Sigma 45mm f/2.8
Excellent image quality at an affordable price
An new prime lens for mirrorless CSCs
Small, light and relatively fast, the Sigma 45mm f/2.8 is an all-round solid lens that could easily be overshadowed by its more overtly impressive counterparts – but this would be a mistake. Sitting within Sigma’s Contemporary lens lineup, the 45mm f/2.8 is available for both the Sony E-mount and the L-mount (for Panasonic, Sigma and Leica full-frame mirrorless cameras). There have been no announcements on whether the Sigma 45mm f/2.8 will also be made available in Canon R or Nikon Z mounts.
This lens is priced very similarly to the Sigma Art 50mm f/1.4 (£548) and it seems impossible not to compare the two. Sigma’s Art lens lineup is so iconic that it could be easy to feel disappointed with a Sigma offering that fails to go wider than f/2.8. However, to be tempted into comparisons like this is to miss the point of what this lens excels at.
While the 45mm clearly ‘loses out’ on maximum aperture, it trounces the 50mm f/1.4 on weight. At 816g, the 50mm is just over 600g heavier than the 45mm! Light camera kit can often unfortunately go hand in hand with poor build quality or cheap materials. That couldn’t be further from the case here, though.
To keep the lens this small and light, Sigma had to make some concessions. The most conspicuous absence is a more impressive maximum aperture, but there is also no stabilisation included in the lens (although most mirrorless cameras that are compatible with this lens will offer in-body stabilisation).
Performance
Vignetting and distortion are a slight issue with the Sigma 45mm f/2.8, but otherwise the lens performs very well indeed optically. Even when shooting at its maximum aperture, the Sigma 45mm f/2.8 is good and sharp.