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Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC
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Review Date: Aug 6, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $300.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Compact, good flare control, fast-focusing, very sharp at all focal lengths.
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Cons:
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Small focusing ring makes it cumbersome to focus manually.
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I picked the latest version of this lens (the DG Macro version) up to augment my Sigma 15-30 and 24-70 EX lenses, and to give me the capability, along with the 50-150/2.8 EX and a teleconverter, to cover a wide focal length range with just two lenses.
There is no comparison to Sigma's 18-50/3.5-4.5 DC kit lens; the 18-50/2.8 EX DG Macro blows the kit lens away in terms of image quality. Extremely sharp at 18mm and still very sharp at 50mm at f/4 and above. Autofocus is fast, and I didn't see any vignetting on my SD14's 1.7x crop factor sensor (nor did I expect to see any).
Highly recommended as a good all-around lens to keep on your dSLR, as a component of a high-quality travel lens collection, or just as a great telephoto zoom for portraiture, etc. I'd definitely recommend this lens and buy it again.
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Sigma 50-150mm F2.8 EX DC HSM APO
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Review Date: Aug 6, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $600.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Compact, fast-focusing, very sharp in center at all focal lengths, very contrasty, very good flare control when shooting into the sun, easy to focus manually also.
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Cons:
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A little soft on the edges wide open (cleans up at f/4 and above).
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I bought this lens to augment my Sigma 70-200/2.8 EX, so I could have something lighter to go along with the 18-50/2.8 EX for a versatile two-lens combination.
A very useful focal length range on APS sensor-equipped dSLRs, and it will resolve as well or better than your camera at f/4 and above... and at f/2.8 in most circumstances where the center/subject is in the foreground and the background is in the distance, the shallow depth of field will hide the very minor edge softness.
I'm very happy with my purchase. This lens is a great performer for the money, focuses fast and accurately, and works well with Sigma's TC14 1.4x teleconverter. Combined with a wide-to-normal zoom, like Sigma's companion 18-50/2.8 EX DG Macro and the TC14 1.4x teleconverter, you've got 99% of your lens needs covered.
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