Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary lens for Nikon Z 

The Sigma 16mm combines a comfortable wide-angle design with an ultra-fast maximum aperture.

Characterized by its bright f/1.4 maximum aperture, this lens works well in low-light conditions and also benefits from increased control over depth of field for selective focus control.

• APS-C | f/1.4 to f/16
• 24mm (Full-Frame Equivalent)
• Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm
• Stepping Motor AF System
• Super Multi-Layer Coating
• Two Aspherical Elements
• Two SLD Elements, Three FLD Elements
• Weather-Sealed Construction

The optical design makes use of several low dispersion and aspherical elements, which control colour fringing and various aberrations in order to provide high sharpness and clarity throughout the aperture range. Individual elements also feature a super multilayered coating to suppress flare and ghosting for greater contrast and colour fidelity when working in strong lighting conditions.

Benefitting the optical assets, this lens also sports a stepping AF motor for quick, quiet, and smooth focusing performance that suits both still photography as well as video applications.

Build

The 16mm F1.4 is constructed with a strong and light polymer that ensures a rugged build while keeping the lens portable. A large, rubberised focus ring makes manual focusing highly intuitive to use, and a petal-type lens hood helps control flare in bright sunlight.

The lens benefits from inner focusing technology, with a stepping motor that delivers smooth, fast and accurate AF for both stills and video. The lens has been designed with lighter lens elements in the focus lens group, which ensures responsive autofocus that is fully compatible with all the latest AF camera technology.

The durable brass mount is surrounded by a rubber seal to help keep out dust and moisture (except EF-M).

High-performance optics

The 16mm F1.4 DC DN delivers outstanding optical quality across the whole frame, even on high-resolution sensors. Its advanced optical design of 16 elements in 13 groups includes 2 aspherical elements, 2 SLD elements and 3 FLD elements. These ensure razor-sharp results and help to eliminate common optical issues such as chromatic aberration, flare and vignetting. The lens also utilises in-camera digital correction to fine-tune the final result.

Important for a wide-angle lens, optical performance is maintained across the whole frame, meaning fine detail is perfectly captured right into the corners.

Chromatic aberration is very well-controlled around areas of high contrast, and vignetting is minimal even wide-open. The lens has Super Multi-Layer optical coatings which reduce flare and ghosting when working in bright direct sunlight.

Excellent low-light performance

A very bright maximum aperture of F1.4 allows plenty of light through the lens. For astrophotographers, this ensures plenty of sky detail in shorter exposures, and for photographers using the lens hand-held in low-light conditions, such as at weddings or events, it helps eliminate camera-shake.

A fast aperture also means a shallow depth-of-field for blurry backgrounds. This allows photographers to isolate their subject and create more impactful images. The bokeh is smooth and attractive, so doesn’t distract from the in-focus subject.

Perfect for street photography

Fast, sharp optics in a portable body is the perfect combination for street photography, as it allows photographers to travel light and blend into the environment as they work. Being wide-angle, the 16mm is a superb option for very tight spaces, such as the interiors of buildings and high-rise city architecture. The AF is very fast too thanks to a stepping motor, making it easier to capture fleeting moments as they arise.

Two crop-sensor wide-angle options

The 16mm F1.4 DC DN | C is relatively compact for a wide-angle, ultra-wide-aperture lens, making it well-suited to photographers needing to work light. It’s not quite as small or light as the SIGMA 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | C, standard zoom, also a crop-sensor lens, owing to its very fast aperture of F1.4.