24-70mm: Panasonic or Sigma?

[fahrenhyde]

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Hi

Since both Panasonic and Sigma have released their 24-70mm lenses for l-mount: Which one would you prefer for the Leica SL2?

I am thankful for any ideas, thoughts, comments, as I am going to buy a Leica SL2 (as a replacement for Canon 5D MarkIV, which has a very nice version of the 24-70).

Please don't suggest to buy the Leica 24-90mm, it is too heavy for me and I want f2.8 on all focal lengths.

Thanks, Jorma.

[Simone_DF]

The Sigma is lighter and half the price, and apparently an excellent lens. 

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[vanhulsenbeek]

I used the 24-27 Pana on my SL for a week in difficult conditions.

It is super sharp with a good color rendition. And weather sealed. The Sigma is not.

See a small Album here (some with Tri-Elmar 16-21): 

 

Edited February 20, 2020 by vanhulsenbeek

[erudolph]

1 minute ago, vanhulsenbeek said:

I used the 24-27 Pana on my SL for a week in difficult conditions.

It is super sharp with a good color rendition. And weather sealed. The Sigma is not.

Is not sharp?

[vanhulsenbeek]

15 minutes ago, erudolph said:

Is not sharp?

The Sigma may be sharp , but it is not weather sealed.

It is also very heavy. Read here: https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/reviews/sigma-24-70mm-f28-dg-os-hsm-or-a-review

Edited February 20, 2020 by vanhulsenbeek

[verwackelt]

This Guy compares the Sigma with the Sony GM and was quite impressed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X406X_kcKdU
The Video is in German. The short conclusion in english:
The Sigma is the winner above the Sony.
May be the Pana is a little little bit better.
But it is bigger and cost 1000€ more.
I think it is a decision of budget and if you really need that weathersealing...

 

[fahrenhyde]

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On 2/20/2020 at 8:13 PM, vanhulsenbeek said:

The Sigma may be sharp , but it is not weather sealed.

It is also very heavy. Read here: https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/reviews/sigma-24-70mm-f28-dg-os-hsm-or-a-review

This is not the Sigma 24-70 2.8 Art L-mount in question ..

Thank you for your input, it's true that a weather sealed lens is an argument. To me at least.

Anyway, I now ordered the Panasonic and am excited to see how it is.

Edited February 23, 2020 by fahrenhyde

[BernardC]

1 hour ago, fahrenhyde said:

This is not the Sigma 24-70 2.8 Art L-mount in question ..

That is correct. The lens discussed in digitalcameraworld is for Canon and Nikon SLRs. It is completely different from the lens made for L-Mount and Sony:

https://www.sigma-sein.com/en/ohsone/24-70mm-f2-8-dg-dn-art/

The one we get is both lighter and sharper.

[colonel]

I have been looking into just this questjon

this is an interesting comparison btw:

PETApixel comparison of latest mirrorless 24-70 2.8 lenses

basically the Panasonic is better, but not double the price better. Some people says it’s the best zoom in the range.

i am in a dilemma, as the Sigma is £1049 in the uk and I can get the Panasonic on import from Switzerland for £1680, duty paid

So I am thinking about it. I might get the Panasonic 

[BernardC]

7 hours ago, colonel said:

basically the Panasonic is better, but not double the price better.

That's the final conclusion, but the Sigma was slightly better in the corners. The Lumix was slightly better in the center. Both lenses were consistently at the front of the pack, compared to the Canon, Nikon, and Sony. That's consistent with Sigma's assertion that the new (mirrorless) 24-70 beats the old (SLR) in the corners. The five lenses were nearly indistinguishable stopped-down.

Frankly, the difference are so minimal that I would look at other factors: distortion, weight, handling, build quality, product support, etc.

[Ivar B]

On 2/27/2020 at 5:21 PM, BernardC said:

That's the final conclusion, but the Sigma was slightly better in the corners. The Lumix was slightly better in the center. Both lenses were consistently at the front of the pack, compared to the Canon, Nikon, and Sony. That's consistent with Sigma's assertion that the new (mirrorless) 24-70 beats the old (SLR) in the corners. The five lenses were nearly indistinguishable stopped-down.

Frankly, the difference are so minimal that I would look at other factors: distortion, weight, handling, build quality, product support, etc.

It is plain amazing that Sigma can deliver this quality at half the price of Lumix and a third of the Leica prices. Possibly spreading the development and tooling costs over a much larger volume of lenses, helps. 

[colonel]

One thing to note, I just saw a video which analysed AF and AF tracking between the two lenses on the S1R body. The Panasonic is consistently ahead, although in most cases the Sigma is so close it doesn't make much difference. However in a few cases, the Panasonic is noticeably improved. 

Just another thing to think about when deciding between the two

Here in the UK the Sigma is £1049, and I can get a new Panasonic on import for £1599, and also was offered a new Panasonic from a UK retailer who was doing a special for a week on Panasonic for £1699

I am now leaning towards the Panny, but still not made up my mind. If they were £200 apart I would definitely get the Panny, but as its a bit more ….

 

Edited March 5, 2020 by colonel

[Marac]

I had a play with the Sigma the other day. WOW. perfect companion for my Sigma 14-24. I've not tried the Pana so cannot really comment except to say £650 difference is a HUGE difference to me, I'm on a very tight budget, especially now my old W202 Mercedes decided to throw it's ESI unit and break down, that £650 should cover it

[iiiNelson]

I know the response is a little late but I think it will depend on your usage. For photos on a tight budget I’d stick with the Sigma. If you do video in addition to photos (or mostly video) I’d go with the Panasonic if you can afford it. I do believe it’s good enough to justify the extra cost optically if inconsistent bokeh is something that may bother you (It’s dependent on distance to subject.) The Panasonic seems to be more consistent optically and for video the autofocus seems to track better (Smother transition and more consistently in focus for moving subjects) than the Sigma.

Again if budget is a concern or if it won’t be a heavily used lens then the Sigma is no slouch. It’s really like deciding between a fully loaded yet reliable family car with all the luxury features and an entry level luxury car with comparable luxury features - but you’re paying a bit more for moderately better specialized performance (like RWD in this analogy) and a name.

[angeludis@gmail.com]

Does anyone knows if touch focus is working on S1H with the Sigma 24-70 L as it does with the Panasonic 24-70 L.
Thanks in advance.

[Jk1002]

If a l mount lens is mounted on the Leica, will features like the AFL button on the Sigma or the Focus Ring Switch ( Manual/Autofocus) On the Panasonic  work? 

[fahrenhyde]

Focus Ring Switch on both Panasonic 24-70 and 70-200 work on Leica SL2. The camera shows a crop of the image when turning that ring.

 

Although sometimes, in AF-mode, when I turn the zoom ring on the 24-70, the crop also magnifies. That can be tiresome, must be some bug. Anyone else notice that?

[Malabito]

I was in a similar situation and ended getting the pana for my s1. These camera has already quite a bad autofocus to make it worst with a sigma lens. Dont get me wrong i have the sigmas 1424mm and the 45mm one, they all focus fast in AFS, but the wobbely effect in AFC is really distracting. The Pana diminishes it, it doesnt get rid of it, it still suffers from it, (its the nature of contrast system), but is much better than with the sigma lenses... Some images below: 

 

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