Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens for Sony E (402965) Black

Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens for Sony E (402965) Black

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5,207 global ratings

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Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens for Sony E (402965) Black

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Top positive review

Positive reviews›

Superb quality for price. Great Nighttime photography too.

Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2022

This is a very good lens no doubt. More so for the price. I'm a photography enthusiast and all those pictures were taken with this lens on the Sony ZVE-10 within less than a month of my getting into photography. One big thing about this lens is that is unexpectedly very good in low light. Clearly, its very low aperture of f1.8 makes it collect much light and consequently have better nighttime performance but still, the images that this lens outputs at night are simply shockingly stunning. The only major challenge you can have with this at night is the dynamic range of your camera.

I'm very big on bokeh and this lens does perform - albeit not well enough for me. The bokeh is quite decent if the object in focus is close enough (although for portraits, your subject can feel invaded because of the proximity that will be required to get the best bokeh). From my use, I found that it has very unnoticeable to no chromatic aberration in almost all situations & it has a fair bit of distortion but it's nothing that can't be easily fixed in post-production if you are shooting raw.

The fact that it is a wide-angle lens means it's able to capture a lot at once as you can see in some of those nighttime pictures in a performance. That said, this is a very capable and fairly flexible lens. It can handle both wide-angle shots & night-time photography well with good results (although not the best) when taking portraits.

Because I'm big on portraits and would be primarily using it with my camera to record a human subject, I decided to return this go for its other sibling - the Sigma 30mm. I can expect better bokeh and portrait shots from that with similar night performance although poorer chromatic aberration overall. Nonetheless, even with the shortcomings of this lens, it is still a very good one and most definitely a great value for its price.

34 people found this helpful

Top critical review

Critical reviews›

Overrated For No Reason

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2019

Seeing alot of 5 star reviews, and ok pics, I thought this would be a good buy for My Sony E mount camera. Truth is this is not worth $423 after tax. 200 mabey. But definitely not double that.

The image is not that great until you edit it. See the before and after pic. I'm a professional photographer, and the base image is pretty bad. There is ALOT OF GRAIN at f1.4, with a very muddy look. It also has terrible bokeh for a prime lens. It acts more like an f2.8 lens, you see plenty of detail in the background, where you should have an ultra blurry background. Fine for a beginner but not a pro.

Other lenses like the canon EF F1.8 50mm, completely blur tbe background, and cost $100 and can be adapted to Sony E mount! I use Fotodoix adapters, and honestly My results are significantly better.

This lens truly doesn't feel like an F1.4, until you are taking night photos. Only then you can get tons of details, that is f1.4 quality. Loads of light comes in, which is great for night shooters. It even shoots great night video, but does tend to overexpose a bit, without extra accessories.

For everyone else, go for better glass. This is going to overexpose images of a few occasions, cause extra grain, offer no stabilization, and produce awful bokeh..all for a brisk 400+ dollars. This is a solid night photography lens, but that's it. Unless you like editing out plenty of imperfections.

Btw, this also isn't great for youtube videos. The manual focus ring is too big. You can't hold this lens and stay in focus 100% of the time. This lens messed up plenty of My shots, because a focus locking feature wasn't added.

It's an average starter f1.4, and not Sony G glass or Zeiss material. So if you're looking for that just buy the better glass.

Goodluck and don't fall for the glowing reviews like I did. Most people reviewing are clearly new to photography.

Note: Top pic edited, bottom pick not.

110 people found this helpful

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From the United States

Superb quality for price. Great Nighttime photography too.

Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2022

Style: SingleVerified Purchase

This is a very good lens no doubt. More so for the price. I'm a photography enthusiast and all those pictures were taken with this lens on the Sony ZVE-10 within less than a month of my getting into photography. One big thing about this lens is that is unexpectedly very good in low light. Clearly, its very low aperture of f1.8 makes it collect much light and consequently have better nighttime performance but still, the images that this lens outputs at night are simply shockingly stunning. The only major challenge you can have with this at night is the dynamic range of your camera.

I'm very big on bokeh and this lens does perform - albeit not well enough for me. The bokeh is quite decent if the object in focus is close enough (although for portraits, your subject can feel invaded because of the proximity that will be required to get the best bokeh). From my use, I found that it has very unnoticeable to no chromatic aberration in almost all situations & it has a fair bit of distortion but it's nothing that can't be easily fixed in post-production if you are shooting raw.

The fact that it is a wide-angle lens means it's able to capture a lot at once as you can see in some of those nighttime pictures in a performance. That said, this is a very capable and fairly flexible lens. It can handle both wide-angle shots & night-time photography well with good results (although not the best) when taking portraits.

Because I'm big on portraits and would be primarily using it with my camera to record a human subject, I decided to return this go for its other sibling - the Sigma 30mm. I can expect better bokeh and portrait shots from that with similar night performance although poorer chromatic aberration overall. Nonetheless, even with the shortcomings of this lens, it is still a very good one and most definitely a great value for its price.

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34 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Incredible, beautiful photos

Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2023

Style: SingleVerified Purchase

First of all, I never write reviews for anything. But I got this lens and was like: everybody needs to know how good this is.

My primary purpose for it is mostly going to be real estate photography. It’s a beautifully wide angle without a ton of distortion - compared to my old 18mm, this one actually seemingly has less. I had a 14mm that was just a little too wide and a 20 that was not wide enough. Definitely think this one is the middle ground I’ve been envisioning.

I will say it is the heaviest lens I own, but that doesn’t bother me at all since I use a tripod for most of my work. I actually like how durable it feels.

The bokeh is delicate and soft and it’s very cool that it gets all the way up to 1.4 vs 1.8. But the biggest seller for me on this is how SHARP it is. Unbelievably crisp. I’m so happy I invested in it. Sigma did some incredible work again. If you’re on the fence, get the lens.

One person found this helpful

Stunning Quality

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2023

Style: SingleVerified Purchase

The Sigma 16mm lens is an outstanding piece of equipment that I have been using for the past three years, and I can confidently say that it's one of the best lenses I have ever owned. It's a prime lens that offers a wide-angle view that's perfect for capturing stunning landscapes, architecture, and cityscapes.

One of the things I love most about this lens is its exceptional optical quality. The images captured are sharp, with excellent contrast and vivid colors. The lens produces sharp images, even in low-light conditions, which is a testament to its impressive f/1.4 aperture.

The build quality of the lens is also top-notch. It feels very sturdy in hand, and it's clear that it's built to last. The lens mount is made of metal, which gives me confidence that it won't wear out easily.

The lens is also lightweight and compact, making it easy to carry around and travel with. Its autofocus is also accurate and quick, which makes it a reliable choice for capturing fast-moving subjects.

Overall, I can confidently say that the Sigma 16mm lens is a must-have for any photographer who loves capturing wide-angle shots. It's a high-quality lens that produces exceptional images, and its build quality is excellent. I would highly recommend this lens to anyone looking for a reliable wide-angle lens. It's a five-star product that has never let me down.

12 people found this helpful

Fantastic 16mm Prime for a6500

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2019

Style: SingleVerified Purchase

This was my third lens after the Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens and the Sony 35mm f/1.8. Wow, what an upgrade. This is a solid and incredibly flexible lens. It's pretty bulky compared to the a6500, but it still handles pretty well and isn't too heavy.

My only real complaint is that the focus ring which, while buttery smooth and responsive, is almost too large. It takes up way too much space on the lens barrel and is very easily bumped. I have to hold the camera a little differently than I'm used to when I'm wearing this lens so I'm not constantly messing up my focus. Maybe this is just a me problem, but it's worth keeping in mind.

I stick to manual focus for the most part, but I can confirm that AF works on this lens, and it works well. Very fast, and very accurate. I can't tell a difference between it and my Sony lenses. It's not stabilized, obviously, but between the wide angle and the 6500'a IBIS, camera shake is not something you need to worry about with this combo.

I did a lot of research before buying this and it's my opinion that there is no better wide angle lens for emount. Sony's offerings are cheaper, but you get what you pay for. There are pricier options, but they're not worth the extra cost. This lens is a perfect balance and I don't see myself ever outgrowing it.

2020-11-30 EDIT: Wow I love this lens so much. This and my Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 are the only lenses I use anymore. If I even suspect that I'll be shooting in less-than-ideal lighting conditions, I reach for the Sigma 16. Between the wide-angle and the huge aperture, this thing handles so well in low light it blows my mind. I do a lot of urban exploration and I'm always taking this lens in dark dusty places and so it has plenty of scuffs and scratches by this point (I put a big scratch on the front lens element this summer, sad, but you can't even tell unless I stop down to f/11) but it still works perfectly. I love that it's a weather-sealed lens, because I inevitably end up getting it covered in dust and sprayed with water, but it's such a trooper I've never had a problem. Brought it into some deep dank caves this weekend, and it was right at home.

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11 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2020

Style: SingleVerified Purchase

This is a fantastic prime lens and generally considered the best value everyday prime for Sony a6000-series cameras.

I had originally bought the 30mm version of this lens and got a bad copy, so it was years before I succumbed to the fabulous reviews and got this for my a6300. It's outstanding.

With the kit lens, I found myself taking a LOT of shots indoors at 16mm, so getting a fast 16mm prime (24mm equiv) made a lot of sense. Just set your minimum shutter to 100s and don't worry about its lack of OSS if you don't have IBS.

Focusing is fast, it feels good in the hand, the bokeh is lovely, and of course its extremely sharp. If you are like me and bought a 50mm as your first APS-C prime out of habit (and value), and realized it's 75mm equiv is too long for everyday shooting, this lens is for you.

With this focal length, closeups are distorted as wide-angle, but take a couple steps back and environmental portraits make for normal heads. I spent so much time trying to get two people into the frame with my 50mm its relaxing to have so much more view to work with.

I do shoot at 1.4 alot, but keep in mind this is a very narrow DOF so you will want to use eye auto-focus for portraits. Shooting multiple faces, I will open it up to 1.7-2.8 as needed to keep everyone reasonably in focus.

On my a7-II , this is a 24MP 16mm lens with a vignette (have to remove the hood to minimize this), or 10MP 24mm in APS-C mode (which are largely indistinguishable from the a6300 24MP shots).

All in all, this lens lives up to its reputation as an unbeatable value everyday performance prime.

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11 people found this helpful

Meal Prep Genie

Fantastic lens for talking head video

Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2024

Style: SingleVerified Purchase

I don’t even qualify as an amateur videographer, but as a professional on-camera person, I like to look good. This lens is perfect for filming talking head YouTube videos or even work calls (if you want to look like you’re on a professional set.). I’m beyond impressed

👍🏾 Very good lens.

Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2024

Style: SingleVerified Purchase

It’s eve thing that I expected thank you very much I appreciate you service and the shipping was perfect.

Arguably the best lens for APS-C cameras.

Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2020

Style: Lens w/ 64GB SD Card and AccessoriesVerified Purchase

I love this lens. It's sharp, provides great subject isolation & renders out of focus areas beautifully (amazing bokeh). It's a great focal length for APS-C cameras (24mm full frame equivalent), which makes it quite versatile. I use it a lot for event coverage, food photography & gimbal work. It has an impressive minimum focusing distance, decent autofocus & great lowlight performance due to its fast aperture. For what it does, it's quite reasonably priced. My only wish is that it had image stabilization...though I'm certain that would probably double if not triple its price. It's also quite a chunky & heavy lens...it's a small price to pay though. It's a fantastic lens. I'm glad I bought it.

Donna M Weinberg

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2024

Style: SingleVerified Purchase

I'm setting up a new studio for YouTube. Think Media, is a YouTube channel that I pretty much have purchased everything they suggested. And found everything they suggested to be perfect. I must admit they did my homework for me. You can't beat this lens for the price.

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2024

Style: SingleVerified Purchase

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