A New And Interesting Lens Patent

credits: Sigma

A newly published patent has revealed an interesting optical design for a 24mm f/2.0 lens with an image circle that goes well beyond full-frame. According to the patent documents, the lens is designed to cover sensors larger than 35mm full-frame, including the 44×33mm format used by Fujifilm GFX and Hasselblad X2D cameras. That alone makes it exciting, since wide-angle lenses with fast apertures are still pretty rare in the medium-format world.

The design appears to come from Sigma, and there are a few different ways to read into it. One possibility is that Sigma is going for extremely high optical performance on full-frame by using a much larger image circle, reducing the need for heavy digital correction at the edges. Another is that Sigma could be preparing a lens specifically for medium-format mirrorless systems, either under its own name or potentially licensed or adapted for Fujifilm or Hasselblad. There is also the more cautious interpretation, companies often file patents defensively, to protect ideas that may never turn into products.

As mentioned, a 24mm f/2.0 equivalent in medium format would be a genuinely useful and fairly unique tool, especially for landscape, architecture, and environmental work where wide angles and strong edge performance really matter. Whether this design ever leaves the patent office is still an open question, but it is at least a reminder that Sigma is thinking beyond traditional full-frame limits.