Sigma announced that they were jumping into the world of cinema in a big way at the beginning of September. Last month, they announced pricing and availability for the first two cine lenses in the range to be released. These are the 18-35mm T2.0 and 50-150mm T2.0, both due to start shipping in just under two weeks. To show off their capabilities, Sigma have produced the 15 minute short film “Blur”. Shot entirely with the pair of Super 35mm (APS-C) zoom lenses, on the Arri Amira, it’s a touching story. A boy’s slightly weird father, seen by his friends as the “cool dad”, is obsessed with his camera. His photographs aren’t very good, but he keeps shooting.
Many of the photographs his father created were never developed or printed, and the ones that were, were often blurry. It wasn’t until after his father’s death, and he had them printed himself that he understood As for the aesthetics and technical qualities of the film, it seems rather good. It was shot on a 4K Arri Amira, though, so of course it’s going to be good, but the camera doesn’t seem to be let down by the lenses at all. That being said, given that it is a 4K camera, using lenses that Sigma claims are designed specifically for ultra high resolution 6K and 8K cameras, why was it uploaded in only 1080p? Like most cinema lenses, Sigma’s T2.0 zooms aren’t exactly cheap, at around $4K each, but they seem to easily hold up to the similarly priced competition. We won’t know for sure until they’re officially released on December 9th and start getting into the hands of real users, but for the moment I’m quite impressed. Sigma also posted a short behind the scenes video talking a little more about the lenses, and how the film was made.
For photographers, Sigma have come a long way in the last decade or so. They’ve gone from a company with consistently bad quality control, snubbed by many working professionals, to a brand that many photographers aspire to own, particularly their Art series lenses. Hopefully this new reputation manages to hold true with their cine lenses, too. You can read more about Sigma’s short film, Blur, on the Sigma website. The 18-35mm T2.0 and 55-100mm T2.0 lenses are available to preorder from Sigma’s website now, and shipping is expected to begin on December 9th. What do you think? Are you going to be picking up Sigma’s cinema lenses for shooting your films? What lenses do you use for video at the moment? Let us know in the comments.
