- Sigma Launches Existing 16mm F1.4 and 23mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lenses for Canon RF Mount
- The lenses cost $439 / £389 / AU$617 and $549 / £479 / AU$817 respectively
- That makes six Sigma RF-S lenses, but none yet for full frame
Sigma has launched two fast aperture prime lenses for Canon mirrorless cameras; 16mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary and 23mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary. They join four other Sigma lenses available for the Canon RF mount, all designed for crop sensor (APS-C) models such as the Canon EOS R7 and Canon EOS R100.
The new lenses bring the total number of Sigma ‘RF-S’ lenses to six in total, and are the first large-aperture primes; The 16mm lens has an equivalent focal length of 24mm, while the 23mm lens has an equivalent focal length of 35mm.
Both lenses offer popular focal lengths with fast f/1.4 apertures, ideal for working in low light and creating portraits with shallow depth of field – I personally relied on a 35mm f/1.4 Sigma lens for a number of years while doing documentary photography in the East Africa.
Sigma has priced the 16mm F1.4 lens at $439 / £389 / $617, while the 24mm F1.4 costs $549 / £479 /AU$817. These are reasonable prices when you consider the proven optical performance of Sigma Contemporary lenses plus the fact that Canon equivalents would likely be more expensive – should Canon ever launch them.
6 and counting, but what about full-frame?
Canon kept its lens mount closed to third-party lens manufacturers longer than rival brands, a move that frustrated some fans, especially given how few lenses Canon has released for its APS-C cameras. That all changed in April 2024 when Canon gave the key to its RF mount door to Sigma and Tamron, and we already have six existing Sigma lenses rolled out to the RF mount.
All of these lenses are for Canon’s APS-C cameras, which somewhat address the biggest strike against entry-level Canon mirrorless models like the EOS R10: limited lens selection.
Meanwhile, Canon has been very active in launching new lenses for its full-frame cameras, like our 2024 Camera of the Year, the EOS R5 Mark II. However, we have yet to see full-frame lenses from Sigma and Tamron.
To us, it looks like Canon takes care of its full-frame lenses, leaving the APS-C lenses to third-party manufacturers like Sigma. It’s not a bad approach; However, it’s only a matter of time before Canon fans demand that Sigma objects start making affordable full-frame lenses for Canon.
