Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 SLD Aspherical DC Optical Stabilized (OS) Lens with Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) for Sigma Digital SLR Cameras
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
A superior lens
Test photos made with this lens on a Canon XSI were beautiful.
The photos showed no chromatic abberation or edge distortion.
The colors were true and images sharp as a tack. Depth of field was excellent due to the large aperature.
Large blow up of text revels sharp edges. I would recommend this lens to anyone who likes good quality and price value.
Soft, with lots of aberrations
I used this lens with my Rebel T2i, and believe me, I really wanted to like it for its $200 price point. Wide-open at f/2.8 (available only at 18mm), I was dumbfounded by how soft the output was. Stopped-down to f/11, the lens exhibits adequate sharpness, but displays high levels of (correctable) distortion. The lens really struggles to resolve any detail in the corners...
Test photos made with this lens on a Canon XSI were beautiful.
The photos showed no chromatic abberation or edge distortion.
The colors were true and images sharp as a tack. Depth of field was excellent due to the large aperature.
Large blow up of text revels sharp edges. I would recommend this lens to anyone who likes good quality and price value.
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I'm an amateur photographer, whose pictures are taken indoors, with no flash. I could not afford higuer-end class just yet, so I opted for this lens, knowing that 18mm, it gives you f2.8. That is pretty awesome. IT works fantastic and smooth. From the beginning, my photos came out pretty sharp, thanks in part to the Optical Stabilization offered, something that other brands cannot offer for that price.
Strongly recommend this lens for your everyday photos. Outdoors and indoors. It is not heavy, it is fast, sharp, and practical.
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I was using a Sigma 28-70mm until the diaphragm seized with a friend's wedding a few days away. In the dim light, the large aperture and the optical stabilization proved to be a life-saver. I have a couple of other lenses, but this one hasn't left my camera for weeks, now.
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I'm using this lens on a Nikon D200. After destroying my 18-200mm Nikon VR I wanted a cheap "walkabout lens" that I could risk destroying as I do a lot of industrial shooting where it's easy to whack a lens.
I bought this lens despite some less than glowing reviews. I really liked the self-contained design where nothing changes length when zooming or focusing. I also liked the idea of it being f/2.8 at the wide end.
This lens has a boatload of chromatic aberration at wider settings which is it's chief drawback. I use Lightroom 2.6 and it's perfectly correctable which enhances its wide end sharpness as well. This lens is sharp enough at all zooms stopped down just a little. It's really quite a surprise. I wouldn't try to make billboards with it, but it should print up to 12x18 with a little care in shooting. The optical stabilization on mine is really very good and I'm impressed with how far it allows me to push the shutter speed on still life shots.
Like most inexpensive wide lenses, it shows corner softness and vignetting at wide settings but this can actually be used to push the viewer into the center of the shot, or vignetting can be corrected in post. Wide open at 50mm (it's full zoom limit) it's soft all over but sharpens up by even F/5.6 on my copy. Not bad since most lenses in this price range are already F/5.6 at this zoom and have to be closed further to get any sharpness at all.
I have a number of Nikon and Sigma lenses and this one sits on my camera almost all the time. I've grown to know and trust it in just the short time I've had it. The autofocus has been very good in low light -- contrary to some reviews I've read elsewhere -- and I have to say this lens is easy to like once you understand its limitations.
For the very low price this lens sells for and the features it has (non-rotating filter mount, internal zoom and focus) it's a very attractive lens for a shooter like myself.
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As a walk-around lens I really did try to think of the best overall lens that I would want. I recently purchased another Canon body (450D) and instead of getting another 18-55 canon kit lens I opted instead to purchase body only this time. I then did my homework on which lens I thought would be best. Looking at the 18-100+ lenses, the 18-200+ lenses, and the typical overpriced L lenses really put things into perspective for me. I love the range of the kit lenses but REALLy wanted a better quality piece of glass, silent AF, and NO lens extension while zooming. This lens fit the bill perfectly! The fact that Sigma not only made the ultimate kit lens upgrade, but also included the petal hood as well for $300 really made me think about my next purchase and Canon.
Canon wants too much money for their lenses and unless you pay the high price for an L lens you don't even get a lens hood! ENOUGH ALREADY! I am sold on Sigma quality and will continue to support them for my future lens purchases. I have now shot over 3,000+ images with this lens and I have only tossed around 15 total.
[...]
Extremely Sharp, accurate color, little to no chromatic issues, fast, and sturdy. Buy this lens, you wont regret it!
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I purchased this lens to replace the 18-50 kit lens on a T1i. I am pleased with the construction and performance of lens.
The auto focus motor is not as fast or quiet as the canon USM. It is faster and quieter then the kit lens. I would say it is in between the two.
The Optical stabilizer is good but under performs the kit lens. This negates the 2.8 aperture some when comparing it to the kit lens.
Unfortunately I will return this lens. The deciding factor is on my particular T1i the lens purchased does not auto focus correctly. At 2.8 aperture with its narrow depth of focus the auto focus can not be used. It is a real shame that Canon does not add the AF micro adjust feature to the T1i. I would keep this lens if I could calibrate the camera for it.
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Just a word of caution about the filter recommendation provided during checkout. I just assumed the 72mm filter suggestion was correct and ordered one. However, unlike the more expensive Sigma 18-50mm 2.8, this lens uses a 67mm filter. This is a great general purpose lens at the new $200.00 price point. IMO.
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I was looking for a lens that would allow me to get wide angle indoor shots and great quality outdoor shots of paintings and drawings for publication with my canon eos xsi. this lens is perfect and is the absolute best value on the market!! i've shot a number of sporting venues with this lens and its given me all i hoped for! the wide aperature captures every ounce of light in not-so-perfect conditions for surprisingly accurate images.
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This is a great lens for two hundred bucks. The construction is very nice. Very sharp at over f6. Compare to the Nikon 35mm/1.8 at ~25-40mm f6-11 is very hard if not impossible to tell the differents at the computer. I was a little worry ordering this lens since a lot of people complain about front and back focus. I been a film guy for over 20years and this is my first Digital SLR lens. Very nice contrast and color too.
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I purchased this lens to replace my Nikon 18-55mm kit lens that came with my Nikon D40; the reason was that the plastic bayonet mount on the Nikon lens failed (and Nikon wouldn't cover it under warranty). This Sigma however has an aluminum mount, which is much more durable than the plastic mounts. So far I've had this lens for 2 months and love it! The autofocus is tack sharp, the optical stabilization is excellent, and my favorite thing so far is the f/2.8 aperture at 18mm. Combined, the f/2.8 and the OS in low light conditions has saved a lot of wobbly shots that I would have likely tossed. I own two other Sigma lenses (Sigma 10-20mm and Sigma 105mm macro) and have been very pleased with the build quality and durability of Sigma lenses. You won't go wrong in buying this 18-50mm Sigma, it's a great lens and a great deal!
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