Sigma A 60 mm f/2.8 DN review - Image resolution

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Sigma A 60 mm f/2.8 DN

6 August 2013

Szymon Starczewski

4. Image resolution

The resolution test of the Sigma 2.8/60 was based on RAW files from the Olympus E-PL1 camera. In the case of that body the highest results, reached by the best fixed focus lenses, amount to about 80 lpmm (the record value of 82.6 lpmm belongs to the Voigtlander 0.95/25). The decency level is set near 42-44 lpmm. It is worth reminding here that the direct rival of the tested lens, the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 60 mm f/2.8 ED Macro, at the maximum relative aperture got a result of less than 78 lpmm and on stopping down it was able to go as high as a bit over 81 lpmm.

Let’s glance at the graph, presented below and see how the tested lens compares in the frame centre and on its edge.

Sigma A 60 mm f/2.8 DN - Image resolution

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Like it was the case of a few latest Sigma lenses tests, only one word comes to your mind: revelation. The tested device achieves the peak of its performance already at the maximum relative aperture where the MTFs get to a brilliant level of 82.2 lpmm. It is worth noticing that it is almost as good a result as the record of the Voigtlander 0.95/25 and here the Sigma had a much more difficult task because it is by over 3 EV slower! On stopping down to f/4.0 the Sigma gets to an equally great level of almost 81 lpmm - within the margin of error, at that aperture the value is exactly the same as that of the Olympus 2.8/60, so praised by us.

The situation on the edge of the frame also deserves to be appreciated. Already at the maximum relative aperture you obtain good quality images because the MTFs reach over 62 lpmm. The stopping down makes the result increase to 70 lpmm. It is worth mentioning that these results are noticeably better than those of the Olympus 2.8/60 which, on the edge of the frame, never exceeded a level of 60 lpmm.

At the end of this chapter we would like to present a crop of our resolution testing chart photo, taken from an JPEG file which we got at the maximum relative aperture.