The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens has become a legendary piece of equipment for photographers seeking exceptional image quality and versatility. Its wide aperture, sharp optics, and excellent build quality have made it a popular choice for various genres, from street photography to portraits and landscape. But with its relatively high price tag, many photographers wonder if it truly lives up to the hype. In this comprehensive review, we’ll delve into the features, strengths, and weaknesses of the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens to help you decide if it’s the right investment for your photographic journey.
A Wide-Aperture Workhorse
The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens is a versatile wide-angle zoom lens designed for APS-C cameras. Its constant f/1.8 aperture across the entire zoom range makes it a powerful tool for capturing stunning low-light shots, achieving shallow depth of field for captivating portraits, and boosting creative control over your images.
Advantages of a Constant Wide Aperture
- Low-light Performance: The f/1.8 aperture lets in significantly more light compared to lenses with smaller maximum apertures, enabling you to shoot in dimly lit environments with faster shutter speeds and lower ISO settings, resulting in sharper images with less noise.
- Bokeh: The wide aperture allows you to create beautiful background blur, isolating your subject and creating a visually appealing effect. This is especially advantageous for portrait photography, emphasizing the subject while softening distractions in the background.
- Creative Flexibility: The wide aperture grants you greater control over depth of field, allowing you to adjust the area in focus to suit your composition and creative vision. This is particularly helpful for landscapes, where you can emphasize specific elements while blurring others to create a sense of depth.
Outstanding Image Quality: Sharpness and Clarity
The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens is renowned for its exceptional image quality. It boasts a complex optical design with 16 elements in 13 groups, including four special low dispersion (SLD) elements and one aspherical element. This combination effectively minimizes chromatic aberration, distortion, and vignetting, delivering exceptional sharpness and clarity across the entire image.
Exceptional Image Quality: Key Features
- Sharpness: The lens produces incredibly sharp images, even at wide apertures, thanks to the carefully engineered optical design. This allows you to capture fine details and textures with remarkable clarity.
- Chromatic Aberration Control: The SLD elements effectively minimize chromatic aberration, which is the colored fringes that can appear around high contrast edges in images. This results in cleaner and more natural-looking images.
- Vignetting Reduction: While some vignetting is inherent in wide-angle lenses, the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens exhibits very minimal vignetting, especially when shooting at wider apertures. This contributes to a more even and balanced image exposure.
Design and Build Quality: A Solid Performer
The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens is built to withstand the rigors of everyday use. Its weather-sealed construction protects it from dust and moisture, ensuring reliable performance in various weather conditions. The lens features a high-quality metal barrel and a smooth, responsive zoom ring, making it a pleasure to use.
Build Quality and Durability: Key Advantages
- Weather Sealing: The lens is equipped with a weather-resistant design that seals out dust and moisture, extending its lifespan and ensuring reliable performance in challenging environments.
- Metal Barrel: The robust metal barrel construction contributes to the lens’s durability and overall quality feel. It provides a solid and reassuring grip, making it comfortable to hold and use for extended periods.
- Smooth Zoom Ring: The smooth and precise zoom ring allows for accurate and effortless adjustment of the focal length. This feature enhances the overall user experience and ensures smooth transitions between different framing perspectives.
Performance: Focusing Speed and Accuracy
The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens incorporates a fast and accurate Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) for quiet and rapid autofocus. The autofocus system performs exceptionally well, tracking moving subjects with ease and maintaining accurate focus even in challenging lighting conditions.
Focusing Performance: Key Highlights
- Fast and Quiet Autofocus: The HSM system ensures quick and precise focusing, making it ideal for capturing fast-paced action or fleeting moments. The silent operation minimizes distractions and allows for discreet photography.
- Accurate Autofocus: The lens consistently delivers accurate focus across the entire zoom range, even at wide apertures. This is crucial for achieving sharp and well-defined images, especially when shooting critical subjects.
- Manual Focus Override: The lens allows for manual focus override, providing you with additional control over focusing adjustments. This feature is particularly helpful for fine-tuning focus in specific situations or when shooting with a shallow depth of field.
Should You Buy the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens?
The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens is a top-tier performer, offering exceptional image quality, versatile performance, and robust build. It’s an excellent choice for photographers who need a high-quality wide-angle zoom lens for a variety of applications.
Advantages:
- Exceptional Image Quality: Sharpness, minimal distortion, and effective chromatic aberration control make this lens a standout in its class.
- Versatile Focal Length: The 18-35mm range covers a wide spectrum of photography genres, from landscapes to portraits and street photography.
- Constant Wide Aperture: The f/1.8 aperture offers superior low-light performance, creative bokeh effects, and greater control over depth of field.
- Excellent Build Quality: The weather-sealed construction, metal barrel, and smooth zoom ring ensure durability and reliable performance.
Disadvantages:
- Price: The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens comes with a relatively high price tag compared to other lenses in its class. This may be a significant factor for budget-conscious photographers.
- Size and Weight: The lens is relatively large and heavy, making it less portable for travel photography or when using it for extended periods.
Alternatives to Consider
If the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens’s price or size is a concern, there are some alternative lenses worth exploring:
- Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM: This Canon lens offers excellent image quality and a fast f/2.8 aperture, making it a solid contender in the APS-C lens market. However, it is slightly less wide at 17mm compared to the Sigma’s 18mm.
- Tamron 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di OSD G2: This Tamron lens provides a wider focal length range and a more compact design compared to the Sigma, but it has a variable aperture that goes from f/2.8 to f/4.
Conclusion
The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens is a remarkable lens that delivers outstanding image quality and versatility. Its wide aperture, sharp optics, and robust build make it a valuable tool for photographers seeking to elevate their work. However, its price and size may be drawbacks for some. If you are serious about photography and need a high-performance lens that can handle various shooting scenarios, the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens is a worthy investment. But if you’re on a tight budget or prefer a more compact and portable lens, other options are available. Ultimately, the decision of whether or not the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens is “worth it” depends on your individual needs, preferences, and budget.
FAQ
1. What are the key features of the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens?
The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens boasts a wide aperture of f/1.8 throughout its entire zoom range, providing exceptional low-light performance and shallow depth-of-field effects. It features a high-quality construction with 16 elements in 11 groups, including three SLD (Special Low Dispersion) elements and one FLD (F Low Dispersion) element to minimize chromatic aberrations and deliver sharp, detailed images. Additionally, the lens utilizes a Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) for fast and silent autofocus, making it suitable for both stills and video.
This lens is designed for APS-C cameras and covers a 28.8-56mm equivalent focal length. It offers a compact and lightweight design, making it ideal for everyday use and travel photography. The lens also includes a focus-hold switch, a customizable function button, and a petal-shaped lens hood to reduce flare and ghosting.
2. What are the pros and cons of the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens?
The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens offers several advantages, including its wide aperture, excellent image quality, and compact design. Its constant f/1.8 aperture allows for stunning bokeh and shallow depth-of-field effects, while the high-quality optics deliver sharp and detailed images across the entire zoom range. The lens is also relatively lightweight and compact, making it portable and comfortable to use.
However, the lens does have some drawbacks. It can be prone to vignetting at wider apertures, and the autofocus can sometimes be slow and inaccurate, especially in low-light conditions. Additionally, the lens is relatively expensive compared to other standard zoom lenses in its class.
3. How does the image quality of the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens compare to other lenses in its class?
The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens is known for its excellent image quality, which rivals or even surpasses many other lenses in its class. It consistently delivers sharp and detailed images, even at wide apertures. The lens also exhibits excellent color rendition and minimal distortion, making it suitable for a wide range of photographic genres.
Compared to other lenses in its class, such as the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 offers a wider aperture and slightly better image quality. However, the Canon lens features image stabilization, which may be a deciding factor for some photographers.
4. Is the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens suitable for video?
While the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens is primarily designed for stills photography, it can be used for video as well. The lens offers fast and silent autofocus, thanks to its Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM), which helps ensure smooth and consistent focus transitions during video recording.
However, the lens does not have image stabilization, which can be a drawback for video recording, especially when shooting handheld. Additionally, the lens can exhibit some focus breathing, where the field of view slightly changes during focus adjustments, which might not be ideal for video. Overall, the lens is a decent option for video but may not be the best choice for professional videographers who require features like image stabilization and minimal focus breathing.
5. What is the best camera to pair with the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens?
The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens is designed for APS-C cameras, and it can be paired with a wide range of models from different manufacturers. Some of the best cameras to pair with this lens include the Canon EOS 80D, the Nikon D5600, and the Sony a6000. These cameras offer good image quality, autofocus performance, and features that complement the lens capabilities.
The choice of the best camera ultimately depends on individual needs and preferences. Consider factors like image quality, autofocus performance, video capabilities, and ergonomics when making your decision.
6. How does the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens compare to its predecessor, the Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM?
The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens is a significant upgrade over its predecessor, the Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM. It offers a wider aperture of f/1.8 throughout the zoom range, leading to improved low-light performance and shallow depth-of-field effects. The newer lens also features improved image quality with better sharpness and less distortion.
However, the older lens has some advantages, such as image stabilization (OS), which is absent in the 18-35mm. The 17-50mm also covers a wider zoom range of 17-50mm, compared to 18-35mm on the newer lens. Ultimately, the choice between the two lenses depends on the priorities of the photographer, with the 18-35mm offering superior aperture and image quality, while the 17-50mm provides image stabilization and a wider zoom range.
7. Is the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens worth the price?
The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens is a premium lens with a corresponding price tag. Whether it is worth the price is a subjective question, depending on individual needs and budget.
If you are a photographer who prioritizes wide aperture, exceptional image quality, and a compact design, the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens can be a valuable investment. However, if you are on a tighter budget or do not require the widest aperture, other standard zoom lenses might be more suitable alternatives. Ultimately, the decision of whether the lens is worth the price depends on your specific photography needs and budget constraints.