Sigma 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary Review L Mount

Sigma 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary Review L Mount:

Sigma has been steadily adding more, and more new lenses to their L mount APS-C catalogue, which is great.  Today, they announced another lens worth looking into: the Sigma 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary.  With an equivalent focal length of 35mm, I imagine this will prove quite useful to many looking for a decent everyday lens that they can use for travel, street photography to even environmental portraits.  Thanks to Sigma, I was able to get a pre-launch sample to test.  Here’s what I think of the new 23mm f1.4.

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Sigma 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary Build Quality:

Let’s start off taking a look at the overall build, and in terms of that, the design is very similar to the other APS-C lenses that Sigma currently has out.  Like the other lenses, the 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary is made of TSC (Thermally Stable Composite), and has a brass bayonet mount.  The focus ring has a rubberized texture that is easy to grip, especially since it’s pretty large.  There’s also rubber sealing on the mount, so this lens has some dust and splash protection.  Overall, the 23mm f1.4 is a very solid build that feels great in the hands.  In terms of aesthetics, and ergonomics, it’s clean, understated, and straight to the point; I think it’s a great match with a camera like a Leica CL or even a full frame L mount body.

↑ Here’s the Panasonic S5 with the 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary attached.

Being that this lens is a 35mm equivalent, it’s going to be used for subjects like street photography, landscape, candid, and in general, just everyday life.  It’s going to be something that may even be mounted on ones camera most of the time, and therefore, size and weight are very important.  You don’t want something that is large, and heavy because the 35mm focal length is so versatile that it makes a great everyday lens for a lot of people.  Therefore, you want something that you can easily carry around, and not feel burdened by it at the end of the day.

I’m happy to report that the 23mm f1.4 is not only compact, it also weighs very little.  In terms of dimensions, it measures just 65.8mm x 76.9mm/2.6 in. x 3.0 in.  Weight wise, it’s only 340g/12.0 oz.  So, you’re able to throw this lens into a smaller bag saving yourself from lugging more gear.  You can also stay discreet when you need to be for times when you are doing street photography, for instance.  Being that the lens is light, you can carry it around with you all day long, and not feel tired at the end of the day.  That’s important because activities like street photography or even shooting landscape often require photographers to be out walking around all day long.

So, the build, and ergonomics are quite decent, and what’s also great is that a lens hood is included.  It’s a petal shaped lens hood that twists on and locks in place.  It’s also reversible, so you can save some space in your bag.

↑ Here’s the included lens hood.

Sigma 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary Autofocus:

As for the autofocus, the 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary uses a stepping motor that I found to be fast, and essentially silent in operation.  The autofocus is so capable that you really don’t think about it at all.  Whether I was in dimly lit areas or in bright ones, it didn’t really matter; I just pointed the camera, and clicked.  There wasn’t any drama.  The autofocus performed quite well, and did what it was suppose to do.

I also found the autofocus to be very accurate.  Being that this is an f1.4 lens, depth of field can get very shallow, so nailing the focus can be more difficult.  I’m happy to say this lens did a great job shooting at f1.4.  It locked onto my subjects, and always focused correctly helping me get the shot.

It’s worth mentioning that the face detection work quite well with the lens too.  I did schedule a photo shoot to test this lens but unfortunately, the model ended up getting sick.  However, I tested the face detection out quite a bit on the street, and I’m happy to say the lens worked great with the face detection in my camera.  Faces were always tack sharp in the photos.

Sigma 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary Image Quality:

As for optical performance, I found the 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary performed quite well.  It is more than capable of producing high quality images, and truly a pleasure to use.

↑ This was taken using f11 and 640 ISO.

↑ Here’s a photo taken using f5.6 and 1600 ISO.

↑ This was taken using f8 and 100 ISO.

For one, the 23mm f1.4 is exceptionally sharp overall.  At wide open aperture, it is as sharp as a tack in the center with only a very slight loss in detail in the corners.  Nothing out of the ordinary here.  Stopping down by just one stop, sharpens up the corners just a bit.  This is an f1.4 lens, so obviously, there are times you will want to use it at its maximum aperture, and as you can see, it will most definitely perform superbly wide open.  However, the 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary can be used throughout the aperture to get excellent results as well, so make sure you take advantage of it :).

↑ Here’s a photo taken using f1.4 and 100 ISO.

↑ Here’s a 100% crop of the photo above.

↑ This photo was taken using f6.3 and 100 ISO.

↑ Here’s a 100% crop of the photo above.

↑ Here’s a photo of an old crane taken using f8 and 100 ISO.

↑ Here’s a 100% crop of the photo above.

In addition, other features of the 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary include great contrast, and color rending.  There’s also nice depth, and pop to the images.  I found it to be highly resistant to flare, which is probably thanks to the Super Multi-Layer Coating applied to the lens.  I did get some vignetting at f1.4 though.  Stopping down by one stop reduces it significantly.  By f4, the vignetting is nearly all gone.  Overall, I feel that the optical performance is definitely up to par with what is considered to be top tier in its class, especially when you factor in the price, which is $549.

↑ This was taken using f6.3 and 100 ISO.

↑ Here’s a photo taken using f9 and 250 ISO.

↑ This was taken using f4 and 800 ISO.

Sigma 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary Bokeh:

Because of that f1.4 maximum aperture, the 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary is definitely able to throw the background out of focus.  When it does, the bokeh is beautifully smooth, and inviting.  We all have our own opinions when it comes to shallow depth of field, and bokeh but at least for me, I didn’t find anything that I felt was distracting in the background or harsh looking.  I’ve tested almost every L mount lens made by Sigma, and I’ve always thought that their lenses produce beautiful bokeh.  This one is not an exception to the rule.

↑ Here’s a photo taken using wide open aperture and 100 ISO.

↑ Here’s another photo taken using f1.4 and 100 ISO but from a distance.

↑ This photo was taken using f1.4 and 100 ISO.

Pros And Cons:

Pros:

• Well-built.
• Compact and light, especially considering this is an f1.4 lens.
• Balances beautifully on an APS-C camera like the Leica CL or even a full frame L mount camera.
• Fast and accurate autofocus.
• Great image quality.
• Decent Bokeh.
• Lens sells for a great price.

Cons:

• Maybe lack of image stabilization but I don’t think this is even an issue.

Sigma 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary Verdict:

If you’re in the market for a great 35mm equivalent lens for your L mount system, whether it’s for a full frame L mount body like the Leica SL2 or an APS-C body like the Leica CL, the Sigma 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary is a fantastic choice.  It’s exactly what one would want from a 35mm lens: it’s well made, so it can handle everyday use.  It’s light and compact, so it’s easy to use as an everyday lens.  The autofocus is decent, and best of all, the image quality is excellent.

↑ This photo was taken using f8 and 100 ISO.

↑ This was taken using f6.3 and 125 ISO.

At the current price of $549, it’s also a great deal, especially when you compare it to the competition.  The Leica Summicron-T 23mm f2 ASPH (now discontinued) was priced at $1,850.  While it is an excellent lens, it’s still significantly more expensive than the Sigma version all while only having a maximum aperture of f2.  Fujifilm has the wonderful XF 23mm f1.3 R LM WR lens, however, it’s priced at $899.

↑ Here’s a photo taken with f8 and 320 ISO.

↑ Here’s another taken with f8 but this time also with 100 ISO.

↑ One last photo of the 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary attached to the S5.

Overall, the 23mm f1.4 is a nice little package from Sigma.  It has all the features one would want from a 35mm equivalent lens, and the price to go along with it.  Sigma has been producing some amazing stuff for the L Mount Alliance, and the 23mm f1.4 is no exception.  I highly recommend this lens to anyone looking for a great 35mm equivalent.

Thanks for taking the time to read my review!  If you’re considering purchasing the Sigma 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary, and my review helped you decide, please help support this site by purchasing from the links below or any mentioned in this review.  It will not cost you anything extra. Thank you for your support!

Sigma 23mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary at B&H Photo

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