Conclusion
Pros
- Well built and generally compact (though much larger than competitors)
- Very sharp in the center right from f/2.8
- Extremely affordable
- Very fast and accurate autofocus
- Pleasing rendering with good color and contrast and neutral bokeh
- Sigma includes an excellent lens hood and high end lens case with the lens despite its budget price
Cons
- Image corners never get super sharp
- Some longintudinal chromatic aberration and purple fringing can crop up from time to time
- Lens is larger than competing lenses of similar focal length and aperture
- The lens has an oddly long start-up period that lasts 3-4 seconds
The Sigma 19mm is a lens that frankly, I shouldn’t like. I’ve been using pretty much nothing but high end lenses for the past 6 years, and generally a budget lens like this wouldn’t even ping my radar. Then there’s that somewhat odd focal length, it’s relatively slow aperture and unremarkable size . But the fact of the matter is, I do like this lens.
Sigma managed to make an affordable lens that is well built with a fast and silent autofocus motor. They then made it surprisingly sharp with good color and contrast, packed in all the accessories you’d need and sold it for a pittance. Is it as good as the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7? No…it’s not. The Panasonic has a much larger aperture and is much smaller, all while being a little bit sharper on the edges (though the center is likely a wash). But that Panasonic costs over double what this little gem costs, and there’s that intangible: I love shooting with this lens. I know I shouldn’t…but I do. I have a blast with it on my camera. Sigma has made a great little lens, with high quality optics, and they have the decency to charge next to nothing for it. Well done!
Image Samples
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