Sigma 50mm f/1.2 DG DN Art Officially Announced

Just a couple of hours ago Sigma has officially unveiled and announced their latest lens for mirrorless cameras, the Sigma 50mm f/1.2 DG DN Art, which would be available for L-mount and E-mount at launch.

Here are the links to the official press release (in English and Japanese), and the product information page (in English and Japanese).

Based on the released technical specifications of the lens, it looks like they have managed to keep the entire package pretty compact for a f/1.2 lens, and the MTF charts show a very high performance of the lens’ resolving power. Sample galleries seem to agree with that too, and it looks like Sigma has created a winner in their hands.

I have enjoyed using Sigma products during my DSLR days, and one of my favorite lenses from them is the 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens. And my experience with their customer service was pleasant and positive in the few times whereby I had to reach out to them for maintenance or calibration, so this is one company that I would always have a soft spot for.

It is really nice to see Sigma innovate in their quest to create quality modern optics for mirrorless cameras, by utilizing the advantages of the short flange distance as well as focus-by-wire AF systems to create more complex optics that were not possible in the DSLR era.

While previously, Sigma Art lenses were well-known to be behemoths (I’m looking at you 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art), their recent lens releases for mirrorless cameras seem to reflect their growth as an optics manufacturer as they embark on using more sophisticated optical designs and techniques to bring size and weight down.

While it is unfortunate that this lens is not coming to the Z-mount at launch, and to be honest I doubt that a native Z-mount version of this lens would ever happen, I am certainly looking forward to see what other lenses Sigma would create and bring over to the Z-mount.