I tested Sigma

Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC | Art: 1 minute review

Go back to 2013 and Sigma had just released its 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM | Artistic lens – the world’s first zoom lens with a fast, constant f/1.8 aperture – set to revolutionize the photography industry.

The lens is designed specifically for mirrorless cameras with an APS-C sensor and is available in L-mount, Sony E, Fujifilm X, and Canon RF versions. I spent a month testing an E-mount version of the lens mounted on a Sony A6700, to see if this optic can really do the job at least three times.

TLDR is definitely possible, and I really enjoyed hitting the streets using it for all kinds of photography, from city shots to portraits, shallow depth of field still lifes, and even low light scenes like traffic trails and stars.

While the 17-40mm f/1.8 DC | The art builds on its predecessor in almost every way, it is not without its flaws. It’s an APS-C lens with a smaller imaging circle, so it’s less future-proof if you upgrade to a full-frame camera later. It’s also very expensive, costing significantly more than its 2013 predecessor.

If money is no limit and you like to shoot with a range of wide-angle focal lengths while enjoying the versatility of a fast f/1.8 aperture, this is the lens for you, provided you’re shooting on an APS-C mirrorless body. However, if you’re on a stricter budget and prefer smaller lenses and don’t mind switching between them, you might be better off using one or two cheaper prime lenses instead – provided you’re not shooting weddings or other events where you might have less time to swap optics.

Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC | Art: Price and availability

• Priced at $919 / £779 / AU$1,650
• Sun visor included
• Announced in July 2025

The Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC Art costs $919 / £779 / AU$1,650. That’s more than Sigma’s original 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art, which cost $799 / £699 (around AU$1,150) at launch. However, this higher price is to be expected given more than a decade of inflation since then, and tariff increases have likely also impacted prices in the United States. Regardless, I think the extra money is justified in the US and UK by the suite of upgrades that come with the new and improved version.

It’s hard to say exactly who this lens is for, as I personally found it a bit frustrating as it wasn’t wide or telephoto enough for my shooting style, although as someone who regularly likes to shoot with 35mm prime lenses, there were times when the added versatility of its small zoom range was welcome. It’s a bit like an upgraded kit lens, but costs a lot more.

If you’re on a tighter budget and don’t care about that wide f/1.8 aperture, or if you’re looking for something a little more portable for your everyday carry lens, then the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary would be a better choice. Likewise, if you don’t want a zoom and just want a smaller prime lens, there are options like the Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM that are also lighter, smaller, and a little less expensive. So it really depends on what you want to use the lens for.

However, for event and wedding photographers who shoot with APS-C bodies, I can see this lens being a game changer, giving those photographers additional focal length options and a fast f/1.8 aperture when they may not have time to change lenses.

Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC | Art: Specifications

Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC | Art: Design

• Some degree of waterproofing, usually reserved for more high-end Art lenses
• Combines a versatile zoom range with a fast f/1.8 maximum aperture
• Turns on the lens barrel to control the AF/MF functions and the iris ring.
• Much longer than most prime lenses with a length of 115.9mm

The Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC Art lens improves on its predecessor in virtually every way. Not only is it 34% lighter, tipping the scales at 18.8 oz / 535 g, but it’s also 6.5% thinner in diameter and 4.2% shorter in length. Despite being a thinner and lighter model, it manages to pack in a 2.35x optical zoom, with a wider focal range of 17-40mm, whereas the original 18-35mm was just below 2x optical zoom, so the overall zoom range has been widened by around 18%.

As in the 18-35mm f/1.8, the optical design includes 17 elements, but this time there is one less aspherical element and one less SLD (Special Low Dispersion) element, meaning there are a total of three aspherical elements and four SLD elements inside the barrel.

The aperture has been improved though, and instead of the old nine-blade design, we now have a more premium 11-blade design, which should deliver better rounded bokeh.

The rear mount is made of brass and also weather-sealed, confirming the dust and splash protection qualities of the optic. The lens is available for L, Sony E, Fujifilm

On the outside of the lens barrel are the zoom and focus rings, which are a decent size and have a knurled rubber finish, making them very grippy and comfortable to use. Since this new lens is designed for modern mirrorless cameras, it has an electronic focus ring rather than a mechanical one, which also means we’ve lost the focus distance window on the top. Both rings rotate smoothly and are easy to use.

A third “iris” ring sits closest to the lens mount and is used to control aperture. This also has a lock to hold it securely in the ‘A’ position if you prefer not to use it, and there’s also a switch to turn the click on or off – videographers will probably prefer the smoother click option when recording footage. It’s also worth noting that on the Canon RF version it’s more of a control ring that can be assigned custom functions for all sorts of settings, including but not limited to aperture.

The zoom is internal, so the lens remains compact and does not distort when zooming in or out. The 17mm to 40mm reach on the zoom ring is also quite short, and certainly less than 90 degrees, allowing you to zoom all the way in or out very quickly.

Also on the barrel is a switch to control AF/MF, and there are two AF-L buttons for maintaining focus, although they can be assigned different functions via the menu.

Moving towards the front of the lens we see the front element, which isn’t too big considering it has a wide maximum aperture of f/1.8, and it’s also where you’ll attach the 67mm screw-in front filters. The front element also features a water and oil repellent coating to make it more durable in harsh outdoor environments.

Also included in the box is an LH728-02 petal-shaped lens hood, which is part plastic and part rubber for a premium feel, and also features a nice big button to lock it in place and release it. This is installed on the lens upside down to take up less space when not in use. used.

Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC | Art: performance

• Chromatic aberration and reflections well managed
• The bright f/1.8 aperture makes it ideal for low-light and blurred backgrounds
• Corner details a little soft and vignetted at f/1.8 but brightened at f/2.8
• Autofocus is fast, quiet and precise

When it comes to evaluating performance, we first need to determine who the Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC lens is for. It clearly excels in low light with its fast f/1.8 maximum aperture, although its wider 17-40mm focal range makes it a little too wide for portraits, so it’s probably better suited to indoor events, astrophotography, and perhaps as a wide option for wedding photographers who don’t have time to change lenses and need its versatility.

It’s designed for use with APS-C cameras, which means its imaging circle is too small for full-frame cameras, with which you’d see a pronounced vignette. That said, you can still pair the lens with a full-frame camera using the camera’s APS-C crop mode. The downside to this approach is that you won’t fully utilize the sensor, resulting in pixel loss.

I took the lens out in London for several days, using it as my primary lens for street photography. In this configuration, I found it a bit large, not in terms of width, but in overall length – it’s easily twice the length of, say, my Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM. This made it harder to keep a low profile and take candid shots of people going about their business without me being noticed, although that’s the price I pay for having a more versatile zoom range.

With its 17-40mm focal length, it’s fair to compare the lens to an 18-55mm kit lens, but with a bit less telephoto power – it’s frustratingly short of that magical 50mm focal length which works wonderfully with a wide f/1.8 aperture for wider mid-length and head-and-shoulders portraits.

With al That said, this is a big step forward from the older 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens: the new version is 34% lighter, 6.5% shorter and 4.2% thinner, while benefiting from two additional aperture blades and being able to focus 2cm closer. While these may seem like minor updates, when combined they make the goal seem like a major upgrade overall.

Moving on to the image quality, and I have to say that given its wide zoom range and constant f/1.8 maximum aperture, I was quietly impressed. The corners were a bit soft and exhibited some vignetting when shooting wide open at f/1.8, although this was roughly cleared up by f/2.8 and easy to correct in software. Impressively, there was very little sign of chromatic aberration and flare was handled well when shooting towards the sun.

There is a little barrel distortion at the edges when shooting at wider focal lengths, which, as expected, starts to disappear as you zoom in – at 40mm the distortion is completely gone. The distortion is very minor and indicative of the new construction of the lens element, and the in-camera lens corrections do a good job of fixing this, although additional corrections can be applied in post-production to further straighten vertical lines.

Autofocusing was a pleasure thanks to the high response linear actuator motor, with the lens being very fast, quiet and reliable in achieving focus even in low light conditions.

Should you buy the Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC | Art?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

How I tested the Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC | Art

• I used the Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC | Art extensively for an entire month and regularly took him on day trips to bustling cities, day and night.
• I paired it with the Sony a6700 APS-C body as well as a full-frame Sony a7R IV body in crop mode, both of which delivered 26MP stills.
• I’ve taken photos at all focal lengths and apertures of cities, sunsets, low light scenes, stars and much more.

I got my hands on the Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC | Art and the Sony A7R IV and A6700 bodies for a month to test the lens thoroughly over an extended period.

Due to its small size and portability, the lens quickly became my go-to option when I needed to take a camera with me for days in cities like London, where I photographed everything from landscapes and cityscapes to sunsets, astronomy and still lifes.

I took a series of photos with the in-camera lens corrections turned on and also turned off to see the comparison. I also shot in RAW and JPEG formats and shot at all the different apertures to assess how things like corner sharpness and vignetting changed across the aperture range.

• First revision in January 2026

I started writing for photography magazines and websites in 2012. I’m an expert gear reviewer, Photoshop specialist, and have been an associate editor for some of the world’s best-loved photography magazines.

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