The new Sigma AF Cine 28-105mm T3 FF (Full Frame) zoom lens arrives on April 16 at US $3,399. I try to avoid stepping on the hornet’s nest of price, taxes and tariffs, but this lens has a look so artistic and a hybrid design so unique that its jaw-dropping affordability is irresistible.

The Sigma AF Cine 28-105mm T3 FF joins its sibling AF Cine 28-45mm T2 FF. Sigma announced both on June 4, 2025 at the Academy Museum in LA. Pre-production models were on display. The AF Cine 28-45 started shipping in December 2025 and demand has been voracious.

These are hybrid autofocus/manual focus, auto iris/ manual iris zoom lenses for stills and cine, for solo cineasts or for camera operators accompanied by focus pullers.

• The AF Cine 28-45 T2 is the wide and faster lens for low light, shallower depth of field, bigger bokeh.
• The new AF Cine 28-105 T3 is the long range all-purpose wide-to-tight and portraiture zoom lens.
• The AF Cine 28-105mm T3 is a mere 6.6 mm longer than its  sibling AF Cine 28-45mm T2 FF.

Both lenses have highly accurate autofocus and repeatable manual focus, precise tracking, and industry-standard 0.8M geared focus, iris and zoom rings. The lenses go from autofocus to full manual control by simply sliding the AF / MF switch. Manual focus is amazing because it has hard end stops and repeatable marks.

These are “focus-by-wire” cine lenses. Instead of a familiar cine lens design where the elements move by cam or helicoid mechanisms, the lens elements dance swiftly and silently, driven by internal HLA (High-response Linear Actuator) motors. In manual mode, the focus barrel feels amazingly smooth and silky without a hint of the electronics or motors inside. High resolution, accurate encoders enable switching from manual to autofocus without a jump.

The iris ring rotates in third-stop linear increments from T3 to T22 and then to A as-in-Auto on the 28-105. On the 28-45, the iris ring goes from T2 to T16 and then to A.

The zoom barrel is manual—reminding us that this could be a variable prime or summoning a Microforce.

Power to run the lens comes from the camera through the mount’s contacts. It comes in E-mount or L-Mount. Lens metadata seamlessly transfers to the camera.   

 

 

Why would you want an AF / Manual Cine Lens?

Perhaps you are the DP on a major motion picture. (Name withheld to protect the guilty.) The camera is rigged on an Olympic bobsled sliding down the icy chute at 90 mph. There’s no way to rig wireless focus, not even if Dan Ming were there :)  Your AC attaches a Sigma AF Cine Line zoom and flips the switch to A for Auto.

Or perhaps you bought a Sigma AF Cine Line zoom lens for solo documentary and interview filmmaking. Autofocus has been very helpful and good. Now you are shooting a streaming dramatic series with an ensemble cast. Of course you need a focus puller and traditional wireless lens control. You can use the same Sigma AF Cine Line Zoom Lens in manual mode.

The optical design of the new AF Cine 28-105mm T3 FF, as with its sibling, is inspired by Sigma’s stellar Art lenses. Kazuto Yamaki, CEO of Sigma describes the AF Cine Line as a lenses that can “handle multiple shooting styles and setups in many different environments that were previously challenging with traditional still lenses or cine lenses. They embody Sigma’s latest technology, expand the possibilities of visual expression and bring new possibilities to future film production.” 

These lenses deliver wonderful images and character with beautiful bokeh at all focal lengths.  They are all made in Sigma’s Aizu factory next to Mount Bandai, about 4 hours by train north of Tokyo.

sigma-global.com sigmaphoto.com

 

Sigma AF Cine Line Specifications

 

Pre-Production Models (June 2025)