Conclusion

The new Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN Art is the best all-round standard zoom lens for Sony Alpha full-frame cameras, narrowly beating the excellent Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM, Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 Di III RXD and Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS.

It's half the price of the Sony FE 24-70mm whilst offering comparable image and build quality. It's a little more expensive than the Tamron 28-75mm, but out-performs it optically. It offers less telephoto range than the Sony FE 24-105mm, but is crucially a stop faster whilst being similarly priced.

In short, if we had to choose one standard zoom list from this list of four, we'd pick the new Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN Art.

In terms of its optical performance, it's tack-sharp in the centre throughout all of the zoom range, with sharpness only falling off a little at f/2.8 at the very edges of the frame. It also produces some very nice bokeh effects thanks to the 11-blade iris diaphragm.

There's some vignetting at wide-open apertures, barrel distortion at 24mm and slight pincushioning at 70mm, but all of this can be corrected either in-camera or during post-processing.

Auto-focusing proved to be very quick on the Sony Alpha A7 III that we tested the lens with, and manual focus over-ride at any time is a great feature.

Build quality is excellent, with the brass lens mount and sober all-black design adding to the premium feel, and Sigma have also included a very good lockable lens hood and padded case in the overall package. The Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN Art lens is also very usefully weather-sealed

This lens doesn't have a built-in optical image stabilisation system, though, instead relying on Sony's in-camera system, which will be fine for everyone except those who own a first generation Alpha camera (which don't have built-in OIS).

Finally, the price of the Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN Art is very attractive indeed, literally half the price of the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM, the same as the Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS, and not too much more than the Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 Di III RXD.

Overall, the new Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN Art is a very well-built, very fast standard zoom lens that delivers superb image quality at a frankly unbelievable price, and is therefore a more than worth winner of our highest award.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	5
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	5
Image quality	5
Value for money	5