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| Image: Sigma |
Sigma recently made a long list of announcements ahead of CP+. These included the drastically different BF mirrorless camera, ultra-telephoto 300-600mm F4 DG OS Sports lens, versatile 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 DC OS lens, nine reworked I-series primes for L-mount and some new branding. In case that wasn’t enough, though, according to Amateur Photographer, the company also revealed it will focus entirely on mirrorless lenses moving forward.
You may have noticed that all of Sigma’s newly released lenses lack the “DN” label typically found on the company’s mirrorless lens lineup. That label, which stands for Digital Neo, was used to indicate that the lens was designed for mirrorless cameras rather than DSLRs. It seems that Sigma no longer thinks the label is necessary, as all its new lenses will be for mirrorless cameras only.
Amateur Photographer claims that the company specifically said it has stopped development of new DSLR lenses, though Sigma has not issued a statement itself. Even without a statement, though, it’s easy to make assumptions to that effect. After all, Sigma hasn’t released a new lens for DSLRs since late 2018, so it seems like a safe assumption.
This news isn’t overly surprising, given the decline in DSLR camera production. Pentax is the lone holdout, as it is reportedly working on a new full-frame DSLR and released the Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome in 2023. However, outside of Pentax, the last new DSLR models on the scene were from Nikon and Canon in 2020.
Still, while new DLSRs aren’t coming out, the use of DSLRs – and DSLR lenses – appears to be going strong. A quick look at photo competition results reveals many of the winning images were taken with DSLRs. On a smaller scale, students in the college class I teach largely use DLSRs, either borrowed from parents or purchased because they were cheaper than their mirrorless counterparts.
Additionally, camera and lens rental house LensRentals revealed DSLR lenses are anything but dead in its annual report released in December. That report compared 2023’s and 2024’s most popular photo and video gear, and interestingly, Canon EF-mount lenses and cameras increased in popularity and claimed quite a few top spots. In fact, the Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8L II was number one, while the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV took the tenth spot.
Even still, given the dwindling support for and production of DSLR cameras from major brands (including Sigma), it only makes sense that the production of DSLR lenses would also start to wind down. Sigma’s move to end development of new DSLR lenses seems in line with that. Plus, the company has likely made all of the DSLR lenses it needs to, given the current status of the DSLR camera market.
Does this officially mean that DSLRs are dead? Likely not, given that there are still plenty of used and new DSLR camera and lens models available for purchase and rent. That includes Sigma DSLR lenses, which are still for sale, just as you can still buy Canon and Nikon DSLR lenses. But, it does perhaps put more of an expiration date on the technology.
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This article comes from DP Review and can be read on the original site.
