substantially decrease the minimum focus distance and increase the magnification. This lens is not compatible with Sigma teleconverters.

Design & Features

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Sigma Art lenses are much-loved, in part, due to their physical design, which includes high-quality construction and great aesthetics. This one is similar, though larger, than the 24-70 F2.8 II Art lens released just prior.

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After the usual diameter increase out from the mount, this lens features a relatively straight design, with the ribs of the three rings raised slightly outward from the lens barrel. About 1/3 of the empty lens barrel is ribbed for enhanced grip.

The zoom ring is ideally positioned and has an easy-to-use size. It has a short 50° of rotation that seems big for the focal length range. This ring turns in the opposite direction of Sony's zoom lenses, the same direction as Canon's.

This lens features a fixed size and maintains balance on a gimbal through the focal length range.

Sigma's typical raised switch bank is gone, and having all switches flush-mounted is a nice improvement. The center of all switches is raised just enough for use with gloves. These 2-position switches snap crisply into position, and all feature a white background when in the enabled position.

Dust and moisture resistance are included.

The front lens element is coated to repel fingerprints, dust, water, oil, and other contaminants and make cleaning considerably easier.

This lens has a modest size and weight.

Model	Weight oz(g)		Dimensions w/o Hood "(mm)		Filter	Year
Canon RF 28-70mm F2 L USM Lens	50.5	(1430)	4.1 x 5.5	(103.8 x 139.8)	95	2018
Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens	28.6	(811)	3.1 x 4.8	(78.0 x 121)	72	2013
Sigma 24-35mm f/2 DG HSM Art Lens	33.2	(941)	3.4 x 4.8	(86.4 x 121.9)	82	2015
Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN II Art Lens	26.3	(745)	3.5 x 4.7	(87.8 x 120.2)	82	2024
Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art Lens	33.5	(950)	3.5 x 6.0	(87.8 x 153.4)	82	2024
Sigma 28-70mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary Lens	16.6	(470)	2.8 x 4.0	(72.2 x 101.5)	67	2021
Sony FE 24-50mm F2.8 G Lens	15.5	(440)	2.9 x 3.6	(74.8 x 92.3)	67	2024
Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II Lens	24.5	(695)	3.5 x 4.7	(87.8 x 119.9)	82	2022
Tamron 20-40mm f/2.8 Di III VXD Lens	12.9	(365)	2.9 x 3.4	(74.4 x 86.5)	67	2022

View the complete Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art Lens Specifications using the site's lens specifications tool for many more comparisons.

Here is a visual comparison:

Positioned above from left to right are the following lenses:

Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens
Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN II Art Lens
Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art Lens
Canon RF 28-70mm F2 L 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 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art Lens to other lenses.

The 82mm filter thread size is large, expensive, and common. Common makes sharing effects filters easier, which increases convenience and decreases overall cost. Also, 82mm filters can be adapted to most other filter thread sizes.

A standard-thickness circular polarizer filter significantly increases peripheral shading. Thus, a slim model such as the Breakthrough Photography X4 is strongly recommended.

Sigma includes the lens hood in the box, and this lens comes with the substantial LH878-06 lens hood. This is a semi-rigid plastic petal-shaped hood with a ribbed interior designed to avoid reflections. A thin ribbed ring and rubberized rear section are provided for easy grip, and the push-button release makes installation and removal easy. This hood offers significant protection from both impact and, especially at the widest focal lengths, bright light.

Sigma provides a nice zippered, padded nylon case in the box.

The cap, of course, is included.

Price, Value, Compatibility

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This lens has a moderately high price. Despite the shortened focal length range, the large lens elements required to create the ultra-wide aperture design certainly increase the cost. When this lens's performance and capabilities are considered, along with the lenses it can replace, the price seems a solid value.

The "DG" refers to full-frame camera compatibility, and the "DN" indicates that this lens was designed for short-flange mirrorless cameras. The Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art Lens lens is available in Sony E and Leica L mounts, including APS-C sensor format models. Changing camera brands? Sigma offers a Mount Conversion Service to protect your investment.

Made in Japan, each Art lens is tested with Sigma's proprietary MTF measuring system, ensuring a quality product. Regarding the Sony E-mount version of this lens, Sigma develops, manufactures, and sells lenses based on the specifications of the E-mount, disclosed by Sony Corporation under license agreement. "This product is developed, manufactured, and sold under license from Canon Inc." [Sigma]

Sigma provides a 1-year limited warranty, and Sigma Corporation of America provides a limited 3-year warranty extension.

The reviewed Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art Lens was on loan from Sigma Corporation of America.

Alternatives

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Record-setting lenses have no exact comparables at launch time, but sometimes other lenses can do the same job with limitations and often some advantages. In this case, I'll start the comparisons with the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN II Art Lens. This lens was announced a few weeks before the 28-45.

In the image quality comparison with wide-open apertures, the two lenses perform similarly in the center and mid-frame, and the 28-45 produces sharper corners. Equalized at f/2.8, the comparison shows the 28-45 having an even greater advantage. The 28-45 shows stronger peripheral shading in the wide-open aperture comparisons, but it shows less shading at f/2.8. The 24-70 shows slightly less pincushion distortion at 50mm vs. 45mm.

The Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art vs. 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN II Art Lens comparison shows the 28-45 weighing and measuring modestly more. The 24-70 has a higher maximum magnification of 0.37x vs. 0.25x, a considerably longer focal length range, and a moderately lower price, while the 28-45 has a considerably wider aperture.

The Canon RF 28-70mm F2 L USM Lens is currently my most-used event lens. With its general-purpose focal length range and ultra-wide aperture, it is a great choice for bright and dim environments. The Sigma lens gives up 25mm of the focal length range but opens the aperture by 1/3 stop.

In the image quality comparison, the Sigma lens produces considerably sharper results in the mid and periphery of the frame. The 28-45 has stronger peripheral shading at 45mm f/2 vs. the 28-70 at 50mm. The Canon lens shows fewer flare effects at narrow apertures and has less geometric distortion.

The Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art vs. Canon RF 28-70mm F2 L USM Lens comparison shows that the Canon lens is shorter, but it is considerably wider, and it weighs much more. The Sigma lens has 11 aperture blades vs. 9, uses 82mm filters vs. 95mm, has a 0.25x maximum magnification vs. 0.18x, and has an aperture ring. The brand of camera you already own may be the best-deciding factor for you, but the Canon lens costs over twice as much even with a significant promotion in place, a difference that pays a significant amount toward a camera.

Use the site's tools to create additional comparisons.

Summary

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The groundbreaking full-frame Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art Lens is exceptional for it ultra-wide aperture and overall performance, including the ultra-sharp f/1.8 images it produces.

The prime-lens-grade f/1.8 aperture puts this zoom lens on a shelf by itself, enabling it to replace a set of low-light optimized prime lenses, with image quality that matches or surpasses most. The solid construction and thoughtful design, including from an aesthetic perspective, make this lens a reliable pleasure to use. Reviewing the 28-45's results is even more pleasurable.

The zoom range covers a solid set of general-purpose focal lengths, increasing the utility of this investment.