A Traveler's Review: Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN Lens

What to Look For In A Travel Landscape & Architecture Lens?

Wide Focal Lengths: One of the most important factors in choosing a travel lens for landscape and architecture is to determine if the focal length of the lens is wide enough to capture all the details that the landscape and architecture have to offer.

For full-frame cameras, having around 16mm at its widest focal length is a good sign that the lens is wide enough to capture most types of landscape and architecture in their greatest detail without creating weird distortion around the edges of the photos, like fish-eye lenses.

Also, since you are going to use this lens for travel, having a versatile zoom range instead of a fixed focal length is a huge plus. The zoom range will allow you to be more flexible in spontaneous situations, which happen quite often when you travel.

All in all, when picking up a landscape and architecture travel lens, make sure that the focal length is wide enough for the type of subject you want to shoot when you travel. I would say, the wider the focal length, the better.

Image Quality: Another important factor to consider is the lens's ability to maintain sharpness, especially when we are talking about a wide-angle lens that is quite prone to distortion and softness.

When you are testing out a landscape and architecture lens, try shooting sample shots at its widest focal length and fastest aperture, and zoom in to see how sharp your images are, especially around the edges of your photos.

With a high-quality lens, images produced are often sharp from edge to edge throughout its focal lengths and aperture, whereas cheaper lenses tend to fall apart at their most extreme range. So, when you pick up a lens, be sure that you are okay with the image quality the lens produces.

Fast Aperture: For landscape photography, having a fast aperture might not be that big of a deal. However, when it comes to architecture photography, especially indoors, having a fast aperture will allow you to maintain all the details and keep your images sharp even in the poorest lights.

I found that having a maximum aperture of F2.8 is good enough for most situations. With the F2.8 aperture, the lens should be able to let in enough light to keep the ISO level low and the shutter speed fast enough to produce tack-sharp images without losing details to noise.

An F2.8 lens will also come in handy when you find yourself in a dimly lit European church and want to capture all the beautiful murals often found inside.

Combine that with a wide-angle focal length and a good low-light camera like the Sony a7III and the Sony a7C, and you have yourself one hell of a low-light photography machine for landscape and architecture.

Wondering what lenses I am currently using? Check out:What's In My Camera Bag - A Travel Photography Camera Gear Guide

What I Love Most About the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN Lens

Compactness & Lightweight

Back when I was using my Sony 16-35mm GM lens as a travel lens before it malfunctioned on me at the worst possible time while I was backpacking in Europe, I was quite satisfied with its size and weight. The GM lens weighed around 24oz (680g), which I believed was reasonable for an F2.8 lens of this width.

But then, when I came across the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 lens and bought it as an affordable replacement for my malfunctioning Sony GM lenses for my ongoing trip in Europe, I was amazed by how light and compact the setup is, especially when I paired it with my Sony a7C.

The lens weighs only around 15.9oz (450g) and measures only 3.0 x 4.0in (77.2 x 100.6mm). When comparing it to the weight and dimensions of the Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GM lens, you can clearly see how much more compact and lightweight the Sigma lens is. To add even more appeal, the Sigma lens features an internal zoom mechanism, which means it doesn't extend outward when you zoom, making it extra compact and perfect for gimbal work as well.

Together with my other lenses packed inside my camera bag, I could really feel a massive difference in hauling the backpack around all day compared to when I had the Sony GM lens in my backpack.

I was amazed by how much of a difference a reduction of only 250g makes on the weight of my backpack. Now, I no longer despise carrying my camera gear around as much as I did when I was packing the GM lens.

It really is one of the most compact and lightweight ultra-wide-angle lenses you can get right now for your Sony camera. Although the alternative Tamron 17-28mm F2.8 lens is a little lighter, that lens doesn't go as wide as 16mm, and the build quality is not as good. For travel, an extra 1mm of the wide end and sturdy build quality make a huge difference and will go a long way.

If you are looking for a lightweight and compact ultra-wide lens with an F2.8 aperture, you can't go wrong with the Sigma 16-28mm DG DN lens.

Internal Zoom

For the smaller size and weight of the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 lens, I was extremely surprised to learn that this lens has an internal zoom mechanism. Just like the compact size of the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN lens that I praised in a review before, Sigma has been leading the way when it comes to manufacturing highly capable yet lightweight lenses that are also affordable. I do not know how they do it, but I am definitely all here for smaller and lighter fast lenses manufactured by them.

With the internal zoom mechanism, you will also be able to use it with a gimbal without having to balance it every time you zoom in and out, making it great for those who travel with a gimbal.

Sigma faced a little hiccup with one of their popular all-purpose zoom lenses, the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN lens, which has a dust issue. However, they completely eliminate that problem with this lens by making it an internal zoom lens. So, if you are on the fence about buying a Sigma lens due to the previous dust issue, this is the one lens you do not have to worry about.

Excellent Sharpness

The Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 lens is often my lens of choice whenever I am at a high viewpoint, say, on top of a clock tower in a European city, and I want to capture the city below me in its entirety. When I shot the cityscape with this lens, I was completely blown away by its corner-to-corner sharpness even when it is wide open at F2.8.

There are some distortions on this lens, which we will discuss later, but when it is corrected, the center is as sharp as it gets, while the corner sharpness is extremely well maintained all across the board.

If you are looking for a highly capable lens that will allow you to capture the tiniest of details in the places you visit while you travel, without blowing a hole in your wallet, the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 lens is hard to beat.

Affordable Price

One of the attractive features of the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 lens is its affordable price point. At around $899 USD retail, you are looking at more than half the price of the Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GM lens.

Yes, you are sacrificing the 29-35mm focal lengths, but if you already have an all-purpose lens like the Sony or Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 lenses, or you are looking to buy one, you can save some money and invest it in other lenses instead. Trust me, there is no shortage of extra lenses to buy for Sony cameras, and you are going to need those savings going forward.

Although the Tamron 17-28mm F2.8 is a little cheaper than the Sigma, I find the wider 16mm and better build quality to be great features for a travel lens and definitely worth the extra price I paid for the Sigma. If you are looking for a cheap alternative to the Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GM lens, this is the one to get.

The Drawbacks of the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 Lens

Distortion & Vignetting

As I mentioned earlier, the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 lens does have a bit of distortion and vignetting, probably due to the lighter and more compact design. You have to sacrifice something to make a fast aperture lens this small, right?

Thankfully, with modern mirrorless cameras and advanced post-processing programs like Lightroom, distortion and vignetting can easily be fixed automatically in-camera when shooting JPEG or with a touch of a button in programs like Lightroom when shooting in RAW.

I have absolutely no problem with the distortion and vignetting with this lens, but I think it should be mentioned here in case you are wondering how Sigma was able to reduce the size of such a fast lens so much.

If you decide to buy this lens, make sure to have the auto lens correction feature turned on in-camera or automatically apply a lens correction profile in your post-processing program, and you should be golden.

Reverse Zoom Ring

For some reason, Sigma keeps insisting on reversing its zoom ring for all of its lenses, turning left to zoom instead of the other way around like all the other lens manufacturers, and it is also the same for the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 lens.

It takes quite a bit of time to get used to, especially if you have other lenses in your arsenal and you switch between them a lot when you shoot. I was struggling to zoom in the right direction quite a bit at first when I switched between the native Sony lenses and the Sigma lenses.

It doesn't take much to get used to the reverse zoom ring, but it is something I have to mention, and I think you will find it a little annoying the first time you use this lens.

Doesn't Zoom to 35mm

Last but not least, if you are coming from a 16-35mm lens as I did, you will find it a little less versatile when using the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 lens since it doesn't zoom in as tightly as your previous lens.

I definitely miss having the 35mm focal length at my disposal when using this lens because sometimes, I just want to zoom in on something without having to switch lenses all the time, which can take away the moment. You end up missing out on spontaneous moments that you would otherwise be able to capture with a zoom lens that goes to 35mm.

I got used to it after a while, but still, I wish they were able to make it all the way to 35mm without sacrificing the lightness and compactness of the lens. One can only hope, am I right?

Sample Photos From the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 Lens

A photo is worth a thousand words, so here are some of my favorite shots I took with the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 Lens attached to my Sony a7C.

The Verdict: A perfect landscape & architecture lens for light travelers

After using it for the past 3 months while traveling around Europe, I am definitely happy with the quality and weight reduction of the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN Lens compared to the Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GM lens.

It was a great, affordable alternative to my broken GM lens that allows me to maintain the quality of work I often strive for on this blog, while allowing me to be able to haul the lens around all day, no matter if I am in a city or hiking in a mountain, without complaining about its weight all the time. I mean, I am not getting any younger, right? 😅

All in all, if you are looking for an affordable, versatile wide-angle zoom lens and you cherish traveling light as much as I do, you are going to love the Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN lens and all the capabilities that come with it in such a small little package.

For the latest price on this lens, be sure to check out and browse through some of the discounts and offerings with the link below.

Check Price

Want to take your photography game to the next level? Here are some resources to help you upgrade your work and photography gear:

Lightroom Presets: If you are looking for a quick way to make your travel photos look like mine, you should check out my newly released Lightroom Preset Collections.

Camera: Sony a7R V, the highest resolution full-frame camera out there, is my go-to camera when I travel. All of my recent photos and videos are all from this beast.

All-Around Travel Lens: Sony 24-70mm f2.8 GM II lens is the lens I mounted on my camera the most. The lens covers most of the ranges I need for travel from wide to telephoto. If I have to take only one lens with me on my travel, it would be this lens.

Ultra-Wide Lens: Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GM II Lnes: An ultra-wide lens I often use to shoot expansive landscapes and capture massive architecture I stumble upon while traveling.

Telephoto Lens: Sony 70-200mm F2.8 GM II lens is one of the most versatile lenses to have. It is great for picking out details in landscapes and capturing wildlife when combined with the Sony FE 2x teleconverter.

Portrait Lens: Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Lens is the most compact and lightweight 85mm F1.4 lens out there. It's sharp and produces stunning bokeh for subject separation, perfect for portraits and street photography.

Drone: DJI Mavic Mini 2, a perfect drone for those who travel light. It weighs less than 250g and smaller than an iPhone when folded and can capture 4K video as well as 12 megapixels RAW photos. More than enough for its size.

Bag: Langly Alpha Globetrotter is a camera bag I use to carry all these lenses as well as other essentials when I'm traveling.

Further Reading for Photography

Looking for more photography articles like this? Here is a collection of articles you might like:

• For a complete list of travel lenses to buy for Sony Full-Frame cameras, check out: The Best Travel Lenses For Sony Full-Frame Cameras.
• Looking for the very best travel full-frame camera to buy for your next trip? How about the Sony a7C, the smallest full-frame camera with an EVF in the world? Check out my review: A Traveler's Review: The Sony a7C Camera
• The king of travel lenses has arrived. The Sony 24-70mm F2.8 GM II lens is hands down the best travel all-purpose zoom lens I have ever owned. Here's why: A Traveler's Review: Sony 24-70mm F2.8 GM II Lens.
• The new king of landscape & architecture lens is here. Here is A Traveler's Review of the Sony 16-35mm F2.8 Lens.
• For the best landscape & architecture travel lens, you just can't beat the Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GM lens. Here is A Traveler's Review of the Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GM Lens.
• Sony 70-200mm F2.8 GM II OSS lens is, hands down, the best telephoto lens to get for your Sony cameras but with an extremely high price tag. Here is a complete traveler's review of the lens: A Traveler's Review: Sony 70-200mm F2.8 GM II OSS Lens.
• Looking for the best travel portrait lens to buy for your next trip? You can't beat the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN lens. Here is A Traveler's Review of the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art Lens.
• Looking for a compact and lightweight travel telephoto lens for wildlife and landscapes? You are going to love this lens. Here is A Traveler's Review of the Tamron 70-300mm F4.5-6.3 lens.
• Wondering which Sony mirrorless camera is right for you? The Best Sony Travel Cameras to Buy in 2025.
• For more photography resources like this, visit my Photography page.