LENS TEST
Three prime lenses for Nikon APS-C cameras bring third-party flexibility to the Z system, says Amy Davies
Earlier this year, Sigma announced it would be making three of its ‘Contemporary’ prime lenses available for the Nikon Z mount – the first Sigma lenses to do this. The trio comprised the 16mm F1.4 DC DN C (£449), the 30mm F1.4 DC DN C (£349), and the 56mm F1.4 DC DN C (£449). This is now the sixth mount that these lenses have become available in, following the initial introduction for Sony E-mount and Micro Four Thirds, followed by Canon EOS M, Leica L and most recently the Fujifilm X mount.
As such, we have already reviewed all of these lenses in previous issues (and you can see in-depth reviews on our website at amateurphotographer.com).
What’s particularly interesting here with these models for the Z mount, however, is that Nikon itself has nothing similar in its own line-up, particularly for the DX (APS-C) models which the lenses are intended to be used with. So, if you want these kinds of focal lengths, then really Sigma is your only option.
Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN C
The 16mm F1.4 lens gives you an equivalent of 24mm with a DX camera, such as the Nikon Z 30, Z 50 or Nikon Z fc. This is a good ‘standard’ walkaround length for subjects such as landscape and even street photography work. It’s significantly wider than the closest Nikon DX prime lens, which is the Nikkor Z DX 24mm f/1.7 lens, which gives an equivalent focal length of 36mm.
It’s also worth noting that although these lenses are designed for APS-C cameras, you can also use them with full-frame bodies, with the camera automatically switching to 1.5x DX crop mode if you do. You might therefore consider it a good alternative to the Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S lens, which costs more than twice that of the Sigma.
Using crop mode with your full-frame camera comes with a sacrifice in resolution.
For high-resolution models such as the Z 7II, you’ll still be left with a 24.5MP image from its 45.7MP sensor. However, if you’re using something like the Z 6II, then the resulting image will be 10.3MP from its 24.5MP sensor. This is a little less flexible for making large prints, or making further crops when editing.
We’ve been using the 16mm F1.4 with a Nikon Z 30. It’s the biggest lens of the trio, and as such is perhaps a little unbalanced with the small size of this camera, which doesn’t have a viewfinder to make it a bit more chunky. It’d probably be a better pairing for the Nikon Z 50 or the Nikon Z fc.
Another point to remember here is that the lens doesn’t have built-in optical stabilisation
