In this highly detailed review of both the E-Mount Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens and 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens, I will go over everything you need to know. I took a ton of sample photos and video using these lenses in the real world and the lab with the Sony A6500 as the camera body. Please come along for the ride and I think you will be very impressed with what Sigma has produced for those crop factor camera users such as myself.
The Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens goes for $449 US and the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens goes for $339 US. You can find all the available Sigma E-Mount Lenses in my Guide Here >>
What makes the Sigma DC DN lenses so appealing in particular is the very fast f/1.4 speed, great overall build quality, excellent real world performance at a very affordable price point. That f/1.4 speed makes these lenses awesome for low light situations and also for creating separation from the background. Key for portraits and creating an interesting compositions via depth of field play. I will show you exactly what I mean with lots of sample photos down below.
The Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens and 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Lenses are specifically designed for the Sony E-Mount APS-C crop factor cameras like the Sony A6500, A6400, and A6000 for example. However, Sigma also offers a Micro Four Thirds System version if you are not shooting Sony. These lenses will also work on the full frame e-mount cameras like the Sony A7 III and A7r III, but will need to be used in crop factor mode or else there will be sever vignetting due to the much larger sensor size. If you are recording video in Super 35mm Mode on the full frame cameras, then these lenses are a great choice, because that mode is a crop factor video recording format if you were not aware.
Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens – Key Features:
- E-Mount Lens/APS-C Format
- 24mm (35mm Equivalent)
- Aperture Range: f/1.4 to f/16
- 3 FLD, 2 SLD, and 2 Aspherical Elements
- Super Multi-Layer Coating
- Stepping AF Motor
- Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm
- Weather-Sealed TSC Construction
- Minimum Focus Distance = 9.84″ / 25 cm
- Filter Thread = 67 mm
- Weight = 14.3 oz / 405 g
- Retail Price = $449 US
Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens – Key Features:
- Sony E Mount/APS-C Format
- 45mm (35mm Equivalent)
- Aperture Range: f/1.4 to f/16
- Three Aspherical Surfaces
- One High-Refractive Index Element
- Super Multi-Layer Coating
- Stepping AF Motor
- Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm
- TSC Construction, Brass Bayonet Mount
- Minimum Focus Distance = 11.81″ / 30 cm
- Filter Thread = 52mm
- Weight = 9.3 oz / 265 g
- Retail Price = $339 US
Sigma 16mm & 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens Review – Video Version
Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens – Lab Testing
As you will see from these raw quality lab testing photos, the Sigma E 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens performs excellent across the board in my opinion. I did not apply the lens correction profile in Lightroom, so these are straight off the camera. The lens does have some distortion, but it’s very well controlled in my opinion. It’s extremely sharp across the board from corner to corner, but @ f/1.4 it is noticeable softer than @ f/2.8 and up. However, at f/1.4 it’s still very sharp in my opinion, especially when factoring in the cost of this lens.
Please be sure to click on the lab testing photos below to see a larger version.
- Minimum Focus Distance (MFD) – Testing @ f/1.4 & f/8
MFD @ f/1.4 
MFD @ f/1.4 
MFD @ f/8 
MFD @ f/8
- Distortion Control and Corner Sharpness @ Minimum Focus Distance
Distortion / Shapness Test @ mfd, f/1.4 
Distortion / Shapness Test @ mfd, f/1.4
- Sigma E 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens – Sharpness Testing
f/1.4 
f/1.4 
f/1.4 
f/2 
f/2 
f/2 
f/2.8 
f/2.8 
f/2.8 
f/4 
f/4 
f/4 
f/5.6 
f/5.6 
f/5.6 
f/8 
f/8 
f/8 
f/11 
f/11 
f/11 
f/16 
f/16 
f/16
Sigma E 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens – Real World Photos
FIrst I have a few landscape style photos from the Basha Kill Wildlife preserve which I frequent often. The first two images are HDR fully edited photos, but the rest are raw files that were slightly tweaked in Lightroom for contrast.
f/16 
f/16 
f/1.4 
Water Reflection
A few photos taking at the green bridge and I must say the fast wide angle makes for some really cool depth of field play!
Here are a few sample photos from a fun pumpkin picking adventure.
A Few More HDR Sample Photos
If you want to learn more about HDR Photography, check out my tutorial articles and videos Here >>
This lake view was taking from the top of the spillway you saw in the photo above.
I saw this amazing sky on the way to work and spotted the tractor earlier in the week. I managed to put them together, and what better than a quality wide angle lens like the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens and some HDR treatment…
Here are some more water HDR photos from Fallsburg Falls just down the road from my house.
HDR Sample Photo 
HDR Sample Photo 
HDR Sample Photo 
Sony A6500 w/ Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens – HDR Sample Photo
Lastly for the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens Real World sample photos, I wanted to show you a few captures from my PhotoPlus Expo Adventure which was down in NYC and I wrote an entire highly detailed article on Here >>
Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN – Lab Testing
As you will see from the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens lab testing photos, the quality is fantastic across the board. The lens is a little soft at f/1.4, but tacks up nicely at f/2 and gains in sharpness all the way to f/4. It then remains about the same to f/8 as far as I can tell. The background out of focus area renders excellent in my opinion as well. Very little distortion on this lens and fringing is pretty much non existent in these test shots.
Please be sure to click on the lab testing photos below to see a larger version.
- Minimum Focus Distance (MFD) – Testing
MFD @ f/1.4 
MFD @ f/1.4 
MFD @ f/2 
MFD @ f/2 
MFD @ f/2.8 
MFD @ f/2.8 
MFD @ f/4 
MFD @ f/4 
MFD @ f/5.6 
MFD @ f/5.6 
MFD @ f/8 
MFD @ f/8
- Sigma E 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens – Sharpness Testing
f/1.4 
f/1.4 
f/1.4 
f/2 
f/2 
f/2 
f/2.8 
f/2.8 
f/2.8 
f/4 
f/4 
f/4 
f/5.6 
f/5.6 
f/5.6 
f/8 
f/8 
f/8 
f/11 
f/11 
f/11 
f/16 
f/16 
f/16
Sigma E 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens – Real World Photos
As with the 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens, I took a ton of sample photos with the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens in a very similar variety of situations. To start things off I’ll show you some frames from the Bashakill WIldlife preserve nearing sunset time.
I still use my Sony Nex-6 for recording my video version of the reviews, and here she is hanging out enjoying the wonderful view the Basha kill offers. Just look at that buttery glowing background and 3d pop the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens produces!
I also took a few frames down at fallsburg falls and the depth of field play this lens offers is just incredible in my opinion.
Check out the killer bokeh balls on this photo of my microphone.
Here are a few portrait snapshots I took of Layla and my good friend Mark.
Here are a few snapshots from around the house.
Here are a few from the green bridge location.
And here I also used the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens down in NYC for the PhotoExpo Plus adventure I mentioned earlier.
Conclusions
So at the end of the day as you can clearly see from the sample photos and hands-on video style review, the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens and 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens, are phenomenal optics for the money. These lenses are really in a class of their own, and I honestly can’t recommend them enough. They are very well built, the autofocus works great overall, the optical quality is fantastic, and the cost is totally reasonable for anybody looking for fast autofocus prime lenses using the Sony APS-C mirrorless camera system.
Theses lenses are killer for both photography and video and if I had the extra cash laying around I would totally buy both today for my review work, but I really need a new camera like the A6400 first 😉 After that I plan on saving for the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens! After that I plan on saving for the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens. They are perfect for what I do, and although a bit beefy weight wise, they are not heavy enough to be burdensome to the point of being a problem. If I don’t need the speed or depth of field play, I can always use my ultra lightweight, compact, and affordable E 16mm f/2.8 pancake lens which I reviewed Here >> instead.
I still need to review the Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Lens, but from what I’m seeing it also looks like a killer optic for the money. Stay tuned for that review in the near future. Like all my reviews, I will link it up in my corresponding guide page so it’s easy to find for future reference. In this case, it will be in my Sigma E-Mount Guide Page >>
That is about it for this review and I really hope you got what you were looking for. Please feel free to ask questions below and be sure to share your experiences with these lenses if you have them as well.
Please have a great day and I’ll catch up with you next time, Jay
