Product Description

Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC Makro (Canon)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24441 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Sigma
• Model: B000JDJJ82
• Released on: 2007-06-03
• Dimensions: 3.10" h x 3.10" w x 3.40" l, 1.00 pounds

Digital Photographer - Issue 57
'Make no mistake;This lens is capable of mixing with the best in the optical world.'

Digital Photographer - Issue 57
'Make no mistake: this lens is capable of mixing with the best in the optical world.'

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

Brilliant lens
This is a very good value for money lens , for less than half the price of the canon equivalent this lens performs as well ( and some argue than performs even better ).

It weights nearly half a kilo but is well balanced and feels strong in the camera. The EX DC range of sigma is similar to the L IS in canon for more image sharpness.

This is a lens that ,along with a good telephoto 80-200 ,will complete most amateur photographers kit.

I take 80 % of my pictures with this lens, is great for portraits ,landscape and interior shots.

The clear choice.
I bought this lens from the auction site about 6 months ago.

The one thing this lens made me realise was how poor the kit lens that came with my Canon EOS 300D actually was. And I had never had any complaints about that lens whilst using it.

The results from this lens are razor sharp and the colours are superior. The difference in results from upgrading to this lens where what I was expecting from upgrading to a new camera.

Beware though, it is very heavy and seems prone to ugly green lens flare when taking shots with the sun in view (even with the hood) but other than that I can't recommend it enough. I am now saving for the Sigma 10-20mm rather than the EOS 40D because I've realised its best to invest in glassware.

Fast walk around zoom for cropped SLRs
Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 EX DC Macro Digital Zoom Lens For Canon Mount

For about 6 months I used a Canon 17-40mm f/4 L series lens and decided I wanted a faster lens. The 17-40L is fantastic; all I needed for most outdoor shots, very wide and of course usable on full frame/35mm Canon SLRs. However, it was f/4 and I wanted an f/2.8 like my telephoto lenses to allow me to use it in churches/houses with less need for higher ISOs and flash.

My options were the Canon 16-35 f/2.8 L II, which is very very expensive, but of similar build quality to my 17-40L. I couldn't justify the ridiculous price tag, especially seeing as I was using a cropped sensor camera. My other considerations were the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8, which I found too plasticy, though very similar in shape/external design and the Tokina 16-50mm f/2.8 which I opted against.

The Sigma 18-50 is very good; coming with a lens case, lens hood and both caps needed, all I needed to buy extra was a UV filter. It has been given the EX finish label, which I sort of disagree with even though it is fairly heavy and well built it is not anywhere near as well built as my Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 which is also an EX lens. Anyway here's a list of pro's and con's to weigh up:

Pros
- Constant f/2.8 aperture: This is very useful indoors and to an extent for shallow DOF work
- Close focusing distance allowing for 1:3 macro focusing (useful for flower photographs and close up portraits)
- Smooth zoom and focusing rings
- Fast auto-focus
- Fairly decent build quality, certainly better than the Canon kit lenses and the Tamron 17-50mm lens.
- Non-rotating front element (good for filters)
- Zoom lock: good to stop the lens from creeping in zoom
- Accurate auto-focus, good keeper rate
- Very nice lens cap - the new Sigma lens caps are easy to remove with the hood on

Cons
- Lens extends while zooming becoming largest at 50mm
- Noisy autofocus compared to HSM (or USM)
- Not upto most Sigma EX lenses build quality, this could be because its not a DG lens
- No focusing window, although I rarely use that on other lenses to be honest.

Verdict:

This lens is very good. After having it for a few months I've gotten used to it and took some good photos with it. Its auto-focus is very accurate and I find that important in a lens today. I recommend it for anyone with a 1.6x crop sensor: 350D, 400D, 450D, 500D, 1000D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D