Sigma announces Mount Conversion Service and 4 years warranty

Sigma today announced a revolutionary new service that will enable owners of Sigma “Global Vision lenses” to change their lens mounts for use on different camera systems. The mount change will costs between $80 and $250 (plus shipping) depending on the lens in question.

The Mount Conversion Service will be operational as of 2 September this year. All current Sport, Contemporary or Art DSLR lenses are applicable for service and can be refitted to either a Sigma, Sony, Pentax, Nikon or Canon mount. Global Vision category lenses for mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras can be updated to either a micro four thirds (MFT) or Sony E-mount.

This service is really good news for people who invested heavily in Sigma lenses but are now facing a camera system change (e.g., from Canon to Nikon or vice versa); the fee for the service will be likely (much) lower than the the loss incurred when selling the lens with the old mount and re-buying it with the new mount!

In the same message, Sigma also announced they increased the warranty period of all Sigma products (including cameras, lenses, accessories, etc.) bought after 1 July 2013 to 4 whole years.

Record breaking: new Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM lens

Sigma just announced the world's first f/1.8 constant aperture zoom lens, the “Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art.”

This extreme wide aperture, standard zoom-lens for DSLR camera's with APS-C (1.5~1.6x crop) sized sensors. On such cameras it has a 35mm format focal range equivalent of 27mm – 52.5mm (depth of field equivalent at f/1.8: ±f/2.7).

The fact that Sigma placed this lens in their “Art” lens series is an indication of the high quality we may expect of the lens. As of now, no exact release date nor indication of price (likely > $/€ 1000) has been given by Sigma.

For more information, see the Sigma product page.

Sigma announces new 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM lens

Lots of (lens) news today: Sigma just announced a new 30mm f/1.4 lens.

The new Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM is a lens specifically designed for APS-C (crop) sensor DSLRs and will be made available with a Sigma, Canon, or Nikon mount.

New Sigma Lenses: 17-70/2.8-4 DC and 120-300/2.8 OS

Sigma just announced two exciting new lenses in their line-up. Both lenses are upgrades to previous versions of the same lenses.

The new 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM, like its predecessor, is a “full frame” super telephoto zoom lens with a focal length range of 120-300mm with a constant maximum aperture of f/2.8 throughout the whole range. It is Optically Stabilised (VR and IS in respectively Nikon and Canon speak) and has a Hyper Sonic Motor for fast auto-focussing.

The 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM is available with either a Sigma, Nikon, or Canon mount.

While I don't own one, I know the previous 120-300 lens to be a great lens, optically, and it looks like Sigma has improved this quality even further. This would make this lens a great buy for all sports/wildlife shooters looking for range and flexibility. The wide max aperture makes it a great (and cheaper) alternative to the Nikon 200-400/4 (and the Canon 200-400 when that lens finally ships).

The new 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC MACRO OS HSM / DC MACRO HSM lens is a DC lens, specifically designed for APS-C crop DSLR bodies. Giving you a roughly 25.5 to 105mm zoom range when compared to a 35mm “full frame” camera. It is a variable aperture lens, meaning that the maximum aperture varies between f/2.8 (at the 17mm end) and f/4 (at the 70mm end). Like the 120-300, this lens too boasts both Optical Stabilisation (not for the Sony and Pentax versions!) and a Hyper Sonic Motor.

The 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC MACRO OS HSM / DC MACRO HSM is available with a Sigma, Sony, Pentax, Nikon, or Canon mount.

Both lenses are compatible with the (also new) Sigma USB Dock which allows the user to install lens firmware updates as well as perform some customisations (including the focus setting).