17Jun Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 Zoom Pre-Order $799
One of the more exciting lens announcements over the last year or so has been the Sigma 18-35mm f1.8. As far as I know this is the first modern zoom lens with a fixed f1.8 aperture which could make it a possible alternative to a handful of prime lenses in the same focal range. The 9 blade circular aperture should also provide nicer looking bokeh wide open then the 7-bladed diaphragm used on something like the Canon 28mm f1.8.
The Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 is designed to work with with crop sensor bodies so the equivalent focal length will be around 28-56mm on a 7d or t2i body. At a price tag of $799, the lens is about $300 less than Canon’s premium crop sensor zoom (17-55mm f2.8) making it a possible best general walk around zoom alternative.
Hopefully the next generation of crop sensors will start showing up this fall, with low light performance in the same ballpark as the Canon 6d and 5d mark III. The combination of a Canon 7d mark II and Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 would be a great travel option with the benefits of a prime lens in a compact package.
I’m very interested to see how the Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 pans out.
June 17th, 2013 at 10:55 am
It really does look like a very nice lens. I wouldn’t mind trading a few millimeters on the long end to make it a bit wider tho.
June 17th, 2013 at 11:51 am
No image stabilization?
June 17th, 2013 at 2:17 pm
No IS.
June 21st, 2013 at 5:30 pm
That’s going to make some pandas very sad. But really…why no IS? This seems to hit the sweet spot for crop sensors. 28-56mm could be a solid run and gun lens. At 1.8, why not throw it on? The price point would probably jump up, but I can dream, right?
June 22nd, 2013 at 4:55 pm
No external aperture ring 🙁
July 1st, 2013 at 9:05 am
Most people won’t have a problem with that, but I could see why you might want it.