p.33 #1 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
In the absence of a distortion profile for this lens I had a quick look at a manual correction in CR today. Turns out setting the simple barrel distortion correction slider to about "+9" does a pretty good job when the Sigma is at 14mm, where it's distortion is most obvious. Ignore the other settings in the dialog as they were adjusted to allow for the fact that my test grid was not perfectly parallel to the sensor.
p.33 #2 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
@MikeEvangelist just bought this lens so I am expecting a LR/ACR custom profile very soon!
rvh23 wrote:
In the absence of a distortion profile for this lens I had a quick look at a manual correction in CR today. Turns out setting the simple barrel distortion correction slider to about "+9" does a pretty good job when the Sigma is at 14mm, where it's distortion is most obvious. Ignore the otther settings in the dialog as they were adjusted to allow for the fact that my test grid was not perfectly parralel to the sensor.
p.33 #3 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
Fred Miranda wrote:
@MikeEvangelist@ just bought this lens so I am expecting a LR/ACR custom profile very soon!
Unfortunately, the LR profile may be slightly delayed. The dealer who accepted my Greentoe offer seems to have flaked out on me.
They sent me tracking info a few days ago, but after three days no package was handed off to UPS. When I inquired, they had a lame excuse like 'we discovered a problem with the item so recalled the package; and we don't have another one right now.' I gave them a couple more days to find one, or I'll have to go elsewhere.
p.33 #4 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
MikeEvangelist wrote:
Unfortunately, the LR profile may be slightly delayed. The dealer who accepted my Greentoe offer seems to have flaked out on me.
They sent me tracking info a few days ago, but after three days no package was handed off to UPS. When I inquired, they had a lame excuse like 'we discovered a problem with the item so recalled the package; and we don't have another one right now.' I gave them a couple more days to find one, or I'll have to go elsewhere.
That's bad news Mike. I hope you can find a replacement. I'm sure you would enjoy this lens.
p.33 #5 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
MikeEvangelist wrote:
Unfortunately, the LR profile may be slightly delayed. The dealer who accepted my Greentoe offer seems to have flaked out on me.
They sent me tracking info a few days ago, but after three days no package was handed off to UPS. When I inquired, they had a lame excuse like 'we discovered a problem with the item so recalled the package; and we don't have another one right now.' I gave them a couple more days to find one, or I'll have to go elsewhere.
In the mean time you may want to check out the distortion and vignetting settings that Dustin Abbott uses shown in his Sigma 14-24 Image Quality Review video at the following link (at time 2.35). I’ve tried them out on my copy and they work well at 14mm.
p.33 #6 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
Fred Miranda wrote:
That's bad news Mike. I hope you can find a replacement. I'm sure you would enjoy this lens.
As Mr Murphy would predict, as soon as the original order gets delayed, the start date of my new project is moved forward two weeks. So not only don't I get to realize any savings through Greentoe, but I end up buying from a normal seller and paying for fast shipping to get it in time. 😬 c'est la vie
p.33 #7 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
I was a bit surprised when I processed my images with this lens. Central (APS-C) area was very sharp but the far edges showed some softening. I didn't have any compositions to check corner sharpness but I'm sure it would have been softer still. And this at f/6.3.
Was expecting something tack sharp across the frame like my Loxia 25, but didn't see that.
I'd say it's around the IQ I got with my Laowa 15/2 at similar apertures. So not bad at all for an ultrawide zoom, but not stellar prime quality either.
Probably my expectations were just set too high.
I should calibrate by saying I haven't seen anything *better* at less than 20mm focal length either. But I'm still waiting on a tack-sharp 14-15mm lens. What I really want is the performance of my Loxia wides at landscape apertures, but I haven't found this holy grail yet.
p.33 #8 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
lightskyland wrote:
I was a bit surprised when I processed my images with this lens. Central (APS-C) area was very sharp but the far edges showed some softening. I didn't have any compositions to check corner sharpness but I'm sure it would have been softer still. And this at f/6.3.
Was expecting something tack sharp across the frame like my Loxia 25, but didn't see that.
I'd say it's around the IQ I got with my Laowa 15/2 at similar apertures. So not bad at all for an ultrawide zoom, but not stellar prime quality either.
Probably my expectations were just set too high.
I should calibrate by saying I haven't seen anything *better* at less than 20mm focal length either. But I'm still waiting on a tack-sharp 14-15mm lens. What I really want is the performance of my Loxia wides at landscape apertures, but I haven't found this holy grail yet....Show more →
The Sigma 14-24 @14-16mm is tack sharp to the very corners at f/4-5.6. It's way better than a good copy of the Laowa 15.
You should try another copy.
p.33 #9 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
lightskyland, if I recall you were shooting handheld in low light? When I tested the lens I had great corners. I shot on tripod with good light and low ISO outside the camera store .
p.33 #10 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
lightskyland, Now you had me worried I damaged it on our outing. I just went outside and reshot a test at 14, 18 & 24 at f 4, 8 & 11. I am loving this lens.
p.33 #11 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
lightskyland wrote:
I was a bit surprised when I processed my images with this lens. Central (APS-C) area was very sharp but the far edges showed some softening. I didn't have any compositions to check corner sharpness but I'm sure it would have been softer still. And this at f/6.3.
Was expecting something tack sharp across the frame like my Loxia 25, but didn't see that.
I'd say it's around the IQ I got with my Laowa 15/2 at similar apertures. So not bad at all for an ultrawide zoom, but not stellar prime quality either.
Probably my expectations were just set too high.
I should calibrate by saying I haven't seen anything *better* at less than 20mm focal length either. But I'm still waiting on a tack-sharp 14-15mm lens. What I really want is the performance of my Loxia wides at landscape apertures, but I haven't found this holy grail yet....Show more →
No, your expectations were not too high. Especially at the wide end this lens is (along with the Sigma 14/1.8) the highest IQ lens available for Sony E, and as Fred said much better than the Laowa in the corners. There is a fair bit of sample variation regarding corner sharpness wide open (as expected for a zoom), mostly at the long end of the lens. But all four copies I have tried were "Loxia good" across the whole range by 5.6 (better in fact if you include CA performance). I would definitely exchange any copy that was not.
p.33 #12 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
I looked again at all of my images from the 14-24 and as Scott said shutter speed was low (~1/30th) and I was shooting handheld late in the day and autofocus was somewhat marginal.
Most show a pattern of very sharp in the center and blurry towards the edges. However a couple are quite sharp across the frame.
At this point having seen a couple of sharp images from this 14-24 I am somewhat inclined to believe in blur caused by some other factor or factors (handheld blur, loose lens mount / lens fit causing lens tilt, sensor stabilization not working very well at the edges due to shutter speed + a very wide lens, etc.)
I'll definitely give the 14-24 another chance when I can give it a proper test in good light with high shutter speeds.
Thanks Scott for the chance to try it out and sorry to everyone for reporting based on a handful of images without sufficient controls. At this point I don't have quite enough info to reach any conclusions, other than that I prefer manual focus for landscapes
p.33 #13 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
One thing I have noticed with this lens and my 24-105. Sometimes when handheld IBIS seems to cause the image to be soft while the next frame is sharp. I have turned off IBIS and use high Tv or a tripod. I have not used IBIS since my A7rii days.
p.33 #14 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
Fred Miranda wrote:
The Sigma 14-24 @14-16mm is tack sharp to the very corners at f/4-5.6. It's way better than a good copy of the Laowa 15.
You should try another copy.
Hmmmm... my Laowa 15 is tack sharp to the extreme edges at f/4 and f/5.6.
Scott,
Tack sharp for me just means extraordinary performance.
All these lenses are sharp toward the edges: Laowa 15, Sony 12-24@15, CV 15 but the Sigma 14-24 is noticeably better at 14-15mm. I have not seen any other lens (zoom or prime) with such high performance across the frame and especially the corners.
I've tested many copies of all these lenses and imo, the Sony 12-24@15mm and Laowa are very good and perform similarly while the CV 15's corners are just good.
Personally, I am not a big fan of ultra wide zooms with bulbous front elements but I highly recommend the Sigma 14-24/2.8 DG DN E-mount zoom.
p.33 #16 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
smhoer wrote:
One thing I have noticed with this lens and my 24-105. Sometimes when handheld IBIS seems to cause the image to be soft while the next frame is sharp. I have turned off IBIS and use high Tv or a tripod. I have not used IBIS since my A7rii days.
Matthew, we'll have to shoot again soon!
Handheld IBIS can be an issue with wide angle lenses...even more so with ultra wides. I've seen that a lot when testing wide angle lenses for centering. When inspecting the corners, turning IBIS off is a must.
I had a extremely good copy, im kicking myself now for selling it. Folks there is copy variance in all three of these lenses. Frankly its pretty freaking sad we have to deal with this because it throws tests all over the map. Fred says one is good and one is bad and i may say the opposite and we are both right its not us its the damn copies we are using. Why I scream test your lenses. My 12-24 i just bought showed up decentered on Big Bronco. Big Bronco is relentless. its going back
What is really weird going back to even my A7rII days if a lens is bad its the right side always. Talk about baffling
p.33 #19 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
GMPhotography wrote:
Fred says one is good and one is bad and i may say the opposite and we are both right its not us its the damn copies we are using.
Copy variation plays a big role for sure. The Voigtlander 15/4.5 III for example, could be great or horrible if only testing one copy. The others lenses I mentioned have less copy variance but this still applies.
I've tried a least 7 copies of the CV 15/4.5 and lost count for the Sony 12-24/4 and Laowa 15/2 lenses...So, I have a good idea of how well optimal copies should perform. Unfortunately I can't put them side by side as I no longer own all of them.
From the feedback on this thread, it looks like the Sigma 14-24/2.8 has some variation as well but the copy I purchased from B&H is perfectly centered at all focal lengths (a first for me) and I was surprised by its performance. I decided that one copy was enough for this Sigma as I can't see another copy doing any better than this!
p.33 #20 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
Fred Miranda wrote:
Copy variation plays a big role for sure. The Voigtlander 15/4.5 III for example, could be great or horrible if one only tries one copy. The others lenses I mentioned have less copy variance but this still applies.
I've tried a least 7 copies of the CV 15 and lost count for the Sony 12-24 and Laowa 15...So, my comment is not based on only copy of each lens.
I really know how well they perform. Unfortunately I can't put them side by side as I no longer own all them.
It looks like the Sigma 14-24 has some variation as well but the copy I purchased from B&H is perfectly centered at all focal lengths (a first for me) and its high performance was a big surprise to me....Show more →
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its going back 
