Sigma’s New 20mm Art Lens Is Here and It’s Fast

October 16, 2015

By Laura Brauer

Sigma’s Art lenses have been a hot commodity for full frame DSLR owners and the company has just added a new one to the mix, the 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM.

It is, according to Sigma, the world’s first 20mm f/1.4 ultra wide angle lens. For APS-C DSLRs, you’re looking at a 30mm (Nikon) or 32mm (Canon) angle of view, which is still fairly wide.

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The full frame lens will be available in Nikon, Canon and Sigma mounts. It uses “F” Low Dispersion (FLD) glass and five Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements to reduce spherical aberration, axial chromatic aberration and field curvature.

According to Sigma, the lens is resistant to strong incidental light sources such as backlight thanks to the use of its Super Multi-Layer Coating.

Focusing is driven by a hypersonic motor for silent, speedy operation. It offers a nine blade rounded aperture and a brass bayonet mount.

While the 20mm has a bright f/1.4 aperture it can be stopped down to f/16. It has a minimum focusing distance of 10.9 inches.

The 20mm Art lens is built from a Thermally Stable Composite compound which can endure extreme temperatures while not being overly heavy. The lens weighs 2.1 pounds and measures 3.6 x 5.1 inches.

Like other models in the series, the 20mm prime is compatible with Sigma’s optional USB Dock, which allows photographers to update the lens’ firmware, adjust focus points and customize full-time manual focus over-ride function settings using Sigma’s Optimization Pro software.

The lens will ship in November but is available for pre-order now for $899.