Sigma 70mm f/2.8 DG Macro Art Review

Sigma 70mm f/2.8 DG Macro Art Performance

Sharpness centrally is very good from f/2.8 to f/4, excellent from f/5.6 through to f/11, very good at f/16 and softening as diffraction takes hold at f/22.

Edge sharpness is likewise very good at f/2.8 and f/4, excellent at f/5.6 and f/8, and approaching excellent at f/11. f/16 is very good and then diffraction really takes its toll and f/22 becomes softer. It is commendable that centre and edge match very closely throughout the range of apertures.

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is impressively controlled, almost banished in the centre. The edges are not far behind and it is unlikely that CA will be seen in even quite challenging subjects.

Distortion is especially important in a macro lens, where for example documents might be copied and it would soon be seen if any edges were bent out of true. the lens measure -0.09% barrel distortion, which is as close to zero as makes little difference.

With a deeply recessed front element and a generously deep lens hood flare is not a problem. Shooting into the light, the worst that we might see would be a drop in contrast, but even that is quite modest.

Bokeh, the quality of the out of focus areas in an image, is gratifyingly smooth, making the lens a good candidate for shooting portraits as well as macro. An impressive all-round performance.

Value For Money

The Sigma AF 70mm f/2.8 DG Macro lens is priced at £499, and available in Sigma A, Canon EF and Sony E mounts. There are a number of other macro lenses from 50mm to 105mm, available for various marques.

Starting with 50-60mm options:

Sony FE 50mm f/2.8 Macro, £499
Sony 50mm f/2.8 D Macro, £499
SMC Pentax-D FA 50mm f/2.8 Macro, £349
Zeiss Touit 50mm f/2.8E Makro, £699
Zeiss Milvus 50mm f/2 Makro-Planar, £999
Canon TS-E 50mm f/2.8L Macro, £2199
Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM, £410
Tamron SP 60mm f/2 DiII Macro 1:1, £349

There are a number of 90-105mm options:

Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS, £879
Tamron SP 9mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 VC USD, £549
Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8L Macro, £2499
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM, £519
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, £899
Nikon AF-S 105mm f/2.8G ED IF VR Micro, £749
Tokina AT-X 100mm f/2.8 Macro, £349
SMC Pentax-D FA 100mm f/2.8 Macro WR, £529
Samyang 100mm f/2.8 Macro ED UMC, £349
Sony 100mm f/2.8 D Macro, £669
Zeiss Milvus 100mm f/2 Makro-Planar, £1399

All this leaves the new Sigma 70mm f/2.8 Macro looking about par for the course, not the cheapest but by no means the most expensive, and absolutely fine value for money. For more options have a look at the Top 21 Best Sigma lenses, or the Top 13 Best Macro Lenses.

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