Sigma 16mm, 30mm and 56mm F1.4 DC DN C for Canon Review

Name: Sigma 16mm, 30mm and 56mm F1.4 DC DN C for Canon
Brand: sigma

April 2, 2020 | Mark Goldstein |

Introduction

The Sigma 16mm, 30mm and 56mm F1.4 DC DN C are three new, affordable compact standard prime lenses for Canon's APS-C sensor mirrorless camera range.

These lenses provide an angle-of-view equivalent to a 24mm, 45mm and 84mm lens in a 35mm system. Each one offers a very bright f/1.4 maximum aperture and an iris diaphragm with nine rounded blades for excellent low-light and shallow depth-of-field shooting.

This trio of affordable, ultra-fast prime lenses are of particular interest to Canon APS-C shooters because Canon have released so few native lenses for the EF-M mount - just 8 since the system was launched 8 years ago in 2012, with half of those being slow zoom lenses.

Therefore the recent introduction of three F1.4 primes by Sigma is great news for Canon EOS M owners who want to move beyond the capabilities of the zoom lenses that they initially bought with their camera body.

This upgrade path is something that Canon only really provides with the recent EF-M 32mm f/1.4 STM. Although an excellent lens in its own right, it does cost more than any of the new Sigma lenses, and a whopping £$200 more than the directly comparable Sigma 30mm F1.4.

With Canon now concentrating most of their R&D efforts on their full-frame mirrorless camera range, and on continuing their DSLRs for at least the near future, we wouldn't be surprised if the EF-M 32mm is the last APS-C lens that they release for quite some time.

The Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN C lens is priced at £449.99 / $449.99 in the UK and the US, respectively. The Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN C lens is priced at £299.99 / $339.99. The Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN C lens is priced at £399.99 / $479.99.

Ease of Use

The Sigma 16mm, 30mm and 56mm F1.4 DC DN C for Canon EF-M lenses are exactly the same in terms of their design, construction and features as the versions for Sony E-mount and Micro Four Thirds, just with a change of mount.

We've already reviewed all three of these lenses in other mount versions:

As they're essentially identical, we suggest reading the Ease of Use sections of each of those reviews first, before continuing with this group test review.

Here are all three lenses mounted on the Canon EOS M6 II to show you what they look like on a Canon EF-M mount camera body.

Focal Range

Focal Range - Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN C

The Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN C lens has an angle of view of 83.2 degrees.

Focal Range - Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN C

The Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN C lens has an angle of view of 50.7 degrees.

Focal Range - Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN C

The Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN C lens has an angle of view of 28.5 degrees.

Chromatic Aberrations

Chromatic aberrations, typically seen as purple or blue fringes along contrasty edges, are more of a problem with the Sigma 16mm and 30mm than with the 56mm F1.4 DC DN C.

Chromatic Aberrations - Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN C

Chromatic Aberrations - Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN C

Chromatic Aberrations - Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN C

Light Fall-off

With the Sigma 16mm, 30mm and 56mm F1.4 DC DN C lens wide open at f/1.4, you can see some obvious light fall-off in the corners. Stopping down helps, although to completely get rid of this phenomenon, you will need to use an f-stop of f/4 or smaller.

Light Fall-off - Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN C

Light Fall-off - Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN C

Light Fall-off - Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN C

Macro

Macro - Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN C

The Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN C isn't claimed to be a macro lens, but it delivers reasonable performance nonetheless. It has a useful minimum focusing distance of 25cm / 9.8in. and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:9.9.

Macro - Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN C

The Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN C isn't claimed to be a macro lens, but it delivers reasonable performance nonetheless. It has a minimum focusing distance of 30cm/11.8in and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:7.

Macro - Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN C

The Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN C isn't claimed to be a macro lens, but it delivers reasonable performance nonetheless. It has a minimum focusing distance of 50cm / 19.7in and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:7.4.

Bokeh

Bokeh is a word used for the out-of-focus areas of a photograph, and is usually described in qualitative terms, such as smooth / creamy / harsh etc.

Sigma have paid close attention to this aspect of lens use, employing a 9-segment diaphragm with rounded blades in all three lenses for more pleasing bokeh.

In our view, their efforts have been very successful, even with the 16mm wide-angle lens - see the examples below.