Customer Reviews

Sigma 28mm f/1.8 EX DG Aspherical Macro Large Aperture Wide Angle Lens for Nikon SLR Cameras

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Let me start by saying I'm not a hardcore fan of any particular brand. I like to gauge lenses by their individual merits, rather than discussing them as a brand.

The Sigma 28mm f/1.8 EX is an excellent lens from an optical standpoint. On digital and film SLRs from Nikon, I was always quite impressed with the optical quality. Even wide-open at f/1.8, it is roughly as good as the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, which is somewhat low in contrast, but still resolves quite a bit of detail on the focal plane. Stopping down a stop or two, like with most lenses, really brings out the contrast and sharpness, and this lens delivered quite wonderfully, matching the famous 28/2.8 AIS Nikkor for sharpness both up-close and at infinity. Further, this lens allows closer focusing than the Nikkor, and possesses less apparent geometric distortion. As much as I love the AIS28, the Sigma is quite brilliant too.

While very good at infinity, the lens shines for moderate closeups of objects like flowers. Although it says "macro" in the name, it only approaches 1:2.9 magnification, and the distance from the front element is quite small, so live insect photography will likely not be its forte. At this range, the lens also has a much smoother out-of-focus rendering wide-open than much of its competition (such as the 28/2 AIS Nikkor). If you like smooth boke (not everyone does, but many do), this can be a good lens for that effect.

The biggest downsides are the size and the autofocus. Although it is high quality, the lens was simply too big for my taste. Compared to my 28/2.8 AIS, the Sigma is simply massive. In fact, it is about the same size as a 28/1.4 Nikkor, and uses larger (77mm) filters! This is a concern for people who like using filters like polarizers, which get much more expensive at large sizes. The second major issue is that the autofocus mechanism has proven unreliable, particularly on Canon versions of the lens. My Nikon experienced some focus inconsistency at midrange distances (better consistency up close). As I tend to manually focus, this was not too much of a problem, but for those who do depend on it heavily...this lens might cause frustration. Bear in mind, this is not the case for EVERY lens of this make; it is likely an issue with sample variation which has been pointed out for some time. Some people have great luck, some are not so lucky.

As I prefer to manually focus and personally prefer smaller lenses, I opted instead for my AIS Nikkor, which has roughly equal optical quality in a much smaller package with inexpensive 52mm filters. However, I do miss my 28/1.8 Sigma and, were it a smaller, manual focus lens, I would likely be using it today.

If you can get over the gargantuan size and if you can circumnavigate the sample-variation-related AF quirks, this lens is quite beautiful. I must give the designers kudos, even if it's not the perfect lens for me personally.

Since I've purchased this lens it has hardly left my K110D body. A bit soft wide open but if low light cannot be worked around it's better than the alternatives (flash, motion blurr). Beautiful colors and especially good transition from in-focus to out-of-focus areas. I bit bulky but I knew this a priori and I quite like it now compared to lighter lenses. Seems well built and focusing is very smooth.

This lens is awesome.
I wanted a wideangle for shooting indoor low light. This filled that void and then some. I wasnt satisfied with the idea of getting a f/2.8 wideangle lens for shooting indoors. I wanted something faster, then I stumbled up on this lens. I could not find many reviews, but I figured Sigma was a good brand, and anyways the lens turned out to be fantastic.
I use it primary for indoor shooting and for situations where I need a wider angle of view.
I would highly recommend this lens to anyone who just needs something wider than a 50mm on a DX sensor.
I am using this on a Nikon D90 and have been overwhelmingly satisfied with this product.

From precise macro to wide-angle shots, this lens performs very, very well. The images it produces are tack-sharp. I have all but abandoned my 50mm f/1.8 on my 50D...this lens is closer to "normal" on the crop sensor. The bokeh is marvelous: creamy, smooth, and dreamy. The colors are typically Sigma: that is to say a little warm and not overly saturated but not exactly subdued. The build quality is far better than most Canon lenses in this price range, which is also typical of Sigma. The auto-focus performs well, occasionally seeking at very close macro distances, but that is normal for the small DOF of macro lenses, plus I do not have a ring- or macro-light.

As I said, I use this lens as "normal" on my crop bodies but on the 5D (I have the original not the Mark ii) it really shines as a wide angle lens. 28mm is the perfect indoor angle offering enough field of view to capture everyone in your scene but still allowing use of flash to fill the dark spots using my 580 EX II. I have essentially stopped using the 24-105 f/4L for wide angle work because this lens is so sharp.

Now, the obvious strong point of this lens is the f/1.8 aperture which is sharp, sharp, sharp even wide open with virtually no falloff and almost no CA. I never hesitate to just leave it wide and shoot in TV mode to stop action or to create action trails. Using it indoors at 400 ISO I get perfect images every time without the harshness of flash.

I have used this lens on these bodies with excellent results:
50D
5D
Rebel XTi (400D)
Elan 7 (35mm film)
Elan IIe (35mm film)
EOS 3 (35mm film)

So for crop or full frame, this is a great walk around, macro, and wide angle lens.

I have been a fairly serious hobbyist photographer for about a year now, since purchasing my Canon DSLR. Many hours spent researching photography in general and lenses in particular have led me to this lens. From what I've found online and on Flickr, it doesn't seem to be very well-known, especially compared to this other Sigma lens, which I also considered:Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras. In other words, this purchase felt more risky to me, but I think it turned out quite well.

Pros:
-Future-Proof: If you're considering this lens, you most likely have a "cropped" sensor DSLR. All but the most expensive DSLRs have them. Many new lenses - "DC" lenses for Sigma, "EF-S" lenses for Canon - will ONLY fit on cropped-frame cameras. In the future, if and when full-frame cameras become cheaper and more popular, these lenses might not fit new cameras. This "DG" lens, however, will fit on both cropped- and full-frame cameras (albeit with different focal length equivalents - it takes wider shots on full-frame).
-Depth-of-Field: I'm loving the small DOF on this lens. It's nice and smooth.
-Low-Light Photography: With its large aperture, it's fast in low light. Quite fun if you're used to slow zoom lenses!
-Construction: Looks nice, feels nice, and the focus ring has just the right amount of resistance.

Cons:
-Auto-Focus: The AF could be faster, but that is to be expected without a hypersonic/ultrasonic motor. It also sounds more gravelly than I'm used to, which is a little unnerving, but it seems fine. I have not seen any AF accuracy problems.

Other Considerations:
-Size/Weight: It's hefty, but it's nothing compared to some of those telephotos out there. Admittedly, that's an apples-and-oranges comparison, but still. I love the size and weight; your mileage may vary.
-77mm filter thread size: Again, it's big. Filters can be expensive. On the other hand, it looks and operates like serious business.
-Image Quality: I am very pleased with the quality, but I'm no studio photographer. I don't take pictures of test charts for fun.

Thumbs up!

This is currently my favorite lens in my modest collection. Optical quality is very high, even wide open at f/1.8 - super sharp, great contrast, good color redition. It's fast enough to get good shots indoors. At 28mm, it's a perfect normal focal length on DX format DSLRs. Unlike many of the new reasonably priced lenses coming out, it's also compatible with full-frame DSLRs and 35mm film bodies, for which it makes a wonderful medium-wide. It even has an aperture ring to boot, which means it's compatible with old MF bodies (a big plus for me - planning on getting an FM3A soon.) I can't comment on the edge sharpness for full frame because I haven't used it with one of those bodies. On my D90, however, it ROCKS.

It costs a fraction of what the now-discontinued Nikkor 28mm f/1.4 goes for used, and it can focus EXTREMELY close - just a few inches away - it's not a 1:1 macro but it's pretty great for a normal walk around lens. I can't stay away from flowers and plants with this lens. Absolutely gorgeous.

On the downside, the autofocus is just a little slow (it's not AF-S, after all) and the manual focus ring feels just a little pebbley, if you know what I mean. But these are minor inconveniences that I find completely worth dealing with for the results it generates. And at this price, it's a steal. Grab them up while you can!

I used this lens on a Sony Alpha 350, it does exactly what I want it to do, and it's lightweight. Great Lens!

It's a wonderful lens! Great value for the money!

At f/1.8, it's a fast lens that's capable of shooting in low-light condition, or making artistic photos with dramatic bokeh. With 9-blade aperture diaphragm, the bokeh (or the out-of-focus blur) is so buttery and dreamy.

However, you do need to know how to control the shallow depth-of-field (DOF) with the wide aperture opening or big distortion from a wide-angle lens. If you aren't careful with the composition and have the subject too close to your lens, then the 28mm will cause the subject to have a big & round face. As for DOF, I calculated that a 28mm at f/1.8 with the subject distance of 4', is only 6". If you are not careful with the focus, then you'll get a blurry photo.

Many folks are concern about the automatic focus accuracy of this Sigma lens. When the subject is only 1.5' away (1" DOF), I did notice that I was getting a front focus of about 1". That is probably within the tolerance of the lens still, since the error was a combination of the deviation of my camera body and the lens. An easy adjustment of the calibration setting in my camera took care of the problem and everything is hitting bulls-eye after that.

The 77mm lens diameter is the same common Canon diameter of many EF lenses. Thus, all my existing filters fit just perfectly. The exterior finish is the typical wrinkle EX finish and looks nice. Although the front lens do not rotate with focusing, the lens itself does extend or contract when focusing. In addition of the automatic/manual focus switch, there is the quirky pull/push clutch system for fine focus adjustments. The communication with my Canon 1D Mk III is great. It would be nice if this lens had the Sigma's Hypersonic Motor (HSM) instead of the conventional, robot-cop sounding, motors. However, the focus was quick enough and not much hunting for focus even in darkness.

I just received this lens from Amazon this morning. Ran home after work and couldn't wait any longer to play with it.

I first put it on my 5D and had a few shots. Man, I have to say the image quality is great! But after few shots, the "image play back" feature on the back of my 5D stopped working. I thought there was something wrong on my camera. But no, I found "Err" showing on the small LCD on top of the camera body. Huh? I wondered if it is not compatible with full frame body.... Wait, it is DG, which is made for both image sensors.

Well, then I put it on my 40D. Guess what? Same thing happened again. "err" after a few shots. And an error message showed on the screen: "Err 01 - Communication between the camera and the lens is faulty. Clean the lens contact." Huh?

I never had any similar problem with my other Canon or Tamron lenses. Really don't know what is going on here.

But I am still giving it 4 stars for the image quality, build, and cost. Maybe I just have a bad copy.

Too bad, I am putting it back in the box, and will return it to Amazon tomorrow morning.

Good lense. Really sharp, good contrast, and super fast.

The lense is really massive too, dont be surprised