While full-frame cameras are extremely popular, one area where they suffer a distinct disadvantage compared to smaller-sensor models comes with lens size. If you want a small, lightweight full-frame optic, it usually means compromising on zoom range, maximum aperture, and desirable features such as weathersealing. Sigma is aiming to change that with its latest Sigma 20-60mm F2.8-4 DG | Contemporary, which combines an unusually wideangle view and large aperture in a remarkably small size.

　　Sigma 20-60mm F2.8-4 DG at a glance: £749 Standard zoom for full-frame cameras 67mm filter thread 20-25cm minimum focus 88.0mm x 72.2mm, 375g Sony E and L mounts This lens is a small, lightweight standard zoom for everyday photography, with an emphasis on genres that will benefit from its ultra-wide view. That could include landscapes, cityscapes, and travel; it should also be very useful for video. As part of Sigma’s Contemporary line-up, it’s designed to give strong optical performance at a more affordable price than the firm’s premium Art series optics. It’s available in L-mount and Sony E versions for £749.

　　To get an idea of its appeal, we just need to look at the closest available alternatives. The Sigma 20-60mm is similar in size and weight to both the Tamron 20-40mm F/2.8 Di III VXD, which has a rather shorter zoom with a constant f/2.8 aperture, and Panasonics Lumix S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 kit zoom, which offers the same range but a smaller aperture. Arguably, it offers the best balance of zoom range and aperture of the three.

　　With its petite dimensions, this lens could be especially attractive to photographers using smaller full-frame cameras such as the Sigma BF, Panasonic Lumix S9, and Sony Alpha A7C / A7C II / A7CR range. In principle, it could also be used on APS-C cameras such as Sony’s A6000-series, giving a 30-90mm equivalent range. However, for most APS-C users, the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN would likely be a better (and much more affordable) match. But the big question, of course, is whether it’s actually any good?

　　Features Sigma says that despite the lens’s small size and light weight, it hasn’t compromised on image quality. The optical design employs 15 elements in 13 groups, including 3 aspherical lenses to maximise cross-frame sharpness, plus 3 super-low dispersion (SLD) glass lenses to suppress chromatic aberration.

　　Autofocus employs Sigma’s HLA (High-response Linear Actuator) system. This is used to drive a single lens element back and forth internally, with the firm promising fast, quiet autofocus. Focus breathing is suppressed optically.

　　The diaphragm is formed of 9 curved blades which produce a near-circular aperture, with the aim of delivering attractive bokeh. That f/2.8 maximum opening at 20mm drops to f/3.2 by 24mm, f/3.5 a little after 28mm, and f/4 at about 40mm. You can get some nice blur if you position your subject and backgrounds carefully, but overall, I wouldnt choose this lens if shallow depth-of-field is a priority.

　　As for close-up shooting, here the behaviour is a little complicated. While the minimum focus distance is just 15.8cm at the 28mm position, the maximum magnification of 0.43x is achieved at 35mm. Zoom to 60mm and the lens still offers 0.34x magnification, but at a 25cm focus distance.

　　At the front, there’s a 67mm filter thread, which has become a popular size for compact full-frame lenses. A hood is supplied in the box, and reverses snugly back over the lens when it’s not in use.

　　Its worth noting that this lens doesnt include optical image stabilisation. However, the majority of the cameras its likely to be used on include in-body image stabilisation, so for most potential buyers its not a problem. Exceptions include first-generation Sony Alpha 7 models and Sigmas own fp, fp L, and BF.

　　Build and handling As full-frame zooms go, the Sigma 20-60mm is strikingly petite. I tested it on the SLR-shaped Sony A7R V, and it’s refreshingly lightweight compared to more conventional standard zooms such as my usual Sony 24-105mm f/4.

　　It’s just 88mm long in its E-mount incarnation, extending to 122mm when zoomed to telephoto. What’s more, the 72.2mm maximum diameter only relates to the front-most section where the hood mounts, and the main barrel is actually a few millimetres slimmer. At just 375g, it also adds little extra heft to your camera.

　　Build quality is in line with what I’d expect at this price. The outer barrel is constructed of plastic and feels perfectly robust. It boasts dust-and-splash resistant construction, with seals around the lens mount, zoom and focus rings, and the front glass. The latter also features a water and oil-repellent coating, which makes it easier to keep clean.

　　There are just two controls, the zoom ring at the front, and the focus ring closer to the camera. You don’t get such things as an aperture ring or AF/MF switch, but I guess this is forgivable given the small size and relatively low price.

　　In a welcome touch that’s something of a Sigma trademark, a ridged moulding around the lower part of the barrel between the two control rings provides positive grip when mounting or removing the lens.

　　The zoom ring rotates nice and smoothly, with about 80° travel required to get from one end to the other. As with most modern lenses, the manual focus ring operates electronically, rather than mechanically. Again, it’s very smooth and nicely damped. Overall, the lens is very well-behaved, in operational terms.

　　Autofocus When it comes to autofocus, there’s really nothing to complain about. The Sigma 20-60mm F2.8-4 focuses quickly, quietly and accurately, without any fuss. And while the zoom range means that its unlikely to anyone’s first choice for photographing moving subjects, I found it kept up very well regardless, especially when used in concert with face and eye detection.

　　Click on any sample image to see a full-resolution version.

　　If you do ever need to switch to manual focus, I was equally pleased with how this works, too. There’s a nice, precise feel to the focus ring, and it’s easy to get your subject pin-sharp. The lens fully supports the camera’s focus aids, so it can, for example, automatically engage magnified view if you want. Sigma has also met its promise of minimal focus breathing, which means you can pull focus from one subject to another during video recording, without any zooming effect.

　　Performance When it comes to image quality, I have to say the Sigma 20-60mm F2.8-4 punches well above its weight. Images look clean with plenty of fine detail, even when tested on the 60MP Sony A7R V. Unsurprisingly, it can’t quite match top-end lenses such as 24-70mm f/2.8s for absolute pixel-level sharpness under all conditions. But you’ll have to stare closely onscreen, or print your images really large, for the differences to be obvious.

　　Indeed, looking back at the hundreds of images I shot with the lens, I’d be happy using pretty much any combination of focal length, aperture and focus distance. That’s not to say it doesn’t have some optical weaknesses, of course. At the wideangle end, there can be some visible blurring in the corners wide open, but this cleans up well on stopping down.

　　Likewise, I occasionally saw some softness slight wide open, particularly at longer focal lengths and close focus distances. But none of this was problematic, and when stopped down to its optimum apertures of around f/8 – f/11, the lens gives consistently sharp images from corner-to-corner.

　　I got some nice closeups, too, with impressive sharpness and lovely blurred backgrounds. However, it’s worth noting that getting the maximum possible magnification at the 35mm setting requires placing the lens very close to the subject. Unfortunately, this often means getting in your own light and casting a shadow on the subject.

　　I gravitated more towards shooting close-ups at 60mm, which still gives decent magnification but with a much more comfortable working distance.

　　It is, however, important to understand that the lens is dependent on software corrections to generate the final image. In particular, it’s crucial to ensure in-camera distortion compensation is enabled, if you want straight lines in the scene to be rendered correctly in the output. Likewise, you’ll need the requisite correction profiles for converting raw images.

　　Looking at uncorrected raw files, you’ll see strong barrel distortion at 20mm, with a complex profile that recorrects to pincushion towards the corners. This effect reduces as you zoom in, hitting a neutral point at around 35mm before switching to pincushion distortion at the long end. But while this pincushion distortion can easily be fixed in raw development using simple slider controls, you cant fix the barrel distortion at the wide end in the same way.

　　However, Sigma provided me with an lcp profile compatible with Adobe Camera Raw that did the job perfectly. So youll only see any distortion if you use this lens contrary to the way its been designed. I suspect most users wont even notice whats going on, let alone care.

　　Likewise, fairly strong vignetting is visible at maximum aperture at either end of the zoom range. However, it pretty much clears up on stopping down to f/5.6. Again, it can be suppressed by enabling in-camera compensation; for Sony users, this removes most of the shading from both JPEG and raw files.

　　One flaw that’s notable by its absence is colour fringing around high-contrast edges due to lateral chromatic aberration. This is automatically corrected in-camera, where there’s no sensible reason to ever turn it off. Adobe software fixes it automatically during raw processing, too. You can sometimes see a little residual fringing if you really go looking for it, but its not a problem.

　　Sigma 20-60mm F2.8-4 DG: Our Verdict Overall, the Sigma 20-60mm F2.8-4 DG is a really nice little lens that does what it’s supposed to do with little fuss. It’s small and easy to carry, focuses quickly and accurately, and delivers very respectable image quality. In fact, I struggled to find any meaningful flaws.

　　Indeed, I’ve enjoyed using this lens more than I expected. Usually, I find standard zooms that top out at 60mm to be frustrating. But the extra versatility of the 20mm wideangle end makes up for that. I used it to shoot landscapes and cityscapes, and found it to be extremely well suited to these tasks.

　　I could also see this lens being particularly popular as an everyday zoom for travel photography. It’s a refreshingly portable alternative to more conventional 24-70mm f/2.8 or 24-105mm f/4 options, for when you don’t want to carry so much weight. It could also pair up nicely with a relatively small telezoom such as the excellent Tamron 50-300mm F/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD to give a lightweight kit with plenty of zoom range.

　　This is, however, a lens that leans heavily on software compensation for distortion and, to a lesser extent, vignetting. And lets be clear: that’s inevitable to achieve this specification in such a small size. But if for some reason you object to this approach on principle, you should probably give it a miss.

　　Personally, though, I think Sigma has got the balance pretty much right, and for full-frame users in search of a lightweight standard zoom, the Sigma 20-60mm F2.8-4 DG is a standout choice that offer something a bit different to the alternatives. It’s just a shame it isn’t available in Canon RF and Nikon Z versions, and I hope Sigma gets to make them sooner rather than later.

　　Sigma 20-60mm F2.8-4 DG | Contemporary: Sample images Sigma 20-60mm F2.8-4 DG | Contemporary: Full specifications {"@type":"Product","name":"Sigma 20-60mm F2.8-4 DG","description":"Specifications for Sigma 20-60mm F2.8-4 DG","brand":{"@type":"Brand","name":"Sigma 20-60mm F2.8-4 DG"},"additionalProperty":[{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"Price","value":"u00a3749"},{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"Filter Diameter","value":"67mm"},{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"Lens Elements","value":"15 (3 aspherical, 3 SLD)"},{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"Groups","value":"13"},{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"Diaphragm blades","value":"9"},{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"Aperture","value":"f/2.8-4 u2013 f/22-32 "},{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"Minimum focus","value":"20-25cm"},{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"Length","value":"88.0mm (E-mount), 86.0mm (L-mount)"},{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"Diameter","value":"72.2mm"},{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"Weight","value":"375g (E-mount), 385g (L-mount)"},{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"Lens mounts","value":"Diameter"},{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"Included accessories","value":"Caps, hood, pouch"}]} Scroll to see more →

　　Tamron 20-40mm F/2.8 Di III VXD review Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | C review – a fine fast zoom for APS-C Sigma 28-70mm F2.8 DG DN | C review Do you want to win some great prizes for your photography? Enter your photos in our International Amateur Photographer of the Year competition. Free entry for photographers aged 13-21.

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