REVIEWED: Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art lens

A groundbreaking wide-angle lens perfect for low-light landscapes and astrophotography

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This wide-angle lens is the fastest, widest-angle prime lens available for Canon, Nikon and Sony full-frame cameras. So what?

Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art lens: features

Compatible with Canon and Nikon full-frame DSLRs, and Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras, this lens is a heavyweight at 1.2kg. It may be a lot to add to a camera bag but collects twice as much light as any other wide-angle lens. Think about that for a second. It means images of the night sky – specifically of the Milky way – can be exposed for half as long. Instead of opening the shutter for 30 seconds, the same image can be had in 15 seconds. A fisheye-shaped lens, it has a 114° field of view.

Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art lens: in use & conclusion

An almost silent auto-focus system makes it great in the day, although at night it’s likely you’ll be using manual ‘infinity’ focus, which on the dial is spot-on, focus-wise. At night in Namibia and also in the Atacama Desert in Chile, we used the Sigma on the Milky Way at f/1.8 for 10-25 seconds at ISO 3200, and the results on a full-frame Canon EOS 6D were excellent. We did notice a little softness in corners, and of course, that price and weight play against it. However, if you like taking images of the night sky in the context of travel destinations, this is the lens for you.

Price as reviewed: US$1,599 / UK£1,299