Jman13
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 p.1 #1 · I got a brand new Sigma! (18mm f/3.2 XQ) | |
So, I was reading PetaPixel’s article on the Sigma Mark-I camera (can read here if you want), and in that article was a scan of the brochure for the Mark-I, along with a list of Sigma’s “pro-grade” XQ lenses, of which I think I’d only ever seen the 16mm fisheye (and I owned at one point). There was an 18mm f/3.2 listed, and I was quite curious about it, being rather wide for the time (early-mid 1970s).
I went on eBay and somehow found one that was new old stock for a reasonable price, and it was a beautiful lens. It's not a common lens, and I believe this was the only one listed for sale at the time, so crazy that it was NOS. So I bought it. It arrived, and indeed appears to be new old stock. Even the original silica gel packet is in there. The lens is, as you’d expect for new old stock, immaculate. Not a single blemish, and despite being likely a year or two older than me (I estimate this one was made in 1975 based on nomenclature), no oil has made its way onto the aperture blades and the focus helicoid is beautifully, perfectly damped and buttery smooth. I thought we might have some issues due to 50 years of sitting on a shelf, but no. Also...cool serial number: 700003. (Info I've found says Sigma's serial numbers aren't necessarily fully sequential, so this does not mean this was the 3rd lens produced under this revision). It's really cool to use a lens that's 50 years old, and yet is brand new.
Now, at the time this lens was released, Sigma wasn’t exactly known as an optical powerhouse, and as I’ll discuss in a moment, optically, this is not some rare gem that should be worth hundreds instead of tens of dollars. But man, it is beautifully crafted.
Optically….well, it’s a third party ultra-wide angle from 1975. It’s…..frankly pretty terrible by modern standards, but positives: rather sharp in the central 65-75% of the frame when stopped down. Distortion is reasonably well controlled, though has some moustache shape, and it can focus VERY closely (It’s a 270 degree helicoid and focuses to 0.17m). There's a close focus (though nowhere near MFD) example at the end of the post.
Down sides? Very hazy wide open, with only the very center sharp at f/3.2...the edges go to mush. The edges can get to 'ok' levels by f/11-f/16, but it's obvious this was designed before demanding digital sensors...and was also a fairly early lens at this focal length. The edges get good enough that they’d be passable for casual film use, and in 1975, 18mm was QUITE a wide lens. Canon’s competing lens at this time was the 17mm f/4, and it too was pretty soft at the edges.
While the lens gains quite a bit of contrast when stopped down, contrast is still fairly mediocre, and color is a bit flat. This is the fourth revision of this lens, from 1975, and it's the second revision to be multicoated. As such, it has SOME flare resistance. That is, the global contrast doesn't take too big a hit with the sun in the frame, but these coatings are very poor compared to today's coatings and there's prominent ghosting for every element in the lens. However, this flare, combined with the dreamy contrast and high vignetting wide open means the lens can actually render a quite beautiful look when shooting into the sun wide open. Technically, it's a disaster here: soft except for the center, low contrast, hazy, tons of ghosting...but I actually really like it:
While I probably won’t use this lens very much, I was intrigued by it and am glad I was able to get such a nice specimen of it. It’s rare (for me at least) to find a third party lens from 50 years ago that hasn’t been thrown in a junk drawer and been beat up over the years. The lens cap is beautiful too - painted metal - and because it hasn’t been used over and over, still grips the outer barrel very nicely with the felt.
I actually have a second new old stock Sigma XQ on the way: the 28mm f/2.8 Filtermatic. I think that will likely be optically better given its much more conservative width.
Some more samples from the XQ 18mm f/3.2 on my Nikon Z6 III:
@ f/8 or f/11:
@ f/3.2:
@ f/16:
@ f/5.6:
@ f/11:
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