Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC SLD ELD Aspherical Macro Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

by Sigma

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.4 x 3.1 x 3.1 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000JDJJ82
• Item model number: B000JDJJ82
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 4, 2006

Product Description

Manufacturer Description

The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of the 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC MACRO lens. This lens has a large aperture of F2.8 throughout the entire zoom range, a minimum focusing distance of 7.9-inches and a maximum magnification of 1:3, making it ideal for close-up photography. Specially designed to suit the characteristics of digital SLR cameras this lens provides a high level of optical performance.Its design incorporates both glass-mold and hybrid aspherical lens technology which offers superior peripheral brightness, extremely high image quality as well as a compact and lightweight construction.

Special Low Dispersion (SLD) and Extraordinary Low Dispersion (ELD) glass elements provide excellent correction of color aberrations. The super multi-layer lens coating reduces flare and ghosting, a common problem with digital cameras. High image quality is assured throughout the entire zoom range. An inner focusing system eliminates front lens rotation, making the lens particularly suitable for using the petal-type lens hood (supplied) plus circular polarizing filters.

EX Lens
The exterior of this lens is EX-finished to denote the superior build and optical quality, and to enhance its appearance.

DC Lens
These are special lenses designed so that the image circle matches the smaller size of the image sensor of most digital SLR cameras. Their specialized design gives these lenses the ideal properties for digital cameras, the compact and lightweight construction is an added bonus ! including compact and lightweight construction.

Product Description

This lens has a large aperture of f/2.8 throughout the entire zoom range, a minimum focusing distance of 20cm (7.9 ) and a maximum magnification of 1:3, making it ideal for close-up photography. Specially designed to suit the characteristics of digital SLR cameras, this lens provides a high level of optical performance.It incorporates both glass-mold and hybrid aspherical lens technology - offering superior peripheral brightness, extremely high image quality as well as a compact and lightweight construction. Special Low Dispersion (SLD) and Extraordinary Low Dispersion (ELD) glass elements provide excellent correction of color aberrations. The super multi-layer lens coating reduces flare and ghosting, a common problem with digital cameras. High image quality is assured throughout the entire zoom range. An inner focusing system eliminates front lens rotation, making the lens particularly suitable for using the petal-type lens hood (supplied) plus circular polarizing filters.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

151 of 157 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Versus Tamron 17-50, Canon 17-55 [is], Canon 17-85[is], Canon 18-55[is], February 5, 2009

By 

Peter Yang "007peter" (Irvine, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC SLD ELD Aspherical Macro Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras (Electronics)

I own the best Canon 17-55 F/2.8, but it is also heavy and expensive for risky environments like windy beaches to packed clubhouses. I need an affordable F/2.8 backup, so I bought this Sigma 18-50mm F/2.8 Macro. Having read many account of sigma lens front/back focusing, I have a very low expectation for my lens. Luckily, my fear proves to be unfounded, as my 18-50mm f/2.8 macro is free from rear/front focusing.

[ Biggest Surprise ] = Fast + Silent + Reliable focusing. Even without HSM/USM motor, the AF speed is fast & comparable to my canon 17-55 f/2.8 usm in dim light. Under the same setting, my tamron 17-50 f/2.8's banshee-like micro-motor scream loudly yet failed to find focus after 1 minutes.
+ The build quality is near "L", better than my expensive Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS
+ Size is very small compare to my gigantic canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS
+ Fantastic MACRO lens on the run

[Disappointment] 18mm F/2.8 "wide open" is softer than Tamron 17-50mm.
- Canon 17-55 f/2.8 @f/2.8 is sharper than sigma 18mm @f/5.6 (no joke!)
- Field of view is closer to 18.5mm or 19mm.

Since I had previously own the tamron 17-50 f/2.8, a canon 17-85is, and a canon 18-55is, here how they compare against one another:

...................................................[ Landscape Sharpness ]

[1] Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS__amazing sharpess even @f/2.8 wide open
[2] Canon 18-55 IS ______ sharp corners, mild barrel distortion + ca
[3] Tamron 17-50 f/2.8____sharp "when focused", problematic AF, field curvature
[4] Sigma 18-50 f/2.8_____softer wide open than tamron, 18mm behave like 19mm
[5] Canon 17-85 IS_______strong C_A + barrel distortion, soft corners

...................................................[ Bokeh / Out of Focused Highlight ]

[1] Sigma 18-50 f/2.8____ big round circular highlight, no cat's eyed footballs
[2] Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS__ some cat's eyed football highlight on the edge
[3] Tamron 17-50 f/2.8___ some visible double contours highlight
[4] Canon 17-85 IS______ small f/5.6, 85 has an edge over 55mm in highlight size
[5] Canon 18-55 IS ______ small f/5.6 = smallest highlight, boring photos

...................................................[ Construction Quality ]

[1] Sigma 18-50 f/2.8____ impressive build even at such a low price
[2] Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS__ [tied] build should have been better for a $1000 lens
[2] Canon 17-85 IS_______[tied] exactly the same build as 17-55 f/2.8 IS
[3] Tamron 17-50 f/2.8___ decent, plasticky, not as good as others above
[4] Canon 18-55 IS ______ plastic mount, front barrel rotate makes cpl difficult

...................................................[ AF Speed in Low Light + Reliability ]

[1] Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS__ USM + IS + F/2.8 = ultimate
[2] Canon 17-85 IS_______USM + IS, F/5.6 seem to focus just as fast as F/2.8
[3] Sigma 18-50 f/2.8____ Silent, Fast, and Decisive AF even in low light
[4] Canon 18-55 IS ______ silent image stabilization, but louder AF
[5] Tamron 17-50 f/2.8___ loudest motor, indecisive AF in low light

-------------------------------------[ in conclusion ]-------------------------

Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 Macro is jack-of-all-trade, master of none. While tamron is sharper @17mm f/2.8 than sigma is @18mm f/2.8 "when in focused", sigma has superior AF motor that is far more reliable under any circumstance. Sigma is a pleasure to use in real life ownership, free from fousing-worrying that plagued my tamron. Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 is a combination between the reliable yet so-so IQ of canon 17-85is + tamron 17-50's superior IQ, but poor autofocusing mechanics. Highly Recommended!

$429.95 [Canon 17-85IS] poor 17mm IQ, but fantastic AF mechanic + IS
$443.41 [Tamron 17-50] great 17mm IQ, but poor AF mechanic
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
$375.00 [Sigma 18-50mc] decent 18mm IQ + fantastic AF mechanic (no BUT)

Sigma did their homework. Sig18-50 retained good quality from its competitors while shredding the bad, yet it is offer at the lowest price. Competition is wonderful, I'm very happy with my purchased

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A versatile lens for a great price, April 18, 2007

By 

J. Kim - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC SLD ELD Aspherical Macro Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras (Electronics)

Just another vote of confidence for this lens. (I posted this same review at another online retailer, but since I bought it from Amazon, I decided to post it here, too.)

After learning to love prime lenses, it was time to replace the underwhelming kit lens of my Rebel XT with better quality glass. I looked long and hard for a fast zoom that covered the wide-to-medium range despite the XT's crop factor, and finally settled on the Sigma.

Although I haven't laid my hands on the competition (including a similar 17-55mm f2.8 EF-S from Canon for more than *twice* as much, and the slower 17-40mm f4L), I don't regret my purchase at all. I was a bit wary at first about buying a non-Canon lens, especially after reading a few complaints online about bad samples, but the lens turned out to be just fine.

Edge-to-edge sharpness looks great to me, even wide open, and vignetting doesn't seem to be a problem. I'm not a professional, and don't own any L-series glass, but this is far more than I expected for the price.

The macro ability is also a nice bonus, as is the lens hood and case included in the package. I wouldn't call the lens "lightweight" (since I still prefer small primes when I don't need the versatility), but it's still a reasonable fit on the diminutive XT body.

I'm not crazy about the slight sparkle in the powder coat, but hey, that's hardly a complaint. All in all, I couldn't be happier!

Update: Four years later, I've upgraded to a Rebel T2i, and this is still one of my most trusted, go-to lenses!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific, versatile lens, April 19, 2007

By 

Nathan (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC SLD ELD Aspherical Macro Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras (Electronics)

At ~$600 less than the comparable Canon model, this lens is tough to beat! After several hundred shots, it's a keeper for me. I debated between this zoom range and 24-70mm, but found that 24mm was just not wide enough for my 1.6x crop Rebel XT, especially for crowded rooms and landscapes. 50mm (80mm FF equivalent) has been fine for most portraits and that zoom combined with large aperature produces nice bokeh. F2.8 makes it terrific for existing light use, though I do still find my 430EX flash necessary sometimes. I find the lens to have good sharpness at f2.8 throughout the zoom range, and at f4.0 and above it's very sharp. Colors are great. I have had no trouble with flare, or fringing, though I haven't pushed it hard in this respect. Sigma seems to have corrected the flare and CA issues with the first version of this lens. Though it's not a true 1:1 macro, I have found the macro function very useful and lots of fun. That said, the extremely small depth of field with f2.8 and macro has exposed my need for a good tripod! Build quality seems to be very good; zoom and focus are well damped. Autofocus seems accurate to me while being fast and quiet. Highly recommended.

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