Sigma 24-105mm f/4 OS announced

News

by Tim FokOctober 26^th, 2013

Sigma has announced another lens to add to their Global Vision line. The Sigma 24-105 f/4 OS enters the standard zoom lens category sporting Optical Stabilization which will directly compete with Canon and Nikon counterparts.

The new 24-105 is branded “A” in Sigma’s attempt to categorize all of their new Global Vision lenses. This means the lens will be classified as an Art lens, however due to it’s versatility it could easily slot into either of Sigma’s other labels – Sports and Contemporary.

The Sigma 24-105 f/4 OS features the following specifications

• Lens Construction: 19 elements in 14 groups
• Dimensions (Diameter x Length): 3.5in x 4.3in
• Weight: 885g / 31.2oz
• Minimum focusing distance: 45cm /17.7in
• OS (Optical Stabilizer) functionality
• Filter size: 82mm
• Maximum magnification ratio: 1:4.6
• Angle of view (35mm equivalent): 84.1°-23.3°
• HSM delivers high AF speed and quiet performance
• Offers F/4 brightness throughout the zoom range
• Super Multi-Layer Coating reduces flare and ghosting
• Rounded 9-blade diaphragm
• Mount conversion service available
• Sigma USB Dock compatible

With the hype and praise Sigma has received with the 35mm f/1.4 and 18-35mm f/1.8, the 24-105 will be highly anticipated. The standard focal length category is one that gauges a lot of interest from many different industries due to its versatility. With being such a popular category, there’s naturally going to be quite some competition.

Here’s a quick look at what the Sigma 24-105mm will be up against:

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 II  Pros – Fantastic image quality, weather sealed. Cons – Expensive, no IS.

Canon 24-105mm f/4 IS  Pros – Good focal length, weather sealed, IS. Cons – Slower aperture, constant aperture not so ‘constant’.

Canon 24-70mm f/4 IS  Pros – Weather sealed, good macro abilities, good image quality. Cons – Slower aperture, short focal length compared to others.

Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 VC  Pros – Affordable, Fast aperture, IS (VC). Cons – No weather sealing, poor quality control for consistent performance.

There’s still no perfect standard lens (although the image quality of the Canon 24-70 II puts it up there), each has its advantages and disadvantages. It will be interesting to see where the Sigma 24-105 sits with its competitors. Naturally with it matching the Canon 24-105mm in terms of spec, it’s going to be compared to this the most.

With no reviews currently out on the performance of this lens, we can only compare spec. To which it’s likely the Sigma will have the upper hand on price, and the Canon on weather sealing.

Where I hope there will be differentiation between the two in terms of performance would be how audible the IS (or OS) is, just how much of a parfocal lens it truly is, and just how much exposure retention it offers throughout the focal range. These 3 points I feel the Canon 24-105 suffers slightly. Despite being a constant aperture parfocal lens, it still has focus and exposure shift as you zoom.

The Sigma 18-35mm was praised on these latter two points, just see the below video for an example. With a bit of luck, Sigma will have paid the same amount of attention in the same areas with the 24-105mm.

The 24-105mm will be fully compatible for both full frame and APS-C formats. It will be available in Canon, Nikon, Sigma and Sony mounts (no OS on the Sony) and is currently available for pre-order form B&H for $899 (Canon mount).