Sigma 23mm F/1.4 DC DN | C

This Sigma prime pairs a 23mm wide view with a bright F/1.4 aperture on APS-C bodies. That combination suits street, travel and documentary photographers who work in varied light. The wide framing takes in a street corner or a small room without stepping back. It comes in Fujifilm X, Leica L and Sony E versions, so pick the mount made for your camera.

The fixed focal length is the main trade-off. You frame by moving, not by zooming. The fast aperture buys back low-light freedom, but the lens has no stabilisation of its own. Released in 2024, it remains in current production.

At 12.2 oz (345 g) and 3.03 in (76.9 mm) long, this prime stays a light carry for daily use. Screw-in filters attach directly at the 52mm front thread. The physical score is 86/100.

A 23mm lens on APS-C keeps a wide view with a natural perspective. Streets, markets, cafés and small interiors fit comfortably. You can step in close to make a subject larger and still keep its surroundings in the frame. For portraits, the wide view suits environmental scenes more than tight head shots.

The F/1.4 maximum aperture is the reason to choose this prime. Indoors and after dark, it gathers light that slower zooms cannot, helping you keep shooting handheld. Wide open, it also blurs a busy background and lifts a subject out of a street scene. Stop down when both subject and setting should stay sharp.

Closest focus sits at 0.8 ft (25 cm), so a café table or market stall can be shot from a short working distance. At 23mm, depth of field is less demanding than on longer fast primes, so focus stays manageable when you work quickly on the street.

The nine-blade aperture helps keep out-of-focus highlights evenly shaped at middle apertures. The optics score is 87/100.

Weather sealing guards this prime against dust and moisture at the seams. That protection suits street and travel shooting that continues when the weather turns. You can keep working through drizzle and dust instead of packing the camera away.

The lens has no image stabilisation, so slower shutter speeds risk blur from camera shake. In fading light, lean on the bright aperture to keep a workable shutter speed, or brace against a wall for slower shots. The front glass also carries no fluorine coating, so cleaning smears and dust takes a cloth and some care.

The features score is 52/100.

The design uses 13 elements in 10 groups, including aspherical elements and low-dispersion glass. Aspherical surfaces help correct distortion and spherical aberration, useful when straight building edges run near the frame edge. Low-dispersion glass helps reduce chromatic aberration, the coloured fringes that can appear along high-contrast edges.

Focusing moves internal elements only, so the barrel keeps a constant length while you focus. Construction scores 54/100.