Today we are taking a look at the first of three lenses announced in early April 2023 by Sigma and it is the widest full-frame prime mirrorless lens from the company, the Sigma 17mm F4 DG DN lens.
Intro
In early April 2023, Sigma introduced 3 compact lenses. The 50mm F2 DG DN that we shall review on a separate video, the 17mm F4 DG DN that we shall be testing today, and the Sigma 23mm f/1.4 DC DN APS-C lens (which we also got but will only cover briefly).
The Sigma 17mm F4 DG DN with the two other new Sigma lenses announced in April 2023 in the background
Optical Design
The lens has an optical design that includes 9 elements in 8 groups with 2 SLD and 3 aspherical elements.
Materials
The Sigma 17mm, just like all other Sigma I-series of lenses is made from metal and feels really nice to hold and handle.
Size and weight
Despite its metal build the lens is very light at around 225 grams (250g with the hood) and about 5cm long, making it one of the most compact full-frame lenses we ever tested.
Rings
The lens has two fairly narrow rings. A slightly wider focus ring on the front and a narrow aperture ring closer to the camera.
The focus ring has a very good feel to it with just the right amount of resistance. The aperture ring moves in clicks and can get out of auto mode a little too easily for our taste.
Top view of the compact Sigma 17mm f/4
Buttons and switches
The lens has a single AF/MF switch. We would really like Sigma to start adding an aperture lock to its I series lenses and we would also not say no to a de-click switch as well (just like the new 50mm f/1.4 DG DN Art lens has).
Sealing
The lens has a rubber gasket on its rear and is marketed as weather sealed.
Mount
At the moment the lens comes in a full frame E mount and L mount variants (we tested the E-mount version).
Hood
The lens comes with a small metal hood with groves both inside and outside. The hood adds about 2.5cm (just over 1″) to its length.
Aperture
The Sigma has a 7-blade rounded diaphragm (we will see later how this translates to the bokeh).
Filter
The lens supports a 55mm filter thread.
Performance
Focusing
We tested the AF performance of the lens in the studio both in good lighting conditions and in ultra-low light with the Sony A1.
In good lighting conditions the lens’ high-speed stepping motor worked great both in stills and in video.
In ultra-low lighting conditions (F/4 at 12,800 ISO) the AF was a little slower but still accurate both in stills and video.
We also tested the focus throw of the lens and sadly like all other Sigma lenses we tested to date, it is not a linear lens which means that you won’t be able to achieve precise repeated focus pulls when shooting video.
Image stabilization
The lens has no built-in image stabilization so you are left with sensor stabilization only.
Sharpness
We tested the sharpness of the 17mm using our special large professional Imatest high-end chart on our Sony A1.
The lens is plenty sharp at f/4 in the center with not a lot of visible improvements closing down.
Sigma 17mm sharpness test – center – top left f/4, top right f/5.6, bottom left f/8, bottom right f/11
In the corners, the lens is also fairly sharp although you might get a bit more contrast at f/5.6.
Sigma 17mm sharpness test – corner – top left f/4, top right f/5.6, bottom left f/8, bottom right f/11
The closest lens that we own is the Sony 20mm f/1.8 and surprisingly when both lenses are at f/4 the Sigma it is much sharper both in the center but especially in the corners.
Sigma 17mm at f/4 (left) vs. Sony 20mm at f/4 (right) – center of the frame
Sigma 17mm at f/4 (left) vs. Sony 20mm at f/4 (right) – corner test
Close up performance
If there is one thing that we really liked about this lens it is the unbelievably close focus distance. You can literally get almost as close as the edge of the hood to your subject with this lens.
The official close focusing distance is only 12cm\4.8” from the sensor plane (in our testing it was even shorter with manual focus at around 11cm) with a maximum magnification ratio of 1:3.6 (not true macro but still pretty nice).
This unbelievably close focusing distance does come with a cost. While the lens has an O.K. sharpness in the center wide open and very good sharpness starting at f/5.6, it has abysmal corner sharpness thanks to intense field curvature even at f/11. So, keep this in mind when you are shooting.
Sigma 17mm close-up sharpness test – center – top left f/4, top right f/5.6, bottom left f/8, bottom right f/11
Sigma 17mm close-up sharpness test – corner – top left f/4, top right f/5.6, bottom left f/8, bottom right f/11
For comparison, our 20mm lens has far less macro magnification but its sharpness in the center at f/4 is better and is worlds apart in the corners with basically no visible field curvature.
Sigma 17mm at f/4 (left) vs. Sony 20mm at f/4 (right) – close up test – center of the frame
Sigma 17mm at f/4 (left) vs. Sony 20mm at f/4 (right) – close up test – corner
Breathing
The Sigma has very slight focus breathing as you can see from our test (see video above).
For comparison, the Sony 20mm has a lot more but with supported cameras, you can cancel it completely using the breathing compensation feature.
Chromatic aberrations
Unsurprisingly for a modern slow prime lens, we didn’t encounter any sort of longitudinal chromatic aberrations even wide open.
Sigma 17mm CA test – top left f/4, top right f/5.6, bottom left f/8, bottom right f/11
Flare
Looking at the flare of the Sigma we could see a little orange and green in the frame against a strong bright light, but overall, it seems to be well controlled.
Just for reference, our Sony 20mm performed much worse in this test (see video).
Vignette
With the in-camera shading compensation turned off the Sigma certainly has visible darkening in the corners which does not seem to go completely away even at f/11.
Sigma 17mm vignette test – center – top left f/4, top right f/5.6, bottom left f/8, bottom right f/11
Barrel distortion
As you might have noticed from our previous tests, the Sigma has a huge amount of barrel distortion when the distortion compensation is turned off on the camera.
Sigma 17mm barrel distortion test
Bokeh
When it comes to bokeh the Sigma is not really your first choice with very small light circles and very low background separation unless you are very close to your subject.
Sigma 17mm f/4 bokeh test – left f/4, right f/5.6
Our Sony 20mm with its fast f/1.8 aperture is a much better choice for this task.
Sony 20mm bokeh test – top left f/1.8, top right f/2.8, bottom left f/4, bottom right f/5.6
Sample images
We shot with the Sigma 17mm lens for just over a week mostly with the Sony A1 and 7R V and you can see some of the results here:
Conclusion
The new Sigma 17mm is one of the coolest tiny lenses that we have tested here on LensVid. It’s well-built and easy to use. It has very good fast AF, great image quality across the frame from normal distances, almost no breathing or CA, and very good flare control.
Our favorite feature is the unique look that you can get when shooting objects close up and while it has horrible field curvature, as long as you keep your subject centered you can get some really interesting shots.
The new Sigma 17mm f/4 DG DN on our Sony A1
Not everything is perfect about this lens of course. Besides its slow aperture and aforementioned field curvature, it also has a lot of barrel distortion and quite a bit of vignette and its bokeh is nothing to write home about.
With that said, for its sharpness, size, and unique close-up capabilities, and given its relatively affordable price tag it is certainly a very interesting lens.
Pricing
Talking about pricing the 17mm F4 DG DN should sell for around $600.
You can check out more LensVid exclusive articles and reviews on the following link.
Iddo Genuth 
You can support LensVid by shopping with our affiliate partners
Affiliates: Amazon, B&H, Adorama and E-bay.
Why should you trust us?