SIGMA ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE
The difference is clear Drawing inspiration from the beautiful Aizu province of Japan where all its lenses are made, Sigma’s commitment to engineering excellence helped it to become a major player in the stills market – and now it’s turning the same precise focus to cine lenses S igma has been a leader in the stills photography market for more than 40 years, but only recently brought its optical expertise to the world of “Sigma believes in the quality that’s ensured by its Japanese designers and engineers”
filmmaking – the wait for videographers has been well worth it though. We get a versatile line-up that’s backed by huge experience in design, optics, build and handling – something you’ll realise if you shoot with Sigma’s Cine Lens line-up. The pedigree of Sigma’s cine series builds on the success of its Global Vision stills lenses, its unique manufacturing philosophy and the company’s ethics. All Sigma’s lens production is handled in the company’s own factory at Aizu, in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan. “That’s actually one of the many things that makes Sigma special,” says Graham Armitage, general manager of Sigma Imaging (UK) Ltd. “The fact that it’s a family owned business, with a true understanding and love of photography and cinematography. It’s not simply a consumer electronics company that outsources production as cost saving – Sigma believes in the quality that’s ensured by its Japanese designers and engineers. But it’s also about social conscience and environmental issues, as Sigma is the largest employer in the area and many families depend on us.” According to Sigma’s founder, Michihiro Yamaki, the people of the Aizu
region were also instrumental in the company’s growth and success. The Sigma factory was established in 1974, at a time when the Aizu region had next to no leading industry, motorways or access points for Japan’s bullet train network, so it was by no means an obvious place for efficient manufacturing. Instead, Yamaki said, it was the locals’ proverbial honesty, stubbornness, persistence and precision that inspired him to locate there and create the bedrock of the company’s optical engineering. Now the world’s largest full-operation production interchangeable lens factory, Sigma’s Aizu factory covers 76,000 square metres, has 1650 full-time workers and contains all the equipment necessary to manufacture all of Sigma’s products in-house. What this vertically integrated production structure boils down to is complete quality control. “In fact,” continues Armitage, “each lens is individually tested with our A1 MFT machine, which uses a 46-megapixel Foveon direct image sensor, rather than in batches. It’s part of a commitment to quality that’s bringing the very best young designers to Sigma – people who are passionate about optical development. In the past, they might have gone to bigger companies, but now they come to us because we have shared values.” Sigma’s Cine Lens range is based on its Global Vision Art lenses, which feature uncompromising optical quality, designed to meet the requirements of today’s 50-megapixel sensors, so they’re able to deliver amazing quality at 4K, 6K or even 8K. The lenses are retooled for video use, offering a range of mounts and handling changes tailored to movie production rather than stills, for instance an emphasis on ultra-smooth manual focus with the minimum of focus breathing. See right to check out what’s available in Sigma’s Cine Lens range.
THE SIGMA CINE LENS LINE-UP There are 13 optics in Sigma’s Cine Lens range: three zooms and 10 primes. All are built to the highest optical and mechanical standards, and are colour balanced. Available in Canon EF, Sony E and PL mounts, at the core of the range are Sigma’s FF High Speed Primes, which are full-frame compatible, yet compact and light. These primes run from 14mm to 135mm, and cover must-have focal lengths like 28mm, 40mm and 85mm, so all bases are covered for filmmakers. All Sigma’s FF High Speed Primes are T1.5 in brightness, apart from the 14mm and 135mmmodels, which are T2, so there’s plenty of scope for working in low light, providing consistency and avoiding changing lighting when you swap lenses. The FF Zoom line features the 24-35mm T2.2 FF, a full-frame lens, which comes in Canon EF and Sony E-mounts, and offers outstanding image quality for 6K or 8K shooting, as well as versatile framing in a compact body. Sigma’s High Speed Zoom line features two zooms, built for use on cine cameras with Super 35 sensors, an 18-35mmT2 and 50-100mmT2. Coming in PL, EF and E-mounts, you get consistent brightness across the zoom range, the highest image quality in their class, compact design and amazing value.
ABOVE Sigma’s success comes from its ethics and manufacturing principles, with all lenses made in Aizu, Japan
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PRO MOVIEMAKER AUTUMN 2019
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