SIGMA Super-Wide II 24mm F2.8

Sigma’s ancient 24mm wide prime lens

A review and Photo example of Sigma Super Wide II 24mm.

Gallery

Photo with SIGMA SD14

Review

Lens overview
Usage
Comparison with competitors

1．Lens overview

The SIGMA Super-Wide II 24mm F2.8 is an autofocus (AF) wide-angle lens that Sigma released during the film camera era.

There is no official information on this lens from Sigma, but there is a fair amount of information on the web, and you can see the specs in some detail on overseas sites. To summarize the information there, the 24mm series lenses are based on MF lenses from 1986, and the AF lens equivalent to this lens was released in 1988.

The exterior is made of plastic, weighs only 230g, and looks very cheap. It doesn’t have many lens elements, with 8 elements in 7 groups, and it didn’t use aspherical lenses due to the era. The minimum shooting distance is 0.18m, which means you can get closer than the successor 24mm F1.8, which boasts wide macro.

2．Usage

Sigma SA mount lenses are rare, so I bought this lens cheaply from the junk shelf of a used camera shop, but apart from the sticky exterior, it is usable.

This lens was designed in the 1980s and is a wide-angle lens with a simple lens configuration using only spherical lenses, so even when used with the Sigma SD14, an APS-C size sensor camera that crops the outside of 35mm, distortion is noticeable and the image is not sharp enough for use with a digital camera.

This is likely a problem with this particular lens, but the one-sided blur and suspicious light in backlighting seem to be a design problem or the lens has deteriorated.

When shooting with white balance auto, there is a good chance that it will show a yellowish, nostalgic color. Since it is a digital camera, the color can be changed by adjusting the white balance on a PC, but I think it is fun to see such colors come out without adjustment as a lens flavor.

My experience using it has shown that it is a lens designed for use with color negatives in the film era, and not one that you would necessarily want to use in this digital age, but I’m glad I bought it just to be able to use it.

The Sigma SD9 that I purchased at the same time had a problem with the Foveon sensor or peripheral circuitry, and I couldn’t record any decent images, so I feel like the price for two pieces of junk was a bit high.

3．Comparison with competitors

Since this lens, Sigma has released 24mm focal length lenses, including the 24mm/F1.8 and Art 24mm/F1.4 for SLR cameras, and the 24mm/F1.4, 24mm/F3.5, and 24mm/F2 for mirrorless cameras.

The 24mm F3.5 DG DN for mirrorless cameras has a lens length of 50mm, almost the same as this lens. I think a prime lens with this level of compactness is preferable in terms of portability.

Among Sigma’s prime lenses, the 24mm focal length is one of the most varied lenses, along with the 35mm focal length.

Specification

Items	24mm-SW-II	24mm-F1.8	24mm-F1.4 DG HSM	24mm-F1.4 DG DN
Focal length(mm)	24	←	←	←
Max aperture	2.8	1.8	1.4	←
Min aperture	22	22	16	←
Leaf blade	6	9	←	11
Lens Construction	8elements in 7groups	10elements in 9groups	15elements in 11groups	17elements in 14groups
Min distance(m)	0.18	0.18	0.25	←
Lens length(mm)	46(SA)	83.6	85	75.7
Max diameter(mm)	72	82.5	90.2	95.5
Filter Size(mm)	52	77	77	72
Weight(g)	230	485	665	520
Release date	1988	2001.1	2019.9	2022.
Price(Yen/No-tax)	?	60,000-	80,000- (SIGMA Online)	100,000- (SIGMA Online)

Reference links

Update history

2024.8.23
2023.9.26:First Draft

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