Introduction

Ease of Use

Weighing in at 1,020 grams and measuring nearly 11cm in length, the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art is certainly a big and heavy lens given its focal length, and significantly heavier than the equivalent Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM or Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR lenses. As seen in the photos below, it complements a full-frame camera like the Canon EOS 5DS R well, although it feels somewhat out of place on a smaller APS-C body. Note that when set to 70mm, the lens extends by an additional 4.5cms.

Build quality is excellent given the comparatively affordable price tag. The lens has a plastic shell with a mixture of metallic parts and a compound material, TSC (Thermally Stable Composite), used inside. It also incorporates a brass bayonet mount that's supposed to be more durable. The optical elements are made of high-grade glass.

In terms of features, the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art offers everything that you need from a standard zoom lens. This very usefully includes built-in Vibration Reduction, activated by the OS switch on the lens barrel, which offers around 3 stops of compensation.

Focusing is usefully internal and manual focusing is possible when set via the Focus switch on the lens barrel. Full-time manual focus override is also available at any time simply by rotating the focus ring.

A clear distance scale in both feet and meters runs from the closest focusing distance of 37cm / 15.0in. to infinity.

The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art ships with a good quality soft case and also a plastic petal-shaped lens hood (LH876-04). It accepts 82mm filters.

The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens mounted on a Canon EOS 5DS R

The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens mounted on a Canon EOS 5DS R

The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens mounted on a Canon EOS 5DS R, extended to 70mm

The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens mounted on a Canon EOS 5DS R

The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens mounted on a Canon EOS 5DS R, extended to 70mm

The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens alongside a Canon EOS 5DS R

Side of the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens

Side of the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens, extended to 70mm

Side of the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens

Front of the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens

Rear of the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens

Side of the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens

Side of the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens

The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens in-hand

The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens with the supplied lens hood fitted

Focal Range

At the 24mm focal length the angle of view is 84.1 degrees.

 Field of view at 24mm

At the 70mm focal length the angle of view is 34.3 degrees.

Field of view at 70mm

Focusing

The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens has quite a narrow focus ring, although it is ridged for easier grip. There are hard stops at both ends of the range, making it easier to set focus at infinity. Polariser users should be pleased that the 82mm filter thread doesn't rotate on focus.

When it comes to auto-focusing, the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art is a quick performer, taking about 0.15 seconds to lock onto the subject when mounted on the Canon EOS 5DS R that we tested it with.

We didn't experience much "hunting", either in good or bad light, with the lens accurately focusing almost all of the time. It's also a quiet performer, thanks to the built-in HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor), which makes this lens well-suited to video recording.

Chromatic Aberrations

Chromatic aberrations, typically seen as purple or blue fringes along contrasty edges, are not really a problem for the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art, even at the edges of the frame.

Light Fall-off

With the lens set to its maximum aperture of f/2.8, there is some light fall-off in the corners at both ends of the zoom range. Stopping-down to f/5.6 virtually eliminates this. There's also noticeable barrel distortion at the 24mm focal length and slight pincushioning at 70mm.

Light fall-off at 24mm

Light fall-off at 70mm

Flare

Flare is a typical problem with wider-angle lenses, so we were curious to find out how the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art fared in this respect. As these examples shows the lens is is a little susceptible to flare when shooting directly into the sun, even with the supplied lens hood fitted, but overall it is well controlled thanks to the lens' Super Multi-Layer Coating.

Macro

The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art isn't claimed to be a macro lens, but it delivers quite good performance nonetheless if you zoom to 70mm. It has a minimum focusing distance of 37cm / 15.0in. and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:4.8. The following example demonstrates how close you can get to your subject.

Close-up performance

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. In the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens, Sigma employed an iris diaphragm with nine rounded blades, which has resulted in very nice bokeh in our view. We do realise, however, that bokeh evaluation is subjective, so we've included several 100% crops for your perusal.

Sharpness

In order to show you how sharp this lens is, we are providing 100% crops on the following pages.