Wide and fast is possible with the Sigma 20mm f/1.8 lens. This model is no longer made but we love it so much, we still have it. 20mm is ultra-wide on full frame cameras and medium wide on crop sensors. The f/1.8 maximum aperture is particularly useful indoors and at night. It’s also visually interesting, since you can get a wide field of view and still have a shallow depth of field.
We love this length for handheld video. It’s also about as wide as you can get without adding barrel distortion, so architecture won’t bend in the corners and scale seems emphasized but natural. The lens could almost be put in the macro category, with a close-focusing distance of about 5″ and an object magnification of 1:4.
We shot this side-by-side with Canon’s USM 20mm f/2.8, and as a video shooter’s lens, this one comes out ahead hands down. The manual focus is easy to grip and the action is smooth. Both lenses tend to darken at the corners, especially above f/4, this is less noticeable in 16:9 frames. We think the Sigma looks more cinematic. Still shooters will probably prefer the USM and Canon’s slight edge in sharpness, but for video, the extra 1 1/3 stop makes this an all-purpose prime lens.
This lens has an EF mount and 82mm front filter threads.
Rental Prices |
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| $39 | for 1 day |
| $78 | for up to 3 days |
| $117 | for up to 7 days |
| Call or email for availability. | |
Suggested accessories:
Canon Camera
Filter Kit
