Fotog Friday: The Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 Macro Zoom Super Wide Angle Lens

For over a year now, the Friday Foto community has been posting photos in the blogosphere.  I am amazed at how many bloggers are also photographers.  I would guess that there are even more of you who read blogs enjoy photography as well.  With the advent of digital photography and increasing affordability, more and more people are finding photography an enjoyable and rewarding hobby (as I have).  Therefore, from time to time, I would like to supplement the Friday Fotos with some thoughts, information, or reviews of photography-related products, trends, techniques, etc.  Nothing super-original or highly technical here.  Rather, I just want to mention some things I find worth mentioning to other photographers in the event that perhaps these post would prove profitable. 

To get things started, I want to take a look a lens that was recently reviewed in the current edition of Popular Photography (May 2007), namely the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC Macro AF Zoom Super Wide Angle lens. 

There are three things that first caught my attention about this lens.  First, it is a fast lens with a fixed aperture of 2.8.  Anyone shooting in low light, looking for nice depth-of-field, or wanted to avoid noise by shooting in really high ISO could really benefit from having a lens with such max aperture.  Second, not only is this a zoom supe wide angle lens, it is also a macro lens as well.  Personally, I love shooting macro, and according the review in Pop Photo, “this 1:3 macro is probably the closest-focusing lens in its class.”  Very cool.  Thirdly, probably the biggest factor for a budget-sensitive photographer like me is the price.  The list price goes for $419, but you can find it for sale around $379.  This is a hugely attractive because comparable lens such as the Canon 17-40mm f/4 and 16-35mm f/2.8 are appreciably more expensive (the 17-40 lists for $679 and the 16-35 for $1599).  For you Nikon users, the closest lens Nikon offers is the 17-55mm f/2.8 which lists for $1199.  Do you see the massive price difference?  With the difference between the next in line (17-40 which by the way is not f/2.8 but f/4), you are left with some $300 which more than covers the cost of getting another great lens such as Canon’s 50mm f/1.4 which is stellar for portraiture.  Now granted, I am quite particular about the quality of glass Canon offers in their lenses, but I have met few photographers who have used Sigma lenses that have been disappointed with their performance. 

So what is the down side or weaknesses of the Sigma 18-50?  Well, for one you cannot override auto focus with manual focus while in AF mode.  Second, it has been argued that the lens is a bit soft at 18mm at 2.8.  Finally, it does not have any image stabilization feature.  Now, that is not as big a deal with wide angle as telephoto; however, in any low light situation with slow shutter takes, IS would sure help. 

In summary, would I buy this lens?  Yes, if I could not afford the same lens for twice the price.  Those of you looking at going with a D-SLR might want to consider NOT buying the kit (camera + lens) and get the body only.  You would save yourself some money and the frustration of having a cheap, throw-away lens.  As a general rule, purchase the camera body alone and get your lens separetely.  You will be better off in the long run.  Should you go with a Nikon D40 or Canon Digital Rebel XT, this lens would complement your camera nicely. 

For more reviews, check out:

Digital Photography Review

TopicPoint’s Review (“The Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC lens is a nice, light weight, bright lens. It serves well as a general-purpose lens, and its bright f/2.8 aperture is wonderful, especially given its compact size and light weight. The lens is sharp at f/8.0 to f/16 throughout its range, very good at f/5.6 and f/22, and usable at f/2.8 though rather soft. Remember, there may be sample variance, so since my tests were done only on one copy of the lens, it may not represent the performance of another unit of the lens. It has a good finish, a nice feel, and its price is reasonable for its performance level. Its most glaring omission is the lack of a depth of field scale.”)

Shuttertalk’s Review (“In our opinion, the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 EX DC is one of the best consumer/prosumer wide-angle zoom lenses we’ve used.”)

ePHOTOzine’s Review (“This lens is small for an f/2.8 model and although it suffers slightly at the wide-open aperture the focusing ability throughout the focal range warrants the aperture. From f/4 onwards it is a cracking lens that is light enough to have fitted to the camera permanently as a walk-round lens. It left me feeling that the extra price paid over the standard DC lens was well worth it. A highly recommended lens.”)

Photozone’s Review (“The Sigma AF 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC is an interesting alternative to the basic kit zooms – a higher quality one that is. The performance is generally very good especially in the center of the image. For edge to edge sharpness you may prefer to stop down a little specifically at 18mm where the extreme corners are soft at wide-open aperture. Chromatic aberrations can be disturbing if not corrected and purple fringing can be a quite significant problem at large aperture setting as well (not completly correctable). Typical for many standard zooms the barrel distortions at the wide-end are very pronounced though the issue fades rapidly with longer settings. The build quality is very decent and maybe a little better than other lenses in this price class and zoom range. All-in-all the 18-50mm f/2.8EX is not a lens without flaws but the package is quite sound especially when considering the large max. aperture, the price as well as the competition.”)

Current prices for lens (note: prices are for Canon camera bodies only; Nikon users need to verify prices) –

Amazon.com – $379
Canoga Camera  -$399
B&H PhotoVideo – $419
Adorama – $419

Did you find this helpful?  Let me know what you think.  Depending on the interest, I will decide on how often I will provide posts related to photography.  Thanks.