Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | C for Sony E

Product Information

Moving farther out on the image circle, where light rays are refracted to a stronger angle than in the center, lenses typically show decreased sharpness. And, though the sunshine was harsch and the contrast very high, the out of camera JPEGs are very pleasing, sharp at pixel level, with nice colours and contrast.

If I leave it alone and do not mind it, yes I agree I can get good pictures still particularly in the center. But knowing that a slightly more 'refined' lens would be capable of quite a bit more in IQ is unfortunate.

Known Issues

The HDR feature works the same in both K30 (JPEG only) and K3 (RAW and/or JPEG, but the RAW is huge, over 80 MO, as it houses the three original RAWs plus the merged one). This lens is a good choice for landscape and cityscape photography, with compositions being ideally captured using every focal length available in this lens.

The Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN Contemporary features a stepping motor that allows for virtually silent auto-focusing, making it well-suited to video use.

Impression

Electronic connections in extension tubes permit the lens and camera to communicate and otherwise function normally.

I have a first generation 18-55 which came bundled with my Ist-DS 11 years ago. I used it a lot until I upgraded to a K30 in 2013, bundled with the 18-135. Note that images from most cameras require some level of sharpening, but too-high sharpness settings are destructive to image details and hide the deficiencies of a lens. With a minimum focus distance of 4.8" (121mm), this lens has a huge 0.36x maximum magnification spec. Thank you 'Pounch;' – this comparison is exactly what I've been looking for. I have been struct by the sharp clarity of many sample galleries that contain shots taken with the Nikkor Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5. However when reading or watching photographers evaluate this lens build, and really going over it, 1) many said the lens rattles – which didn't inspire confidence. 2) the way the lens extends seemed kind of flimsy and I wasn't sure I wanted to carry around "all that". There are few alternatives...I do not think the Nikons is any better (its collapsible kit lens is very poor at 35mm and has inconsistent performance for sure as well along with focus issues you cannot adjust in entry level cams I have samples of the Nikon 18-55 VR II in my library as well). The only recent kit lenses I haven't really tried much would be Canon's. The last time I had a Canon 18-55 I was annoyed how removing the thin rubber zoom sleeve instantly revealed helicoid internals of the lens. I want to try Canon again but the only model I would like to have would be 80D which is still expensive, I do not like pentamirror and no-MFA type DSLR's in the Rebel class.

I had an underlying discomfort with the fact that the Nikkor Z DX 18-140mm f/3.5 did not, at least match, the Nikkor Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5 image quality, and natural color fidelity. So I really scrutinized each original image in your comparison, on one of my 5K displays. I first used my Reducing Glass to view the screen clearly at a distance to get an overall impression, that a reducing glass can provide. Then, I held the reducing glass close to the screen, which allowed me to examine image exposure, detail and focus overall. The 18-140mm sharpness was never as good or consistent as the 50-250mm f/4.5, and further, the 18-140mm showed focus really falling off considerably near the edges - getting very soft, while the 50-250mm f/4.5 maintained focus from the center, with very little fall off out to the edge of the frame - never getting really soft. This lens is well-suited for commercial photography, and the wide end of the range is ready to capture exterior architecture and larger interior spaces. The Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 was first announced in October 2021. This lens is designed and made in Japan. The Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN Contemporary produces quite nice sunstars when stopped-down to f/22, as shown below, although it it a little prone to flare when shooting directly into the sun.