Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN Gallery Update: Real-world shots from Sigma’s newest full-frame wide-angle lens

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posted Wednesday, March 2, 2022 at 10:00 AM EST

Click here to view our Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN Contemporary Gallery

Last month, Sigma announced the latest addition to its I Series lineup, the Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN Contemporary. The lens is available for E mount and L mount. I am testing it as an E mount version on a Sony A7R IV camera. The lens retails for $699, making it a reasonably-priced fast full-frame prime lens.

While they're arriving a bit later than I'd like, my first batch of real-world images is now available for download. Additional real-world images are on the way. The images were captured across a range of aperture settings, including wide open at F2, and offer some insight into the lens' optical performance.

Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN Contemporary lens on a Sony A7R IV

The lens incorporates 13 elements arranged in 11 groups. Among these elements are three aspherical lens elements, plus an FLD and an SLD element. The resulting image quality is quite good. While I need to do some further investigation, I haven't noticed any aggressive color fringing or chromatic aberration. Although, in challenging situations, you can see some minor fringing.

Sony A7R IV - F2, 1/250s, ISO 100. RAW image converted using ACR default settings and no lens corrections applied. Click here to view the full-size image: JPEG or RAW

100% crop. You can see minor longitudinal chromatic aberrations in this heavily backlit scene. They're barely noticeable unless you zoom in all the way on an image.

As for sharpness, the lens is quite sharp when shooting wide open, at least in the center of the frame. For optimal corner performance, you need to stop down a bit; a stop or two seems sufficient. I need to capture additional sharpness test shots of a far-field and relatively flat test target, but in the meantime, there are some sharpness test shots in the gallery shot at each key aperture setting.

Sony A7R IV - F2.8, 1/200s, ISO 100. Click here to view the full-size image: JPEG or RAW

100% crop from the original JPEG image

An optical 'issue' that you contend with when shooting with a 20mm lens is distortion. A bit of distortion is part and parcel of a wide-angle lens. It's some of the charm. However, I recommend keeping lens corrections enabled, especially if you want straight lines like a horizon to stay level in your image.

A second issue that isn't as welcome is vignette. Even with lens corrections applied, I find that the Sigma 20mm F2 produces excessive corner darkening when shooting wide open. Consider the image below. To address the issue, I had to manually apply nearly +100 vignette corrections in Adobe Camera Raw.

Sony A7R IV - F2, 1/250s, ISO 100. Original JPEG. Click here to view the full-size image: JPEG or RAW

Here is the same image with manual vignette corrections.

Despite being a wide-angle lens, the Sigma 20mm F2 produces pretty nice bokeh when shooting wide open. The lens can focus reasonably closely (22cm/8.7"), which may not result in anything nearing macro territory, but it's sufficient for most situations. The background gets nicely softened if you get up close to your subject.

Sony A7R IV - F2, 1/400s, ISO 100. This image has been edited. Click here to view the full-size image: JPEG or RAW

So far, the Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN seems like a solid, fast wide-angle prime lens for E-mount. It's slightly slower than the Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G lens, but the Sigma lens also costs $200 less. As for build quality, the Sigma lens has a premium look and feel. The metal lens is robust. The focus and aperture rings feel excellent, and the on-barrel AF/MF switch feels good, too. The textured lens hood is excellent, as well. Make no mistake, this isn't a cheap-feeling compact lens. It's a premium lens with a premium feel.

Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN C with its included lens hood. The lens hood includes a nice texture to make it easier to add/remove from the lens.

There's a lot to like about the Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN Contemporary lens. With that said, it's certainly a specialty lens. Its focal length is good for landscapes, but 20mm is very wide. I realize that there are wider lenses, but nonetheless, it can be a limiting focal length. You compromise versatility compared to, say, a 16-35mm zoom lens. That said, the 20mm F2 is also surprisingly lightweight and compact. It weighs 370g (13.1 oz.) and is 74.4mm (2.9") long. Compare that to the Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GM lens, which weighs 680g (1.5 lb) and has a slower maximum aperture. Plus, that zoom lens is $2,200.

Sony A7R IV - F2, 1/500s, ISO 3200. This image has been edited. Click here to view the full-size image: JPEG or RAW

The overall appeal of the Sigma 20mm for an individual will depend heavily upon how they value different qualities of a wide-angle lens. Do you want a lightweight and compact lens with a fast aperture but don't mind a fixed focal length? Then the Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN C is a compelling option. If, instead, you want the versatility of a zoom lens but don't mind a larger, heavier, more expensive lens with a slower aperture? Then there are plenty of alternatives. What's certain is that the Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN C strikes a great balance between portability and performance.

Stay tuned for my in-depth hands-on review. But in the meantime, head over to the Sigma 20mm F2 DG DN C Gallery.