Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art Review: The First Full-Frame F1.8 Zoom Replaces Three Primes

Zooms usually stop at f/2.8. Fast primes go to f/1.8 or f/1.4. The Sigma 28-45mm F1.8 DG DN Art, announced in June 2024 at $1,349, refuses that split. It’s the first full-frame zoom with a constant f/1.8 aperture, covering 28mm, 35mm and 45mm, three of the most-used prime focal lengths, in one lens.

Its range is short. That’s the point. Sigma kept the zoom tight so it could keep the aperture wide.

It’s available for Sony E-mount and L-Mount, where it pairs well with Lumix bodies like the S5II and S1II.

Video review: Dustin Abbott

Prime-like images

At f/1.8 it’s sharp across most of the frame at every focal length, with Art-series contrast and little color fringing. In low light it gathers more than twice the light of an f/2.8 zoom. Backgrounds blur more too, close to what you’d get from the primes it replaces.

Eleven rounded aperture blades give smooth bokeh. Close focus is 30 centimeters across the range, for 1:4 magnification at 45mm.

Great for video

Zoom and focus are both internal, so the lens never changes length. That makes it ideal on a gimbal: balance once and zoom freely. Sigma’s HLA linear motor focuses quickly and quietly.

There’s an aperture ring with a click switch and lock, plus two customizable focus-hold buttons, one on the side and one on top. It’s dust and splash resistant with a water- and oil-repellent front coating.

For documentary, events and interviews in dim rooms, it’s a natural choice.

The cost of f/1.8

Weight and size. About 950 grams on Sony E, and it takes an 82mm filter. That’s heavier than many 24-70mm f/2.8 zooms and much heavier than three small primes.

The range is narrow. You’ll still want a telephoto for portraits and a wider lens for big interiors and landscapes.

There’s no optical stabilization, but Sony and Lumix bodies have IBIS.

Who should buy it

Wedding, event and documentary shooters who work in low light. Video creators on gimbals. Street and travel photographers who like 28mm, 35mm and 45mm and are tired of swapping primes.

If weight matters more than light, a set of small f/1.8 or f/2 primes is lighter and cheaper. If you want one lens that behaves like three fast primes and works perfectly on a gimbal, nothing else does what this Sigma does.