Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN Review

November 4, 2019 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Conclusion

The Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN lens offers quite an unusual standard focal length of 45mm for full-frame mirrorless cameras from Sony, Panasonic, Leica and Sigma themselves.

It's small size and weight make it a perfect match to a small mirrorless camera like the Sony Alpha A7 III that we tested it with.

It offers good sharpness wide-open at f/2.8, excellent build quality and weather-proofing, nice bokeh and fast and quiet auto-focusing, all at a very affordable price.

The Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN is tack-sharp in the centre from f/4 onwards, although you need to stop down to f/5.6 to get acceptable results at the edges of the frame. Chromatic aberrations and vignetting are both very well controlled.

The auto-focusing system proved to be quick, reliable and virtually silent on the Sony A7R II that we tested the lens with, and manual focus over-ride at any time is a great feature.

It's shame that the very welcome aperture ring can't be de-clicked for video use, though, as otherwise this lens is well-suited to both shooting stills and movie-making.

Build quality is very good, with the brass lens mount, metal lens barrel, and the sober all-black design adding to the high-quality feel, and Sigma have even generously included a metal circular lens hood.

The modest asking price of the Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN is reasonable for such a compact, well-built, high-perfomance lens.

If you're in the market for a small, light standard lens that's perfect for travel and street photography, then the Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN should be high on your list of candidates.

4.5 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 5
Features 3.5
Ease-of-use 4.5
Image quality 4.5
Value for money 4.5