Sigma's new $799 18-35mm is F1.8 at DVinfo.net

Craig Marshall · June 14th, 2013, 09:30 PM

This new APS-C 18-35mm zoom lens offers a constant F1.8 aperture and at only $799, it could be a great mate for the NEX EA50...

Chris Harding · June 15th, 2013, 01:12 AM

Hey Craig

That sounds rather good ..pity it only gets to 35mm .. So far the pick of the bunch for me seems to be the Tamron 17-50 F2.8 constant as it works for weddings ... 35mm might be a wee bit low for Church ceremonies!! My favourite lens is STILL my Tokina 11-16 F2.8 ..I can lock the focus at 2.5' and simply run around and shoot like a newbie and everything stays in focus from 2' outwards. The EA-50 works remarkably well in auto with a manual lens too!! I just set the aperture to suit and it will automatically change both shutter and gain for me in run 'n gun situations and exposure is spot on!

However the sigma sounds like a really nice wedding reception lens and 35 should be more than enough..you would have to be wary about getting good focus though at F1.8 ..the DOF will be quite tiny. I do prefer zooms to primes too so thanks for the heads up!

Chris

Craig Marshall · June 15th, 2013, 01:36 AM

Chris, have you tried Sony's own SEL16-50 F3.5 OSS Servo Zoom? I bought mine new on Ebay out of Korea for only $300 and on the Vg20 it works very well. If you set the camera to Auto Focus, the lens' focus ring suddenly becomes a proportional zoom control. As my 'follow focus' wheel is geared to the focus ring, it becomes the zoom control! (for 'manual focus' camera settings, there is a zoom slider on the lens barrel)

With the zoom 'rocker' switch on the EA50 and VG30, it would be even better...

Noa Put · June 15th, 2013, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

That sounds rather good ..pity it only gets to 35mm ..

A 18-200 at a constant f1.8, now that would be something :) I think it's a nice lens but like you said a bit too limited on the zoom range, price is very good though.
Note to Craig: not sure why but I see there is exactly the same post in another section of this forum, just that you know double posting is something that is not encouraged here.

Craig Marshall · June 15th, 2013, 02:35 AM

Noa, re: double posting: OK, not a problem but it would appear to a newbie like me to be two separate Forums. ie: VG20/30 and EA-50. Not so?

Noa Put · June 15th, 2013, 02:48 AM

Well, I can think of a few camera's that would benefit from this lens but posting the same post about one lens under different camera categories would only scatter information about the same topic, namely the Sigma lens.

James Manford · June 15th, 2013, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Noa Put

A 18-200 at a constant f1.8, now that would be something :) I think it's a nice lens but like you said a bit too limited on the zoom range, price is very good though.
Note to Craig: not sure why but I see there is exactly the same post in another section of this forum, just that you know double posting is something that is not encouraged here.

I would happily part with up to £1500 for a 18-200 f1.8 with autofocus and OSS! the ultimate run & gun lens.

Chris Harding · June 15th, 2013, 06:33 AM

Hey James

You forgot to add a couple of zeros onto your price tag for a 18-200 constant F1.8 !!

I would actually be really happy with a 17-55 F1.8 but Sony e-mount and lightning fast auto focus!!

Craig ? Not a bad lens is the SEL1650 .. is that the little pancake one?? Now if it was F2.8 it would be way better. I thought hard about Nikon's 12-24 but it's only F4 so I'm gaining nothing as my Tokina gets me up to 16mm and the Tamron gets me to 50mm so I lose the 1mm between the lenses.

I'm using manual focus mainly on the EA-50's as I found that AF does tend to drift sometimes when the cam is on a tripod and the background is messy ... so at ceremonies and reception speeches it's all lock it in manual. My stedicam shoots are almost always outside so the stock zoom is fine there and autofocuses pretty well. I suppose a really nice zoom would be a 17-85 or even 135 ..constant F1.8 of course... then again some guys need a big zoom ...I supposed I rarely go higher than 50mm anyway so for me it would be a waste so since we are dreaming lets have a 16 (nice and wide) to 320 with F1.8 all the way and you will have a 20X zoom that the Canon guys rave over that is fast!!

A few Aussie shops are stocking the 18-35 F1.8 here but their prices are somewhat higher than $799 ..I found one for $1499 and another for $1999 !! Yeah right ...B&H have them for $799 on pre-order then you have to pay crazy shipping prices from them !!

Craig Marshall · June 15th, 2013, 07:04 AM

Yes, the SEL16-50 servo zoom is equivalent to a useful 24-75mm in the FF world and F3.5 is very reasonable for a $300 lens with Autofocus, 'proportional' servo zoom and OSS.

An interesting alternative could be to run a Full Frame vintage Carl Zeiss 28-70mm zoom. They are rated at F3.6 and good used ones sell for around $450. Couple the Zeiss zoom to a Metabones 'Speed Booster' like I do with my NEX cameras and you have an affordable, high quality 3:1 zoom of somewhere around F2.5 with the equivalent wide angle to an APS-C 18mm lens.

PS: There's also a nice vintage Zeiss Contax 17-35mm FF wide angle zoom on Ebay rated at F2.8. That's a very fast F2.0 with the 'Speed Booster' on and its a superwide 12mm in APS-C terms. It's a bargain at only US$1600!

Erik Wittbusch · June 17th, 2013, 09:03 AM

Hi.

I was beginning with my trusty Tokina 28-70/2,8 with Canon EF mount. A heavy duty lens with nice and big control rings and good optical quality.

Now, i tried a Canon EF-S 17-55/2,8 IS and it seems to do nearly everything I need. Constant f2,8, Image stabilizer, good focal range and its not to heavy. The only downside is the control ring for focus - a little to small. But it's located close to the camera (first focus ring, then zoom ring), so that it can be operated easily.

Peter Rush · June 17th, 2013, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James Manford

I would happily part with up to £1500 for a 18-200 f1.8 with autofocus and OSS! the ultimate run & gun lens.

God so would I - I'm using the kit lens for the outside stuff but find it too slow for much indoor work so use my Metabones speedboster and Canon 24-105L F4 lens - the speedbooster gives me f2.8 throughout which is fine

Chris Harding · June 17th, 2013, 06:43 PM

Hi Erik

I firstly bought a big and heavy Sigma 24mm - 70mm and I just found that the wide angle end was just not wide enough for me, especially in Churches ..with the Tamron 17-50 I get less zoom but at least I get a decent wide end which is often important at weddings as the priest can decide to move anywhere in front of you. The 17-55 Canon would be pretty close to perfect!

Chris

June 14th, 2013, 09:30 PM	#1
Craig Marshall Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Blue Mountains, Australia Posts: 170	Sigma's new $799 18-35mm is F1.8 This new APS-C 18-35mm zoom lens offers a constant F1.8 aperture and at only $799, it could be a great mate for the NEX EA50...

June 15th, 2013, 01:12 AM	#2
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Sigma's new $799 18-35mm is F1.8 Hey Craig That sounds rather good ..pity it only gets to 35mm .. So far the pick of the bunch for me seems to be the Tamron 17-50 F2.8 constant as it works for weddings ... 35mm might be a wee bit low for Church ceremonies!! My favourite lens is STILL my Tokina 11-16 F2.8 ..I can lock the focus at 2.5' and simply run around and shoot like a newbie and everything stays in focus from 2' outwards. The EA-50 works remarkably well in auto with a manual lens too!! I just set the aperture to suit and it will automatically change both shutter and gain for me in run 'n gun situations and exposure is spot on! However the sigma sounds like a really nice wedding reception lens and 35 should be more than enough..you would have to be wary about getting good focus though at F1.8 ..the DOF will be quite tiny. I do prefer zooms to primes too so thanks for the heads up! Chris

June 15th, 2013, 01:36 AM	#3
Craig Marshall Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Blue Mountains, Australia Posts: 170	Re: Sigma's new $799 18-35mm is F1.8 Chris, have you tried Sony's own SEL16-50 F3.5 OSS Servo Zoom? I bought mine new on Ebay out of Korea for only $300 and on the Vg20 it works very well. If you set the camera to Auto Focus, the lens' focus ring suddenly becomes a proportional zoom control. As my 'follow focus' wheel is geared to the focus ring, it becomes the zoom control! (for 'manual focus' camera settings, there is a zoom slider on the lens barrel) With the zoom 'rocker' switch on the EA50 and VG30, it would be even better...

June 15th, 2013, 02:35 AM	#5
Craig Marshall Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Blue Mountains, Australia Posts: 170	Re: Sigma's new $799 18-35mm is F1.8 Noa, re: double posting: OK, not a problem but it would appear to a newbie like me to be two separate Forums. ie: VG20/30 and EA-50. Not so?

June 15th, 2013, 02:48 AM	#6
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	Re: Sigma's new $799 18-35mm is F1.8 Well, I can think of a few camera's that would benefit from this lens but posting the same post about one lens under different camera categories would only scatter information about the same topic, namely the Sigma lens.

June 15th, 2013, 06:33 AM	#8
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Sigma's new $799 18-35mm is F1.8 Hey James You forgot to add a couple of zeros onto your price tag for a 18-200 constant F1.8 !! I would actually be really happy with a 17-55 F1.8 but Sony e-mount and lightning fast auto focus!! Craig ? Not a bad lens is the SEL1650 .. is that the little pancake one?? Now if it was F2.8 it would be way better. I thought hard about Nikon's 12-24 but it's only F4 so I'm gaining nothing as my Tokina gets me up to 16mm and the Tamron gets me to 50mm so I lose the 1mm between the lenses. I'm using manual focus mainly on the EA-50's as I found that AF does tend to drift sometimes when the cam is on a tripod and the background is messy ... so at ceremonies and reception speeches it's all lock it in manual. My stedicam shoots are almost always outside so the stock zoom is fine there and autofocuses pretty well. I suppose a really nice zoom would be a 17-85 or even 135 ..constant F1.8 of course... then again some guys need a big zoom ...I supposed I rarely go higher than 50mm anyway so for me it would be a waste so since we are dreaming lets have a 16 (nice and wide) to 320 with F1.8 all the way and you will have a 20X zoom that the Canon guys rave over that is fast!! A few Aussie shops are stocking the 18-35 F1.8 here but their prices are somewhat higher than $799 ..I found one for $1499 and another for $1999 !! Yeah right ...B&H have them for $799 on pre-order then you have to pay crazy shipping prices from them !!

June 15th, 2013, 07:04 AM	#9
Craig Marshall Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Blue Mountains, Australia Posts: 170	Re: Sigma's new $799 18-35mm is F1.8 Yes, the SEL16-50 servo zoom is equivalent to a useful 24-75mm in the FF world and F3.5 is very reasonable for a $300 lens with Autofocus, 'proportional' servo zoom and OSS. An interesting alternative could be to run a Full Frame vintage Carl Zeiss 28-70mm zoom. They are rated at F3.6 and good used ones sell for around $450. Couple the Zeiss zoom to a Metabones 'Speed Booster' like I do with my NEX cameras and you have an affordable, high quality 3:1 zoom of somewhere around F2.5 with the equivalent wide angle to an APS-C 18mm lens. PS: There's also a nice vintage Zeiss Contax 17-35mm FF wide angle zoom on Ebay rated at F2.8. That's a very fast F2.0 with the 'Speed Booster' on and its a superwide 12mm in APS-C terms. It's a bargain at only US$1600! Last edited by Craig Marshall; June 15th, 2013 at 07:37 AM.

June 17th, 2013, 09:03 AM	#10
Erik Wittbusch Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Duisburg Posts: 93	Re: Sigma's new $799 18-35mm is F1.8 Hi. I was beginning with my trusty Tokina 28-70/2,8 with Canon EF mount. A heavy duty lens with nice and big control rings and good optical quality. Now, i tried a Canon EF-S 17-55/2,8 IS and it seems to do nearly everything I need. Constant f2,8, Image stabilizer, good focal range and its not to heavy. The only downside is the control ring for focus - a little to small. But it's located close to the camera (first focus ring, then zoom ring), so that it can be operated easily.

June 17th, 2013, 06:43 PM	#12
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Sigma's new $799 18-35mm is F1.8 Hi Erik I firstly bought a big and heavy Sigma 24mm - 70mm and I just found that the wide angle end was just not wide enough for me, especially in Churches ..with the Tamron 17-50 I get less zoom but at least I get a decent wide end which is often important at weddings as the priest can decide to move anywhere in front of you. The 17-55 Canon would be pretty close to perfect! Chris